Two summers ago I got a good deal on a first-generation Genesis F3-A/B pair (Athearn's #G2501A). As an Espee Black Widow it had been sitting on a shelf at the Junction Valley RR store in Bridgeport, MI for who knows how long. It is still new-in-box. What can I expect to have to do to get it running well after so long in virtual storage? And, while we're at it, how about steamers in the same status? Does their mechanical complexity add an additonal factor or two to this issue? I suppose that I could have searched the community for a while to find this information but it's past beddie-bye time.
Thanks!
John
I wouldn´t even dare to try running them before giving them a good clean-up and a fresh lube job! The grease in the gear box will most likely be rock hard by now and you are bound to damage the gear box as well as the motor if you try running them.
I have bough a number of engines which have been stored for over 30 years, so I know a little what I am talking about. Fortunately, disassembling an old Marklin loco is a job of seconds - just unfasten one single screw and the body can be lifted from the chassis!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Hi John:
I have to agree with Ulrich. Despite how tempting it is, don't even try to run the locomotives before thoroughly cleaning and re-lubricating them. That means a proper disassembly, not just a wipe of the wheels and squirting some grease in various places. Get the old grease out of the gear boxes and apply the appropriate oils to the axle bearings and the motor bearings. If you don't have the original instruction sheets then try HOSeeker to find the disassembly diagrams.
http://hoseeker.net/
Labelle makes plastic compatible lubricants that modellers have relied on for years:
http://www.con-cor.com/Labelle.html
Steamers are no different, other than you will have more points to lubricate like the connecting rods etc. If you are working with a really old steamer with an open core motor, do not lubricate the commutator or the brushes. You should clean the commutator. A pencil eraser or a swab with alcohol work great.
Speaking of the older open core motors, you can work wonders by replacing the magnets with newer neodymium magnets. It is easy to do and it will make the locomotive run better and reduce the power draw at the same time. Here is a great source for replacement magnets:
https://www.kjmagnetics.com/
If you can't figure out how to disassemble things like the trucks then ask here before starting to pry on them.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
AttuvianWhat can I expect to have to do to get it running well after so long in virtual storage?
According to Athearn your SP A/B set was released in 2005 thirteen years ago.
I would clean and service these engines before placing them in service just for safety.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
It's quite possible that there is no lube in it. A lot of mfg'ers stopped putting tons of grease in the gear train and use oil now. You could look at the bottom of the truck cover and see if You can find any trace's of oil. Some mfg'ers also put too much oil in them. The oil they use is plastic compatible and will not harden like grease without Teflon will. I have some Athearn's from the mid-90's that did not have any lube in them from factory, including Genesis. If it did have grease in it and was stored in extreme temp swings like cold to hot......bringing inside to warmer temps for a bit will help. Grease hardening was more of a concern back in the olden models of 50's/ 70's era, when grease had more petroleum jelly in it. Lube has come a long way since then.
It should run....right out of the box.........
Take Care!
Frank
I packed away my teenage layout in the late 1960s, and they sat in boxes for 40 years, moving with me from basement to attic as I graduated, changed jobs, went through girlfriends, finally got married and had a child. She got to be school age and I finally started taking the trains out and setting up a layout.
I found that 50-year-old engines don't run well. I could get them to make it around a simple oval of track with a few pushes, but when I started looking into what it would take and what I would end up with, it wasn't worth it to replace the motor, trucks and wheels. It was actually cheaper to buy a new locomotive.
A few of those old engines still run around my layout as dummies, or sound dummies, and I'm happy with that.
By all means, try to restore them to health. Your engines sound much newer than mine, so you've got a good chance. Sometimes, though, the best thing to do is move on.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Most of the rock hard lube issues I hear about (so rock hard that motors have burned out by those who try to bully them into running) relate to LifeLike Proto2000 engines, the same ones with the cracked gear issue.
I know of people who have simply placed old Lionel or American Flyer engines which have sat for decades -- even in attics without climate control -- on the rails and away they go. As a teen I was gifted my much older cousin's HO trains which had not run in a decade plus and they ran fine. But those were big strong open frame motors.
The safer route is to assume the worst. Properly cleaned and re-lubed there is no reason why engines made in the last several decades should not run just fine.
Dave Nelson