[spdaylightfan]

 

[EW1]

I have this exact New Bright Train set. The one that I have has a station that plays Christmas music. I have the manual as well. Mine runs like a champ…no problem. Before I forget, there is no order that you must put the cars in. I have the original engine and tender along with five cars. I got some extra cars that I did not come with the set. I purchased them on eBay at a reasonable price before people got greedy. We can do a couple of things depending on how much money you want to spend. I am not sure how we can do this but I think we could exchange addresses and telephone numbers with the world seeing them. If anyone knows how to do this let us know. I can’t even figure out who the originator of the thread is. If you want to get me your email, I will copy my user manual and email the jpgs to you. I have an extra engine(not with tender) that I got from a woman in West Virginia for $25. I thought I might need it in the future if the original failed and $25 was more than reasonable. I use a real good piece of software that is called stoprobo. My email address is: dbstark43@verizon.net. If you want to try any of this email me. The other thing we could do is check the tender to see if it works and the engine as well if you want. If you are missing brushes that kinda kills your set right there. If the tender looks complete you could Mail to me and I will run it on my set to see if it works. We could do the same with the engine. you cover the postage each way. This is a great Christmas train set. It must have 50 flashing lights and sound with many animated figures. What ever you want to do, let me know. i don’t know where you live but if we are close enough we could get together to see what runs and what doesn’t. I am in Western New York. If you can find a coal tender I would buy it, ever if expensive, as it is the power pickup for the whole set. let me know!

Hi David, thanks.
My set is a model#380 1996 I believe.
The tender has had the brushes on one bank removed. I don't know why. I did find another tender and it is coming by snail mail. It is from a #385 or 387 single wire set so I hope it works with our 380 set. I have not tested the locomotive yet. I know it's plug has 4 blades, don't have a schematic so unknown which power up the locomotive. I do have a replacement controller and a transformer that was missing. The locomotive looks untouched so I am hoping that it is okay. I will try testing it next week. I want to see if I can find a schematic so I don't fry anything when testing it. My plan for the tender if the one coming (#385-387) doesn't work is to swap out the contact hardware but this will be a last resort. I do have to clean the tracks as they are a little black. I will do this with green nylon scrub cloth.
The previous owner made a mess of this set by hacking open the controller and pulling apart the tender, removing brushes and mounting hardware, for what purpose I can't guess. He also removed the transformer. If the locomotive works then I hope the set should go. So we will see. I will email you for a copy of the manual. Thanks.
EW1

 

[spdaylightfan]

Hi David, thanks.
My set is a model#380 1996 I believe.
The tender has had the brushes on one bank removed. I don't know why. I did find another tender and it is coming by snail mail. It is from a #385 or 387 single wire set so I hope it works with our 380 set. I have not tested the locomotive yet. I know it's plug has 4 blades, don't have a schematic so unknown which power up the locomotive. I do have a replacement controller and a transformer that was missing. The locomotive looks untouched so I am hoping that it is okay. I will try testing it next week. I want to see if I can find a schematic so I don't fry anything when testing it. My plan for the tender if the one coming (#385-387) doesn't work is to swap out the contact hardware but this will be a last resort. I do have to clean the tracks as they are a little black. I will do this with green nylon scrub cloth.
The previous owner made a mess of this set by hacking open the controller and pulling apart the tender, removing brushes and mounting hardware, for what purpose I can't guess. He also removed the transformer. If the locomotive works then I hope the set should go. So we will see. I will email you for a copy of the manual. Thanks.
EW1

Ok, I would not take that engine apart until you try it with the replacement tender. These things have a lot of springs and other goodies inside. Take that engine apart as a last resort. Let me know what happens when you try the new tender. You have my email address.

 

[Batten]

Hey, I'm also new here but I currently have 3 different versions of this train which I have acquired over the past few years. all sets were broken in different ways (one was not working for several reasons) so if you need help you can also shoot me a message and can go through the issues I have found with mine which may help. Also, I will check for a manual but honestly, I got all three of mine from the people who purchased them from Sears and I don't think either came with any sort of manual

 

[Big Ed]

Hey, I'm also new here but I currently have 3 different versions of this train which I have acquired over the past few years. all sets were broken in different ways (one was not working for several reasons) so if you need help you can also shoot me a message and can go through the issues I have found with mine which may help. Also, I will check for a manual but honestly, I got all three of mine from the people who purchased them from Sears and I don't think either came with any sort of manual

Welcome to MTF. New but joined last year,
Keep the help public for all to see, being in a thread might help others in the future.
The site does not have much info on these sets.
Some here may be following. 😎

 

[EW1]

Ok, I would not take that engine apart until you try it with the replacement tender. These things have a lot of springs and other goodies inside. Take that engine apart as a last resort. Let me know what happens when you try the new tender. You have my email address.

Hi David,
Sorry for late reply. My brother has passed away. I will be out of communication for a bit.

Thanks
EW1

 

[EW1]

Hey, I'm also new here but I currently have 3 different versions of this train which I have acquired over the past few years. all sets were broken in different ways (one was not working for several reasons) so if you need help you can also shoot me a message and can go through the issues I have found with mine which may help. Also, I will check for a manual but honestly, I got all three of mine from the people who purchased them from Sears and I don't think either came with any sort of manual

Thanks Batten.
I will be back to you later. My brother has just passed away. I will be out of communication for a bit.

EW1

 

[Big Ed]

Thanks Batten.
I will be back to you later. My brother has just passed away. I will be out of communication for a bit.

EW1

My condolences to you and your family.

 

[Batten]

Welcome to MTF. New but joined last year,
Keep the help public for all to see, being in a thread might help others in the future.
The site does not have much info on these sets.
Some here may be following. 😎

Lol ya joined late last year but just started actually lurking around over the past couple days, and it’s my first time chiming in. These trains are a staple in our family Christmas decorations so when the opportunity came up for some “parts” trains I jumped but then with a little tinkering I got them all rolling perfectly

 

[Batten]

Thanks Batten.
I will be back to you later. My brother has just passed away. I will be out of communication for a bit.

EW1

Condolences to you and yours.

 

[Big Ed]

Lol ya joined late last year but just started actually lurking around over the past couple days, and it’s my first time chiming in. These trains are a staple in our family Christmas decorations so when the opportunity came up for some “parts” trains I jumped but then with a little tinkering I got them all rolling perfectly

My New Bright, bought Dec 1992, bought in a Drug store. Bought cheap. Had twins boys that year.
Battery operated, has the one animated flat car.
Runs under the tree every year since I bought it, see the Zippo lighter in the cab, need some extra weight to get around.
The lighter looks better then fishing weights.
Plays annoying Christmas music if you turn it on.

THE CABOOSE, AND MY G SCALE I RUN.

 

[Old_Hobo]

Hey, I like all your tree ornament trains!

Are those all Hallmarks?

 

[Big Ed]

Yep, just a few of my Hallmark ornaments I have.
I stopped buying them a few years ago, most were gifts from the old (young) lady who bought them new.
I told her years ago to just give me some cash as I could get them after they were released on eBay, for half the cost of what they were in Hallmarks stores. And saving her a trip to the store.
But I have too many, so I stopped buying them unless one really catches my attention.

 

[EW1]

Ok, I would not take that engine apart until you try it with the replacement tender. These things have a lot of springs and other goodies inside. Take that engine apart as a last resort. Let me know what happens when you try the new tender. You have my email address.

Hi,
As a distraction, I decided to put some time into the Holiday Express train. The replacement tender I received was dirty and parts were broken. In addition, two of the brushes were missing like on my original tender. I took both tenders apart and they seemed identical. I repaired the elf stacking wood on both tenders and got them working- they are mechanically driven. Since both tenders seemed identical and neither had any burnt electronics smell I decided to test my original tender especially since it has steel wheels which I figured might be important for conducting electricity to lights or other. I removed the 2 brushes from the dirty tender and put them onto my original tender. I then plugged everything in. I did not switch on the controller yet. I had placed the locomotive on the tracks but did not connect it to the tender. BUT the moment I placed the tender on the tracks with the 4 brushes in proper contact with the tracks, the star on the tender lit right up. I went to pick up the controller when I heard sizzling and saw smoke. I could not shut things down fast enough and a light thin trail of smoke continued to rise from the tender. This stopped moments later. Obviously I had a dead short. I now know why the two brushes were missing off the one side of the original tender and why there was no transformer with it. The previous owner obviously fried the transformer and as luck would have it, I believe that so have I. I tested my transformer before and it was putting out 10+ Vac but now, only .9 Vac. I don't know if it can be rebuilt but unless the transformer has a built in safety guard, I think I fried it despite no smell from it. The fact that the new dirty Tender has only 2 brushes, one on each side on the front wheel truck leads me to think that it is likely a dead short as well. Does anybody know of a way I can test it before attempting to hook it up?? I should have known better trying to get this going because with what I have spent, I could have purchased a working set already. Now, I figure at the least, I will have to buy another transformer and possibly a good working tender but who can you trust??? This was supposed to be a working tender and it came missing brushes. If there is a way to test the other tender and if it were ok then I could either switch the steel wheels and maybe later swap the motherboards out to the better and correct coloured tender. Worse case scenario I could just sell off the set one piece at a time except that my daughter is all excited and we were all thinking it would be an amazing addition for our tree at Christmas. And, yes I am aware that I don't yet know if the locomotive works. Does anyone know if a dead short is a regular occurrence with this train set? I know with electronics that just looking at a motherboard is no way to judge the condition. I used to build computers but was not involved in board testing beyond failure, we replaced components and boards as needed. I think there is no way around getting a new transformer. Sadly, we were hoping for some good news for a change. Thanks, EW

 

[EW1]

My condolences to you and your family.

Thank you, much appreciated. EW

 

[EW1]

Ok, I would not take that engine apart until you try it with the replacement tender. These things have a lot of springs and other goodies inside. Take that engine apart as a last resort. Let me know what happens when you try the new tender. You have my email address.

Hi David,

I just posted my latest on my Holiday Express and it was not a good, it was a disaster. You can read the posted details. I am open to all and any suggestions. If I can find a way to turn this situation around without spending much more, I will be grateful. Thanks, EW

 

[Lynnmc]

Hi,
I am new to this forum, I just learned about it recently. A few weeks ago I bought a used train set but it does not work. This forum was recommended to me.

The previous owner cut open the controller, taped it back together and removed one side of the contact brushes on the tender and kept the transformer. I got it from a second hand shop and trying to revive it. I cannot find a copy or pdf of the owners manual so I am flying blind. New Bright was of no help at all. I did find a youtube video of this #380 model, so I know what it should do.

Anyway, I am glad this forum exists as there may be others out there who are familiar with this animated train set and can enlighten me.

Thank you.

EW1

Hi,
I am new to this forum, I just learned about it recently. A few weeks ago I bought a used train set but it does not work. This forum was recommended to me.

The previous owner cut open the controller, taped it back together and removed one side of the contact brushes on the tender and kept the transformer. I got it from a second hand shop and trying to revive it. I cannot find a copy or pdf of the owners manual so I am flying blind. New Bright was of no help at all. I did find a youtube video of this #380 model, so I know what it should do.

Anyway, I am glad this forum exists as there may be others out there who are familiar with this animated train set and can enlighten me.

Thank you.

EW1

Hi,
I am new to this forum, I just learned about it recently. A few weeks ago I bought a used train set but it does not work. This forum was recommended to me.

The previous owner cut open the controller, taped it back together and removed one side of the contact brushes on the tender and kept the transformer. I got it from a second hand shop and trying to revive it. I cannot find a copy or pdf of the owners manual so I am flying blind. New Bright was of no help at all. I did find a youtube video of this #380 model, so I know what it should do.

Anyway, I am glad this forum exists as there may be others out there who are familiar with this animated train set and can enlighten me.

Thank you.

EW1

 

[Old_Hobo]

CTValleyRR left the forum in February, 2024….

And Lynnmc hasn’t been here since October, 2023, so….

 

[GregKE2VW]

I have this exact New Bright Train set. The one that I have has a station that plays Christmas music. I have the manual as well. Mine runs like a champ…no problem. Before I forget, there is no order that you must put the cars in. I have the original engine and tender along with five cars. I got some extra cars that I did not come with the set. I purchased them on eBay at a reasonable price before people got greedy. We can do a couple of things depending on how much money you want to spend. I am not sure how we can do this but I think we could exchange addresses and telephone numbers with the world seeing them. If anyone knows how to do this let us know. I can’t even figure out who the originator of the thread is. If you want to get me your email, I will copy my user manual and email the jpgs to you. I have an extra engine(not with tender) that I got from a woman in West Virginia for $25. I thought I might need it in the future if the original failed and $25 was more than reasonable. I use a real good piece of software that is called stoprobo. My email address is: dbstark43@verizon.net. If you want to try any of this email me. The other thing we could do is check the tender to see if it works and the engine as well if you want. If you are missing brushes that kinda kills your set right there. If the tender looks complete you could Mail to me and I will run it on my set to see if it works. We could do the same with the engine. you cover the postage each way. This is a great Christmas train set. It must have 50 flashing lights and sound with many animated figures. What ever you want to do, let me know. i don’t know where you live but if we are close enough we could get together to see what runs and what doesn’t. I am in Western New York. If you can find a coal tender I would buy it, ever if expensive, as it is the power pickup for the whole set. let me know!

HI David,
I just came on this thread today. I have a 384 set, with 4 add on cars from the 380 series. The transformer was dead (zero AC volts output) when I went to power it up so I ordered a replacement transformer, the higher 5000ma unit, along with the high current track clip on (as my granddaughter ran, fell and and crushed the previous one!).
All the animations and the lights work, but the train moves very slow. I oiled all the wheels, but no change. The train itself pulls easily, so I am not sure if the issue is the engine/tender, or both??
Any thoughts? (BTW, I live in WNY also!)
Thanks, Greg

 

[T-Man]

@spdaylightfan is the symbol to use, to poke a member to notice.

Welcome to the Forum.