Lubricating a HO model train

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi everyone, I’m new here and to model railroading.

I have a couple trains that are starting to make noise as they go around the track and one runs really slow at first and after it warms up its fine. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of where I can find general info on how to properly lubricate and maintain my HO gauge engines. I mainly have Bachmann and Tyco’s

Thanks for the help

Bob

2

Steam Loco specific – A light oil (like Labelle 103) does very good for the moving parts (siderods, crankpins,valve gear, etc) - just make sure it is plastic compatible

Any loco – light oil on the motor & wheel bearings, and a light grease in/on the gears - again make sure that it is plastic compatible

A couple of pointers - a little goes a long way - 1 drop of oil per bearing or crankpin is usually enough (sometimes more than enough…), and a very little bit of grease on the gears. Don’t glob everything on there - you’ll just have to clean it off later anyway (or it’ll leak onto the trackwork and make a mess)

3

Our hosts, Kalmbach Publishing, have at least one specific manual for sale that describes locomotive maintenance and repair in some detail.

Otherwise, use a light hobby oil that is safe for plastics and paints on your axle ends and bearings, every wheel, including the tenders and trucks on steamers. Same for the siderods and valve gear. If you can get inside, clean off the gear surfaces to the extent you can safely, and then use a hobby or white grease that is safe for plastics. No matter what you use, or where, it should be only as much as you can get away with…no more. Smearing the gears in hopes of staving off a year’s internal maintenance is going to cause more problems as they spin up than you can prevent by doing the smearing. Go lightly.

I use, at the suggestion of a petroleum engineer here whose name I regretfully forget, auto trainsmissioin…uh, that’s transmission…fluid, Dextron II or III on the axles and bearings. By the way, don’t forget bushings and bearings on the motor and any pillow blocks or trunions if there are any.

4

Thanks for the info. I guess I need a general parts indentification diagram since I’m not sure what or where the valve pins, crankpins and such are. I know the motor and wheel bearings and have taken apart, lightly oiled and resembled one of my engines with very limited luck on improved performance.

5

It’s hard to improve the performance of Bachmann and Tyco with lubrication alone – from what you say about the way they are running, it sounds like you also need to clean your track and locomotive wheels for better electrical contact.

6

I meant improved as in they were running very slow and noisy. I have gained a little speed but not where it was when I bought it. I have cleaned the track and other trains are running well on it.

Thanks again for all the help.

Is there an online place that has some lube diagrams and stuff?

7

Bachmann and Tyco. That’s the two main parts of your problem. Unless they’re Spectrums, the Bachmann models suffer greatly from a low quality motor. They can be remotored, but by the time you’ve done this, you’ve spent enough to buy a couple of new locomotives. A better idea would be to start upgrading your fleet. You’ll get more service life from an Athearn BB locomotive than you will from a standard line Bachmann. I have Athearn’s that have been running dependably for many years and they cost no more than the Bachmann’s and it’s not hard to convert them to DCC. I still have some Bachmann locomotives but I am replacing them with Athearn’s and Proto 2000’s. The only reason I buy the Bachmann’s anymore is for the decoder, which I pull out and wire into one of my more expensive units. I then rewire the Bachmann for service on DC and use it until it starts to foul up then retire it to the parts bin.

8

The motor may be getting old and not give you the performance you desire. I have a F unit from Life Like of the late 70’s that can barely move at 10 smph at full throttle. Back when it was new it was VERY fast. I think it is the motor brushes that go bad on these things.

The Tyco is junk and the Bachmann not much better but you dont need to hear that from me. However I must state that the Spectrum series from Bachmann is a good buy. Especially the 2-8-0.

Labelle makes a range of plastic compatible lubes. I use a drop once a year on everything that is bolted or geared to something else on all my engines. At the time I always try to check each steam drive rod bolt to make sure it does not throw a rod during operation. They spend alot of time in the box but will get more run time in the future once I complete the portable construction.

For the money to upgrade the old units, it’s not worth it. It’s better to buy a Kato, Atlas or similar quality engine today and enjoy the much better quality.

9

The bachmann is a Spectrum series 2-8-0. I know the tyco’s are junk but I use them for my boy to play with. I just want to lube and clean them up best I can that all.

Thanks

Bob

10

The Tyco’s with the Power-Torque drive (a very bad design IMO) are very easy to lube because all the gears are exposed. A drop on the large gear near the top and a drop each on the axle gears. If you can get to them, a drop for the motor bearings.

11

Perhaps my choice of words is wrong, but I’ll try to expand on what I said before. These are my definitions of the parts so they may or may not be right…

  • Crank Pins - anywhere that a steam locomotive’s main siderod couples to a wheel.
  • Main Siderod - the long rod coupling every driver together
  • Main Crank Pin - crankpin on the 2nd or 3rd driver, this is what connects the main siderod to the valve gear, also may have other eccentrics attached to it
  • Valve gear - the one (or two) rods that actually slide in/out of the cylinders
  • Eccentrics - all the other miscellaneous bits that are used to transfer lateral motion into circular motion, or vice versa.
12

Why hate upon Bachmann?? I mean, sure, Tyco is definatley part of the problem, but Bachmann? Putting Bachmann up against Tyco is not fair at all, I have two Bachmann GP40’s that run excellent, almost as good as my Athearn BB. Granted, these are the newer Bachmann which I think are much better quality than the older ones, but show some love to Bachmann.

-beegle55