“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The iron horses of the C&O would be the workhorses of my layout, they all would splutter and groan and cry uncle…” I have two Bachmann steamers of 2010-ish vintage, I bought both on Ebay within the last year (different sellers), both exhibit the same symptom set: At speed step 1, both start buzzing pretty loudly, they don’t begin moving until speed step 12. They crawl admirably, (perhaps too well?…) move smoothly, and attain reasonable top speed. But they keep up the buzzing, and once they begin moving, it’s not a smooth buzz. It’s not a grinding noise, and the driver mechanisms both seem in very good order. They seem to be meeting a lot of resistance, like maybe a good clean & lube is in order. Since the buzzing begins long before movement begins, I’m wondering if their issues could be decoder-related. Thoughts?
Oh, the engines are: An H-4 2-6-6-2 A Heavy Mountain 4-8-2 And oh, yeah: A Consolidation. “Three, THREE are my engines that exhibit these heretical behaviors…” From Dickens to Monty Python’s “Spanish Inquisition” sketch in two posts. Gotta love it.
DCC or DC? If latter is this a PWM power supply? If so try powering through a 9V battery to see if the buzzing goes away with that.
You checked for split gears on the driver axles? If the split is bad enough, it can affect the teeth, which can lead to noises, binds and rough running.
I suspect that these are all DC equipped locos running on a DCC layout ? You can run non decoder equipped (DC) locos on a DCC layout with some DCC systems . Probably not good for the motor , guess the squealing gives that away . I thought these Locos all came with decoders . but it's not uncommon for someone to dissconnect them either . Mike
Noooooooooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition ! I think the buzzing noise is the DCC decoder. I have 2 Bachmann switchers , an NW2 and an Alco S4 ...... they do exactly the same thing. They are both set to run DCC only , no amount of reprogramming changes the noise. My girlfriend bought them for me , just wait till I tell her they are heretical !!!
DCC layout. These locos were made after Bachmann’s relatively well-known gear splitting issue was fixed. I have some E-Z Track laying around and a DC controller that I can set up for a DC test track, to see what might behave differently. Both have dual-mode decoders.
It's the decoder. All my HO Bachmann locomotives (2-8-4, Acela, E60CP, etc.) do it too. It's a deeper growling sound, not really a high pitched buzz.
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements..................... I was not aware of any gear cracking problems in the 2-8-0 or either 4-8-2. At one point, I had about eight of the 2-8-0s, six of the light 4-8-2s, two of the heavy and one 2-6-6-2. I sold all but two of the 2-8-0s and all of the 4-8-2s. I did have some gear related problem with the 2-6-6-2 but was never sure if it were cracking or gears out of alignment. The latter was a frequently reported problem when B-mann issued the first run I sold the 2-6-6-2, as well.
I have the S4 and wound up swapping out the decoder with an ESU lokpilot. Runs quiet, super smooth and creeps with the best of them. A worthwhile upgrade if the current performance bothers you.
That's probably a BackEMF issue. Mine have one or two speed steps where the motor starts growling, but there is no perceptible movement. The Bachmann decoder's aren't the best. If you still have issues after messing with the starting voltage or other settings, I'd upgrade to a LokPilot decoder.
Hmm , I've never heard of this decoder problem . I did at one time have all of these locos but they all ran quietly . Yes a cheap motor only decoder will take care of the motor noise problem . Mike
I expect you’re right, but: About three weeks ago, I ran across an H-4 on Ebay, where the seller said it had sound in it. (I passed on it, kinda wish I hadn’t) Incredulous I was, so I contacted the seller, and he told me what decoder he used to get sound to fit in an N scale Vanderbilt tender. Back when these were released, DCC & sound in an N Scale Vanderbilt tender was a non-starter; the technology wasn’t there yet. Not sure how ambitious I want to be toward that end.
