What can I do to help this little brass GN 0-6-0?


CbrandonB

Member
Hi all,

I opened up my little 1976 Westside GN A-9 today. Here's a pic:

20150705_150645.jpg

This little engine looks brand new. However, doesn't run so great. :) The slow speed performance is pretty bad, takes quite a bit of juice to make it start running. I'm thinking it may benefit greatly from remotoring and/or regearing, but wanted to see what you guys thought.

Or maybe it just needs some lube? It probably hasn't been run in 30 or more years, but I do see SOME lube on the gears. May not be actually lubing, though.

What do you guys think?

Brandon
 
Clean out the old lube (which has dried out after 30 years) and relube it. Put pick up wipers on all wheels of the tender trucks. the major problem with operation on many small steamers is poor electrical pick up.
 
I can see the petrified lube oil from here. Clean it all off/out, and apply some light oil, like LaBelle 108, to the gears, motor bearings, wheel/axle bearings, even valve gear. Apply lightly, a little goes a long way.
 
I opened up my little 1976 Westside GN A-9 today. ... I'm thinking it may benefit greatly from remotoring and/or regearing, but wanted to see what you guys thought.
I agree, clean all that old petrified stuff out of there. That looks like it already has a can motor (maybe even one of the early coreless ones), and that gear arrangement would be difficult to just change. I think one would have to completely change the drive train, as I doubt there is a NWSL replacement for something like that.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys! I am going to pickup one of the LaBelle kits that include the 3 different lubes. I am also going to put a DCC decoder under that little can motor once I get one ordered. I'm hoping to convert my entire fleet, but that is about 80 locomotives... it's going to take some time and prioritization. My father-in-law gave me his collection, and my goal is to get them up and running as well as I can so that when he visits, we can go to a local club layout and he can run them some.

Also, what is the best way to remove the old oil? Is there any kind of solvent or anything that may make it easier, or should I just take a stiff plastic brush to them?

Brandon
 
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I've always used regular lighter fluid to remove old grease and oil. Just make sure there's no open flame, do this in a well ventilated area. Also use the smallest amount that you can. Change the fluid out when dirty. Let each piece air dry for at least several hours. Brush the old gunk away with an old utility brush. I do this cleaning in a small single serving chicken pot pie pan.
 
I think first after cleaning and relubing, put a very good BEMF decoder in it, if you have solid BEMF you can control the motor speed very well. You may be able to get the engine speed down that way, if not, study NWSL for some gears, try not to change the worm gears instead look at the vertical gears, you could do something there to reduce the speed there.
I usually try not to regear worms and wheels if I don't have another way first.
 



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