out of quarter?

2-8-0  may need lube also.

2-8-0  may need lube also. Gearbox is probably dry. Same with the S2.

Clean and lubricate, check

Clean and lubricate, check your wipers to make sure they are making contact, you would be surprised what a difference this makes.

Thanks, Scott, Tim, & Rob!

Thanks, Scott, Tim, & Rob! I'll give lube a try and report back. I've had somewhat noisy runners before but nothing like what these two are doing.

Adam

Noises...

Having had a few easily correctable issues with some Bachmann locos, a few pointers and considerations. On the DCC 2-8-0 first look for rod and value gear binding and fix these. Typically loosening a screw, moving the offending link and re-tightening the screw will do the trick.  Also, be aware that the loco is equipped with a low end decoder board and has capacitors to reduce RF noise on TVs and what not.  This is the source of the hum you hear.  You can adjust some CVs and that may reduce the noise, or some recommend clipping the capacitors out of the board.  In the end you will be better served by replacing the decoder/board with a better version.

On the S-2 it sounds like something is rubbing on the drive.  Remove the shell and look for dried/excess grease and remove (pretty common problem) - same on the trucks.  Re-lube as needed. You may need to lube the motor bearing too - I had one loco sound like a stuck pig until I did this.   Also look for a wire rubbing - and move out of the way.  

Rick G.

S2

I bought an S2 and had similar problems. Many told me it was normal or to tear down and re-lube. I only paid $40 bucks for it new, sold it for $30. Lesson learned. 

I will comment on some of

I will comment on some of these small steamers that I worked on from Bachmann for one of my club brothers. After the tear down cleaning and lubrication and reassembly these things ran great. I worked on three small steamers that were all jerky and would not run real slow. Afterward they ran fantastic and the guy I did that for said they are still running well. I believe it took 2 or 3 hours to do all three locomotives. The items needed to do this are few and inexpensive. The skills are easily mastered, if I can do it anybody can.

I have heard that Bachmann

I have heard that Bachmann locomotives profit from a good breaking-in.  However, if something is rubbing or not aligned well, the breaking-in will eventually cure it largely, but also induce unnecessary and preventable wear in those components up front.  So, unless you simply wish to exchange the items and not work through their troubles, you could do as suggested and do some disassembly to see where things may be going poorly.

Steam Locos and DCC

The Bachmann 2-8-0 is a known good runner. I have had 2, still have one, and I've known several others with them and they ran well. It looks by the video yours has a bind of some sort. Driver quartering is one possiblity. That requires a special tool that I believe NWSL used to sell. If it is new, I'd return that one.

With regards to the sound of the motor. If you ever listen to an older Atlas locomotive that came equipped with DCC before the sound days, you will hear the same noise. It is a result of the waveform of the voltage applied to the motor. Common also to early DCC decoders (non sound). This was improved upon and we started to hear about so called "silent" decoders because the waveform was changed to stop the motor from making that noise. Most new decoders are now "silent". Bachmann DCC decoders are known to give poor results and I am thinking the noise you are hearing from the motor is quite normal for it.

I have a Bachmann 44 tonner that came DCC equipped and it ran horribly and sounded worse. So bad I considered getting rid of it. But I tore out the decoder and have put in an ESU Select LokSound decoder and it runs (and sounds) amazing. For that reason I wouldn't pay the premium for a Bachmann DCC equipped locomotive. I have no information on their Sound Value decoders so I can't tell you if they exhibit the same poor performance that their non-sound DCC decoders do.

This is all my experience only and others can dispute this and I will not argue. As always, your mileage may vary.

Something Wrong Here

There is something wrong with both of these, sounds mechanical to me. I have both of these models and they run great, smooth and quiet. I did have a 2-8-0 that had a crooked driver, out of round, got rid of that one. Both of mine have the “crippled” tsunami sound in them, in future I won’t buy any more with sound, I will put TCS Wow sound in them instead.

Bachmann Sound Value decoders

An update

An update: On the 2-8-0, I tried applying some light oil to the side rod pins; there may have been a slight improvement, but the overall motion was still unacceptably stutter-y. The drivers appeared to be 'in quarter' but I am not an expert. Not yet, anway.

I ultimately decided to return the 2-8-0 and order another from a different source; the new one arrived today and runs extremely smoothly compared to the first. Like its predecessor it is reluctant to start, but I gather that this will be resolved by a better decoder.

While I was intrigued by the notion of breaking it in (great point about untimely/undue wear there, Selector), I decided that this wasn't the right time for that kind of project. I'm just getting started with benchwork for my HO layout and it didn't seem smart to start things off by immediately shelving a project locomotive for the future.

On the S-2, I opened up its trucks and the gears there seemed suitably lubricated, so I didn't add any. I'll hang onto it, though -- I bought this one with the intention of putting a good decoder in it at some point; perhaps that will improve the noise. Plus, it was relatively inexpensive (and seems not as readily available as the 2-8-0).

Scott, you asked about DCC or DC: the 2-8-0 was running on DCC (from a Zephyr), the S-2 was running DC from what I think is a reasonably good DC power pack (Railpower Tech II). This 2-8-0 has no sound. I also have a Bachmann 2-6-0 DCC Sound Value and it runs very, very quietly, mechanically speaking.

Thanks again for the replies! I really appreciate everyone's help.

Adam

Bachman noises?

Another thing possibly worth checking... See if the flanges are so big they are hitting the plastic tie spikes. John Coll;ey, Sonoma, cA

I had the same issue with an

2-8-0

An issue ive found with the 2-8-0 is splitting of the gear on the motor. I ended up getting a new frame and motor and swapping it out. anoying but in the ling run I ended up with a decnt loco.

The 2-8-0...

I can tell you EXACTLY what's wrong with it.

Your drive gear, on the motor is cracked (on the shaft side, not the gear side0 and is slipping.

There are two fixes for it.

Fix #1, is replace the entire motor. (they don't sell the gear seperatly, and you aren't pulling the flywheel off of the old motor to replace that gear without breaking the motor, and the flywheel anyway... it's replace it all or nothing)

Fix #2 (what I did) is push that gear next to the fly wheel (it should be touching anyway) and put a small drop of liquid CA on a toothpick, and just let that CA get between the gear, and the flywheel, and let it cure over night.

I did it for mine (also a SOU green 2-8-0) and haven't had an issue with it ever since. In fact, it's one of my strongest pullers.

From what I was told, the issue with some of the "Connies" as well as a couple of the Decopods, is the plastic for the gear was sub quality, and it wasn't caught until it was far too late... the plastic, after time, would shrink, and leave a small gap around the metal shaft.

If you're close to San Diego area, I'd be happy to show you how to fix it, if there's any confusion.

CA fix for gear on 2-8-0

Interesting, as I have a number of these locos still in storage that I have yet to run.

So your CA fix is not necessarily going after that gap in the gear face itself, but rather after the loose fit on the shaft itself. Great idea that apparently works.

Yep.

Because it's a belt drive, the gap, if it's affecting the teeth at all, still doesn't affect the drive. It's not like you will get a "Life Like Bump" out of it, as the drive belt is rubber.

So the only problem to solve is how to keep the gear from slipping on the shaft... and since the gear sits flush with the fly wheel, there was no reason why it couldn't be sealed to the fly wheel with a drop of CA.

It's been running like a dream since that fix last April, and, it's an engine I use a LOT!

I also...

I had a similar experiece with a Bachmann 0-6-0t Porter. I documented my attempts to fix it in this thread. The ultimate fix was to adjust the motor mounting position.

I also have a Bachmann 70 ton climax, which developed the bumps after a year of reliable use. That turned out to be the old split plastic gears problem. I replaced the trucks with the new metal geared versions, and it runs sweetly again.

pqe

Connie

I had a connie that did that. I sent it back to Bachmann and they fixed it. $15 or something. Easy.

Michael Duckett