I purchased two Marklin locomotives.. 88834 and 8800. They both appear like new and have probably been sitting, unused, for 30 years. Both are in original box with instruction sheet on lubrication. Should I lubricate locomotives before running? What lubricant? The Marklin 7199 oil recommended is unavailable.
Thanks for your help,
Gtpooleltc

If a loco is not used used for many years (I had purchased a loco set from 1997 and had this issue of dried lubricant), the lubricant\grease becomes super sticky preventing the gears from turning. I would first keep the loco on the track and see if it moves and the lights come up. If the lights come up but the loco does not move or stalls with a humming noise, I would open up the loco and remove the dried lubricant in the gear train. Lubricate it with tiny bit of sewing machine oil and move the loco back and forth manually with motor assembly disconnected. This lets you know how smooth the loco is. I usually lubricate the gear train and motor shaft.