This topic is for us all to enjoy, but especially for those of us with great mechanical skill and knowledge (not me) and those that want to learn from them (includes me).
I am very happy because of what I did on this Lionel #618 Boston & Albany Hudson today. It was made in the mid to late 1980s and I bought it used from a LHS in the mid 1990s at a very fair price. It has a great realistic sounding horn, good steam sounds and puffing smoke, and looks great IMO. Here is a photo of it:
it was always a good, reliable runner on my layout with 031 curves until recently. It started sporadically making a wheezing sound.
First, I took it to a local train repair guy and he applied red and tacky grease. That seemed to solve the problem but, unfortunately, the sporadic wheezing resumed soon thereafter.
I thought it was strange that the wheezing was so sporadic: it would wheeze for 2 or 3 seconds after running for a while.
The fix turned out to be a very simple one. I got the idea from a recent comment on another thread, which was try the simple things first, like applying grease to the gears. Even though my train repair guy had applied red and tacky not long ago, I decided to put some gear oil on the gears.
Lo and behold, the wheezing has stopped. My Lionel Husdon is cured from having whooping cough or bronchitis. LOL.
Now, it your turn to share what you have been able to fix.
Arnold
