I haven't been on here in many years. Going through my minimal N-Scale items that have been in containers for some time. I have to set up a very small test track. Hope to make room at some point for a very tiny layout, or at least a permanent test area. What do I need to do to before I test the locomotives that have been stored for some time in their original cases? And also I have been trying to find my loco's on the internet, ebay, etc.... with no luck. I was really hoping to see one or a few of them run on YouTube layouts, but no luck so far. I love the Rio Grande N Alco PA D&RGW #600 and 2 PB's that I have just because of the color's, and that's why I have them and a Nickel Plate Road sw9/1200 switcher. A SD7 D&RGW #5303, and some other odd loco's and stuff. I just can't find them anywhere. Hope they all still work? Thanks for your help!
Hi in2tech I'm modeling the Rio Grande in N Scale as well, my Railroad is located in a room in my garage & measures 13' x 13', it has 4 decks & 2 x Helix's. It depicks the Rio Grande from Denver to Grand Junction. I will give you a couple of N Scale Rio Grande Railroads that I look at on a regular basis , just enter the Railroads name Highlighted in BOLD: Railroads 1 & 4 are on YouTube!! 1) Mike Dannemans Moffat Road from Denver to East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel, Mike has had a number of article about his Railroad published in the "N Scale Railroading Magazine". 2-3) Both of these next 2 are on TrainBoard N Scale secret places Sub Layout Progress, there are about 37 pages to go through lots of pictures & Video's Somewhere on the Rio Grande again pictures & Video's 4) Rob Carey's D&RGW- Tennessee Pass layout this is another good site pictures & Video's. I hope this helps I'm sorry I can not help with your 2nd question Re Running your Loco's. Cheers Rio Grande Steve New Zealand
What brand are those locos? Should say on the underside of the gas tanks. I have found that Life Like locos do not keep very well; they used cheaper metal alloys for the wheel wiper contacts and tend to get oxidized. Life like's would need serious cleaning. Kato or Atlas locos tend to do well in storage. They tend to get a lot of oil when made, they will literally drip oil if sitting on a shelf, and just go even after sitting for a couple years. I won't criticize the other brands, but avoid buying them. The easiest way to test loco is to put em on some track with power pack, or simply put a 9 volt battery on the wheels. Don't do this long enough to make things over heat if wheels aren't turning - no need to burn out motors. Maintenance all depends on bravery. I usually take them apart completely and wash parts in rubbing alcohol. Then you put some plastic safe lubricant on moving parts. Avoid getting oil into anything electrical like the motor, or where contacts wipe on wheels. That's a pretty brief over view, but It's what I do.
Check out my set of Kato D&RGW PA/PB/PA's pulling the California Zephyr a few years ago at East Valley Lines, Griffith Park, Los Angeles. It will be the 3rd train featured in the video. I brought all three trains to run that day since it was a slow day. Had a blast. Just wish the video was sharper. OPPS! Forgot the link!
For the most part everything seems to be working. Yeah, sorry they are Life Like as that is all I can afford for my hobby. I don't get them out very much because of lack of space. As a matter of fact this is on the dining room table for testing and is very temporary, very. Maybe one day I'll at least have a very simple layout. BTW. thanks for the pictures and video's everyone. I have never been a serious hobbyist, meaning don't know real terms, history of what I am running, etc... I just buy what I like by price, if I like the look of it, etc... For some reason I love the black and yellow color's no matter what line it is. You think I would know more since I started with a simple boxed N-Scale set in the 80's and have bought and added over the years. But I enjoy it once in awhile. Especially in the winter time!
You're in luck... Life-Like put out a lot of quite good N-scale equipment during the same era (early 90s to mid 00s) that it was farting out terrible HO stuff. I have a set of mid-90s FA2s that, despite being used and abused (they were my very first N scale locos), still run just fine- and those were train set fodder. I got a few BL2s based on the same general design a while back too, and they run just as well. I can say with confidence that there aren't any stinkers in LL's N-scale offerings between then and now. Your mechanisms are solid, and should only need a good cleaning. I'd be careful about the plastic details on the shells when taking them apart (especially the ladder steps on the bottom edges of the PA shells- they can be very brittle), but if you clean the drivers well with a non-abrasive method (a tiny bit of alcohol and a paper towel seems to work great) and apply a tiny amount of lube to all the gears, they should run like new. Pry the sides of the shells apart gently, remove them, pluck out any gunk from the worms, maybe pop the trucks off to clean out any hairs or crud that might have gotten into them... no problem at all. You might have made your purchases because those models were easier on your wallet, but they were and still are a great value. They pull like mules, and the PA1 and SD7 at least have no sensitive electronics to fry- so even if a wire breaks or a light bulb cooks, they're dead easy and super cheap to fix. Here are some links to spookshow's reviews of the LL PA1, SD7, and SW9/1200. He's pretty much the go-to resource for N scale locomotives; if he speaks well of a product you can take it to the bank.
