Good buy from the "Damaged Depot" at BLW

[Joetrain59]

On Monday, I got a WKW/LL NH RS2 for $40 from D.D. at BLW.
 As soon as I opened it up, I was happy. Obviously, too much lube oil,
 was the culprit. Oil was in the jewel case, on loco shell, fuel tank, etc.
 Put it on test track, and it ran sporadically, with LED flickering.
 Cleaned the track, it ran a little better. So, pulling trucks off was next.
 Getting shell off was a PITA, just a tight fit. Cab side windows fell right off with thumb
 pressure. No glue there! Frame halves were extremely screwed tightly together.
 Put the frame on rails, voila! Nice, smooth running. So trucks and body got a wash with
 Dawn, and drying overnight. Also cleaned the frame to truck contacts, and then got them to a bright finish.
 If it all runs well, a spray of Dullcote on shell, and I have a real nice loco for $40.
 Thanks Pete.
 Joe D

[wm3798]

These really are incredibly simple machines... save for some of the more complex compound steam and what not...  I love bottom feeding on aftermarket sale sites looking for items that are listed as "not running"... 

Usually doesn't take more than a few minutes to diagnose the real problem, and a few minutes more to fix it.  You get the occasional basket case... Rivarossi powdered frame syndrome, a burned out motor... but most of the time they're just cruddy and need some love.

Recently picked up a Kato SD40... the older full frame version... for a ridiculously low $25.  The seller complained that it made a grinding noise when it ran, but was otherwise smooth.  I popped off the shell, opened up the drive, and immediately saw that one of the bearing blocks was turned 90 degrees, causing the noise.  Fixed in about 5 minutes, now I've got a nice smooth running engine for my Conrail night activities...

Lee

[tehachapifan]

…...Recently picked up a Kato SD40... the older full frame version... for a ridiculously low $25.  The seller complained that it made a grinding noise when it ran, but was otherwise smooth.  I popped off the shell, opened up the drive, and immediately saw that one of the bearing blocks was turned 90 degrees, causing the noise.  Fixed in about 5 minutes, now I've got a nice smooth running engine for my Conrail night activities...

Lee

Great score! Yep, very important to look at the orientation of those bearings if ever disassembling the loco. While they look perfectly square when you look at them from an end, the inner surfaces that make contact with the frame fingers are sometimes/often/always different dimensions. It's usually easy to reinsert the same way it was, as these inner surfaces typically have either a smooth or a corrugated-like appearance. Whether a previous owner orientated them the wrong way is another matter.

[Joetrain59]

I found the problem to be with the trucks. Took sideframe off one truck, looked pretty clean. But cleaned axle cups, axle points anyway.
 I gave other truck some drops of 91% Alc, at the axle ends. It all helped some. But I think the real problem is the blackening on the wheels.
 Just need to wear it off. A lot less, to almost no flickering of LED's now. Wish I had a roundy-round test track to just let it run.
 It's a nice mate to my 2 Atlas NH RS3's with the opposite paint scheme.
 Joe D

[Joetrain59]

I tried a new way of cleaning wheels last night, esp. to get the blackening off. Trucks installed, no shell, put loco in a cradle, wheels up and used one of those "nail polish" bars that Peteski had mentioned. Yes, you have to go to the girly aisle at your local drugstore to get one.It has 3 different surfaces; file, polish and smooth. Used the side with polish and smooth. Clipped power leads to frame to run loco, and held the bar against wheel treads, and even turned it 90˚ to get the flanges. Loco runs flawlessly now!
 
 Joe D

[peteski]

I tried a new way of cleaning wheels last night, esp. to get the blackening off. Trucks installed, no shell, put loco in a cradle, wheels up and used one of those "nail polish" bars that Peteski had mentioned. Yes, you have to go to the girly aisle at your local drugstore to get one.It has 3 different surfaces; file, polish and smooth. Used the side with polish and smooth. Clipped power leads to frame to run loco, and held the bar against wheel treads, and even turned it 90˚ to get the flanges. Loco runs flawlessly now!
 
 Joe D

LOL!  Thanks for the chuckle!  Excellent!

[mu26aeh]

The GP15 I got couple months ago has a junk motor.  So if anyone has one sitting around, let me know.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh yeah, I love it when situations like this crop up!

I recently got my dad an MDC 2-6-0 off eBay for $30. It was "dead". Turns out it was missing a screw  (thanks @Lemosteam !!) and the tender trucks were on backwards.

Make those minor repairs and he he's back in business.

[basementcalling]

Problem is not knowing what might be wrong with the loco before you buy. Though I seriously doubt if Pete would list locos in the damaged depo if he thought it was thoroughly unfixable.

[wm3798]

Problem is not knowing what might be wrong with the loco before you buy. Though I seriously doubt if Pete would list locos in the damaged depo if he thought it was thoroughly unfixable.

That's a consideration down to a certain price point.  $30 to $50, I'll be scrutinizing the pictures.  If it gets down below $25, depending on the shipping cost, I just buy it and see what happens.  So far the only real dog I've gotten is a Con Cor/Mehano SD50.  I don't think you can do anything to make that toad sing.

Lee

[garethashenden]

I bought a sound equipped S2 listed as damaged. When I first put it on the track it took off racing immediately. I held it in place and eventually got it to stop. Now it will move controllably with the sound off, but just idles with the sound on. I’m going to put the full throttle sound file on it anyway, hopefully that will fix the problem.

[EspeeGoldenState]

I had been eyeing the CN GMD-1 with DCC/Sound for a few weeks but was always afraid to pull the trigger.

I finally decided to see what could be wrong. Hopefully its not too bad. Wonder if there is any Rapido warranty with it or anything.

Chris

[garethashenden]

I bought a sound equipped S2 listed as damaged. When I first put it on the track it took off racing immediately. I held it in place and eventually got it to stop. Now it will move controllably with the sound off, but just idles with the sound on. I’m going to put the full throttle sound file on it anyway, hopefully that will fix the problem.

And the problem completely went away after I reset the decoder to factory settings (cv8). The wheels are a bit dirty, but it’s excellent value.

[peteski]

And the problem completely went away after I reset the decoder to factory settings (cv8). The wheels are a bit dirty, but it’s excellent value.

I wonder if somehow the ESU decoder's Auto-Tune for the motor was misbehaving?

[garethashenden]

I wonder if somehow the ESU decoder's Auto-Tune for the motor was misbehaving?

It might have been. I’m still going to put the new sound file on it when I get a change. Then need to repaint it from Seaboard to Boston & Maine. Thought about trying to make it into an S1, but that’s more of a project than I really want.