Welcome to the forum   
Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Icon
Error

Share
Options
View
Go to last post in this topic Go to first unread post in this topic
Offline joyofmarklin  
#1 Posted : 22 January 2021 16:56:47(UTC)
joyofmarklin

United States   
Joined: 25/06/2012(UTC)
Posts: 116
Location: phoenix
As far as I can see there are some good videos on cleaning, ( such as Marklin of Sweden) but none that shows both cleaning and lubrication. Having had mixed results recently with paid maintenance, where I had to do the lubrication! This video from the 3rd Rail is both informative and gives confidence for you to do it yourself.

Infact all the videos are well worth watching. I have followed the advice to add a breaking section before signals.
I am sure relative novices like me will have the confidence to tackle these important tasks? Good luck!

thanks 7 users liked this useful post by joyofmarklin
Offline river6109  
#2 Posted : 23 January 2021 05:20:17(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
I've never found out whether there is or was enough lubrication, especially how do you know if there isn't enough lubrication on the axles., since I've added ball bearings to the motor armature I never had problems with any noise except the noise is there from the cog wheels, which you can't get rid of it anyhow.
my locos are running (not all of them) pretty much over a period of time and more than the recommended lubrication time., the layout I've got with so many locos and rolling stock if I would adhere to the lubrication time I would never have time to enjoy my creation.
You imagine cleaning tracks of close to 1 km to get rid of all the grime, dust which is created by oiling, lubrication, who ever instigated this job should be barred for life from model trains.
Would you stand in front of the mirror and comb your hair for days, would you brush your teeth for hours, would you lubricate all the joints in a car ? of course you wouldn't.
if you have a clean surface whereas no oil has been applied you ill notice there will be no dust or grime attached to it. I personally think by applying oil you create you own disaster and reminds me sheep follow sheep without trying to break the cycle., everybody has their own method of cleaning, oiling or lubricating, I'm sorry to say I'm not one of them.
Its like living in a 5 story home and everyday you have to climb up hundreds of stairs and every time to have fulfilled your task you say: there must be an easier way to manage this and there is: install a lift.
the loco in question in the video: can I fix a slow BR 151 and I can say over my whole life time dealing with locos and their performance I've never came across it and said: yes it was the lubrication or lack of oil and if your loco runs slow it has most probably to do with the motor: the brush plate, the brush plate is the cause most of the time, it doesn't have an exact mounting position, it can be moved in almost all directions my a fraction of a millimeter and this makes a lot of difference with a 5pole motor, this motor doesn't allow any discrepancies whereas before the old 3 pole motor had tolerances.
Märklin will never tell you this 5 pole motor (although it was designed for these locos) the motor block wasn't, whereas when you look at a HAG loco motor it is well advanced and the later motor has ball bearings (I wonder why). the lubrication job started way back in the 1940 and hasn't been updated in 80 years and this tells you something, everything else has been modified or improved since than to make it better.

John

Edited by user 23 January 2021 15:12:45(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by river6109
Offline artfull dodger  
#3 Posted : 23 January 2021 23:59:14(UTC)
artfull dodger

United States   
Joined: 31/08/2014(UTC)
Posts: 475
Location: Indiana, Kokomo
I picked up a 3060/4060 Santa Fe F7 pair at a local train show just before Covid hit the USA last year. Its always been sporadic in running, wasnt such an issue in analog but once digital was put in, it became an issue. I could tell from the orange tint to the oil that there was corrosion in the axle bores of the front bogie/truck. I removed the wheels and axles, lightly spun my round jewelers file in each axle bore to clean up the corrosion, then reassembled after cleaning and polishing everything. That solved the issue I was having. I had run the model quite a bit and it was not getting much better. So I did this as I prepare to upgrade the motor to 5 pole high effenciey and a better decoder. Many of these older locomotives get stored in damp places, be it a basement, attic, shed ect. Sometimes just getting run takes care of it. but this one was bone dry on any oil, so the moisture created rust. Mike the Aspie
Silly NT's..I have Asperger's Syndrome!!!!
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by artfull dodger
Offline river6109  
#4 Posted : 24 January 2021 00:57:33(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
Mike, thanks for sharing your experience., my post was merely to demonstrate a routine oiling or lubrication may not always be necessary but there are instances like yours and most probably many others who have bought, inherited items which had been in storage for a long time and you most likely to find a loco or carriage in any state of condition and different measures have to be taken.

John
https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
Offline Copenhagen  
#5 Posted : 24 January 2021 01:46:47(UTC)
Copenhagen


Joined: 23/04/2019(UTC)
Posts: 369
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Would I brush my teeth for hours (like River asks)? Well if I brush my teeth twice a day it will add up to about 24 hours a year.

On the box of Märklin cars it says lubricate before use... but is that enough for the rest of the car's lifespan? Probably not. Maybe lubrication isn't needed at all? Today the wheels are usually steel on plastic. When I lubricated a lot of my rolling stock that had been used for a while without lubrication I didn't notice any wear on most of the cars, but a few of them had some of the plastic ground off and stuck on the tip of the axles, which indicates that some plastic hubs aren't that durable. But I can't know if not lubricating means that over the years more and more of the plastic will be ground off. My plan is to check some of the cars from time to time to se how the bearings look - do they need cleaning or oiling or nothing at all?

Most locomotives are stated to be lubricated every 30 hours of use. To most people it'll be hard to determine when a locomotive has been run for that period of time. So it'll probably come down to a periodical visual check to see if af bit of oil and grease should be applied. It's also easy to make a list of all locomotives with notes of when it was last maintained or serviced. After all it can be a part of the hobby to keep these kinds of lists and keeping a maintenance schedule.

Long time ago I watched a lot of the Mckinley railway videos where there is a huge amount of trains and in one of the episodes I believe it was said that they would not lubricate their trains. I don't know of that holds true or not.
Offline river6109  
#6 Posted : 24 January 2021 03:15:12(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
A good example of carriages needing oil or lubrication is the original 4624 hopper car, the coupling was part of the bogie 9all metal) , a later editions of this hopper car had short couplings and a separate coupling mechanism and what has occurred the plastic coupling mechanism interfered with the metal under carriage, it got stuck, by having an amount of carriages of this type the coupling didn't return to its normal position after it left a curved section and the result was carriages derailed., its nice to have metal carriages but again it has proven 2 different components, one metal, one plastic doesn't go together when these 2 parts are subject to movement.
We can always advertise Märklin is the best but when we look at facts the truth is not fully represented, a bit blurred or misleading, now I understand why older production of HAG locos are more expensive, you just look at them, their construction and you can see why

John
https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by river6109
Offline artfull dodger  
#7 Posted : 24 January 2021 05:39:49(UTC)
artfull dodger

United States   
Joined: 31/08/2014(UTC)
Posts: 475
Location: Indiana, Kokomo
I would gamble more of us, especially here in the states with no train shows might run into some of what I found with light corrosion issues from trains we might buy online from places like facebook marketplace, ebay ect. Buying without being able to test run or even see the model before purchase other than the online pictures. I always have my radar up for good second hand Marklin and wont turn any away unless the owner has unrealistic ideas of its worth. There are two hobby shops in Indianapolis that get in used Marklin and other brands on European trains from time to time. The current market is very pot luck, so the ability to clean and rehab models is becoming very relevant in todays modeling community. Mostly to those of us that either love the older models or cannot afford the new stuff right now. Mike the Aspie
Silly NT's..I have Asperger's Syndrome!!!!
Offline river6109  
#8 Posted : 24 January 2021 15:36:43(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
Mike, yes it is handy to have some repair skills

John
https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
Offline joyofmarklin  
#9 Posted : 24 January 2021 23:08:57(UTC)
joyofmarklin

United States   
Joined: 25/06/2012(UTC)
Posts: 116
Location: phoenix
Great to see the comments here. If you watch the video you will see that “The 3rd Rail” uses minuscule amount of oil. After “professional “ servicing the armature and certain wheels needed lubrication!
Here in Arizona dust on the track is a problem and with the lack of humidity,maintenance is necessary!
On another note hear in the UK , due to Brexit, no longer can get Marklin products direct.
Offline artfull dodger  
#10 Posted : 24 January 2021 23:28:49(UTC)
artfull dodger

United States   
Joined: 31/08/2014(UTC)
Posts: 475
Location: Indiana, Kokomo
Hopefully in time the issues in the UK with Brexit will sort themselves out. At least with the multitude of online sources for Marklin, all is not lost, must a bit more time consuming and more expensive than it once probably was. Mike
Silly NT's..I have Asperger's Syndrome!!!!
Offline Copenhagen  
#11 Posted : 27 January 2021 13:38:59(UTC)
Copenhagen


Joined: 23/04/2019(UTC)
Posts: 369
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
The McKinley video I talked about suddenly came up in my youtube feed. David Townend talks about oil at about 2:30
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=joCmTwRSf1w
The video is from 2010. Since then the layout has been expanded and changed - and is still under construction. At least this is one take on lubrication.
Users browsing this topic
Forum Jump  
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.

| Powered by YAF.NET | YAF.NET © 2003-2024, Yet Another Forum.NET
This page was generated in 0.632 seconds.