Now there's a title for you. Specific and to the point. The question is does anyone have a quick fix for the N Scale, Athearn, 2-6-0 Mogul. The drawbar (from the tender to the loco) appears to be lifting the back drivers off the track. Of couse it's the driver with those dreaded traction tires. Leaving the locomotive sitting there spinning and going no where. Any ideas on how to fix this? Looking for those who have had to fix theirs and wondering how they did it. Thanks in advance.
Hi Rick, You need to determine WHY it's lifting the loco. Is the drawbar mounted too high on the tender? Can it be lowered slightly with a washer? Is it straight? Could it be mounted upside down? Could the hole in the drawbar be a bit too tight? If it's a tender drive, are you sure it's the drawbar causing the problem and not the universal shaft possibly bottoming out in it's sockets? Are there wires going between the loco & tender that could be too stiff? I don't have one of these, so I don't know, but over the years, I have seen all of the above suggestions cause similar problems with other brands/scales. Good luck, Bill in FtL
It's a bit complicated as the stove did not come with a parts list. Usually Athearn provides a parts list. Just not this time. You can look at one of these and have some idea how to fix it. So, I'ma kind of lost on how to solve this problem. Since you don't have one all I can say is thank-you for your response. Know I will give an attentive ear to what you proposed. This drawbar is different then anything I've come up against. Not sure how to approach it without tearing it apart. I will have snow days coming up rather soon and I can take the time to sit down and tear the thing down. I will figure out a solution to the problem but I was hoping someone... that has one... might be able to share what they've done to fix it. Thanks for the thoughts and good will.
Rick: Been busy & getting ready for the Central Terminal show in Buffalo this week-end. As far as I know,your Athearn is identical to the origional MDC/Roundhouse run that mine are from. I can't find any reason the drawbar should lift the rear driver. In fact, I have one I'm working on that has no traction tires on, and the back end sits low enough the "groove" is on the rail. But- Take a look at the front tender truck. If you remove it, you will find the truck-bolster actually has a front and rear orientation. Not too hard to see- the truck bolster has a ridge that will ride on the tender center-sills if it's on backwards. One of mine had it on wrong, and it caused the truck to lift & sit at an angle that might be your problem. If that isn't it, I don't know... JimR.
This may be the diagram you are looking for. Looked under Roundhouse/MDC N scale 2-6-0 and came up with this off the web.
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Georgia, Verdana]kiasutha[/FONT] and John Moore, Just a word of appreciation for the parts list and suggestions on how to fix it. This will help me diagnose the problem and get it fixed. Thanks!
John: Unfortunately, that drawing doesn't look like the innards of my N scale MDC mogul. Among other things, the motor & flywheel on the N one pretty much fill the tender; with a universal to the engine. Frame is way different too, etc. It does look a lot like the up-dated version of my old HO MDC/Roundhouse version though... JimR. Edit- Just took a look and that parts sheet-other than the fancy stuff inside the tender and some seperate detail parts on the cab-is almost identical to the ones with my old HO moguls. I also checked the boxes of a few of my N scale MDC 2-6-0/2-8-0 locos, and none of them had a parts diagram included.
I wasn't sure myself but the site had this listed as a N scale diagram which goes to say don't believe everything on the internet. Didn't have my 2-6-0 out to look at but I didn't remember the tender having provisions for a speaker which had me wondering some about it. So I went and put it up here anyhow. I just find it hard to believe that there isn't a parts diagram out there somewhere. At some point one has to semi-disassemble the critter to clean or lube, and ocassionaly crap happens and one has to do a repair and order parts maybe. Even the most rudimentary little loco has some version of a diagram to at least be able to get to the motor to clean or lube.
Sometimes the first cup of the elixor of life does wonders in the AM to the old brain cells. Thought about the Spookshow site and the photos that often show the loco dis-assembled. So went there and dang no photo for the 2-6-0. Another sip of coffee and looked at the 2-8-0. Appears that the tenders for both are the same from comparing photos. There is a dis-assembled shot there but not that close up. So grabbed a copy of the photo to save in my pictures and then opened it from there. From there I could zoom in on the photo and get a little closer look before the quality went south. Still not great but if I'm right and both tenders are the same it is at least something for now that might be of some use. If it is the same the next question is if Athearn/Roundhouse/MDC has a parts diagram for the 2-8-0.
Been a while since I messed with one. If the drawbar is held to the tender with a screw maybe you could loosen it a bit so the drawbar can sag a hair.
I'ma beginning to think this is not a common problem but perhaps specific to my machine. Also, thinking I paid MSRP and bought a return. LHS's, the not so trustworthy... ones... will do that. Once again sucker light was on and I got taken. Chris, That's what I've been thinking. The problem as I see it...the drawbar has a mechanical (brass something or other) to conduct electricity from the tender to the loco. Not sure what effect this would have on the contacts. Wondering why Athearn doesn't provide parts list anymore....hurrumph! To K and J., As I looked at the diagram I realized (second study of it) the drawbar isn't the same. Before posting here I tried looking at the Athearn website, under parts and I didn't find the Mogul. Still I do appreciate the diagram. Who knows, I may need it after attending the OERM, Perris train swapmeet. Oop's that isn't going to happen. Missed my ride. Stomach and the flu virus are duking it out and they ain't getting along. Have to go with the flow...if you get my drift. A shout out of Thanks.
John: The origional 2-8-0 run from roundhouse had a slightly different tender. The drawbar wasn't quite the same & did not have the screw to disconnect it from the tender, and the trucks were hard wired. It worked well enough, but was a bear to work on and the wires were delicate and hard to fix. I remember that from breaking them on my first one when I dropped the truck to put an MT on the tender... They modified the design when they did the Mogul. AFAIK, all of both types have had the same "new" tender since then. Even Roundhouse never offered much in the way of parts for these; I tried. They did once sell the new pilot with the coupler box to replace the origional dummy. I don't know if they ever had a diagram available, but it wasn't in any of the boxes I have found.
Rick, Dave here...been a while since we talked. But the train you have is the exact one that i just bought a month ago and i believe i have a diagram i will look tomorrow and try to get something up on here for you to view. i piked up some overton pasenger cars set of 4 with it. it looks great running.
Dave, Good to hear from you. Yes, it's been awhile. Don't those Overton Passenger Cars look good behind it. Absoulutely! Hope you have a diagram.
yes they do.... i have to get some pictures up soon...havent worked on my layout much over the summer. but have made some decent progress in scenery.
Hi Rick: Guess those Overtons are popular. We have a set in B&O we were running Saturday with an Atlas/MicroAce Mogul I relettered-looks just right. Went to PA. to see my last uncle after; he just turned 89... Anyway-check that front tender truck if you haven't. I just deliberately put one on backward, and it did raise the back of the loco some. Probably enough to cause your problem. Still all I can come up with unless the drawbar is screwed up somehow... Best, JimR.
Not sure if you have resolved this, but I had the same issue. The problem is not with the tender, but with the pilot wheels at the front of the locomotive. The wheels produce too much down pressure which in turn lifts the front two drive wheels off of the track. I fixed mine with a plastic coffee stir. I took the two screws off of the bottom of the locomotive. When you do two small pieces of metal will fall out. I think these hold tension on the front part of the cover and this is what is lifting the front wheels up. The pilot wheels are not physically connected to the bottom cover. They slide over a small piece of plastic so they can pivot. I took the plastic coffee stir, a brown one, the type that looks like two small straws side-by-side, and cut a piece off that is just slightly taller than the post that the pilot wheels pivot on. Remember there are two holes on the stir, the empty hole needs to go toward the pilot wheels. Next screw the cover plate back on to the bottom of the locomotive. You may have to play around with the height of the plastic coffee stir to get things just right. I'm sure someone else may have a better way to fix this, but it works and I have not had any problems since I modified mine. You will not be able to see the coffee stir once its all back together.
homer346: Re-read the origional post. Your problem is the opposite- his BACK drivers are lifted. I'm also curious if the problem was ever solved...?
There should be some up-and-down slack where the drawbar connects to the engine. Vis - What does yours look like? -Mark
