Good stuff, I was about to ask why balky motors balk and you got me thinking about what I had found in the first loco, which was enough olive fuzz wound around the axles of the driven wheels to be certain that the loco had been run on olive carpet some time in the distant past.
The new one really surprised me last night in how difficult it was to spin the armature by hand, and your post got me thinking about why that might be. How much you want to bet I’ll find long strands of colored fiber wrapped around the axles when I open the gearbox?
Old Engines! It started me thinking about “reviving” my 1951 Mantua Pacific. It gave
me many years of happy service, but has been sitting in the “breaker yard” for more
than 20 years. Is this old boy worth upgrading or should I just let it sit.
Depends on how much you like the way it looks. Compared to today’s engines in might need to be remotored and regeared. DCC can be done for under $20, but if it doens’t run as well as you like. But remotoring and regearing can be a project and cost a few dinero.