Moved into a new house last fall, and there is a small area by the fire pit. Now that spring is here, got out my starter set and some extra track I scavenged and laid it out. I have a couple of newbie questions:
I haven’t found crusher fines or chicken grit near me, but there is something called small gray trap or dresser trap 1/4”. Anyone try that for ballast? It is jagged, not smooth.
I bought a Lionel Rio Grande set off marketplace. The loco is very squeaky. Would it benefit from a cleaning and lube? It looks like there are spring loaded contacts to be wary of. Anything else to consider?
I would say, “Yes!” I am not familiar with this model, but I would assume this was ran on carpet and look for evidence of fibers around the axels and rods. Then I’d put a dash of lubricant on moving bits. Everyone has their favorite lubricant, but, bottom line, make sure it is plastic safe!
This could benefit from a complete teardown, too, to see if anything got inside the motor block. LGB diagrams are all over the web. I am not so sure about this one…
Hello ,
I am not familiar with this engine personally, but I’ve seen it around.A drop of plastic compatible oil on the drive wheel axles where they come out from the chassis usually stops the squeak. LaBelle is good, if you have a train store nearby.For ballast, a quick and easy start would be to prep the ground by removing weeds, and tacking down a sheet of weed block. I have been using" All Purpose Gravel", which comes in 50 pound bags at Home Depot. It is approximately 1/4" and jagged, so it packs down solid and interlocks and will hold the track in place , side to side. 50 pounds is the max I can carry… Pour a generous amount of ballast on the track, and use a brush to clean off the rails and ties. Water it down and let it dry. The dust and grit will wash down to the bottom, and form a base for the larger stones. That’s it in a nutshell…Not much to it.
Paul
I did clean some tinsel out of the rolling stock axles, so I’ll carefully try to clean the loco wheels and axles. I do have LaBelle for my HO trains, so I’ll try a little of that.
It looks like it could work. If you have enough of it. It is surprising how quickly the gravel gets used up, it doesn’t go very far, so you’ll need more than you think.
Paul
