Hi,

I just got this set off eBay and according to the posting, this train has never been run before. Honestly, I believe this cause looking at the various things like wheels, pickup shoe and the overall condition of the train itself, there are no real signs that it had been run before although I'm sure the seller tested the engine. When I ran this train for the first time, it was extremely grouchy, it only moved slightly then stopped, the lights went out too, then I gave it a little push, it moved maybe 3 mm then stopped and that went on for a while but I finally got it going and after it ran for a bit the stopping issue went away. The one thing I'm finding very odd is I have to turn the speed up quite a bit, speed step 7 is shown on my controller before it will start moving and even then before it moves it really grows. I thought it maybe needs lubrication but it looks like the seller must have lubricated the motor but not sure about the wheels. Any thoughts on why it takes so much power to get this locomotive moving? Is this from lack of use or perhaps because it only has a 3 pole motor? What could I try to improve it's running characteristics?

Thanks

Mike

Yes, first look at the gears for dried oil or no oil. Clean and relube sparingly. Break it in like a new one, running at least five minutes in both directions to seat the motor brushes. As it warms up, speed will increase too.Enjoy it, it's a beautiful set. It's a 5 pole motor by the way.