Hello My 8 year old girl and I are getting out some of the HO engines and rolling stock. Lilyana has really taken a liking to the Chatanooga 638. From reading, I realize this probably wasn't a very good engine to begin with. Things we do for our kids! Unfortunately, the spot that the coupling connects to the tender has broken and I don't know what it looked like. Anyone have such an engine and would be willing to take a picture or 3 for me of what this feature should look like? Thank you! Dan and Lilyana Grace
Another question. Are the 4 center tender drive wheel supposed to have rubber drive tires? I just noticed the under cut.
Paul, that was VERY helpful! Answered all and then some questions. Thank you! I went looking for traction tires. Boy, do some places have the weights WAY off on those little buggers! They want an arm and a leg just to ship a little package! I only need 4!
I have done a lot of these over the decades. Gave one complete and one parts unit away last year to clear the last of them OUT. Big issue with those motors is when the pinion gear on the armature decides to cease making contact with the shaft. Go to your (good) auto parts store with just the motor block and find some o-rings that fit. Do you still have the broken off nub from the tender for the drawbar? If so, you can drill a hole and screw it back in from the top with a 2-56. If not, just get a long 2-56 screw, couple of washers and a nut...set the tender on the tracks and the loco..measure from the tender deck to clear the rail for length...should have at least a 1/8" extension past the drawbar. Easy fix...may have to open the drawbar hole a bit (#44 drill clears...43 is exact, 44 it better for this application). The original screw into the plastic standoff was edges of the lands on the threads rubbing on the drawbar, so no difference.
