When you get a new loco do you take it apart, lube and gauge it?
OR Do you drop in the decoder and HOPE?
I just put a Stewart VO1000 on the program track and then the layout and DID not tear it down, SHOULD HAVE! Ran like a skunk. It was NEW in the box so I thought that it was fine. OOPS!
I hard wire all my decoders so I do tear down locos before I run them. They are usually lubed from the factory, so i dont worry about that, but I do check wheel guage and coupler height before putting in the decoder and breaking in the loco.
Linn Westcott defined RTR as ready to rework. Now you know why.
I always give new rolling stock (and rolling stock coming out of extended storage) a complete inspection before it goes on the rails. I also consider that first run the equivalent of a test flight - not to prove there are no problems, but to identify what the problems are. When there are no problems I am pleasantly surprised! More usually I take the unit back to the bench and cure its glitches and hiccups before testing it again. The second test is usually (but not always) a winner.
Chuck (ex aircraft maintenance type)
On the breakiing in. With DCC how do you break in an engine? In the old days you just set your DC main line to LOOP and truned it loose for 15 min in each direction, took it off the track, checked all the pieces and you where ready to go.
DCC do you run it on “00” or do you have a roller stand or a break in circle in DC? I have more than enough units to break-in and rebuild to DCC so I am thinking of a roller stand for this job.
Thank you
Thank you Chuck I remember that RTR comment. Thought a Stewart would be a little better quality. Guess not.
I would be interested to know this also. I have just recovered my trains from a very extended time in storage. I was going to try to convert my one locomotive, an Atlas GP-38 purchased in the early 1980s, to DCC.
Kent
I use a roller set for breaking in models, but run them on DCC. The roller set does not check out trucks on curves, but you can observe the action better and check for any wheels that might be out of round or causing wobbles.
For some of the BLI steam engines that were too tight when new, it took about twenty hours of running to free them up to a point that I was happy with them.
Be sure they are lubricated before any extensive runs.
No, no, no, no. You forgot SpaceMouse’s option of “none of the above”. It has to sit on the shelf for 1-5 years to age first.
The break-in process itself is the same, but you might have to adjust how you accomplish it.
For example, if your loco already has a decoder installed you can still set your DCC mainline to loop and give the loco 15 minutes in each direction using either it’s DCC address or analog (00) if the decoder/DCC system support it. The same goes for a roller stand or a stand-alone test track.
Lots of folks get a Zephyr or a SPROG and use it with a stand-alone programming/test track. Others may choose a different solution. I have my layout divided into DCC power districts. One district is a loop that can be switched over to DC if needed.
It’s really nothing more than basic problem solving: This is what I can do, this is what I want to do, so how do I get from one to the other?
HTH,
Steve
I always tear my locomotives down before I break them in just to check things over. I break in my loco’s by running them one way for 1/2 an hour then the opposite way for another 1/2 hour varying the speed.
George,
Sorry to hear about your locomotive problems. [:(] Was that NEW; as in “new” from an online dealer, or “new” from eBay? Also, do you know how old your VO-1000 is or when it was manufactured? If it has been sitting around in the box for a while, that may explain things.
Regardless, I have a Stewart VO-660 and FT A-B - bought both online and never lubricated them - and neither one has given me an inkling of trouble. They both run like a champ. [tup]
Tom
Thanks to all for the input. The Stewart was bought at a hobby shop in N.J. that was closing. That was in 2003 so I guess it is from that era. My 1968 AHM I bought ran out of the box with just a little help from the 0-5-0.
I am building a work area for the members to use when they are over at the house. Looks like a break-in-stand is in order.
Again thank you.
claycts wrote:
When you get a new loco do you take it apart, lube and gauge it? OR, Do you drop in the decoder and HOPE?
No, no, no, no. You forgot SpaceMouse’s option of “none of the above”. It has to sit on the shelf for 1-5 years to age first.
Speakin of SpaceMouse, where is he?