Kato/Atlas Locos


treyba

New Member
I have just recently been able to get back in to the hobby. The problem is, I have several Atlas & Kato locos that have not been ran in quite a while. When I disassembled my layout all the engines were working fine. Does anyone have any tips on what I can do to get these engines back in good running shape. Some of them sound like the gears are slipping. I was thinking they may need to be lubricated. Any advice?

Thanks, Trey
 
I have just recently been able to get back in to the hobby. The problem is, I have several Atlas & Kato locos that have not been ran in quite a while. When I disassembled my layout all the engines were working fine. Does anyone have any tips on what I can do to get these engines back in good running shape. Some of them sound like the gears are slipping. I was thinking they may need to be lubricated. Any advice?

Thanks, Trey


RUN EM!!..sometimes just breaking them back in helps allot...Clean the wheels, pick ups, and contact points (brushes) if you can get to them...clean the lint build up in the trucks around the axles, gears, ect...check for worn gears....and LIGHTLY lube. A good blast of air can clean dust out of them and help prevent over heating.
 
I think, if you run tem, they should be O K.

Sometimes you have to chek the Drifegear.
On my old GP 50 they are krackt!!
:mad:
 
I had some in storage for 20 yrs and they sounded awful. I agree some canned air and some light oil. Run them a bit and they should be good to go. If they worked b4 they should be ok. Good Luck!! and enjoy.
 
I had some in storage for 20 yrs and they sounded awful. I agree some canned air and some light oil. Run them a bit and they should be good to go. If they worked b4 they should be ok. Good Luck!! and enjoy.
 
Take care to use the right lubricant, some machine oils may damage the plastic gears. Use light oils that are compatible with plastic.
Cheers,
 
Depending on how old the engines are, some older lubricants dry out and gum up with age acting like glue which could be why the engines sound like they are slipping.

Brass electrical contacts can oxodize with age causing lack of continuity.

As others suggest, run them maybe to burn off the oxidization and loosen up the lubricants but that may not be the best choice.

I would do a complete tear down. Scrub the old lubricant off the gears with dish detergent and a tooth brush. Buff the electrical contact surfaces with a track eraser and some metal polish that doesn't leave a film such as MAAS.

Reasemble and sparingly lubricate with plastic compatible oil and grease such as Labelle or Atlas.
 



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