Hi, Getting into this great hobby and will hopefully very soon own Locomotive or two. Is there somewhere online that I can learn everything I need to know about locomotive maintenance? Or, is there not that much to know? I know absolutely nothing about it so feel free to educate me. I do have some small tools if that helps. Just kind of wondering how to go about it. Hoping it doesn't require much disassembly. I'm a wiz at taking things apart. It's the putting them back together I can't seem to do well. Thanks, -Everett
Hello Everett, welcome! I'm sure this thread will soon be filled with tips and links, but generally, you just want to make sure to keep your locos clean and lubricated. It's important to keep dirt and dust to a minimum not only because of the moving parts in the motor and drivetrain, but also because current from the rails reaches the motor (or decoder) through a series of conductive metal tabs and interconnects that can gunk up and cause your trains to stutter or stop. For cleaning, I usually just disassemble the wheels and go over the metal bits with an old toothbrush and rubbing alcohol to clean off the crud. They make light oil specifically for n-scale locomotives that can help keep things spinning freely, but make sure not to put in too much, as it can attract stray ballast and dust and stuff, drawing more gunk into the rotating parts. edit: Oh, and when you do take a locomotive apart, do it in a clean well-lit area. You're going to have stuff fall out of the frame and scurry across the floor, seeking shelter, so you might want to work over a towel or something, as it will keep bits from rolling off the table and under the refrigerator or furnace. Speaking from personal experience, here.
Thanks for the help, btw I don't have a loco here in front of me yet but was wondering how you "disassemble the wheels"?
Once you have gotten the trucks out of the frame the truck body is usually made out of 2 pieces from what I've disassembled. There will be a couple of tabs locking the 2 pieces together. Once seperated the contact strips are removed then the axles are popped out of their seats and if you want to go further and remove the gears it's usually a matter of gently spreading the truck body they are in and they will usually drop out just make sure you don't loose them cause some can be rather hard to find again. I don't know if anyone has ever done a how to but I'm sure if there is one of guys on here will know where to look it up.
Each manufacture has it's own little issues to contend with. Its hard to answer in a "general" sense. What I would recommend, if you want to tinker, is hit ebay, pick up one or two cheapy units, take em appart and get the feel of the small parts, and how they operate. Newer more expensive units are a bit more detailed, and percise, but basically the same. You can pick up a couple "parts" units on ebay for very little. A non working unit shouldnt cost you but a few bucks. Try and fix the problem. If you can't, you are not out much, and might learn something about how they operate. If you are wanting steam units, those can be a bear (I am a steam head), but pick up a couple of those too, and tear em up... You learn alot by messing up, so if you are going to do it, it's better to do it with a couple old "parts" units..
P.S. To elaberate a little. Good cheaper units to tinker with to get the idea what makes N scale tick are: Steam: Life-Like Little Joe 0-6-0 Saddle Tank, Bachmann's 0-6-0 w/tender Diesel: Any older Bachmann, or Life-Like diesels. Any of these can be had pretty cheap, even running ones on Ebay. Running, or poorly running, no more than $10-$15 you should pay. Parts units, just a few bucks... For Steam, stay with the 0-6-0s or small steamers, because they have less driver rods to contend with. Get the feel for those, because if you start out with say, a 2-8-8-2, with alot of driver rod action, it can drive ya to drink getting the rods back together once you take them off. a couple auctions to look at.. http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-382-N-scale...ryZ19122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Life-Like-N-Sca...ryZ19125QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Arnold-...ryZ19120QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Lifelike-0-6-0-...ryZ19125QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/N-GAUGE-TRAIN-B...ryZ19122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/N-Scale-Bachman...ryZ19122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem These links are just a sample to get you started. I have no affiliation with any of them. Watch the shipping charges also... Get a magnifier visor too.. Good luck with the tinkering..
Thanks for all the help guys! I'll have to look into buying a couple of junkers to experiment with, good idea!
