A few days back, I tried running my old Lionel Scout 1110. It had been sitting in my house, on “display”, along with some other family “antiques.” This loco was a hand-me-down from my Mom, and she used to play with it in her basement, in the Bronx, as a kid in the early 1950s. I hadn’t run it since I was a kid. When I tried it out, it showed some life, but was clearly in need of work.
So today I took apart that old childhood toy, to see what was what Boy, that thing was packed with some antique crud! After cleaning it up a bit, and putting it back together, it actually ran quite a bit better. However, it sounds and feels like it could use a lube, but I’m not sure what to use or where to apply it. Any suggestions?
Put oil on all moving parts except the gears. The gears should receive a small amount of grease. Oiled parts would include the side rods, valve guides, wheel axles, and armature shafts.
Hello Tom! Oil Both all moving parts with Labelle or other compatible oil formulated for toy trains. All four axle bushings should get a least two drops of oil & the Oil Wick on the Commutator Side should be saturated with at least 2-4 drops of oil for the Armature Shaft. & use Labelle or Lubriplate Grease on the Gears themselves & this will help quite the engine somewhat & it will also run smoother as well. Hope this helps. Take Care.
Just make sure you avoid any oil/greese on the commutator face or on the brushes. While you are at it, might as well get new springs and brushes anyway.
I’ve never been able to quiet my Scout no matter how much lube I’ve applied or where. And it has to run quite fast or it will stall. I suppose these issues could be fixed, but I simply consider them part of the engine’s perverse charm.
You may not need new brushes if it has been sitting for a while, just check the surface of the brushes-are they clean and not little pit marks? Brushes can be sanded down a bit and re used, armature plate can be cleaned with a pencil eraser on a pencil. Don’t use WD40, it is water based and won’t work well as a lubricant.
The ingredients of WD-40 are 50 percent mineral spirits, 25 percent liquified petroleum gas, 15 percent light lubricating oil, and 10 percent inert. Far from containing water, it was designed to displace water: The “WD” stands for “water displacement”. Nevertheless, as Lee says, it shoudn’t be put on a motor commutator.