I am finishing up my N scale layout and have several locomotives. The era I chose was early 80s thru 1996. I chose this as mergers to form Norfolk Southern and CSX had taken place yet a lot of the old paint jobs were still around, Wide cabs were introduced, Steam excursions were taking place. and ditch lights were not yet mandatory, Many of my locomotives are second hand and while i have seen plenty on cleaning wheels, I have not seen much on cleaning and maintaining the motors gears. etc. Where is a good place for a beginner to learn this info or better yet is there a video. also in a test run i got a piece of fuzz in the gears of one causing it ti bind, how do I get this out? locomotives are mostly diesel but there are a couple steam
Thanks
Aaron
Check the Dec 2012 issue of Model Railroader (current issue). It has an article on cleaning and lubricating diesel locos.
Aaron,
I'm in HO and the typical loco is put together a little differently than in N. However, here are a few basic tips.
The grease in older locos often hardens and gums things up. Best thing is to clean everything well as recommended in the article in the Dec 2012 MR already noted. Alcohol is the general way to do this, but be cautious with it around the shell itself to avoid the potential for it to damage some paint and/or weathering jobs.
Relube lightly with a good plastic-compatible oil. Generally, oil works better than grease with plastic gears.
The steamers can be touchy. Carefully unwind and fuzz wrapped in the siderods. etc and clean with alcohol. Oiling should be very light on the rods, etc so as to help limit the tendency to pick up stray fuzz.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
There are a few books on loco maintenance you can check out. One thing I begin with is a good cleaning and so a strong plastic compatible solvent/cleaner( not necessarily petroleum based) spray cleaner is important. I get the ones from the hobby shops that the RC car guys use and make sure it can clean electronic parts as well as gunky carbs. Very similar need in locos to bust up the crud and clean the electrical components/contacts. I find adding the spray tube helps get the cleaner with some force into small tight areas. Make sure you have a very clean work place and wipe the parts too if very dirty. I store the screws and other small parts in the tops of spray cans so they don't get lost and fall off the bench.
Richard
Briefly, you take the locomotive apart, clean and lubricate the pieces, and put it back together. Steps 1 and 3 are the scary ones. You can break it taking it apart, loose pieces, and fail to get it back together. The clean and lube operations are straightforward.
Start with a clean work table, on a clean floor, with good lights. That improves your chances of finding some tiny little black part that you drop. Have some containers to hold parts. Take photos, make sketches and keep notes as a guide to getting it back together. Find the manufacturers instructions sheets, they usually have assembly drawings. HOSeeker is a good place to look. A set of jewelers screwdrivers and perhaps some socket wrenches for steamers is all that is necessary by way of tools. Don't use pliers to turn nuts, pliers will chew up anything, use a wrench. All you have to do is get the shell off the drive mechanism, you don't want to pull the motor apart.
Once open, clean out all old hardened grease. Use alcohol (shellac thinner) or mineral spirits (paint thinner or charcoal lighter). Pipe cleaners are very useful. I would stay away from the more active solvents like lacquer thinner, MEK, acetone or xylene cause they will melt plastic and eat paint. Never lubricate a commutator, and that means be sparing in oiling motor bearings since they are close to the commutator. Plastic gears are naturally slippery and don't need lube the way metal gears do. A drop of oil is enough. Everything else gets oil, only metal gears need grease. Labelle has a very good rep, but I have been using 3 in 1 oil for a long time. WD-40 isn't really a lubricant, it's a rust preventer.
Run the lubricated mechanism just to make sure it still runs. Then put things back together.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
thanks for the pirs. One thing I was not clear about, the fuzz is in the gears of a Norfolk Southern GP50, not a steamer. I know its a cheap locomotive, none the less i would like to repair it, if no other reason, to learn how
aaroNW thanks for the pirs. One thing I was not clear about, the fuzz is in the gears of a Norfolk Southern GP50, not a steamer. I know its a cheap locomotive, none the less i would like to repair it, if no other reason, to learn how
I know of no magic fuzz removal trick. You just grab onto it with needle nose pliers, or a hemostat and pull. Grab it a few strands at a time. Don't pull so hard you break the locomotive. Once you get the shell off, you can grab on from both top and bottom which sometimes helps. Good luck. By the way, cuss words will help.