A reader writes:
The village collection was my mom's pride and joy until she passed away. I am now in possession of the Village Streetcar that comes on a white track and should go back and forth with bumpers. My car lights up but will not move. I don't know if the problem is with the car or the track. I would like to get my mom's streetcar moving again. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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First of all, I am sorry for the loss of your mother. And I understand wanting to keep something she loved going. In my case, my Dad was a train lover, and I can hardly get a train out of a box without thinking of him.
Sadly, the Dept 56 streetcar that Bachmann produced is no longer made. In fact, Bachmann changed the way their streetcars reverse, using an electronic circuit instead of bumpers. They did this because continually reversing direction without slowing down caused a lot of extra wear and tear on the motors.
This is a link to the new version:
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B000EHH3HC ... RG3TILKM2VYes, I know you would rather have the original streetcar running back and forth. If you have someone good with a screwdriver in your family, they might be able to take the shell off the old one and put it on a new one.
Technically your streetcar is still under "lifetime warranty" from Bachmann, but if you send it in with the $55 copay, they'll just send you a new streetcar with a different paint job and without the reversing mechanism.
Whereas for ~$75 you can get a brand new streetcar. No, it still won't have the reversing mechanism. Sorry, but the only way the new ones reverse is if you buy the set with the reversing track that I listed above.
Hope this makes sense.
Paul Race
BigChristmasTrains.com