Running in trains/Breaking them in


Midnught Special

Midnught Special

Member
Ok how/what is the best way to run in or break in a train? is it ok to have an engine pull a train while its getting run in?? is there a good speed to run them in at or is it harmful to pull a train while your running an engine in? I would like other views on this subject as I seem to get a very mixed view on this, I personially like to run them with the dial set to about mid day or 1:00 while pulling a small train but I have had others tell me thats hurting the engine and others say its ok to do...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I only buy used or NOS engines due to budget constraints.

I prefer to start them out at or near max power with no cars. Once it's good and warm, I'll back the throttle off. I don't know if this does harm or good.

My thought is that the higher setting would get the lubricants moving and clear out some of the dust. I've tried starting out at a low power setting, but that doesn't seem to clear out the motor as well.
 
Railrunner130 said:
I only buy used or NOS engines due to budget constraints.

I prefer to start them out at or near max power with no cars. Once it's good and warm, I'll back the throttle off. I don't know if this does harm or good.

My thought is that the higher setting would get the lubricants moving and clear out some of the dust. I've tried starting out at a low power setting, but that doesn't seem to clear out the motor as well.
Click to expand...

im kinda in the same boat as you my friend, most of my engines (all of them actually) are either NOS or second hand/used engines that I buy off other people some of them have had two other owners before me even!! so thats part of the reason for my question!
 
For our typical low-tech scale locomotives, breaking them in is probably best done with varying speeds and loads, but initially 'light'...by themselves, to see if there are any problems that won't be exacerbated by the loads. Once they have run without stalling, staggering, lurching, grinding, or dropping parts of the outer drive (nuts and rods on steamers) for a bit, then you can vary the power and the load. I would also avoid long break-in runs in case the motor or early drive components are generating a lot of heat. You would want the heat to dissipate and then start a new run, hopefully with shrunk components that will run more freely and not start off immediatly with strong damaging friction.

Also, running too long, whether first run or break-in run, without lubing or checking for proper lubrication is not a good idea generally. In fact, oftentimes a user opens a brand new engine to find the gearbox jammed with grease.
 
Midnught Special said:
Ok how/what is the best way to run in or break in a train? is it ok to have an engine pull a train while its getting run in?? is there a good speed to run them in at or is it harmful to pull a train while your running an engine in? I would like other views on this subject as I seem to get a very mixed view on this, I personially like to run them with the dial set to about mid day or 1:00 while pulling a small train but I have had others tell me thats hurting the engine and others say its ok to do...
Click to expand...

i like to start them slow and work up the speed. nodifference if new or used. this allows me to see if there is a bind in the drivetrain or any electrical problems. only then, if no problems then i start adding cars to check pulling power. Phil
 
Cool, what about when your running them in forwards/reverse then your about to switch directions? is it better to run it 30 minutes one way then stop and let it rest for so long then run the engine 30 minutes the other direction? or is it better to run it one way for 30 minutes then stop and change directions and then continue running in the other direction 30 minutes with minimal to no rest/cool down??
 
Backwards or forwards shouldn't make any different. No cool down required. Interestingly I've found through the years that loco (steamers) seem to run better in reverse! I start slow and work up to higher speeds.

If one has the space a small oval can be used to warm up the locos before you put them on the layout. You may be surprised at the performance of your locos on your layout after running 5 or 6 minutes ahead of time. Also, instead of watching your loco go roundy round on the oval/circle you can clean the track. Mulitasking! Jim:)
 
GS, Opinions are what make art Art, horse racing Horse Racing, and model railroads sites Model Railroad Sites. What are the chances buying a 7 year old loco off ebay, or even your LHS, having directions? I just bought a "new in box" On30 Climax and I'm still looking for the directions!

You are, of course, correct about directions. I'm guessing the original poster didn't have them, or didn't read them, or wants to make his own choices in the matter based on info from those who care enough to take their time to help him out. Including your contribution. Cheers, Jim:)
 
HOexplorer said:
GS, Opinions are what make art Art, horse racing Horse Racing, and model railroads sites Model Railroad Sites. What are the chances buying a 7 year old loco off ebay, or even your LHS, having directions? I just bought a "new in box" On30 Climax and I'm still looking for the directions!

You are, of course, correct about directions. I'm guessing the original poster didn't have them, or didn't read them, or wants to make his own choices in the matter based on info from those who care enough to take their time to help him out. Including your contribution. Cheers, Jim:)
Click to expand...

all my locos are second hand, possibly third hand so as for instructions there are none to be had, I have had only one engine in my entire collection come with any type of instructions and that one got traded off, so my entire collection is all non instruction containing engines, except one that is imported from Germany, but I don't read German too well so I have to have that translated by either my mom or Oma (grandma in German)...
 
Yeah!! I get very "passionate" with instructions, specially those (when they do) tell you how do remove the shell. My favourite is "grip the shell firmly". Which means in the case of most of the newer engines, you actually cause it to jam more tightly against the frame. "DoH!!"
 
When I buy a loco, new or used, the first thing I do is disassemble it completely. I clean any dirt, grease, and occasionally, fibers or animal hair wrapped around the axles. I check for broken wires, (I once picked up a $300 brass loco for $75 cause the owner said the motor was burned out. The wire to the motor from the drawbar, was broken.) and just make any repairs needed.

When I reassemble it, I make sure its properly lubed. Then I will break it in by running for 15 minutes in forward and then 15 minutes in reverse. Then I check for over-heating of the motor. If the motor is warm and not hot, I repeat the running.

After that, I may go ahead and prepare it for painting, or go ahead and run it on the layout for awhile to see how it performs with a train. After that I may decide to re-motor and/or re-gear the mechanism.
 
I hook about 85 cars to each of my new engines and run them uphill non-stop for 100 hours. Then I change the oil with mobil-one extended performance. If they still work after that I figure....what the heck? :):confused::)



Mike
 
HOexplorer said:
Backwards or forwards shouldn't make any different. No cool down required.... Jim:)
Click to expand...

It makes a difference because the drive mechanisms and rods, if the item is a steamer, are not precision-bearing surfaces. When you reverse a drive-train in our scale models, different thrust vectors cause 'bunching', or slack to take place at various places which causes shaped geometries, or engineered surfaces, to alter their angles of interface and the friction that results. That changes the running characteristics. By running the item in both direction, you learn which way the drive train bucks or grabs, and you learn if you have to place spacers between the pillow block/transmission and the worm gear on the main shaft. Most of us learn that an engine that runs well in reverse does not necessarily run well moving forward. Breaking in a locomotive in both directions helps to settle the drivetrain in. Once the drive has some wear, faults that cause stumbling or lurching, but only in one direction, can be investigated and cured. Even so, a break-in after the cure might also be necessary.

And yes, cooling is important. When things cool, especially items that were running in tight tolerances because of friction, their shapes change, both in cross-section and in length. Allowing periodic cooling allows abraded materials to be drawn to one side, or shoved out of the way the next time the sliding/moving/rotating item is set in motion. This has the happy outcome of ridding the friction surfaces of unnecessary wear.
 
Crandell, Good points and while I'm no engine guy and know very little about 'under the hood' stuff, my answer was my answer, and as usual since it is free the thread starter can take it or leave it.

From your answer do we gather that after say, 15 minutes of forward breakin running, that we should let the loco cool down to original room temp then do our 15 minutes in reverse? Just askin. Jim :)

PS Are you the same Crandell who hosts a website I used to post photo on? I lost all that info a couple of computer changes ago.
 
GS.Thanks for directions. The initial squint reveals that a "couple of hours" running is adequate for Bachman locos. Of course those who choose to run their Bachmann geared steam may break a gear an be SOL anyway. So far my On30 T-boiler still works. My HO 3-truck Shay went tits up in less than twenty minutes! Jim:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top