Purchased two identical ROCCO locos from eBay and they both operate erratically. Start/stop, need to push, etc. Wheels and track were cleaned. Other locos are fine. Suggestions for a fix?
If it's what I think it is, it's a 40 year old locomotive, so I suppose it's not unusual for it to have problems. Good news is that it was decent locomotive in it day, made by Roco with a can motor, flywheels and sold by Atlas. The shell is easy to remove (just spread the shell's sides a bit and lift it off). With the shell off, you can apply current directly to the motor and see if it runs smoothly. I suspect that the contacts on the back side of the wheels are crudded up and/or it was maybe over-lubricated in its life and the mechanism has collected gunk.
It looks like the sides of the fuel tanks (between the trucks) just clip to the frame. Gently pry both sides. If being gentle isn't enough, stop and find out how wrong I am. http://www.spookshow.net/loco/atlasfa.html This is the second time I've gone to Spookshow to look up an old model someone asked about here, and found out it's a "mediocre performer" which set the standard for N scale performance forty years ago. To all of you who came into the hobby recently: Us gray beards say you're welcome for helping develop models that actually work.
Hardcoaler said: ↑ If it's what I think it is, it's a 40 year old locomotive, so I suppose it's not unusual for it to have problems. Good news is that it was decent locomotive in it day, made by Roco with a can motor, flywheels and sold by Atlas. The shell is easy to remove (just spread the shell's sides a bit and lift it off). With the shell off, you can apply current directly to the motor and see if it runs smoothly. I suspect that the contacts on the back side of the wheels are crudded up and/or it was maybe over-lubricated in its life and the mechanism has collected gunk. How do you remove the body? Is there a need to remove the two screws shown? DMK- If my thinning is Correct These were theVery same ALCO FA-1's which WALTHERS Imported in 1987. So the ATLAS / ROCO DiAGRAM should be Enough for GM -GENERAL MAINTENANCE of These ALCO FA-1'S. Here is the Maintenance Sheet, I trust this Helps. Tom
No. They hold only the motor mounts. Slip something very thin but somewhat wide between the body sides and the fuel tank. Gently pry down. Pulling the fuel tank straight down first would simplify things and protect the tank from your tool. But if that has been done several times (very possible in forty years) it may be glued.
These are OLD locomotives as stated before. Don't expect them to run anywhere as smooth and well as newer models. To get these locos to run at all, might take a bunch of work. Be prepared to strip them all the way down to the separate parts. CLEAN EVERYTHING, lightly lubricate [LaBelle #108] and hope for the best. If you really have to have this model, think about transplanting the body onto a another manufacturer's chassis. It may take some doing, but it most likely would be worth it in the long run. There locomotives will NEVER run as smooth as modern loco models form Atlas--Bachmann--KATO. But you get what you pay for. BEFORE buying any new/especially USED locomotive, ALWAYS check out Spookshow. Mark does a great job and gives HONEST reviews and ratings for almost every N-Scale locomotive ever made. http://www.spookshow.net/
Guys, Removed the body and found that both rear motor wire leads to be broken between the ruck pickup and motor. I'd like to repair these although they are very small. I have attached pictures. Regards, DMK
Do you solder, or know someone who can? You'll need that. Use a heat sink, unless you're real quick, and probably even then. Even gripping the contact with a pair of needle nose will do, they soak up excess heat.
It's hard to believe RoCo couldn't find a better type of wire than that stiff stuff they used in all their N scale locomotives (US prototype,anyway). There certainly was much more flexible stuff available back then. I'm sure it was a cost issue. Doug
I bought a 5 watt soldering iron and will use Tom's diagram to disassemble the frame to solder new lead wires. The other engines leads are bare of insulation and shorting against the weights and will also require repair. I will let you know how it goes. Regards, DMK
Had that problem with a c. 1933 Lionel. The insulation on the wires had gotten hard as Bakelite, and was cracked and coming off in chunks. I put shrink wrap on them, and soldered the one end back. But I agree with Doug. This little jewel deserves better wire.
I replaced the wiring in a couple of my Roco locos with some real flexible stuff I got from Walthers many years ago because the original wiring was such a pain to work with when I was having to remove the motors for cleaning, quite often, because the soft brushes in them clogged the commutator slots. Of course, nowadays, it appears the brushes have hardened and the locos run great. I checked fairly recently and Walthers no longer sells that wire but I'm sure there are sources for the same stuff. It must be around 30 gauge or so. It doesn't indicate that on the package. EDIT: By golly, I did just see some of that wire on eBay. Walthers catalog number 942-414. Doug
Fair question. But I'm not sure how to answer. How stiff is it? Is it stranded wire, made up of a number of tiny wires? Stranded is more flexible, and less prone to metal fatigue (less likely to break from bending) than solid core wire.
Not sure what you might have in your stash @DMK , but I've used old grain-of-wheat bulb wires for this kind of thing.
How about magnet wire for hooking up LEDS ?? https://evandesigns.com/products/magnet-wire-twisted-50-ft-spool
