Entry posted by Trainmaster64
625 views
Just a brief update on No.5972 and its condition - things are looking up for this venerable and prized locomotive in the fleet. Upon a thorough examination of this locomotive, it was discovered that the flaw in running quality and operations was down to poor decisions in maintenance, rather than any fault of the powertrain itself. The issue stemmed from the lubrication of the axles of the engine itself - on any other engine, perfectly acceptable and encouraged for maintenance. On No.5972, which uses a split-frame chassis, however, this merely coated the chassis and wheels with oil and covered up the points of conductivity. A brief yet intensive cleaning session, during which nearly all the components of the locomotive's chassis were dismantled, and the engine began to run perfectly once more. More cleaning is required, but for the moment its performace is nothing short of astounding, considering what it was like in the past.
Thus, a warning to all Mechanical Engineers like myself who operate a fleet of engines instead of one or two - firstly, maintain all instructions for all your locomotives. A hardcopy is preferable; print them out from online if you can find them, or else store them safely away. Even if the engine appears to be identical, store every instruction sheet you receive and mark them for each individual engine - it will save you bother in future. The other warning is to never oil the axles on split-chassis locomotives - lest you suffer the same issues that I had.
On a happier note, it appears that bodyshells and tendershells for No.5972 are available - the locomotive could very well get a cosmetic refreshening yet. Stay tuned...
2 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now