A friend has asked me to help him diagnose his Bachmann Hand Car. The problem turned out to be no power to the motor except by applying 12 volts directly to the brush holders. However, an attempt to solder the feed wires directly to the brush housings resulted in the plastic piece that holds the brushes melting (see picture - I tried to be quick but the plastic had a melting point about 10 degrees above room temp 
). The motor also had a lot of wear so it doesn’t appear that it would last long - replacing it seems the best approach, if I could find one. Anyone have a suggestion?
David, take a look at this thread, where i used an HO Bachmann motor in a trolley. I suspect it’s the same old Kader 881 motor.
https://largescalecentral.com/t/re-motoring-a-bachmann-4-wheel-trolley/78214
PeterT - I appreciate the suggestion but the Kader 881 appears to be a somewhat different motor. If the replacement motor doesn’t fit the motor carrier, getting a proper gear mesh with both worm gears would appear to be a challenge, particularly considering how fiddly the Hand Car is:
Do you know of a source that has a large selection of hobby size 12v to 18v motors? I may need to build a new drivetrain but not a task I have done very often. Thanks!
I have found motors on eBay, but I wouldn’t call it a wide selection.
My approach would be to look for something smaller in diameter/width, but with long 2mm (?) shafts. You can’t enlarge the carrier, but maybe you can create something to hold the smaller motor.
Another thought would be ?
Then you have extra parts??
Good idea, might be worth a shot. Thanks!
That could work, gear mesh could still be challenging.
They come up sometimes at the Goodwill online auction, and of course Ebay,
The above has stripped gears, but to Rooster’s point it should be useful for parts.
I did buy a parts Hand Car for less than $40 but found it had a ‘pancake’ vertical motor! With the initial rubber belt drive and the box motor, this made at least 3 driveline types. No wonder parts are hard to find!
It was advertised as ‘runs great’ - a disassembly and lube job got it up to ‘good’.
Video
To Be Continued…
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After a lot of looking, I had to search AliExpress and found these motors, apparently rescued from the back of a rusty container. But they were cheap.
12V 1.5mm Diameter Shaft Magnetic Electric Mini DC DIY Worm Motor 13,500rpm
5 Pieces $11.09 shipped AliExpress
The worm gear on the replacement motor had to be removed and the two Bachmann worm gears installed. The new motor fit quite well in the Bachmann motor carrier. I used washers to fit in the bushing recesses.
It runs okay, considering the Rube Goldberg complexity and age.
Electrical contact gets lost on LGB R1 turnout dead spots at slow speeds.
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Wow I just saw this thread for the first time. I thought it was about me. I’m a candy dancer. I’ll work a room for saltwater taffy.