I received an MT GP35 from Anthony (Zscalemonster.com) 3 weeks ago. I was very impressed with its low speed capabilities: that loco could creep! After running for a total of 15 minutes, a bind has developed in the mechanism and it is jerky at low speeds, particularly in reverse. Should I open it up and check it out, send it back to Anthony for a replacement or back to Micro-trains. Your input is appreciated. Ajay
Mine was also smooth, quiet and ok both ways at first. But then I got a piece off gravel in the mechanism and had to take the trucks apart. I forgot to remember exactly witch gear and the way they faced before I took it apart, and now it runs quiet and smooth one way but the other way it makes an ugly grinding noise but runs okay. At our last train show another fellow broth his new GP and he actually had the same noise in his train just one way as I have in mine now. Could there perhaps be production error in the gear making and that the gears are not 100% similar and work only one way and in the right position in the trucks? This could perhaps explain why some works fine out off the box while others don't. I have tried to rearrange the gears a couple off times with out any luck, anybody that know what could have been done wrong or did perhaps the gravel just nick the gears a tiny bit. The gears don't seems to be damaged as far as I can se thou.
If it don't run well, I think it's best to send it back. Then MTL can take it apart and look into the cause of the problem and repair the manufacturing defect. Maybe all that is wrong is a particle gut sucked into the gearing somewhere. I ususally like to take everything apart myself to inspect and repair if I can. That's part of the fun I get out of the hobby, but it is not for everyone.
35 Ajay, Please send it back to me at MTL and I will fix/replace it for you. I haven't heard of this happening before (not to say it doesn't) and would like to find out what is going on so I can fix it further down the line. Just send it back to MTL attn Joe Cheers Joe MTL
Thanks Joe for your response! I ran the loco at half speed for 10 minutes in either direction and the jerkiness is now gone. I actually felt bad about whining. It was just that the out-of-the-box running of the GP35 was so good, it set the bar really high and when the slight jerkiness on MT curves showed up, it was very apparent. The loco runs as well as my newer Atlas locomotives- and that is high praise indeed!
Great, glad it works now. Considering the number of these we produce I'm surprised more stuff doesn't get messed up! If you have any other problems, let me know. Joe
