I am in the process of building my dream n scale empire. I have been doing so off and on for the past 10+ years (had a move or two in the process that slowed things down!) I have been purchasing items over the years including freight cars, structures, of course engines and other misc items.
My question is, do these engines suffer from not being run all that time?? Like a brand new diesel from 1993, will it run as new in 2007? Should I construct a ‘test’ oval to run them now and then?? Does the lubricant dry up over time?
I can’t see how it could hurt them if their kept from the elements, I have bought new old stock on several occasions and as long as you take time to break them in properly (per manufactures instructions) mine haven’t givern any problems.
If you have a test track to run them on sure it a good thing.
Hi
The oil and grease from the factory will probably be dried out over time. I would remove the shell and lube them up as the instructions indicate and then run them around a test track. I try to run my engines every 6 months to keep the lube from setteling and evenly distributed. While you have the shell off you might want to turn the armature a few times by hand to make sure everything is free. Sometimes the electrical contacts have oxidation built up and they need to be cleaned also.
Yes, if you don’t run those engines they can suffer from depression so a test track is a good idea.
In all seriousness, I took my stuff out of nearly 30 years in storage and they still ran fine though not as well as new stuff (they were all the deadly and dreaded Tyco’s). The engines will keep fine if stored nicely in a dry place, but a test track is a good way to stay motivated while you plan and build. J.R.
I broke out some of my old HO stuff last night just to see if any of it would run after sitting idle for about 15 years. One of the engines was a Bachman 2-8-0 that I had never run. It had been stored in its’ original box in my gun cabinet. As soon as I shot the juice to it, it ran, much to my surprise. One of the other engines, a Tyco model of a C430, moved about 12 feet before some gears flew off. An old AHM model of a BL2 (Lord that thing is ugly!) ran well after a balky start but sounded more like an electric drill than a model loco.
To cut to the chase, it all depends on the conditions under which the locos were stored and the quality of the locos to begin with. Low quality items do not improve with age.
YES engine’s can go bad - running or not, sitting. or in their boxes.
Plastic gears shrink and can crack around their metal axle’s.
Motor’s can lose magnetism.
Some Lubricant’s can migrate or dry out
Plastic foam or wrap can stick to paint, or brass.
Neoprene and rubberized parts deteriorate with age.
You can also can catch a cold or get fallen arches when at home, or when out.
Yes. I’ve had locomotives sitting in boxes, assuming that they would be o.k.
After several years I put them on my “test shelf”. Good Goobly! One of the Atlas FP7’s that had not run in several years growled louder than my old Athearns! [:0]
It is a good idea to keep them up. This is one reason why I got rid of some of the units that I bought years back. I knew fully well that once I built my layout, these units would not fit into my operating plans, so hopefully they went to a good home.
As Mr. Gibson says, yes in several ways. But I hope not too badly, as I have many that have been sitting for 20+ years that have never gotten out of their boxes… I am most worried about some of the factory lubricants eating the plastic gears of the original 1982 Proto 2000s. Crumbling clinging foam on the brass models is a major concern because it can ruin the the factory paint. That is something that cannot be fixed or replaced like a few broken gears can. Sure they can be repainted but any “factory mint” collector’s value is lost forever, not to mention the expense(s) of re-painting.
In my experience, the main problems that can occur with locos that have been in storage for a while is that the bearings can dry out (needing oiling) and the grease in trucks can go solid. I have a small steamer that had sat for roughly a year until I decided to give it an overhaul last weekend - after leaving it to run on an oval of track for an hour in each direction it regained its old smoothness and is now just as good as it was.
Most any mechanical item needs operation to prevent the bearing and grease from drying up. If you run it back and forth a few times once a year or so, it will probably be in better shape than just storing it without any use.
The storage place is important also. If you store models in a garage or storage unit during the summer months, they can experience very high heat and probably could have cracked plastic gears and for sure, they would need some lubrication. Many of the HO lifelike diesels with B trucks have a problem with the gear sets on the axles cracking while in storage, and the heat seems to hasten the failures.
Beside, it is fun to look at what is in storage once in a while.
Your question about will it run like new in 2007, I doubt it. The real question here is if you purchased models in 1982 and expected them to run like the new 1992 or 2002 models, you would be very unhappy, since so much progress has been made with the running qualities of most models in the past few years.
I had a loco stored for many years and when I pulled it out it ran fine, i got a fellow at the MRC to open her up and give it a lube…great learning lesson…
My dad gave me 4 Athearn loco’s that he had stored in the basement for 30 years. All were in their original boxes and the basement is warm and dry. I put them on my layout last week and 3 of the 4 didn’t run at all. The one that did run only did for a few minutes until it started to smoke. Its to bad because these loco’s probably didn’t even have any running time on them. I’m going to take them apart and see whats up with them when I get some time.
my one experience of buying unused ( but 7 years after their production ) two diesel n gauge locomotives,which ran roughly initially, and resisted all attempts to re-lube them.
My belief is the original lube had dried to a hard crust, which only dismantling would have made accessible, which in n gauge is not an easy thing.
I have 190 Athearn, 1 Kato, 2 Atlas, 6 Spectrums and 6 P2K locomotives that had been sitting in my attic, garage and basement for 10+ years. I was finally able to pull everything out of storage and and test run/break everything in. Everything runs just like it should. Some of my stuff is old and some is new. If you take care of everything, they will last you a very long time. For about half the time that I have owned this bohemeth of a collection, I have stored them in large rubbermade bins, so they were mostly protected from the moist elements. But I agree that a proper break in time and proper lubrication should be done before the inagural run on the main line.
the lubricant that was used 20-30 years ago dries up and will prevent the gears from meshing … therefore the motor may overheat and ‘smoke’ in which case the wires may release from the commutator thus rendering one or more poles dead … if you receive a locomotive that has been sitting for a long time, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN IT unless you are an experienced locomotive technician … I can always retrofit some kind of replacement motor but the answer lies in disassembly and inspection, cleaning and lubrication of the truck, cleaning the contacts and reseating the motor brushes.