Hey all I have a bachmann shay and the little drive gears all split. I contacted NWSL and they, at this time, only make the HO version, are just about to release the ON30 Climax gears, and have no idea on the shay, but are working on it. I did a rough search on the internet and cannot locate any place that sells gears that small. No response from Bachmann yet, but it was a holiday weekend. Resources? Ideas? Work arounds? Thanks Jack
It's unfortunate that Bachmann and split gears are often synonymous. If you can get Bachmann to give you the specifications (e.g. tooth pitch and angle, etc.) you may be able to find replacements on the Internet. But you'll need the specs first! And most model companies have no idea of what the specs were or are, because they are mostly marketing organizations. My experience is that, once something is produced, it's off to marketing and the next product.
I had to order new trucks. I could have sent back and let warranty deal with it for only $25 compared to $40 for the pair of trucks. I may consider taking off one of the gears and cast my own gears in any number of substances better than that cheap plastic they use. Metal comes to mind. Jack
May I assume that you are referring to On30? My best friend has two shays that had the same problems. However, the solution was not easy and most modelers would not be willing to go through the hassle. A good friend of his machined new gears out of brass since (as you stated) no one has replacements. Now comes the fun part. Although the engines ran better, there were still problems with the square box shaft between the cylinders and the truck binding and lifting the truck off the track. He found that PSC produces the box shaft and universals but as usual he had to fiddle and file those to make them work properly. Now the engines run like a Swiss watch but be prepared to spend a dozen hours labor per engine getting the job done (depending on your mechanical skills). Until NWSL produces the proper gears this seems to be the only final solution to your problem. You said that you ordered new trucks to solve the problem but I'm afraid that those gears will split with time. Maybe by then NWSL will have the gears you need. Sorry I don't have better news.
Sounds like you are talking about the On30 versions? Sad, but true, about those gear trains. With as many of these which are around, it is surprising that aftermarket replacements are unavailable. I'm sure my Shay will need these eventually. Boxcab E50
Well Dave at NWSL seen the need for the Bachmann HO Shay, then again for the ON30 Climax, perhaps your ON30 Shay will be next on the "to do" list. It never hurts to send him an email, with the sheer number of these things out there, I sure he is considering making replacements. It never hurts to ask. http://shop.osorail.com/contactus.sc
I have spoken with him already, and the next out version is for the ON30 Climax and then follow with the Shay. Apparently, there is some other issue with something totally unrelated that is slowing the process, the Climax stuff is in testing. Ok with all the above being said, I will cast some gears or find a machinist. I am not familiar with your PSC. Can you advise, because yes, that is also a problem. Thanks
Precision Scale part# PSSH 85123 contains line shafts and universals for a O scale 10-12 ton shay. They are made of nickel silver so you don't have to worry about plastic shafts that wear out. Hope that helps.
Dang if the new ones bind, still in the plastic sealed bag. My vision is just not good enough to see where it is coming from. But, I am going to cast me some copies of the gears in resin so I can make some lost wax castings down the road if early experiments appear to work out using some of the low temp metals you can get from MM.
I got the chance to look at the new trucks today, took the first one out of the bag and both gears are split already, and the bag I did not open has ,,,,,,upon closer inspection, the same issue. I did manage to find one gear on my original trucks that was not split and am in the mold making process. I fired off a letter to bachmann usa and china. Not happy about this at all. Not intending to bash, providing customer knowledge that is important. Had I Known I would not have bought.
Yesterday, Bachmann called first thing in the morning and advised me that they are sending new trucks. (I had sent a rather intense email to the USA and China emails). I was advised they are sending me another pair of trucks, the gears have been checked, and offered some kudos to cover my expenses in shipping. So......... Now, down to what the problem is.....After several hours of measuring looking, assuming and just plain good ole fashioned thinking, my belief is that the gears are split by the splines in the shaft, i.e., the inside diameter of the gear is right for the shaft UNTIL it goes on the part that has the splines. My solution is going to be to remove the gears, drill out the inside diameter to a thousandth or so smaller than it needs to be and then use epoxy to hold the gear, which I really doubt it will need....maybe a little bit of CA. Meanwhile, I am making molds of the gears to produce enmasse. Not sure of forum policy/rules, but if this works I will be selling replacement gears and How To on my website.
Sorry to hear about the new trucks. I figured you might have problems splitting gears with the new trucks BUT, I did not foresee split gear problems BEFORE you even opened the package.
What a frckng saga. The trucks they sent were powered passenger car trucks. Sigh..... I also bought a new shay in HO off the auction site and by golly if 3 of the 6 gears are split....but they look the same as the ON30.....much more investigation to do here, will be ordering the set from NWSL for that one and see if they work on the On30 shay.
Understand your frustration, perhaps you should have went with a brass On3 Shay instead? Not sure if the On3 and the HO gears are the same. I would think not. I did the NWSL upgrade on my 2 HO Shays, I can say one thing... 1) Be sure you are in the right frame of mind before you do it, it can be trying in some cases. 2) Once the NWSL gears are properly located, add a very small drop of CA to them, or they with slip/move on the lineshaft. 3) Break them in per NWSL instructions. Working on models to make them run better has always been part of model railroading, especially steam. I understand there is a lot of Bachmann haters here but I will still argue, the prior to these shay models, you had to buy brass or extensively rework the MDC Shay.
Well I cannot find a brass Shay or Climax in ON30, the gauge is slightly different for On3. I do not hate Bachmann. They have a problem with the gears because the hole in the gear is not large enough to prevent splitting. The gears should be held with CA glue or something to prevent any movement once adjusted...in my opinion. They need to work on this problem seriously, and quickly or it will kill the market and give the company a bad reputation. Conversely, if they get this fixed, and it is not that difficult of a fix, they show their customers they care about service, acknowledge they goofed and have addressed the problem to satisfy the customers needs. The appearance of their stuff is great, just awesome for the price. But it has to go down the track! Supposedly they are sending more trucks. Sheesh. Just as well, been so busy trying to get new business going that haven't had time to play with trains. Maybe will have to do that winter party thing I saw.
Yikes! From what I have seen written, over the years, they do have a good reputation for parts and service. Hope this is all set straight, quickly. Boxcab E50
This issue with Bachmann's very nice looking On30 models is giving me some pause as I consider adding On30 to my modeling endeavors. I hope that it gets resolved some way, too. I suppose I could swap gears in equipment - it certainly wouldn't be the most radical modification I have ever performed on model RR equipment, but I kind of hate to have to do it with something relatively new.
