Is it neccesary to “warm up” a locomotive? I have noticed that even after a day of non-use, the momentum of the locomotive is not as smooth as it is after it have been running for a few minutes. Is there a “best practice” warm up the locomotive, or is it a matter of just running it? I am also finding it neccessary to clean the track every couple of days for smooth operations. The environment is as follows: inside the house in a climate-controlled room in dry, but dusty, Arizona. Is this normal?
Oh, one more question–how long can I continue to hide behind the noobie label and ask dumb questions?
How old are the engines you are asking about? I have some locomotives going back some 2 or 3 decades and I have found that the grease used in the gear boxes back then has turned into a caked-up, waxy mess.
Don’t be afraid to disassemble your trucks and clean out the old grease and replace it with a better grade of, say Labelle PTFE grease.
Very good question! I’ve noticed that locos that have sat a while need a bit of a warmup to perform as they should. It’s probably a combination of better contact as the engine moves around (friction between wheels and track/pickup will remove light corrosion) and lubrication spreading out. Anything mechanical will seize a bit after a period of time… I definitely will run a loco that has sat on a shelf (at medium speed) for a while a few times around the track before doing some kind of “serious” operation. Like you, I’m curious to see what the “experts” will say…
Let’s assume we are talking about HO two rail permanent magnet motored DC locomotives, the most common sort here in the US of A. Mine work well right after powering up the layout and just as well half an hour later. I don’t do warmup laps, it’s not like warming up a car in the winter. You may be seeing one of two things, or maybe both together. First off, the works of HO locomotives are lubricated with grease. After some years the grease stiffens up and gets sticky. Running it for a bit will warm up the grease and make it less sticky. If this is the case, I open the locomotive up, clean out all the old lube with alcohol or “mineral spirits” (sold as paint thinner or charcoal lighter fluid in the US) relube sparingly, and press on. I have been using that white moly grease from the auto parts store on gears, and light oil (3-in-1) on everything else (axle bearings, rods, valve gear. Except coupler boxes and tender axles, which get powdered graphite.
Or, or perhaps as well, running a locomotive cleans a lot of lightweight dirt off the rails. Your warmup laps may simply be brushing dust off the rails. You mention that track cleaning is something of a problem for you. Me, I wipe down my rails with GooGone on a rag but I don’t find that necessary more often than every few months.
When I show my layout off to visitors, I make it a point, before the visitors arrive, to power it up and run all the trains, just to make sure they run, and fix any little thing that breaks. You could call this warmup, you could also call it defense against Murphy’s Law.
I am running N-scale, so I am a little more hesitant to mess with the itty-bitty motors. Am I just being overly cautious? Can I clean the motors on these little machines? Also, none of my locomotives are more than three years old.
Also, I have tried Goo Gone, but have moved away from it as it seemed to leave a film on the rails. (It could have just been my imagination.) I am currently using lacquer thinner to clean the rails.
Climate control in AZ usually means an indoor air temp of about 72 F. Many greases and oils are more viscuous at this temp than even 10 to 20 degress warmer, so don’t reduce drag as much as once warmed up. With the light loads and limited range of operating temps typical of models RRs, not too big a deal physically and, as you note, a couple of minutes running solves the issue.
This is an area where some research might turn up more alternatives. The slickest recent option I’ve heard of is Nano-Oil, which may be helpful. I believe they advertise in MR, but googling around should find them.
I use Nano-Oil and I have found that it makes an almost immediate difference to the running speed of a locomotive.
I recently used it on a Hollywood Foundry BullAnt drive. The mfr recommends a two hour break in period. When I applied the Nano-Oil (85 wt. on the gears and 10 wt. on the motor bushings) to a new drive it sped up significantly in just a couple of seconds. The loco was being held by hand off the track so it was easy to feel and hear the difference.
It is a bit pricey, but it is used in very small amounts so I anticipate that I likely have many years supply in the small tubes.
It comes as individual 8 cc tubes of 5 wt., 10 wt., and 85 wt., or you can buy a set of all three. It is also available in 30 cc bottles.
The 5 wt. is described as a penetrating oil and I haven’t found a whole lot of use for it. In fact, it evaporates eventually and leaves nothing behind. The 10 wt. is used on motor and axle bearings, and the 85 wt. is used on gears. If I were buying the oils again I would only get the 10 and 85 wts.
Regarding track cleaning, it’s my experience that living in a dusty environment, there are no easy tricks. I live in central Oregon, east of the Cascades…high and dry. Dust is a fact of life here too, and ya simply gotta get it off the rails for good operation. I’ve found that vacuuming between real cleanings is easier and does help. I wish there was an easier answer! Dan
“Hey, hey, hey…” as Jackie used to say on “Roseanne” when Rosie twigged her. I turned 75 in March, but I’m still asking what sosme people might think are dumb questions. I try to put my oar in if I think I know the answer, but my memory ain’t what it used to was (“Yesterday, I couldn’t say septuagenarian, now I ARE one.”)
Hang in there, Richard, and someday you may be able to answer some newbie’s innocently dumb question! I was lucky: as a teenager just getrting my feet wet in the hobby, I was mentored by my eldest brother, who taught me about tools and workshop stuff and model-building, everything from handcars to roundhouses to steam locos to—well, just about everything. I’m always willing to pass on any knowledge or tips that can help and so are lots of others on this Forum.
While there is no way to tell if the initial hesitation is mechanical binding due to thickened lubricant without looking at what is there, I’ll offer a reasonable alternative.
Given you are running N scale, the weight on rail to make continous electrically contact is even more critical than the larger more weighty scales. The fact that you are having to clean track often tells me that the problem with initial rough running may be a contact issue. You can test this by cleaning track before running the problem engine to see if the rough running shows up. Other locos may also behave badly at first if there is marginal contact overall.
Of course, having said all of that I have experienced the dreaded goop greasy problem and had to dig out the old grease to get good performance.
I’ve noticed in HO that Kato engines (which are generally very good runners) do sometimes start and stop a bit more abruptly than say an Atlas engine. Not sure why. This might be what you’re noticing. If you’re running DCC you could adjust CV2 - starting power - up a bit, or change CV 3 (and 4) - momentum.
Hmmmm, are you running DCC as well? Sometimes after sitting they build up a film from previous use this film is usually from the electricity passing through the units, it takes a couple seconds to clear off.
Hmm… I have a couple of locomotives that are a little slow and sluggish getting started and need a lap or two around the layout to smooth out and speed up. A pair of Bowser Alco C630’s. My layout is in the living room and during the winter is around 65 degrees and in the summer… like now is 98. They behave that way despite the temp. I live in the very dry and dusty high desert of northern Nevada, I’m more inclined to think that they are having to run off a thin cover of powdery dust from the rails. You might have similar circumstances.
Ah, I occasionally have the issue where my units don’t respond immediately. My club president explained it to me, but when units sit for a while the arcing from electricity builds up on the contact points. It takes a couple seconds for charge to pass through. (I could be wrong, it’s been about a year since then.)