Polar Express loco maintenance, no grease?

Oh, it needs it.  I did R&T#2 about 10 minutes after the box was opened.  Six + years now still perfect.  Pulls great, it is the small motor version.

Lucas Oil Red 'N' Tacky 2

I get it at NAPA.

Only $6.13 HERE with free shipping via Amazon Prime.

A couple of years I talked to Mike Reagan (Lionel CS) about this and he told me not to any grease or oil on the gears. If you view any of his instructional videos he does not put anything on the gears. He shows and tells you where to apply oil. Since none of Lionel's engines come pre-lubricated.

Mike's reasoning for not applying anything on the gears, is that once grease is on the gears it attracts anything dust, dirt & what other materials maybe laying around your tracks. And that this helps bind up the trains gears.

It was not long after he told me and others about not using grease on the gears. That Lionel started using TM video clips on their main web page about getting started with trains. One of these video clips is on maintenance of trains and it does show applying grease to the gears. I asked Mike about this video and he told me that he disagrees with the video clip on maintenance, and that he has no say as to what is put on Lionel's web site. 

I think that one of the main reasons for discouraging the use of grease on exposed gears is due to the tendency of many to use too much grease or oil. Only a very thin film is required. This is even more important if you run your trains on the carpet. I always grease my gears, and lubricate all moving parts. But I am very careful to only use the required amount, and to remove any excess. I also keep my track and rolling stock clean and clear of debris so as to reduce any risks of foreign material being attracted into the mechanisms.

A couple of years I talked to Mike Reagan (Lionel CS) about this and he told me not to any grease or oil on the gears. If you view any of his instructional videos he does not put anything on the gears.

I was watching his videos on youtube over the weekend, and noticed the same thing.

Paul, NODY,

Interesting that Lionel isn't recommending grease. Just interesting. Not surprising that different groups in Lionel have different ideas on the subject. I can kinda make an argument about the dust vs the relative size of the gears and the wear, especially on exposed gears. Maybe they have done the testing to show the motor and gear will outlast my interest in the loco, or at least that grease isn't going to add that much life to the mechanism. But... No grease... Next you will tell me we can run cars with fewer oil changes and less, or no, gas... Preposterous ! Maybe i won't lube my next Lionel motor and see, but this one is done. The PE isolates the gear well .I'd call it as far from exposed, as you can get. also, to minimize the carpet effect, we put sheets on the floor. Primarily they hide wires, and give us the illusion of snow. They are also a cleaner surface compared to carpet fibers.

Redn' Tacky has been discussed numerous times on the forum, the advantage is that its synthetic and "tacky" so it stays on the gears, try a forum a search. My experience with the more common white grease used in trains is that it seperates over time and doesn't stay on the gears well. All of my locos were greased with red n tacky when new, the way I see it, thats probably the only greasing they'll ever need.

FWIW the vast majority of locomotives in o guage have steel gears even the polar express RTR set locomotive, having said, that Red n tacky is safe for plastic.

All O-guage locomotives come greased from the factory, however in my experience theres usually either not enough, or its not on the gears. I imagine the assemblers in china putting together thousands of the same models aren't terribly particular about how much or well they are greased.

Outside of that Nicoles, "common sense" answer seems right on the money.There have been plenty of folks that have tried their hand at routine maintenance or repairs that have done more harm than good, I believe Mike Reagan is airing on the side of caution regarding ones technical skills.

I agree with Mike. Any where you put grease it attracts dirt and grit and that is harder on the gears. A clean gear will let the abbrasive particles drop off the gears.The same thing with alot of things in an auto that you should not grease so you do not attract road grime and foul up things.

While Mike has a valid point, once the gears have been greased the first time, you better stay with it.

Grease will separate, harden, and/or become full of grit from all over.

One way or another it needs replacement eventually.

Clean it off as best you can and then use new grease sparingly.

I use a very light film of Red N Tacky #2 and it seems to do the job well.

Even on that 1959 Santa Fe warbonnet I rebuilt for my sister. Made a HUGE difference on that old warhorse.

Here is one of Mike's Instructional videos for the GP-35 where he specifically points out not to apply grease to the gears. It is about 4:50 minutes into the video and the link to it is below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wFkSfhNn0I

Well, that explains it.  He's talking about the exposed spur gears... he completely ignored the enclosed worm gears.  The PE has no spur gears.  Lube up & run!

I agree that the internal worm gears need to be greased.  First, the dirt level is not like outside machinery.  Second they are internal and even if the dirt level was high, it doesn't easily get into the gear box.  Third, some gear boxes are not replaceable and if you inspect them there is gear wear.  Do you really want metal on metal wear without lubrication?

Some of the spur gears are now nylon/delrin so the surface friction is less.  I still believe small amounts are benifical, and more effort expended to keep you train layout clean.  :-) G

Rob: Thanks for the Amazon tip for purchasing Red & Tacky. Unbeliveable free delivery by Friday for a order that cost with tax $6.89.

I will be doing a lube on my engines Saturday. 

Bob

Where is red n tacky available? How many of you use it?

Kenn

You can find it at any autoparts store. I was convinced by many on this forum to try it and I have not looked back. GREAt STUFF!

Great!  Folks who've not stepped up to Prime don't know what they're missing.  It pays for itself many times over every year.  The R&T is up to $6.50 today thanks to Amazon's dynamic pricing model.

hello guys and gals..........

We picked up the sunset 3rd rail Texas type locomotive last month, i removed the old grease and put in fresh red & tacky #2 and ran the engine for few hours, boy it is very smooth engine.  We bought the white tube of Red & Tacky #2 for like 4.99 at the local auto parts store near our home.  It is VERY good grease for steel worm with ball bearings and heavy bronze gear, die-cast gearbox.

the woman who loves the S.F.5011

Tiffany

Does anyone know where I can find a video on how to grease and maintain my polar express engine?  i have never greased or did maintenance on this train or any train for that matter before and dont want to make matters worse.  i have the polar express r2r.  i beleive i have the smaller engine version because it does not pull all the additional cars without slowing down to a crawl. that parts that you guys have explained in the above replies i have no idea where they are located, thats how new i am to all of this.   

Sal, here is the Lionel on-line manual, in case you don't have the one that should have come with your set.  http://www.lionel.com/media/se...ents/73-1960-250.pdf    (OGR folks:  I tried to look for a way to make this a link, as we have been urged, but did not see that any of the icons indicated as such.)  

I pretty much grease all gears on mine.  It has made them run smoother, quieter and crawl slower speeds.

Polar Express Manual

Try running a old exposed spur gear machine like a crane with dry gears and in a few weeks it'll be wore out...about the only folks that would be happy about that is the replacement parts manufacturers..hmmm...

 Its not that difficult.  First turn the loco over and set it in some type of a cradle lined with something soft. 

You'll need a # 0 and #1 phillips screwdriver.

1. Remove the screw holding the trailing truck on and gently move trailing truck to the side being careful of the wire.

2. The gears are on the rearmost drive axle, there is a plate with the pickup rollers on it, with four screws, one at each corner that covers all four drive axles. Remove four screws and lift off the   plate.

3. Grease the gears on the rear axle with the red n' tacky grease mentioned above, lube the other axle bushings with an oil like  Labelle 102.

4. Replace axle plate, the "bump" goes over the gears, then replace the trailing truck and screw.

If you haven't already i would lube the driver linkage and pilot and trailing truck axle points, just a drop on each.

Having said all that, I believe there was a post some time ago about a component overheating and causing the loco to slow.

I have one of these and it only slowed a bit and a slight increase in throttle resolved the issue, never was a big problem,and I think lubing it did help.

You may want to put a drop of oil on the passenger car axle points as well, passenger cars create alot of drag with the pickup rollers.

Not meaning to cast doubt on Mikes repair and maintanence abilities but didn't he also tell people not to clean their track with alcohol because it would corrode the metal?

Jerry

Using the LINK TOOL