Ok, so months ago I purchased an original Hogwarts set at auction for a very reasonable price. Turn out to be a bit of a basket case due to bent rods, hair on the axles, worn pick-ups, the usual suspects. I got new parts installed but I have a few questions.
1. When I first power it up, it sits there for about 5 seconds before it starts to move, then it takes off in forward. Is this normal? The pause is long enough that I keep thinking that it is starting in neutral. This is the only loco I have that behaves exactly this way.
2. The whistle is an old school air whistle in the tender. It sounds okay once it spools up but a little like grinding gears until it gets going. Is there a way to oil this without making another large project?
3. This is the all conventional model with the incredibly small flat sided motor. This is a very small motor for this locomotive. Was there ever a retrofit kit issued with a bigger motor? I have think these motors burn up if you ever put more than the original 3 coaches behind it.
Fyi, this is meant to be a surprise gift to my wife before Halloween. So I want it to be in tip top shape.
