Is Red n Tacky Really Good to Use in Our Trains??...Maybe Not.

We have been using RNT for years on our Williams, MTH and Lionel Loco's with great results, our gear gets torture tested with the amount of running we do and RNT stays on the gears better than any grease we have substituted in my time at P&P.

We buy it in the sleeve tube, use a grease gun with fine tip to recharge the syringes we use, and a tube lasts about a year. We have a lot of engines, probably 100 or more and use some daily and others when a member sees an old friend they want to run.

I also use RNT on my fleet at home, mostly early TMCC and Williams with similar great results.

RickO posted:

After doing some Internet searching.

Red n Tacky is an EP (extreme pressure) grease with a "high level of EP additives".

These EP additives contain sulphur which will attack brass and bronze components.

https://www.machinerylubricati...ep-additives-effects

Opinions?

Your question is a good one but will kick off a mini storm as people attempt to justify why the approach they have used for years is correct - red n tacky, motor oil, gear oil etc.  For those of us who are not petroleum engineers, the best way not to screw it up is to use an oil and grease specified by the manufacturer.  Both MTH and Lionel well maintenance kits for locos.  That is what I would do.  

Also model O gauge train gear sets are not under extreme stress.  A little goes a long way in terms of lubricant.

H1000 posted:

Bill Nielsen posted:

I think the point is being missed here. The question is whether or not RnT and it’s sulfur additives are causing chemical/corrosion damage to bronze or brass components in typical model train applications. Whether or not it works well in your chainsaw, farm tractor, or semi-truck u-joints is pretty much irrelevant unless those items are made of brass. The negative effects of sulfur on copper, a major component of brass and bronze are well documented.

And I as I reported earlier, Using RNT on a 70 year old solid brass worm gear (which has had much more use than any toy train on the planet), for the last 25 years (or whenever RNT first became available)  has yet to see any ill effects on that solid brass worm gear. You need (significant) heat for RNT to really start doing some harm on yellow metals.

We had our reservations at first also but after discussing the application for which RNT was being used, we were assured the grease wouldn't be an issue. 25 years or so later, "the proof is in the pudding".

H1000 and other RNT users-Thanks for your input...I plan on buying my first tub/container of RNT tonight.

Tom 

From automotive experience I can tell you that red and tacky will seperate.  My grease gun leaked red oil everywhere in my tool chest .  I've used a Teflon grease called crytox I got from work. It's nice but a little light.  Plain napa wheel bearing grease works nice for postwar.