Halloween General question: What kind of grease and oil is needed for gears and wheels

Clean all the track and wheels with Naphtha, including the traction tires.

Labelle makes a set of lubricants for our trains that I use with success.

Larry

Larry, thank you for your help.

May I ask why naphtha is used for cleaning tubular track, other than using denatured alcohol?

How frequently is an engine lubricated, and I suppose that old grease is removed with naphtha before applying fresh lubricant?

Alcohol is hygroscopic - it absorbs moisture from the air. If used to clean track, after the alcohol evaporates, it will leave behind a microscopic layer of moisture - which will then enhance rusting of the track.

Engines are lubricated depending on the frequency of use, but once a day or two if used on a daily basis.

Larry

Larry,

Thank you in explaining the effects of using alcohol. Is it ok to apply the naphtha with a paper towel and what do I do afterwards? Does the naphtha dry immediately and is there any residue that needs to be wiped off with a paper towel? I was reading that naphtha contains petroleum distillates, is that oily?

The track is currently set up under the Christmas tree, should I take apart the track and clean it now; or is it ok to wait until January. I disassemble the track either the first or second week in January.

I run the train on average twice a day. Do I need to clean the grease off the gears and then reapply before running again?.

You can apply Naphtha with paper towels. It is not oily, and leaves no residue after it evaporates.

You don't need to disassemble the track to clean it. Just get a rag, dip it in Naphtha and go over the track a section at a time until it is all clean.

You don't have to clean off the old grease before applying new grease, and you don't have to grease the locomotive every time you use it. Lubricating it every few days should be sufficient. You will get a sense of when it needs lubrication by how well the loco runs, and how it sounds while running.

Larry

Larry,

In the Labelle lubricant link that you sent  there are three lubes and where are they applied?

I noticed that in separate listing Labelle also sells a light oil, and is the light oil used for other purposes that I should be aware of?

Larry, Are the wheels and roller pick-ups cleaned with naphtha?

A friend told me that they use goo-gone on everything, and is that corrosive? I would believe that goo-gone is oily, because it smells of oranges.

The #106 grease is for the gears and the #107 is for general wheel bearing oiling. The #102 is an oil gear lubricant, but I just use the grease.

Naphtha is used to clean and degrease everything. Not sure if Goo Gone is corrosive, as I have never used it, and nobody has ever complained about it being so.

Larry

Larry,

Thanks for your time and expertise, I'm appreciate your assistance.