Check the tolerances on the driveshaft and carefully watch the lateral movement on the universals. If they set the universals wrong, when the worm gears goes 'forward' or 'back' against its own bearings, it can transmit that thrust all the way back to the motor bearings and immediately start hitching the movement. The other thing to make a test on is to make sure the problem isn't in the cylinder/piston/crosshead guides, and one sure way to do that is to disconnect the main rod off the driver and try it without it, should run fine. If you're not sure if it is a quartering glitch or something else going on with the crossheads, that's the ultimate test. If it's getting better with running, it's probably some of the flash and irregularity I've seen in the crosshead guides, be very careful.
kiasutha-The spoke relief is the same as on previous runs. The B-mann mogul and MDC consolidateds have pretty good spoke relief, so I would be less likely to buy any argument from Atlas about its inability to produce something with decent spoke relief. Randy-Funny you should mention bearings and universals. To recap, for other readers, I mentioned that the painted/unlettered and NYNH&H from the first run ran fine, but the PRR from the first run and B&O from the second both showed hitches in the getalong in forward. In both cases, the hitches have smoothed out, mostly, with run in time. The PRR does not show this, but the B&O does: the B&O has that tail to nose wobble that is characteristic of the B-mann eight wheeler. The later the version of the B-mann, the less the wobble, but even in the plastic box version, the tail to nose wobble is easy to see. The tail to nose wobble in the Atlas B&O is not as pronounced as it is in the Bachpersonn, but it is there. Another funny thing is that the presence of the wobble is inconsistent: it does not always wobble. The wobble in the Bachmann is consistent; it is always there. For the present, I have no plans to open up this one. More than one poster here, and elsewhere, has stated that these things do not stand up well to handling. If no further problems show with this, it will be acceptable as a 'runner' on the nineteenth century pike. I have other eight wheelers that are 'workers' and other B&O locomotives that can serve as 'workers'. Use of either the B-mann or Atlas eight wheelers as 'workers' is limited, anyhow, as they lack front couplers and I have yet to figure out how to mount one that looks acceptable.
I had some significant binding on mine in REVERSE, and when I shortened the universal train slightly (pushed the loco universal forward a bit on the shaft) it instantly went away. The balance of the 'stock' locomotive is really teetering on the front driver; it's almost nose heavy. That's why I added the cab weight to flatten it out. The only thing holding the stock loco down is that it pushes up against the tender, which reduces electrical pickup, so adding a cab weight is a significant fix. You can test this theory just by taping a small weight on the cab roof, which is what I did before I went whole-hog and made a master for a metal casting. You don't have to take anything apart to test that. My cab weight is 6.7 grams. The drive train in the Bachmann wasn't terrible, it was the tender and those awful wheels. Couldn't fix that. While the Atlas has it's own collection of problems, so far they've all been fixable, if you can live with the collateral damage along the way.
Randy, I must agree with you on the Bachpersonn eight wheeler. Considering what it is, it ain't all that bad. You must spend hours breaking it in, but in the end, it will pay off. This applies especially to the last cardboard box versions and the plastic box version. I do agree that the wheels on the tender are its weak point, although the plastic box versions do show some improvement, there. On another note, I have noted that my Atlas B&O does have a slight and inconsistent wobble even in reverse.
On 21 March 2014, I received the second of the Atlas 4-4-0 locomotives. This is the B&O version. I am posting here because I remember reading a discussion on Train Board about adding a DCC decoder to this Atlas locomotive. I want to read that section again. I remember two approaching discussed, i.e. mount the decoder below the tender or remove the coal load and mount the decoder there. Thanks in advance for pointing me to that topic.
OK, well, I did what I said I wouldn't do and maybe I'm done this time.... It's Chris' fault. Loved the rear tender truck bolster idea, had to put on the air compressor, and well, things got away from me again. Changed headlights to a more modern one, cut the stack down to more of a shotgun style, added the dummy knuckle and the air hose line on the pilot, added the main air reservoir behind the cylinder saddle (plastic tube), added the air compressor, injector lines, put in an engineer, did the cab windows, added wire grabs on the tender, added tender center sill and rear truck bolster... Oh, and replace the flagstaffs with the shorter flag holders that close inspection proved 'were' still there. I normally wouldn't work this hard, but I have to admit I really love this engine. I've always had a soft spot for 4-4-0's, and I've had this particular photo of this engine since I was a kid - it was my very first 'wall size' black and white enlargement ever given to me by a friend, and is still hanging in my office today. As a reminder, I have those cast cab and tender weights available through www.randgust.com Roger, while there's space to put a decoder somewhere, maybe, unless you work on the pickup more or less like I did I suspect this would be a rather erratic performer on DCC. She's rock-solid now, but she sure wasn't before.
So far, the high-water mark on the sanity test remains my attempt to make an all-brass, working, Shay crankshaft for a scratchbuilt 28-tonner. I was able to make it, and make it turn, but I failed on powering it either from the wheels or the driveshaft. Anything else is sane by comparison. That was before Atlas did their Shay, and I've been in awe of it ever since I first got it, having tried to do that myself. I bring that up because that's what's on the workbench now; I'm revisiting that 28-tonner changing the motor over to a gearhead; so far, so good.
I took these two 4-4-0s to the shop to have decoders installed. I had consulted the owner to determine if he would do the installation. When I took them in, he showed me one in which he had already installed a decoder. I am eager to see them run dcc.
