I ran one of my favorites: the Lionel #618 Boston & Albany Hudson made in the mid to late 1980s that has very good steam sounds, whistle and puffing smoke:
I ran it very slowly, pulling a double unit train of Postwar operating log dump cars up front and gondolas plus caboose in back.
You may ask, why did I run it very slowly?
Because when it accelerates, it sometimes makes a disturbing wheezing sound like it has a serious respiratory illness!
Lubrication is not the issue. It has recently been very thoroughly and carefully lubricated. When it does not make that disturbing wheezing sound, it runs and sounds great.
One more symptom that just occurred to me. When it accelerates and then makes the wheezing sound, it slows down. When the wheezing stops, it resumes normal speed.
It hardly ever wheezes when I carefully run it smoothly and slowly.
Any thoughts regarding the cause of the wheezing?
Do you think it needs a ventilator? (Just kidding, I couldn't resist, only trying to give us all some comic relief)
Seriously, I love this locomotive. It's got the best, realistic sounding whistle I ever heard, and I have other, more modern locomotives with superb sounds, whistles and horns.
And, I would love to get the opinions of you train doctors out there about the cause of the wheezing.
Arnold