|
|
 Posted - December 10 2014 : 4:49:39 PM
|
Last Friday I went in for half a day to work at my LHS, and just a few minutes after I got there around noon, an older gentleman walked in, holding a Tyco GP-20 red Burlington in his hand. He asked me " Could you repair it, it doesn't run ". I said I'd take a look at it. Went back with it to the shop area, and started checking it out. PUlled the power truck out, hit it with power, started turning. Ok, that's a good sign!  Looked at the wheels - the brass ones were green. Ugh! One traction tire missing, the other dried out and falling off. Grabbed the Dremel, put the metal wire brush in it, and cleaned the brass wheels until they glowed gold.  Since I had ordered 4 different sizes of 1mm wide traction tires to handle my Tyco/Bachmann repair needs ( boss wouldn't have spent the money ), I grabbed two 10mm ( I think ) tires, and put them on. Stuck the engine on the track, and it ran, a bit balky and noisy, I added some grease to the MU-2 gear slots, and it quieted down, and ran smoother. Only 15 minutes, and it was running pretty fair. I took it out front, found him, and said working, that'll be $20  He was VERY happy to pay that! He also bought over $60 worth of rolling stock from our used/vintage selection.
That engine shell looked almost brand new, had the metal railings, but missing one small front one, but nothing bent or broken on it. Just a nice old Tyco that needed some TLC to get it going again. Nothing like the Penn Central engine I repaired last year that was a basket case I had to bring back from the dead, but still, I'm glad I know Tyco and had the foresight to purchase the repair parts that they normally need. He had his engine fixed the same day, and was very pleased with it. I was happy that I could send away another satisifed customer, especially a Tyco one. Might have been his childhood engine. All in a quarter-hour's work. Wish these repair jobs were ALL that easy and quick!
Jerry, humpin' in VA ( so to speak ).
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 3974 ~
Member Since: January 04 2009 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2019
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 10 2014 : 5:03:20 PM
|
Ready for another season of under-tree use, sounds like! Great story. Kind of neat that these are still out there "in revenue service"...
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 432 ~
Member Since: March 04 2008 ~
Last Visit: December 28 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 10 2014 : 5:43:28 PM
|
Cool story Jerry. Sounds like a Christmas tradition gets a new lease on life
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 10 2014 : 7:41:38 PM
|
Aw, that's actually kind of a touching story. Glad to see it wasn't that hard to fix, though.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - December 13 2014 : 5:54:52 PM
|
| Thats great Jerry - most likely made that guy's holiday season!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 140 ~
Member Since: November 29 2006 ~
Last Visit: April 08 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
