Something missing inside this Legacy Northern?

That's a universal joint and there shouldn't be a another piece there. Either the motor is too far away or the coupler is the wrong one and its too short. Its odd because most machining processes would have the mounting holes line up everytime in an assembly process. Are the motor mounting screws straight? Its possible that the screw is wrong/crooked and shoved the motor out of alignment. I also would check the other end of the drivetrain to see there in't any slop that can't be adjusted out.

Peter 

From your pictures it looks like the motor is too high somehow.

Lee, here are the parts in your picture, 52 flywheel w/coupling, 44 drive shaft and 54 worm shaft with coupling.

http://www.lionel.com/Customer...b4-8743-d3837b809b95

Like the others have said, it looks like either the motor has some how moved back or the coupling on the worm shaft has moved on the shaft.

Does the flywheel turn when you apply power? Is the coupling on the worm shaft still pinned on the shaft?

Yeah, the flywheel turns as it should - faster when i apply more power, etc.  I think the motor has shifted in its mounts.  The loco is question suffered a rather bad trauma unexpectedly, that could have knocked the motor loose.  I'm going back in a few minutes to my workshop and play with it some. 

Ouch, that sounds like dropped to me. Hope you can get it sorted out!

Thanks, I did get it sorted out.  And yes, it did drop about 3 and a half feet to a carpeted floor: I had left a nearly invisible razor saw blade on the track where it comes near the edge of the layout.  3759 made an incredible back-flip off the layout.

I made some shims to hold the shaft in the right position and it runs well now.  

A few minutes ago I posted a photo and video: this is the chassis of my "Franken-Northern"

Oooooo that hurts.  I would reposition the motor because as you can see it is misaligned.

It looks like the mount holding the motor moved when you dropped it. .. 

Hi Lee,

You should probably take another look at the engine before you put some real run time on it.  From your photo it looks like the motor mounting bracket (#76 in the exploded parts view) bent when the locomotive fell.  This essentially pivoted the motor away from its natural position which both increased the gap with the drive line and raised the motor's CV joint out of alignment.  If all you did was shim the coupling closer and didn't correct the alignment there will be a subtle balkiness at low speeds.  On any type of pin and trunnion "CV" joint the angle of the input and output joints needs to be equal (Z or W configuration) or you will get an oscillation in the output RPMs.  At speeds above throttle step 2 or 3 the oscillation won't be perceptible, but it will wear out the pins on the driveline coupling.