Leaking Oil/Oil on Track?

Might be just a factory over-lube, but keep an eye on it as you may run your gears dry in the engine, if the engine starts making noise then it needs a lube.

Lee F.

Hi Mich,

First of all, welcome to the forum.

The liquid that you found on the track probably was smoke fluid, as that's where it normally ends up if you overfill that type of unit.

The black residue is quite normal, and does build up after a while. It's a by-product of electricity arcing, normal airborne dirt and dust, and anything else that can get onto the rails or wheels. Extra smoke oil on the track will make it grow faster too. But as you have discovered, it just needs wiping off regularly to keep everything running smoothly.

It's rather unlikely that your train came with too much oil, as Lionel do not tend to pre-lubricate locomotives. This is so that oil cannot seep out while it is in transit, as this could cause cosmetic or other damage. Because of this, the manual for your set will advise you to lubricate your locomotive before use.

Have fun with your trains, and please don't hesitate to ask in this forum if you have any questions. There are some really great, and knowledgeable people here. 

Nicole is right on.  One thing to think about: smoke fluid might be clear when you put it in, but very likely after it bubbles/leaks out of a working-overfilled unit and makes its way through and down to the bottom of the loco to leak out onto the track, no telling what color it will be. 

Regardless, the black stuff that builds up is not just common but almost inevitable.  Just be careful how you clean it off - if you do it dry,then  no sandpaper, no steel wool - and use nothing tougher than a track cleaning eraser (such as a BrightBoy).  If you do it wet, don't use Simple Green or any cleaner except an approved track cleaning fluid or iso alcohol - and mop up every bit you use. 

And it does not have to be black before you get problems, either.  Any time you have problems with a loco not running well, try cleaning a bit of the track, and cleaning its wheels and center pickups (they get as dirty as the track).  Frankly, cleaning cures about 90% of problems.

It's likely that nothing more than proper cleaning and lube will be all that's required to get Dad's trains running.

I've bought used cars that have the black "goo" caked to an incredible depth on the wheels, it's amazing they roll at all!   It is amazing how fast it grows.

if your a tinkerer and the "old" train of

your dads is a postwar train

1946-1969. pull it apart and clean the commutator face

and brushes. and clean the e-unit with tv tuner

cleaner(available at walmart). and she should run as long as there is

nothing broken or missing

I agree with all of the above and will add that I routinely run my home-made track cleaner cars (in my regular trains) to keep tracks clean. Otherwise you end up with more crud on the wheels that needs to be cleaned more often, and related problems.

This is out of left field, but now and then my buddies and I have noticed a thin film of oil on new FasTrack. It interfered with the operation of my new MTH Tinplate Traditions Ives 1694 set (made by Lionel with Ives lettering in 1932) that didn't have smoke.

According to a topic a while ago, this oil was a residue of the manufacturing process. It wasn't noticeable when assembling the track. But it soon interfered with operation. It can combine with smoke fluid or lubricant that find their ways to the track. So I'll mention this to supplement the good advice posted above.

Since then we clean new FasTrack before we use it and as necessary.

Black "goo" builds up on wheels no matter what.

Not hardly when I run a rail cleaner car on most of my trains. I do this in O, HO and N, and my trains never stall on dirty track.