4-6-0

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

       I have two of the On30 4-6-0s that suffer from the same malady.  When running down hill - even without a train behind - the engines run in a jerky motion similar to being in an automobile,  going downhill,  and pumping the brakes.
        A friend,  Tim Anders,  who posts here,  did some sound work for me in both the 4-6-0s(again,  thanks Tim,  VERY nice work!) told me that this is cause by gear lash.   Tim told me that he has seen this problem with all the 4-6-0s that he has had his hands on.
         Tim said to run the engines in reverse,  pulling a train for several trips and replace the gear lubricant with LaBelle 102.   Not sure if that is grease or oil.  By doing this Tim says his 4-6-0 runs very smoothly now.
        I am in the process of doing this now.   Hope this helps others with the same problem.

[JohnR]

Bob -

Interesting idea.  What sort of grades are you running on?

-John

[ebtbob]

John,

      I am really not sure,  but I suspect I am running anywhere from 2-4%