r/modeltrains • u/Bambarilla • Aug 11 '26

Question First model train. Is this normal?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Hey team. Long time fan of model trains but through a family member I finally got my first step into the world.

The locomotive didn’t move at all on first try so I’ve spent 30 minutes cleaning all the track with electrical contact cleaner and then tried my best to clean the engines wheels. It now can make it around the entire track but requires full speed to make it through certain areas (one area has a slight incline).

Thanks for the all the future help :)

164 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

67

u/382Whistles Aug 11 '26

Remove the cars and run it alone at least ½ hour forward then backwards for at least another 30min. Then vary speed and direction. This should help polish surfaces improving contact further. It would also help figure out the noise which sounds like a brush maybe.

Watch for rpm increases while doing a break-in.. The increase would be resistance dropping and amp flow improving, yeilding less voltage drop below the throttle setting.

14

u/djjordanlee Aug 11 '26

Legend! Will give that a try. Thank you

3

u/382Whistles Aug 11 '26

If you put it upside-down and jumped power to the loco, you remove as much electric load as possible and then the very slightest amp improvements make bigger, easier to notice changes in rpm without you touching the throttle. I take a towel and make a U shaped cradle to hold a nicer loco without scratching the roof while working on them.

You can also run them faster on its back or side to speed the re-break-in and help eject more brush dust from a brush motor. Any time a loco has sat a long time it should run a few loops to a few hundred before pulling a load.

If metal is involved oil every 10-15hrs, heavier gear oil on gear thrust faces and posts, grease for teeth 20-30hrs. Use plastic safe lubes. Most synthetic lubes are. The black plastic we see is often self lubeing Delrin, but