Reviving a dead loco/railcar

[009 micro modeller]

Does anyone have any experience with T gauge locos that have stopped working, reasons why this might be and how to get them going again?

 

As a bit of context: I don’t exactly have a T gauge layout, but I do have a Christmas-themed 1:12 scale scene in which a T gauge line runs, representing an 0 gauge train set. When I built this in 2012 I got the cheapest complete train I could buy, which at the time was a KiHa 40 with the original motor, possibly being sold off cheap before the new stock (with improved motors) arrived. This ran until 2019, for a long time being my only T gauge stock (so used fairly heavily). It failed while I was preparing for an exhibition in summer 2019 and I haven’t had a chance to do much to it. Apart from just leaving it there seem to be three options:

 

- Try and get it going again, possibly replacing some components (not sure how easy this would be due to the small size of the parts. I wonder whether the motor could have burnt out).

 

- Repower it using a second generation chassis (these are much smoother and seem to run straight away whereas the old one required a lot of preparation of the track beforehand in order to run well. This would be more expensive though).

 

- Rebuild as an unpowered unit (the real KiHa 40s often seem to work in multiple, so it could run coupled to the powered one that replaced it to simulate this, if appropriate couplings were fitted).

 

Although I have a reasonable amount of experience with cleaning, maintaining and lubricating 009 locos and occasionally getting them to work again, I’m less confident with T gauge due to the small size - I’m not exactly sure how I should be maintaining the railcars. I’d also be interested to know if the new one is likely to wear out within a similar time, or whether it’s got more to do with the limitations of the early T gauge mechanisms.

[martink]

It may very well just be due to dirt.  The gears and wheel tyres are obvious targets to clean, but the most insidious problem tends to be the axle-boxes.  The brass bogie sides have small dimples that fit into hollows on the outside face of the wheels, and gunk tends to collect in there, usually as a mat of lint and fibre that acts as a very good insulator. 

 

Tease each wheel slightly out of its correct position and probe into the wheel-face hollow with a pin or fine tweezers.  If this is the problem, it will be very obvious.  Be very careful handling the bogies - DO NOT pull them away from the body, or you can stretch and damage the bogie springs.  Keep pressure on the bogie pushing it up into the body by holding the model between thumb and finger on the body top and bogie.

[Sam Kennion]

There can also be issues with the magnets on the wheels coming loose, in effect the tyre, so the axle might be spinning but not moving the wheel/tyre. Or a split gear muff on a driven axle. Or fluff in the mechanism. Or a spring come loose etc. Or just dirt on the wheels. Or a split pinion on the motor. 

 

It is possible to get it running again. Have you managed it yet? If not, let me know. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Sam Kennion

[009 micro modeller]

On 03/04/2022 at 20:46, Sam Kennion said:

There can also be issues with the magnets on the wheels coming loose, in effect the tyre, so the axle might be spinning but not moving the wheel/tyre. Or a split gear muff on a driven axle. Or fluff in the mechanism. Or a spring come loose etc. Or just dirt on the wheels. Or a split pinion on the motor. 

 

It is possible to get it running again. Have you managed it yet? If not, let me know. 

I haven’t yet. I’ll have to listen to see if the motor is turning, in which case it’s probably a gear (the axles don’t turn). I don’t want to spend too much time on it as even if it’s fixed, it won’t run as well as the newer one. The T gauge stuff usually comes out in December and gets used a bit because it’s my Christmas layout, but in December 2021 I didn’t really have time.

[Sam Kennion]

I think the KiHa 40 is a second generation chassis (iirc),  but as you say with the original type of motor. These have the bogies held on by tension springs which pull them towards the chassis. The original chassis had compression springs to transmit the electricity from the bogies to the chassis. The problem was that the compression springs also pushed the gears on the driven axles away from the main drive gear on the chassis and out of mesh thus loosing drive!

So even with the same motor, the second generation design in the KiHa 40 is much better and should be capable of running well. 

I don’t think any of the later designs are any better at running if the track is too dirty,  people probably just don't show track cleaning because it's dull. 

[009 micro modeller]

19 hours ago, Sam Kennion said:

I think the KiHa 40 is a second generation chassis (iirc),  but as you say with the original type of motor. These have the bogies held on by tension springs which pull them towards the chassis. The original chassis had compression springs to transmit the electricity from the bogies to the chassis. The problem was that the compression springs also pushed the gears on the driven axles away from the main drive gear on the chassis and out of mesh thus loosing drive!

So even with the same motor, the second generation design in the KiHa 40 is much better and should be capable of running well. 

I don’t think any of the later designs are any better at running if the track is too dirty,  people probably just don't show track cleaning because it's dull. 

To clarify (although it may be me that’s confused) I have two KiHa 40s - one is the original (first generation I think, although very late - being sold off cheap in 2012 before the new ones came into stock) motor and chassis and is the broken one. The other one was bought to replace it - this is second generation (and the motor looks different from the older one although I can’t be absolutely sure) and is currently fine. Have they now moved on to a third generation of motors and chassis for these?