new locomotive running slow

[bjt]

5 days ago, I bought a brand new train set with a Bachmann EMD GP40 Diesel locomotive. When I set it up at first, it was running great. I chose a speed that I liked and measured the DC voltage across the tracks. It was ~6 VDC. I also measured the time it took to make one complete round around the track - ~30 secs. This is with 4 cars in tow.

Now, the locomotive runs very slow. It now takes 42 seconds to go around the track - and this is with no cars. Today (with all the cars attached), I set it at the speed I like and the train would not move until I gave it a little push. I measured the DC voltage across the tracks and it is still around 6 VDC.

Do I need to grease and/or lube anything? I talked to a guy at work who collects trains and he said that it is unlikely that I would need to grease/lube anything with the Loco being so new.

Could my locomotive be broken?

[ABC]

No it is not likely.
Were you running it on the floor or near the carpet if so, the track and/or locomotive will need to be cleaned and you need to not run it on the floor or carpet even though the track has a built-in roadbed. How fast were you trying to run it anyways?

[bjt]

The instructions say that it should run fine on carpet. I don't know how fast I was running it, but it was not at full speed. All I know is that it is not running as fast as it was before and it is very noticeably slower.

If it really is not OK to run it on carpet (as opposed to what the instructions say), I would expect the performance of the train to degrade over a few years; not a few days.

[Bucksco]

It would probably be a good idea to clean the top surfaces of the rails with a "bright block" (track cleaner) available at your local bobby dealer and perhaps lubricate the engine's gears if you haven't done so already.

[ABC]

Well you're running it on carpet then. Do you have any pets? It is possible that there are tiny hairs, fibers, particles etc.. that got inside your loco causing the poor performance. And the track probably got pretty dirty just from being on the floor. Although, you can run it on the floor, it is ill-advised and usually detrimental to your locomotive's performance. Luckily for you there is a solution, clean the locomotive and track and set it up on a table. Oh and if you are running it under a live Christmas tree than that just makes everything get dirty really quick.

[bjt]

Is there a good website with instructions on how to lubricate the engine's gears? I noticed a paper in the kit that advised lubrication but did not tell me how to do it. What kind of lube should I get?

[ABC]

Is there a good website with instructions on how to lubricate the engine's gears? I noticed a paper in the kit that advised lubrication but did not tell me how to do it. What kind of lube should I get?

First, before lubing you loco, clean out all the dirt and gunk then proceed as follows:
Use Labelle 102 gear oil for gears and Labelle 108 oil for motors. A drop of gear oil is sufficient. Use a drop Labelle 108 on each motor bearing.You can also use a drop of Labelle 134 on the gears. Labelle 106 is a combination of 102 and 134.

[Jim Banner]

While lubrication (or lack thereof) may be the problem, dirty wheels and/or dirty track are equally likely.  If the track and/of the wheels are dirty, the headlight will flicker as the train proceeds along the track.  Having to give the train a push to get it started is another indication.  A third indication is to watch the train run with the room lights out and see if there is any arcing and sparking where the locomotive wheels touch the track.

You can use a little bit (very little bit) of that Labelle 108 oil on a bit of clean cotton rag and rub it over the tops of the tracks to see if they are at all dirty.  Labelle 108 is one of the oils classed as "conductive oils" and it helps the wheels pick up power without arcing.  And by helping stop the wheels from arcing, it goes a long way toward keeping the track clean.

While ABC is right about problems with running trains on rugs using ordinary track, I suspect the engineers who developed E-Z Track did the same tests on it that I did and found that picking up carpet fiber and pet hair is all but eliminated by the base.  Unless, of course, you have a large herd of Persian cats who have an over whelming fascination with trains.  My own tests were done with only two dogs, and just one of those is a profuse shedder.

If you have picked up rug fibers and pet hair, it will be obvious around the axles, just inboard of the wheels.  A strong light and a good magnifying glass help.  Usually you can pull it out with fine tipped tweezers without having to disassemble the locomotive.  Oiling the motor bearings does require major disassembly but even if you have picked up fiber/hair around the axles, there won't be any up around the motor so that will not be a problem.  Nor should the enclosed gears need lubrication after just 5 hours, even with fiber/hair around.  Only the axle bearings where the fiber/hair might be would need lubrication at this time and only if there actually was some fiber/hair present to suck the oil out of the bearings.

I don't know if the instructions with your train set mentioned a time frame for lubrication but as a rule of thumb, do it after the first 25 hours of operation and thereafter every 50 hours or so of operation or once a year if it does not get 50 hours running in a year.  Having said that, I worked on a locomotive recently which the owner admitted had not been lubricated since 1948.  It still ran, sort of, but ran much, much better after cleaning and lubrication.

Bottom line, it is easy to check for dirty track - flickering headlight, sparking wheels, wiping up dirt off the rails, and stalling trains.  If the track is dirty, the treads on the locomotive wheels undoubtedly are too.  So if you find your track is dirty, just ask and one of us will give you instructions on easy ways to clean the wheels.

Jim