About 5 years ago, I bought a Proto 1000 train set with a RS10 as the locomotive, over the years, its slowly lost its pulling power. Now I do have to admit, I haven’t lubercated it enough per the instructions but I’m wondering if there is a way to help it regain its strengh without traction tires or Bullfrog Snot.
Is it really the locomotive losing power or is your power pack’s output getting weak, and your track and wheels dirty.
It isn’t any of that. It can pull on level track really well. The problem is when it pulls a 10 car train up my 2.5 percent grade, the wheels slip 3/4 of the way up the hill.
Maybe just making the locomotive heavier will help. That would be my first remedy.
Well a 2-1/2 percent incline is pretty steep for anything to pull that much rolling stock…
Does your rolling stock have good, free-rolling wheels? Changing wheel sets or using one of the truck reamers can sometimes improve performance.
If your rolling stock is older with plastic wheels, you may be able to get better performance by changing to Intermountain or Proto metal wheels and using a truck tuner.
My personal experience has been that Kadee metal wheels don’t roll as freely as other brands.
I test all of my rolling stock by putting it at the top of a 2 percent incline and letting it roll without pushing. If it doesn’t reach the bottom of the incline, it gets new wheels, reaming with a truck tuner, or even a totally new truck. Atlas, Kato, Proto, or Tahoe Model Works trucks are my choices.