Bonding agent

I used contact cement for mine...I think the properties are similar to superglue. Superglue might be friendlier to plastics though.

Hey rad...I understand the point you are making. Is it possible you are describing an Athearn loco? I looked at the Bachmann shafts when mine was acting up, and if I remember right, mine had a female collar on the end of one shaft, and a male insert on the end of the other. I don't recall any pin on either shaft, but I have seen them on the Athearn.

For me, the glue made the difference between working and not working.

Chad

Hey Rad...that sounds good. I have only had one Bachmann apart, and it was the one I fixed. It was just a cheap $29 loco. I had purchased it 950 miles from home, so taking it back wasn't really that practical. This loco had the setup I described (that's if I remember it right). I don't doubt that some of the higher-end Bachmanns have that dogbone shaft.

I would agree with you that maybe one shouldn't glue a dogbone shaft. Maybe one can get by with it on layouts with large radii, where it doesn't have to turn so sharp.

Thanks for the info!

Chad

Hey rad...between you and me, we have cheap covered! He he!

Matt, maybe it was simply defective from the start. If you send it back, I would look for one with a shorter length. My 4-axle GP38's seem to pull as much as the 6-axle trains...maybe more. A six (or more) axle loco will bind in a radius that is too tight. In that case, it would struggle to pull just itself through.

This is just my 2 cents. I looked at a pic of the DD40, and it looks too long to me to go through a 22-inch radius. I wish you the best of luck!

Chad

Hey there...I apologize for confusion. Let me try to clear some of it up. I am not sure if the problem existed from the start, or if trying to go through the curve caused it to crack. In either case, it sounds like you should take it back. If you were to exchange it for another, I simply thought a shorter wheelbase might work better.

Let me stick with what I DO know. I just bought a Bachmann Spectrum Dash 8. It slows down ever so slightly in my 22-inch radius. Now logic follows that if the DD40 has a longer wheelbase, it would slow down even more. If the trucks turn more on the DD40 to compensate, then you might not want to glue anything, 'cause it would need that flexibility to turn sharper.

I hope everything turns out the way you want. I will check in for follow-up's and see how it is going!

Chad