The little engine that...couldn't.

So the smoke came out, but not in a good way. Why?

To be honest I don't know the reason it actually failed. I know all the details of what happened but not why it happened.

Here goes...

All of these little engines have an electric motor at their core, of course. These motors are brushed DC motors. This means that they have a part that is stationary that brushes against the moving rotor of the engine. Now the bit the brushes contact is called the commutator. This has copper plates with small gaps in between (for technical reaosns). The theory is here.

In this case, the commutator wore down and the edges got sharp. They then started to eat away the brushes causing the fragments to get caught in the wiring and burn causing smoke and short circuits.

My first service call was to replace the brushes which lasted about 15 minutes.

My next was to replace the entire motor at $129 OUCH!! But the new engine costs $250++ depending on where you buy it. And it's discontinued now so is rare.

Of course, all of this was managed through the tender (and good value) ministrations of the guys at Train Trader in Pymble. You'll hear more about them later. Hey, they got her going again like new.

It's a beautiful engine and I have a lot of nostalgia for it - especially since I bought it in Germany 15 yars ago. I had to save it. Mein liebchen!!