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 Posted - February 28 2015 : 09:42:11 AM
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Since I like the little diesel switchers, this week I got out my collection of N gauge Hustlers, and decided to go through them and do basic maintenance on them ( still gonna look for that brush amongst mouse turds today ).
I have 4 different brands on hand - Atlas, Bachmann, Aurora, and Lima. The Atlas and Bachmann both have similar flat square motors, the Aurora has a bigger one, and the Lima actually has a mini pancake style motor. So here we go.
Above , 12 oclock is the blue Atlas, 3 oclock is the red Bachmann, 6 oclock is the blue Aurora, and 9 oclock is the green and yellow Lima
 
Above, you can see the scale size differences between the smaller Atlas/Bachmann pair, and the larger Aurora/Lima duo.
Of the 4, the all-blue Santa Fe Atlas is the quieter runner. And closer to scale speeds, too. The red Burlington Bachmann I'm still working on, it would barely move, all the electrical guts need cleaning and polishing. The Aurora is Mach-speed capable, I have two of those, one now missing a brush  . When they move, they move F-a-s-t. The Lima wasn't quite as fast, but top speed was still pretty good. It screeched horribly when I first tried it, with some oil on each armature shaft, it quieted down, and still needs some gear lube I think. Haven't gotten too far on that one yet either, other than the much-needed oil.
Now, for the physical differences :
On the left, the Atlas and Bachmann smaller diesels have a similar flat square motor, with the Bachmann surprisingly having much nicer worm gear . It also lacks factory weights, someone added one up front,I will probably add a cab weight as well. The two larger switchers, the Aurora and Liima, have nice factory weighting. For their size, they have a nice heft to them, the Aurora weighs in at 2.5 ounces, the Lima at 2.4. The blue Atlas, however, even with my added weights, is only 1.3 oz, the Bachmann with only one small weight is 1.2 oz. Quite a big difference. Then again, the two bigger engines have more room under the shell, as they are way over scale. But I still like them.
Now, on to the individual close-ups :
Above, the Lima appears to be a pretty well-built piece. Regardless of the track record of continental pancake motors, this one seems like it is built far better than the Bachmann variety ( or Tyco either, for that matter ). Hopefully once it's cleaned and tuned, it will prove to be a good runner. Most of them so far have just needed the brushes and armature pads cleaned, and new lube, and they should all run better after that tune-up.
Above, the yellow and blue Santa Fe by Aurora is a hefty piece, the weight is well-designed to fit under the shell. When it ran, before I lost a brush, it was a fast hauler! Needs a light shield in the top of the shell, though, it was glowing like a blue Rudolph going down the tracks!! The Atlas engine light did not shine through except through the front bulb lense. This one is fairly noisey going down the track too, but not coffee-grinder loud, I don't think I greased the gears before I lost the brush,so not sure how quiet it will eventually be.
Above the red Burlington Bachmann basks openly now. I've already removed one brush and spring. The armature pads need cleaning, they have oil on them ( not from me ). With the Atlas, I could hand-pull the worm gear off, and I totally disassemblyed THAT motor and cleaned everything, this one will be far harder to do that. Will try to clean them off without further disassembly. It would barely move, even when nudged on the track. Hoping it will be as good a runner as the Atlas once cleaned up.
So far, of them all, this Atlas was the easiest to work on, I could totally disassemble the motor by hand, and got every piece of copper and carbon clean. It runs good, although it usually requires a nudge to start it, once going, it's smooth now with the added weight I put into the shell. Far too light to be consistent without that added weight. Luckily there is some room in the cab and front radiator areas to put a few small pieces inside. I used Pine car derby weights, but I think those are zinc, not lead, I may go back and cut down some fishing weights to put inside. It needs to run some to see if I want to go that far.
Anyway, that concludes my N gauge Hustler comparisons. While I'm still 90% HO, I am getting into my 2nd favorite scale more these days, and hope to have some running consistently and frequently before too long. My collection(s) have been sitting far too long, I need to get them repaired, tuned, and running so I can get more enjoyment than just looking at them. My electronic keyboard Test Track has been getting quite the workout for both HO and N the last couple of weeks.   Another plus.
Well, hope you enjoyed the show, any questions pop them at me.
Jerry in VA, multi-gauger
HO, N, O-27, G, Z, TT, ?
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
Edited by - AMC_Gremlin_GT on February 28 2015 09:49:47 AM
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Posted - February 28 2015 : 11:10:26 AM
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A cheap, quick fix I found for bulbs is to wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the bulb to form a tube. It keeps the light pointed in the right direction. Nice set of N switchers you have there.
George
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Posted - February 28 2015 : 11:19:47 AM
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quote:A cheap, quick fix I found for bulbs is to wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the bulb to form a tube. It keeps the light pointed in the right direction. Nice set of N switchers you have there.
George
Originally posted by oldtimer52Â -Â February 28 2015Â :Â 11:10:26 AM
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Nice, didn't think of that. Will have to try it out.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - February 28 2015 : 11:38:10 AM
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quote:A cheap, quick fix I found for bulbs is to wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the bulb to form a tube. It keeps the light pointed in the right direction. Nice set of N switchers you have there.
Originally posted by oldtimer52Â -Â February 28 2015Â :Â 11:10:26 AM
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OR replace with a longer lasting LED 
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