Burlington Doodlebug Repair

This is a Bachmann Spectrum HO Scale Doodlebug purchased off Ebay and in more need of repair than I expected. Follow along as I sort out the problems and fix what I can, how I can.

[@harperlarry49]

Nice job. I have a Bachmann/Spectrum Doodle bug as well. The one time I ran it it had a slight clicking noise. Seeing your work has made me want to open mine up and see what is going on. Thanks for sharing this. Stay safe - Larry.

[@rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734]

The clicking is most likely a cracked gear on the axle, a common problem with these. I have seen several with that problem. I cannot say that I have seen replacement gears anywhere. I tolerate the clicking myself, but considered designing a replacement for 3D printing.

[@ericangela1528]

a dremel with cutoff wheel attachment you can take a certain part of a certain kind of ink pen the retractable kind inside there is a part that resembles the drive shaft connector that has split and cracked usually because of time and getting hot and cold. you can modify this part to do the job of the original connector. not all ballpoint pens will have the part nor will the hole be the right size it might be to big if so can't use but if to small drill it to the size of the shaft preferably a tad smaller than the shaft so you get a tight fit without having to glue it.

[@w.rustylane5650]

I've got an old REA (Railway Express Agency) coach that I illuminated with LED strip lighting and a keep alive circuit. I made my own wheel pickups out of some thin copper strips I salvaged from an old computer. Only problem I had was that I ordered bright white LED strip which made the lighting a little too white and bright. So I took it apart and painted each LED with some yellow acrylic paint and now it looks more period correct. Why would you buy couplers from Bachmann? I would have changed those couplers and used Kaydee couplers. I've changed out all of the horn hook couplers on all my engines and rolling for body mounted Kaydee couplers. When using an LED for the headlight you have to have a current limiting (ballast) resistor. If you don't want that flash when you go into reverse, you should use a diode on the LED so it won't receive any voltage when going into reverse. Diodes usually don't conduct in the reverse direction and that flash is caused by the reverse current. One simple diode will do the trick. Cheers from a 73 years old modeler in eastern TN (I remember Bryllcreme).

[@CyclingDinosaur]

Thanks for your input on the resistor. I should have used a Kaydee coupler like you suggested and it would look more realistic.

[@WWIIREBEL]

Not gonna lie...i bought a bunch of those cowcatcher/pilots and side frames for various projects. Starting off with converting some 34' Overton coaches and combines into a kind of mini doodle bug w/trailer coaches and some freight motors.

[@rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734]

I am in the process of building a doodlebug and coach from a couple Overton coaches, right now.

[@robertrent5218]

Excellent tutorial, thanks. Question to all: At 4:02 in the video there is talk about lubricating the front truck's gears, can anyone tell me how to access those gears? Thanks in advance, RobertR

[@seancrossen4659]

I have a war bonnet version with a cracked drive gear. I cant figure out how to get to it to replace axle.

[@CyclingDinosaur]

You need to remove the shell from the chassis. The windows are what clip onto the chassis, so I place thin pieces of styrene between chassis and shell windows, starting at the rear and then moving forward. Carefully remove the side frames right away from the power truck to protect them from any damage. The power truck is held together with an "H" shaped piece of plastic that holds the halves in place with the bottom section and the top section turns out with curved pieces that rotate inside the chassis for turning the doodlebug. You need to pinch the top part of the H with tweezers of a needle nose pliers then wiggle the curved pieces out of the chassis. The lower part of the H sits on top of power truck body with slots that lock into raised segments cast into the metal power truck body. If you want to inspect inside the power truck, you can gently pry them up and off the power truck and you can them pull apart the two halves of the power truck to get to the gears. Or simply unclip the cover plate from the front and rear of the power truck and the axles with drop straight out of the power truck.