Locomotive Maintenance

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DakotaLove39

DakotaLove39

Always Improvising
I'm still relatively new to the finer details of railroading, and I know few things about maintaining locos. I know it's a good idea to grease the wheels (Clean them, that is), but that's about it.

What about lubrication? Do the motor and wheels require this? How often?

Are there any differences between maintaining diesels and steamers?

Do DCC decoders or sound devices require maintenace at all?

Do passenger and freight cars require any maintenace aside from necessary coupler work?
 
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The manufacturers always mention maintenance in their manuals included with each locomotive...at least, in my selection they have. Some, like BLI's steamers, they say their running gear does not come lubed from the factory...only their motors and drive train. You should break in BLI engines for about an hour before you lube the rods and valve gear. I always lube the wheel bushings at the same time. I use Dextron III auto transmission fluid for all exterior lubes.

Diesels, I only lube their wheels every 10 or so hours of operation. For steamers and diesels alike, that 10 hours takes me about two years to accumulate for any one engine. You should adjust as necessary.

After the first 10 hours of operation, it would be a good idea to open them up, either type, and clean out the guck from the drive-train. Re-lube with a plastic compatible grease, just enough to coat the surfaces, and call it good for another 10 hours of operating time.

Either type of engine should be inverted after every two hours and inspected with a magnifier and good light. Look for pet hairs, bits of ground foam, lint, arachnid silk and insect bits, grit of all kinds (metal or dirt), and if you can see a fair bit of it wrapped around the axles, bushings, and the wipers, chances are excellent that the inner works could stand some cleaning.

The best maintenance you can give your DCC and sound systems is to keep them isolated from the frame and running as cool as possible. Atop the motor is not ideal, by any means....but you gotta do what you gotta do.

All rolling stock should have the axle tips wiped periodically, their sockets in the side frames cleaned and lubed, and if there are wipers for interior lighting, they must be cleaned as well. Other than that, I dust all items with a light artists brush, not a stiff one, and blow gentely to move the billowing crud away from the model.

Does that help?
 
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Dextron 3, eh?

Fortunately I work for CarQuest, so I get lubricants on discount. Can you recommend a certain grease to use?
 


Not grease, but rather Transmission Fluid.

I myself followed in the footsteps of many people here, and bought a cheap $1.12 quart of transmission fluid, and it works amazing. Just don't slobber it on, use small amounts or you'll end up with it on everything.

Plastic safe Graphite lubricant is nice to have around for axle pins and couplers. LaBelle makes this, it is slightly expensive, but works good, I've not found a cheap alternative yet.
 
Make sure to keep any lube away from the tread surface of the wheels. Most diesels need only be lubed LIGHTLY a couple of times a year, unless you're one of those types who has the loco running 24/7. Avoid using grease. It attracts dirt like a magnet and becomes a big gloppy mess. I stopped using any kind of powdered graphite years ago. It has a nasty habit of finding it's way to the railheads. This causes your locos to slip and slide really good but they don't get much traction. I also advocate the use of Dexron III transmission fluid. I apply it with the tip of a toothpick. A very small drop on the gears and gear bearings is all that's needed. Any more than that will find it's way to the rails and then you'll have a big mess.
 
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DakotaLove39 said:
How about steam loco siderods? Should these also be lubed for good measure?
Click to expand...

Oiling the siderods is a double-edged sword. It smooths things out until the oil starts to attract dust and crud. Then it gums them up.

I use a dry lube, like graphite or teflon (both available in a spray or dry powder form) .
 
Do you apply the tranny fluid to the inside or the outside of the side rods? I'm assuming the fluid would stain somewhat..
 
I use Dextron III on all exterior lube jobs, including the valve gear and rods as I stated earlier. It is only in the inner drivetrain that I use grease.

I have not seen my rods and valvegear get dirty because of my use of auto transmission fluid.
 


Me Too!

I'm also an Automatic Transmission Fluid fan.:D I've been using it about 10 years now, and have yet to have any kind of wear or lubrication issues. ATF also, because of its properties, seems to rejuvinate a lot of the factory applied greases that come in some locos. It's also handy to coat the bottom of turnouts(the moving parts) before installing them, that way if any ballast adhesive finds its way up to them, the rails wont stick to the adhesive.
I also use it as a wheel cleaner (1 engine truck on the track, one on a paper towel with a drop of ATF) and as a track cleaning treatment, but that in itself would warrant another thread! ;)
 
also use it as a wheel cleaner (1 engine truck on the track, one on a paper towel with a drop of ATF) and as a track cleaning treatment, but that in itself would warrant another thread!
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good idea, why not start one?

Cheers
Willis
 
the key is...

DakotaLove39 said:
Ditto that.
Click to expand...

The key to the whole thing is wiping them off. After cleaning I run the loco (again with 1 truck on rails, ) on a dry cloth. The minute amount of ATF that is left over will get disapated over the rails in very short order. Like I said in a prior post, I've been using it for years, and traction is not an issue as long as over oiling does not occur. We've run 100+ car trains on the club layout with 3-4 Atlas GP40's with the engines being freshly serviced, with no issues from the engines. Keeping 400+ trailing axles all on the rails at the same time is another story!
 
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