Atlas S2s splitting their own axles?

[Cajonpassfan]

So has anyone else here had this problem, or is this a fluke?

Ouch, this has me really concerned. I love them, own FIVE of them, as they are supposed to be the backbone of my switcher fleet. They are all DCC/sound equipped, so I have a substantial investment in them, but have not run them much other than brief testing, as I'm still working on the layout. If this split gear issue is not just a fluke, that would be a major bummer unless Atlas makes replacement wheelsets available.  His anyone else experienced this problem??
Otto K.

[Doug G.]

I fixed my Bachmann 4-8-4 with split axles with thin-walled brass sleeves. It runs like new again.

Doug

[tehachapifan]

I said it has less than 10 minutes of run time, but it is from the first run, which I believe makes it almost 2 years old. And the reason I won't send it back is that I painted it myself. It was a Boston and Maine loco, but I was not impressed with the stripes, so repaint it !

Beautiful paint job, coosvalley!

[coosvalley]

Beautiful paint job, coosvalley!

Thanks!...Now if only I could get the darn thing to run! ...

[C855B]

I fixed my Bachmann 4-8-4 with split axles with thin-walled brass sleeves. It runs like new again.

Merely obvious!   I've been fixing things like control knobs on cars and electronics for years with this technique, a/k/a "banding". I have a handful of B'mann powered-thingies in round-tuit boxes with split gears, so there we go!

Thanks for the reminder!

[Doug G.]

The only thing I had to do, besides installing the sleeves, was to ream out the axle holes in the plastic part of the frame to allow the axles enough play to let the metal parts of the axles rest on the openings of the metal sides of the frame for electrical contact.

Yeah, I have fixed several broken knobs with sleeves, in my life. In fact, I have one waiting now for my brother's air conditioner. No rush right now as I'm in Minnesota and it will be months before the air conditioner is needed again.



Doug

[peteski]

I said it has less than 10 minutes of run time, but it is from the first run, which I believe makes it almost 2 years old. And the reason I won't send it back is that I painted it myself. It was a Boston and Maine loco, but I was not impressed with the stripes, so repaint it !

Funny, that has been bugging me too. The white pinstripes around the red stripes are way too wide!  Funny thing is that the Arnold S-1 has correct width stripes but they made them silver!!     I actually discussed the silver pinstripes with Arnold rep and he told me that they sent the color drawing the B&M Historical Society and that they approved the color scheme.   I found that difficult to believe so he send me the drawing they sent to the BMHS. There, I could see how the mistake could be made. It is not obvious in that drawing that the pinstripes are marked as silver.  I'm not a member of BMHS and I was never able to find out who was the person that approved that drawing. But it would be interesting to speak to that person to figure out what exactly happened (and if my assumption is correct). 

As far as fixing the split axles or knobs, I have done my share of that too. Sometimes there is not enough clearance for even a thin-wall sleeve, but if there is, I use thin-wall brass tubing from Special Shapes Company.  I use thin CA glue to glue the sleeve on and to fill any voids between the sleeve and the axle tube.

As for larger knobs I have also used  another technique: I tightly wrap the cracked part with heavy thread, then I soak it with several layers of CA glues. That results in a very durable repair.

[narrowminded]

The axle basically is too large for the plastic sprocket.  Yes, it's a defect.

Ed

Sight unseen I'm inclined to go with this.   The material but also just the process can cause this too but based on things I've seen myself with Bachmann gears the fits were WAY too tight.  They'll press together and seem nice and tight but the stress in the material is high and over time creeps until it just fails. 

I have made my own Delrin gears with press in metal axles and the interference fit is only a few tenths.  That holds fine but it makes the machining tolerances very tight.  The older Bachmann stuff I had measured started much tighter and then varied more than the whole of my press fit.

@coosvalley The split doesn't appear to go into the root of the gear tooth so it's probably repairable with a machined Delrin or brass sleeve.  If you would like I could look at that for you and if it is fixable, as it appears to be, I would do that for you.  If you'd like to try that, send me the truck with a return box or mailer enclosed and I'll give it a whirl.  If you want to pursue that contact me offline for details and shipping address.

[ek2000]

Bums me to read this. I once had a peculiar issue with a Rapido passenger car I  purchased, one of the wheelset was shorting (the car had the easy peasy lighting installed) when just kept on the track. I sent a note to Rapido describing the problem, offered proof of purchase and requested they send 2 wheel sets (to be safe). I also asked if they could send an entire truck assembly if possible as I broke one of the separately applied parts trying to troubleshoot (my fault).

They sent me 2 truck assemblies (4 wheels) and a brand new pack of 12 wheel sets. I had sent in a locomotive for warranty repair and they included some more wheels in it. Just drawing a comparison to an identical problem but a different manufacturer and there's certainly a lesson for Atlas here.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, we're on post #24, and still no other reports, firsthand or hearsay, of this particular model splitting gears. Perhaps if we're lucky, this may be a fluke? Or has anyone else experienced this defect? It would be good to know, rather than speculate...
Otto K.

[nkalanaga]

I'm not about to try taking mine apart, but it still runs smoothly.  However, like coosvalley, mine only has about 10 minutes running time.  It's an undec, intended for my mining company, and may never be painted. 

The Bachmann NW2 runs beautifully, so I will probably repower my old Minitrx FM, as suggested in another topic.

[strummer]

The Bachmann NW2 runs beautifully, so I will probably repower my old Minitrx FM, as suggested in another topic.

Wow. A thread about a "faulty" Atlas item, and a Bachmann product gets a thumbs up. Now I've really seen everything! 

Mark in Oregon

[Chris333]

I had to take my Atlas S2 trucks apart and found a burr on one of the gears teeth. The truck would barely roll. Picked off the burr and it rolled forever (still rolling    ).

Try this @Atlas Paul

[wes_sutton]

Bums me to read this. I once had a peculiar issue with a Rapido passenger car I  purchased, one of the wheelset was shorting (the car had the easy peasy lighting installed) when just kept on the track. I sent a note to Rapido describing the problem, offered proof of purchase and requested they send 2 wheel sets (to be safe). I also asked if they could send an entire truck assembly if possible as I broke one of the separately applied parts trying to troubleshoot (my fault).

They sent me 2 truck assemblies (4 wheels) and a brand new pack of 12 wheel sets. I had sent in a locomotive for warranty repair and they included some more wheels in it. Just drawing a comparison to an identical problem but a different manufacturer and there's certainly a lesson for Atlas here.

Absolute Bollocks.

You've not been around here long have you 

[coosvalley]

@coosvalley The split doesn't appear to go into the root of the gear tooth so it's probably repairable with a machined Delrin or brass sleeve.  If you would like I could look at that for you and if it is fixable, as it appears to be, I would do that for you.  If you'd like to try that, send me the truck with a return box or mailer enclosed and I'll give it a whirl.  If you want to pursue that contact me offline for details and shipping address.

Actually, if you look very closely at the photo, you can see a crack on the other side of the gear,although it is hairline. The teeth on either side of the crack are spread out, enough to cause the wobble that clued me in that something was wrong. I wish it was just a piece of ballast! 

It is encouraging that out of the 781 times this thread has been read, I am the only one who seems to have this problem, so far at least.  When the loco went into the box, it was fine, when it came out, it had the wobble. It was stored indoors.

I will also be placing an order for the replacement truck,  and that should give me another spare set of wheels should this happen again. At least a solution is available, for now. Maybe there's a burr on the axle that caused this axle to split, ....once I get the replacement I will look into it.