Atlas O three rail engines

I doubt the problem is grease in a couple of years, grease hardening usually takes decades.

While I agree that many Atlas engines, especially the narrow body models, are somewhat of a PITA to take apart, there are only a handful that are real stinkers.

RS1s are not fun. The rest should not be too bad. I would suggest taking a look at the Erie built first.

Pete

Thanks Pete!!

Richard

Thanks Norton.

I guess it would be too much to ask Atlas for help. Back in the day I had to send a couple of them back to bill to fix a couple of things. I wonder if Bill is still at Atlas? I met him a couple of times at York years ago.

Appreciate your help.

RG

Correction, these things have been sitting on shelves for probably 8 OR 9 years.

Richard....we moved this to the Atlas forum because your post is specifically about Atlas product rather than a 3-rail traditional train.

Good Greef

Did not know you had an Atlas Forum.

forms.

@Richard Gonzales posted:

Good Greef

Did not know you had an Atlas Forum.

forms.

Yep....we've had one for nearly 20 years now....

@Richard Gonzales posted:

Thanks Norton.

I guess it would be too much to ask Atlas for help. Back in the day I had to send a couple of them back to bill to fix a couple of things. I wonder if Bill is still at Atlas? I met him a couple of times at York years ago.

Appreciate your help.

RG

Bill is still here, he would be happy to give you some tips.

You will definitely want to clean that old Atlas grease out. My Erie Builts were almost completely locked up because of the dried-out grease. Not sure what Atlas used back then but it hardens up quite nicely.

Thanks Norm

any tips on how to open up the Eri built?

thanks!

Richard

Yes, start by getting some nice JIS drivers. The Erie Builts are pretty straightforward compared to the RS1s. Atlas has some nice diagrams on their site:

https://shop.atlasrr.com/t-partsdiagrams.aspx

Here's the body screw locations:

https://download.atlasrr.com/P...assis%20complete.pdf

Thanks again Norm!

RG

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I doubt the problem is grease in a couple of years, grease hardening usually takes decades.

While I agree that many Atlas engines, especially the narrow body models, are somewhat of a PITA to take apart, there are only a handful that are real stinkers.

FWIW, I purchased a Williams GG1 that had never been out of the box. When I put it on the track I got a hum but no movement. After I took it apart (easy) and got the trucks off I found that the grease had hardened. I got it to loosen up and run after working the wheels back and forth on each truck by hand for a minute or two. Not sure what state the grease is in though. That's the only time I've encountered something like this.

@Scott J posted:

FWIW, I purchased a Williams GG1 that had never been out of the box. When I put it on the track I got a hum but no movement. After I took it apart (easy) and got the trucks off I found that the grease had hardened. I got it to loosen up and run after working the wheels back and forth on each truck by hand for a minute or two. Not sure what state the grease is in though. That's the only time I've encountered something like this.

All my Williams is pre Bachmann and their grease has all turned to epoxy. Some had to be scraped out, solvents wouldn’t touch it. It has a tan color. Maybe Atlas used the same stuff?

Pete

Thanks Pete,

A friend of mine who is far more mechanically skilled than me, took on an Atlas RS 1 with this problem and couldn’t believe how hard it was to get to the gears and clean out the dried up grease.

RG

What brands of grease do you posters use to re-grease your locomotives ?

Do you use the same brand of grease for all brands of locomotives ?

Thanks in advance !!!

CB&Q Bill

I use Red and Tacky on metal gears and silicone based grease on those terrible plastic gears.

RG

@Norm Charbonneau posted:

Yes, start by getting some nice JIS drivers. The Erie Builts are pretty straightforward compared to the RS1s. Atlas has some nice diagrams on their site:

https://shop.atlasrr.com/t-partsdiagrams.aspx

Here's the body screw locations:

https://download.atlasrr.com/P...assis%20complete.pdf

Thanks Norm for posting the Atlas info....cheers,joe

Joe,

sorry for typing in the wrong name.

I'm not able to open the first link. The second one for the Erie Built works fine.

Thanks,

Richard

@Norton posted:

All my Williams is pre Bachmann and their grease has all turned to epoxy. Some had to be scraped out, solvents wouldn’t touch it. It has a tan color. Maybe Atlas used the same stuff?

Pete

I know Weaver models did with their VO1000! Took out that grease, added red and tacky and away she went!

@Norm Charbonneau posted:

You will definitely want to clean that old Atlas grease out. My Erie Builts were almost completely locked up because of the dried-out grease. Not sure what Atlas used back then but it hardens up quite nicely.

Norm,

I believe Lubriplate was the "lube de jour" from Sanda Kan back then.  I know all the RoW (Ajin Precision) used Lubriplate per instructions from Bill Benson.

Lou N

I wonder what Lubriplate they used because I use #110 all the time and it doesn't look the same and it certainly doesn't harden up in any manner like the stuff I found in my old E-Bs.

Like Norm, I have never had an issue with Lubriplate either. It was the go to small part grease before the synthetics came along.

Pete