I have an old 1960 mantua 060 steamer I got in my first ho set when I was a kid. It stopped running years ago and I just put it in a box on the shelf. Last week I found it again and pulled it all apart cleaned it, repainted it and greased it. The problem I now have isit just sits on the track and hummms, if I push down on the tender it takes right off. I am wondering if it needs some weight in the tender? If so how much and how do I get the tender apart without breaking it to get the weight in??? Can anyone help? I know its not the best model to mess around with but it has a lot of sentimental value to me!
Andy. Just a guess on my part but it could be the pickup contacts are dirty or not making contact. That would be my first guess.
Andy, Being its old, I would check all wiring, and all contacts on the wheels on the tender, and then the connections of the motor! Its very possible over the years that it has a wire thats bearly making contact and when pushed on it responds, and then check all the contacts on the tender. Also, make sure all contact points of the wheels and the whipers are clean. This could be another possible thing stopping it from running. And depending on it.. The motor could have some bad brush arms thats hanging and not making contact till you push on it being it would tighten the body up enough to make them contact the armature. I would take a educated guess that, the motor is an old open frame DC-71 thats angle mounted to the engine bed, with a worm gear on its staft then mating to the gear on the axle. Check all these mentioned above, I bet its contacts as well.. Or being that old, the contacts have completely worn through and isn't even touching the axle (if its metal) or if not the wheel. Being Mantua used both type wheel contacts, one that touches the wheel and another type that touches the metal axle.... Let us know what you may find!
Hey John, The engine was totally redone, all new solder joints, turned and recut armature and new brushes. if I disconnect the tender and hold the wire to my test track the engine roars. The problem has to be in the tender, There are no wipers on the wheels or axles. The tender frame is diecast, a wire comes from the engine and attaches to the frame. The current passes through the frame, to the trucks and the wheels. Two wheels are insulated on each truck. If I push down on the tender the engine takes right off, if I let up on tender it goes dead!!! Thats why I was thinking it might be a weight problem. But it seems to me that the tender body is fused to the frame and I don't know how to get them separated.
Andy, It is the tender! Look to the front of the tender facing the loco cab, and the rear of the tender (just above the coupler) their should be lugs that fit into the tender body thats part of the frame. These are the LONGEST body mount lugs! So you need to look for the lug openings on the front of the tender near the cab. These would be the shortest lugs and the holes in the body, is what you need to gently spread away from the steel or cast metal frame. Then the body would let go at this point and then take the frame and the body, and in both hands one hand holding the frame one holding the body and slide the body toward the front of the tender. it then should let go and separate. IF this isn't the case, look for press fitted plastic lugs that comes down front the top inside of the body. These will be harder to pull apart. These would be on all 4 corners of the frame. If this is not the case, then look for small screws per corner all 4 corners and remove them! I will say, that I believe its the point of contact where the axle points go intop the truck. THEIR is NO contacts here. The wheels have one plastic wheel and the other is probably brass, maybe both brass wheels and one has a fiber or plastic ring to insulate it from the axle in any case the axle point that goes into the truck is not making good contact! This is where part of your problem is! Take the trucks completely off the tender frame being an old Mantua they are bolted to the bolster. Remove the screws and pull the trucks off.. BOTH of them! Then take a brass wire wheel on a rotary tool and clean the bolster where the truck touches it where the screw goes into the frame. Then clean the top of the truck as well in the same location. This is the contact place that may be giving you all your trouble. Clean these spots and then see if it helps... If nothing else your trucks may be coroded in the axle journal and not allowing the electrical flow to pass through the the frame for it to reach the motor!
Hey John, We got it, when I repainted the tender I had the trucks off, paint got into the screw hole and on the pivot where the truck sits. I just ran a tap down the screw hole and a little emery paper on the pivot to remove the paint and we are off and running.Just a little on the noisy side but it sure looks good going around the track. Thanks alot !!!!!!!!
Andy, Thats a common mistake! I've done it too and learned about it after I painted like 3 or 4 Mantua oldies in a row, not realizing that when I painted the frame I had isolated the trucks from the frame to carry electric to the loco tender connection wire. I would advise to keep the top of the truck, where it sits on the bolster mount and the bolster itself clean at all times! When you clean the wheels, make sure you clean that spot as well on both trucks and on both bolster mounts on the frame. This is a place that will rub and turn and collect dirt & grime! And needs to be periodically cleaned for contact. I'm glad that you had found it! Things like this can be very fustrating! Your welcome.... I work on this type thing just about everyday! [ 08. November 2002, 08:22: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Amazing. When I finally start building my pike, every problem I have I will post it in here. I have the utmost confidence that someone in here will be able to help. Good job John.
Hey Blackcloud, I'm sure when you do somebody in here will be able to help you.Even if it's just a simple thing like paint on your contact points. Sometimes it seems you can look at a small detail like that and you will never see it and all you need is for someone to put you on the right track. (no pun intended)
I know how that all goes. I been custom painting since the late 1980s ('89) or early 1990's so. i've ran into everything so far. learned from the mistakes young.. and can share them now! Just lately, not paying any attenstion to what I was doing. I had painted a Mantua 0-4-0, and went to replace the broken fiber drawbar with a new one (yes, I bought a ton of Mantua spare parts, for the replacement, repair, or rebuild). Anyway when I went to get the fiber drawbar being my parts cabunets are like the ones used for nuts and bolts I have the drawbars in the same small drawer, separated by the platic dividers and not paying attention grabed a drawbar and installed it on the loco. Finished decalling the tender, and then dullcoating it, and installing the newly re polished wheels, opposite sides from the contact wheelsof the loco itself, and fastened the drawbar. Put it on my test track, and it done nothing but through the red overload light on my testing power pack... It took me a week to figure out what the I did! Here I had grabed a METAL drawbar instead of a Mantua Fiber drawbar. Being the loco frame and the tender frame has got to be isolated from each other it through a short circuit on the power pack... The loco wheels were picking up the possitive side or common rail. and the tender was drawing the negitive or breaking rail and the metal drawbar was conducting the 2 together to cause the overload to flash red at me.. Being I made and make my own metal drawbars, I used a Mantua template to follow, and they all look the same, just made one from Mantua's fiber drawbar and the other is a metal stamping of the same shape! Talk about puzzleing me! I couldn't seem to find the problem till I had went and took the loco drawbar screw out and had the drawbar in my hand and felt that it wasn't a fiber drawbar! Put the Mantua fiber drawbar on. And it runs like a scared jack rabbit! And here I am.. next to professional, and even the pro's make mistakes! Its not hard to make them and noone will laugh. we all have! And yes its fustrating.... That little 0-4-0 drove me crazy trying to figure out what I done! Being I put a brand new MC-94 Mabachi can motor in it. I knew it wasn't the motor. I test each motor prior to installing them. So I knew it was somewhere else that was causing this. It took a week to find.. BUT wow, just a common, and very simple mistake of not paying attention! Painting the loco's tho, I tell ya, I think I've made them all, or dang close it when I was younger.... Its something you learn from tho. [ 12. November 2002, 02:04: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
