Dear FixYa ... I have a New Bright 387 Holiday Express animated train set. The problem is the train will not go forward -- only backward. All the other parts work. I don't know if the problem is in the controller, engine or tender. I contacted New Bright but they do not do repairs or sell individual parts. ...thx...jt John Thomas [email protected]

Electric trains all work on the same basic principle; one side of the track is the positive, the other negative. Which side is which depends on what direction it is traveling, as the control circuit simply reversed the polarity and regulates the amount of electricity to the motor for the speed. As you now, electronics are fickle in storage; What worked fine when you packed it up last year won't work this year ( I have 4 strings of lights that did just that to me ) .Cleaning the track with a pencil eraser helps if you have no power at all, but probably will not make a difference in your situation. I suspect you have a micro - component on the printed circuit board that burnt which is causing this problem. I live on the opposite coast and am not familiar with Baltimore so I am unable to advise you on where to go out there, other than what I found in the yp.com website;
R2s Electronics (410)477-1284 electronic controls

I also found an R/C place that may be able to help;http://www.gpahobbies.com/GPA/newgpalink...

The following folks are not New Bright but they may be able to guide you to local help in your area;
http://www.mthtrains.com/
I am not able to diagnose your issue but I have done what I could to help you;
I'm sorry I could not give you specific procedures to fix this for you.
I hope this helps you out and Thanks for using Fixya - Merry Christmas to you and yours!! Electric trains all work on the same basic principle; one side of the track is the positive, the other negative. Which side is which depends on what direction it is traveling, as the control circuit simply reversed the polarity and regulates the amount of electricity to the motor for the speed. As you now, electronics are fickle in storage; What worked fine when you packed it up last year won't work this year ( I have 4 strings of lights that did just that to me ) .Cleaning the track with a pencil eraser helps if you have no power at all, but probably will not make a difference in your situation. I suspect you have a micro - component on the printed circuit board that burnt which is causing this problem. I live on the opposite coast and am not familiar with Baltimore so I am unable to advise you on where to go out there, other than what I found in the yp.com website; R2s Electronics (410)477-1284 electronic controls I also found an R/C place that may be able to help; http://www.gpahobbies.com/GPA/newgpalinks.html The following folks are not New Bright but they may be able to guide you to local help in your area; http://www.mthtrains.com/ I am not able to diagnose your issue but I have done what I could to help you; I'm sorry I could not give you specific procedures to fix this for you. I hope this helps you out and Thanks for using Fixya - Merry Christmas to you and yours!!