Your Train Repair Reverse Batting Average

I'd say that I usually bat pretty high on fixing problems on my railroad. I'm a compulsive tinkerer so I tend to fix broken things even if it takes multiple efforts for success.

Here's how I usually categorize projects:

Easy fixes (50%): Turns out it just needs routine maintenance, a reattached wire, some fresh grease or something similarly easy to get it back running again. These usually stay fixed as long as I maintain them and of course, stop messing with it once it's back in order.

Skilled fixes (25%): These fixes make me feel smart. Sometimes I'll buy a fixer-upper locomotive because I recognize the problem it has from the description and with a little work and a cheap part, I now have a great engine for a bargain price. Awesome!

Pain in the Butt (25%): These fixes make me feel stupid. After pouring in hours of work, the problem really isn't fixed. Usually I can sorta kludge it together but if it isn't fixed right (or the problem keeps coming back) then I'm not happy. Aaaargh!

Come to think of it, this applies to my day job as an electronics test engineer too!

Ah yes Arnold, I can tell the baseball season has started!  I can tell you all of us have a batting average better than my Pirates!!    We have guys who won't make it above the Mendoza Line.    And he did his worst while a Pirate.

On to trains, I agree with Ken on the three categories of repairs.  It doesn't take long to realize the last category and set it on the shelf awaiting a new revelation or sending it off for repair.  I will claim .750 batting average.

Yes Ken, I spent 43 years as an electronics technician/engineer.  Your percentages are pretty realistic for me too.  Fortunately, I am now retired so I don't HAVE to fix anything if I don't feel like it. 

Another great thread idea Arnold. I bet your conflict resolution average is 100% in your practice.

Considering that  hitting the baseball 1/3 of the time gets you millions....

I would modestly put my average over 80%. Not just trains, but over the years I've always been a great problem solver. Spend enough time unraveling wiring done by Joe Homeowner and you get good at it.

I will toss the white flag at anything down to the component level with electronics, but I've never met a challenge I didn't accept.

Bob

If we’re talking about postwar and MPC, my batting average would be above .900. With the new stuff my average would be very low. It’s like comparing the ‘62 Chevy I had with my current car. I could probably fix most anything in my Chevy, but on my current car, I can’t even tell you where the oil filter is.

My batting average for most train repairs is quite good, otherwise I wouldn't get paid!   Principal reasons for failure are usually lack of some critical part, kinda' hard to bypass that.  I'd say I have to be batting 90-95% on average.

I consider myself good mechanical aptitude but I'm only average at fixing things.

Haha I’m probably below the Mendoza line. Great topic.

The killer for me is to attempt a repair and make the problem worse.

I really don't mind failing at a fix. Then, it's time for a train doctor.

Arnold

Something to keep in mind...

I share rrvics thoughts.  I too used to work on my own cars but when I bought my first Pontiac in (a Grand Am) and couldn't even reach the oil filter (it was in the middle of the fire wall) and with all the electronics in these cars, trying to do things myself was impossible.

Same with trains. 

= walt

Pretty high ... only because I seek out info on the job before I start.

A couple instances of pinching a wire during O scale engine reassembly, along with my often breaking of body details on HO engines ... drops me down in the batting lineup.

Prewar and postwar is repaired at home as long as parts are available.

MTH proto sound engines are just maintained with oil and grease , had one that the board went out and sent it to forum member GGG who did an excellent repair in 2017 .

Cannot repair electronics in the newer  and now old TIU - H1 that was purchased new lost var2 not sure when or how as it was tried for 1st time in a long time.

My answer for the OP is about 70% as long as the fix doesn't require soldering, 30% if it requires soldering.

On a slightly different vein, I noticed that the forum allows for 'surveys', which I'm guessing is like a poll.  I've never seen one so I've been hesitant to start one.  There are a couple of things I've seen that a poll might be interesting.  I'm on a forum for a make of car, and there's forums on it.  I find the spread of responses interesting.  Has anyone seen a poll here?

Prewar and Postwar. My batting average has been pretty good as of late. Over maybe 10 years or so, I've really tried to improve skills, obtain proper tooling, find reliable sources for parts. I now have a nice post-war era lathe that I can make fixtures and small parts with. I've tried to form a consensus of 'best practices' when it comes to repair / restoration from various sources, including this very forum, books, Facebook and YouTube. When I started I was ill equipped and inexperienced and thought train repair would be simple, and got frustrated at first, finding it to be more complex than I initially thought. I've ground-up restored a bunch of postwar steamers, and I want to move on to refinishing tinplate, knocking out dents, stripping and repainting, mechanical and electrical repairs. I'm starting now to enjoy this repair / restore facet of the hobby above several areas of the hobby. Probably why my layout is so lacking in progress.

On post-war and MPC era locomotives I have done very well over the last thirty five years or so.  I'd estimate that 90% of the time  I have been successful in my repair work.   During the 1970s and early 1980s I would not even attempt basic maintenance much less a repair.  I didn't want to destroy my treasures so I always took them to my local hobby shop which at that time was Antique Trains in Turnersville, N.J.   By the mid 1980s I had become quite accomplished in the maintenance field as well as with some basic repairs.  I continued to tackle repair problems as they developed by following Greenberg' repair manual for Lionel Trains and when the forum started up around 2001 my abilities began to soar because of all the great technical expertise which exists on the forum; its been a Godsend.  As far as command control locos are concerned I will change a traction tire or re-seat a loose board but beyond that I have to rely on the pros for assistance.  

Another great topic Arnold!  I've had a pretty good track record of not making things worse while attempting a repair.  As a previous post mentioned, I pinched a wire once or twice and had to repair it.  On a slightly different question, Have you ever worked on a project only to have your effort not produce the expected result?  That happens a lot!  I have some smoke units that I can smell are working but you have to look closely with the right background to see anything!  Back to the drawing board!

John

I do my own repairs except where I would need special equipment to do the job competently (wheel quartering, pressing new gears). I've gotten rid of the fancy computerized stuff long ago, and if an electronic e-unit breaks down, it gets replaced by a bridge rectifier and old-style e-unit. Hurray for conventional operation!

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

The killer for me is to attempt a repair and make the problem worse.

I really don't mind failing at a fix. Then, it's time for a train doctor.

Arnold

Yeah and unfortunately I have done a lot of that.  That's how you learn though.  I've done that with plenty of cars and computers in the past.  

And a little known fact, the 1966 Chrysler factory shop manual misstates the firing order for the 383.  That one wasn't my fault!

@OKHIKER posted:

On post-war and MPC era locomotives I have done very well over the last thirty five years or so.  I'd estimate that 90% of the time  I have been successful in my repair work.   During the 1970s and early 1980s I would not even attempt basic maintenance much less a repair.  I didn't want to destroy my treasures so I always took them to my local hobby shop which at that time was Antique Trains in Turnersville, N.J.   By the mid 1980s I had become quite accomplished in the maintenance field as well as with some basic repairs.  I continued to tackle repair problems as they developed by following Greenberg' repair manual for Lionel Trains and when the forum started up around 2001 my abilities began to soar because of all the great technical expertise which exists on the forum; its been a Godsend.  As far as command control locos are concerned I will change a traction tire or re-seat a loose board but beyond that I have to rely on the pros for assistance.  

Was that Richie Bimmer’s place?…..down in his basement ….house on the corner of the main road?..

Pat

My very good friend Marty Fitzhenry (I miss Marty almost every day) told me many years ago that he refused to work on engines that were made worse by their owners before he got them. Since I also have little to no skill in fixing engines, the best course of action would be to give it to Marty to fix, or since he died, to Alex M or Gunrunner John. Its also less stressful to pay someone who knows what they are doing to fix it, rather than try to fix it yourself, make it worse and then give to Alex or John, and less costly too. John's sign above with costs tells an accurate story, although it was meant in jest.

C'mon, Arnold, you should know that we as attorneys usually are not good at fixing things. Fortunately, we have enough cash to pay those that do. 

Erol

As noted above, I struggle with repairs, enjoy doing basic maintenance (mainly lubrication) and occasionally attempt a Postwar repair with Forum advice. I hardly ever attempt a modern repair and gladly pay for an expert to do it.

I'm euphoric whenever I'm successful with repairs.

Something I love is observing experts make model train repairs, which I find fascinating. I greatly admire, and am grateful for, such experts. Arnold

If I had practiced Nephrology like I fix trains, I would be wearing an orange jumpsuit with metal jewelry.....

Peter

I got sent down to single-A, and doubt that the I'll get called back to the major leagues.

I'm with @Putnam Division - I wasn't a doctor, but it's a good thing I was better at my day job.

@Putnam Division posted:

If I had practiced Nephrology like I fix trains, I would be wearing orange jumpsuit with metal jewelry.....

Peter

Peter, I feel the exact same way about my law practice and inability to fix trains.

Isn't our diversity of talents, especially among us model railroaders, amazing? Arnold

@Mallard4468 posted:

I got sent down to single-A, and doubt that the I'll get called back to the major leagues.

I'm with @Putnam Division - I wasn't a doctor, but it's a good thing I was better at my day job.

Mallard4468, it sounds like you are, or were, a contender, like Marlon Brando said in On the Waterfront.

Hope you make it bsck to the Big Show. Arnold

When it comes to repairing engines, my batting average is either .000 or 1.000, depending upon how you want to look at it. I follow the slogan "know when to day when". I recognize that I know exactly zero about repairing engines, so I never attempt to do any repairs on them. Fortunately, I have two of the best repair guys in the business to repair my Lionel and MTH engines. Their batting average is 1.000 when it comes to repairing them.

Repairing damaged freight cars is a different story. Changing out broken trucks, repairing couplers, fixing pieces that have broken off and doing other minor repairs are things I will do. I would say that my batting average is around .750 on those. There are some repairs that can't be done for various reasons like an MTH plastic ladder that is shattered into several very small pieces, the lack of a replacement part, etc.

Pat

A friend likes to say, i have people for that.  When i have used those people their batting avg has been 1000.

Postwar 1000, new high tech Chinese stuff, I wouldn't be even traded....I'd be off the team.

@harmonyards posted:

Was that Richie Bimmer’s place?…..down in his basement ….house on the corner of the main road?..

Pat

Pat, sorry it took so long to respond to your post but I was out of pocket for a couple of days.  Yep, that was it.  Located at the corner of Greentree Road and Lantern Lane in Turnersville, New Jersey.   Rich passed away in 2009 and I believe his wife Connie auctioned off the store's inventory.  I believe she passed away in 2019.  Rich was an unusual character.  He seemed pretty crusty on the outside but he had a heart of gold.  I miss him and his shop.