I have a fairly new Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 steamer that runs really well at speed... but at low speeds, it hops and jerks quite noticeably. I've lubricated all the wheels, joints, and moving mechanisms... but this hasn't seemed to help. Is there anything that can be done to resolve this? Will breaking it in make this hopping behavior at low speeds go away?
You might try cleaning the rails and the wheels with rubbing alcohol. This works wonders. Just because your wheels and track dont look dirty, it doesn't mean that they really are dirty.
Lloyd - Odds are that there is something binding slightly in the mechanism somewhere. Typically, slightly out-of-quarter drive wheels will produce exactly the sort of "loping" gait at low speed that you describe. At higher speeds, it won't usually be evident. Simple lubing or clearing will not produce any change in the situation. If slight, the problem might be eliminated by running-in the engine a few hours in alternating directions and varying speeds but if still really noticeable at the end of that time, the best course of action would likely be to return the loco to the manufacturer for repair. In bygone days, many Bachmann locos suffered from out-of-quarter drivers but the newer Spectrums have been of much higher quality and the problem far less common. NYW&B
Two possible fixes in addition to what's been mentioned above... 1) Break in time. My 2-8-0 runs much better after about 2 hours of continuous running at various speeds, forwards and backwards. I was disappointed to the point I was going to return it, but a friend with a continuous loop ran it in for me. 2) If you are running on DCC, try upping the starting voltage. I have found this to help the slow speed performance of both my Spectrum locos (2-8-0 and 4-6-0). Andrew
