Jump to content
 

Locomotive maintenance


Recommended Posts

Hi,

I’ve have recently become aware of a oo scale locomotive of mine that is in dire need of a bit of servicing and I was wondering whether there were any recommendations for a grease that I can use to make sure all the gears and worm drives are lubricated.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated as I have been looking at the Woodland Scenics Hob-E-Lube Moly Grease but I’m not sure whether this would be a good option so feedback would be welcome people have used this.

 

Thanks very much.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good question, for the last 30/40 years I've been using a 50g tub of 'Tri-flow' grease which has served me well, and is now running out, so I will be looking for a replacement soon!!??:sungum:

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

I don't use grease, I clean it all off and use a small amount of clock makers oil, on bearings and gears. Grease is not viscous enough until it gets warm and hopefully our models don't get that warm.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Siberian Snooper
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Like Siberian, I'm not a fan of grease in model railway mechanisms.  Not only is it too thick, it attacts crud and will over time go solid, becoming the opposite of a lubricant, a stifficant.  I remove it with a combination of a rattlecan switch cleaner and an old toothbrush (for brushing old teeth) and relube with a non-mineral light machine oil that my local Antics promised me would  do no harm to plastics or nylon gears.  This is applied with a syringe, but if you do not have one a drop of oil on the end of a pin will do.  The idea is to use the minimum amount of oil possible applied to the lubrication points specified on the exploded diagram that came in the box with the loco; any surplus is not only wasted oil but will tend to pick up crud just like the grease did.  If you don't have this, it will be available from the manufacturer as a free pdf download. 

 

The mech is usually designed so that all the lubrication points can be accessed with the body removed and no further dissassembly is needed, but if you've got a mech gunged up with a crud/grease mix, you will need to remove the keepr plate, carefully because the soldered connections between the pickup strips and the motor feed wires don't like being disturbed, drop the wheels out, and give everything a scrubbing before you re-assmble the mech.  Once you've got rid of the grease/gunk you shouldn't have to take things apart to that extent again for a long time.

 

Don't use mineral oil or any oil that is not known to be 'safe' for use with plastics or nylon, unless the model is old Hornby Dublo or an all metal kit build. 

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

I make use of a special model lubricant set from a company called Nye. It has in it motor oil, gear oil, and hobby grease.

 

I’ve had this set for around 5 years now, and judged on the quantities I’ve used, I’ll not need another for a further 50.

 

Quite expensive set to buy, but very good quality stuff.

 

I’ll also use an aerosol of electrical contact cleaner (Holts in my case) to remove any grub and old grease on servicing, before applying a suitably small amount of new lubricant back on.

Link to post
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I don't use grease, I clean it all off and use a small amount of clock makers oil, on bearings and gears. Grease is not viscous enough until it gets warm and hopefully our models don't get that warm.

 That's funny, at one time I used thin clock makers oil - until I found it worked it's way past the motor bearings, and worked it's way to the brushes, it happened a couple of times, so I ditched it, and have used grease also used by helicopter modelers, using just a thin smear at a time. As I said, used it for over 30 years with no problem, and being a loco kit-builder to me loco maintenance is all important.

Edited by bike2steam
Link to post
Share on other sites

There's a dreadful white grease used by various manufactures. This should be removed and replaced by something else.

Rivarossi-Memory refers to it as 'Grasso-Torone'. For those not in the know, this is a thick white substance similar to nougat.

 

http://www.rivarossi-memory.it/Tecnica/Grasso_Torrone_ALC420/Grasso_anni_90.htm

 

Sorry, it's in Italian.

Edited by Il Grifone
Link to post
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...