Please share your break-in procedure or period you use for a new locomotive.

I let my new Lionel diesel run for 5 minutes on slow speed in forward then reverse after opening, lubing etc..  I then did the same thing on medium speed.  There was nothing in the instructions that mentioned breaking in the engine so I just did that as it seemed practical.

Before I put a new engine on the rails, it gets lubed.  I find the most engines come with very little if any lubrication.

As for break-in, I typically run engines in both directions for about 30 minutes.  But with the tolerances in new stuff, I don't know if it's really necessary.  I do it to make sure there are no issues like binding or squeaking.

Tony

It goes right into yard service switching back and forth then after a few hours to whatever it was designed for.    CR. John

My break-in procedure for any new engine mirrors previous comments; I unpack, do a thorough oil & lube on all friction points, top off the smoke unit with fluid - usually 20 drops in a new engine for starters.

Once satisfied the above is complete and nothing has fallen off or been found separately in the box, I'll put it on the track and power it up. I then go through all the Railsounds sequences to be sure they work, turn on the smoke unit and check its operation in the various Legacy modes. I next check electro-couplers for operation . If all checks out, I generally run my engines at low speed for about ten minutes in each direction. If that goes smooth, I'll run them @ medium speed in each direction for about ten minutes as well.

After that, I check the locomotive to see if I have any "hot" spots in the drive train due to excessive friction; (I had this happen with my Flyonel Mikado-thought I'd toasted the can motor it was that hot..). Once that is complete, I'll hook up about ten cars to it and let it run for about a half hour at lower speeds. I've been told that running speed control at lower speeds "works" the electronics more than higher speeds; maybe true, maybe not, but for that reason I like to put some stress on the electronics while the warranty is still in-force.

I take it out of the box, lubricate it, fill the smoke unit, add it to the DCS TIU, set the DCS sound & system parameters and run it like the rest of the engines on my railroad.

Lubricantion the necessary parts, smoke the units is important. I log it into the DCS System or Legacy System, try all the sound functions and smoke functions. I then will run the engine slow (10-15 smph) for 5 minutes and speed it up to 40-50 smph for another 5 minutes. Then I start adding cars to the loco after and it depends on the size of the engine

 I recently stopped putting in smoke fluid, and shutting off the smoke. I wait until the engine is serviced and fully tested for everything else. No sense adding smoke fluid, then spilling it out when you have to flip the engine over on the bench.

 I too oil and lube engines first. If there's any oil there, I skip it. It only takes a tiny amount. All the joints on the steam linkage get oiled. The main drivers are the most important though. Charge the battery on PS2 engines when possible.

 After I make sure she's ready, she gets put on the rails and smoke fluid is then added. I turn down the sound and listen for any problems. I watch for any issues too.

There isn't one - but common sense makes me check out the functions, of course, and run it a bit (around the layout a dozen times, let's say - both directions; run it through a switcth or two; a high-speed burst - faster that you will ever run it - is good; check the creep) with the factory gear and rod (for steam) lube. This is more check-out that break-in. After all that, I lube it. I seldom get into the gearboxes right off the bat, even if I can. 

Bobby Ogage posted:

I take it out of the box, lubricate it, fill the smoke unit, add it to the DCS TIU, set the DCS sound & system parameters and run it like the rest of the engines on my railroad.

That's also how I do it for my MTH engines, if it's Legacy same thing, only I add it to the Legacy system. I don't run any of the Lionel stuff with my DCS system, but I don't have a lot of Lionel engines either.

Test engine for ALL functions, lube it, and run it for 30 minutes to an hour. 

I lube it then run it, no break-in at all, it's not needed.

I give them to #1 Grandson to run for a week and then I lubricate them after they've been run in.