You also made the following statement:
quote:Thus it is unrealistic to expect a complex electromechanical device like a toy train to experience no problems over a quarter century or so of storage
to which I replied:
quote:Yet it's common for a toy train that was stored for twenty five years or more, to run fine when taken out of storage
Based on your subsequent response, I guess that statement bothered you.
"Based on your subsequent response, I guess that statement bothered you."
Based upon your responses, I'm guessing you're feeling argumentative this Christmas season.
Yeah! Happy Holidays you crabby people! Just kidding. Anyway, One other point. The post above about that weird white grease is true. It turns to a sticky paste over time. It might be some sort of Lithium. I don't use that stuff, I usually clean it out & replace it with something better. I've seen it cause problems like sticking & binding in the gear drives.
I have NEVER noticed any age related mechanical problems in postwar Lionel trains which were stored under any kind of climate control, even for several decades other than dried lubricant. The same will not be the case for newer trains, I'm afraid. As for Prewar trains, their only major issue is intergranular corrosion of zinc/aluminum alloy wheels and other parts (metal "cancer").
How about a Lionel 1033 transformer that was half submerged and frozen in ice in a dirt cellar one winter, and still functions perfectly today?
I recently worked on a Flyer 0-8-0 switcher and a Lionel 2343 Santa Fe F3. One truck on the F3 and the 0-8-0 were completely locked up. I disengaged the motor, removed the rods and the wheels still wouldn't turn.
I sprayed the axles/bushings with solvent and worked the wheels back and forth. I finally got some movement (I didn't want to pull the wheels if I didn't have to). They finally freed up and would spin without drag. The old grease/lube must have dried hard, real hard, and held like glue.
After further cleaning and proper lubing they now run like they should, but for awhile I had some dark flange lines embedded in my thumbs.
I grew up in the 70's & 80's so Lionel MPC era stuff was always on my Christmas list back then. Mom & Dad couldn't afford much if it so it took me until the early 2,000's era to catch up to a point where I could own the stuff I wanted & couldn't have back then. Over the years I was fortunate (or so I thought) to begin buying new-old-stock items from on line sources or collectors & made myself a nice collection of the trains I had drooled over in catalogs or on store shelves years ago.
This Xmas season was a REAL eye opener for me. Out of the 4 different items that I decided to bring out for my Xmas display, I had problems with each & every one of them. My Trainmaster from 1987 stripped a nylon drive gear on the inside of the front truck, my F-3 from 1983 dropped a nylon drive gear off the outside of it's front truck, my son's F-3 from 1990 had a cracked drive gear on the outside of one of the trucks, & then my SD-40 from 1984 had a cracked brush cover plate that caused the armature shaft to wobble & make a weird buzzing noise. Non of these engines have much run time since they usually only come out @ Xmas & they were all bought new in the box from old stock. Wear was only an issue with the Trainmaster so I'm getting the impression that time is the culprit here. It seems like these plastic parts are starting to dry out & split & I'm a little disappointed because I really like this stuff but now I'm afraid that these were bad purchases & it's taking a little of the excitement way from enjoying them because I sit there waiting for something else to fall off every time we run them. Just thought I'd share that because I'm aggravated right now...
Right, & like I said at $25 a piece that adds up to a lot of cheese when you consider each engine has a bunch of these plastic gears & we have 5 or 6 of these engines. No way. I started doing these myself.
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