I will be getting couple of AZL locomotive next month, so I need on how to do maintenance. So far all my loco have been Marklin, therefore I have no knowledge on other makers. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
That's a good question. I have 4 AZL locos, and I don't know how to service them either. I'm wondering if there are spare parts available like trucks, motors, gears, etc., as I plan mine to be runners and will want to repair them as needed to get a very long, high mileage lifetime out of them. Also what lubrication oil is recommended, and where are the lube points. Also, the are supposed to be DCC friendly, but I have not seen an offical AZL approved decoder listed anywhere. I have heard that you must use a coreless friendly decoder, but the only one listed is an Uhlenbrock 73500. I still have not converted mine, waiting to hear of successful operation with something else or an official AZL listing of safe decoders to use. Maybe Rob will step up to the plate with a few answers? -Robert
I see you got your Gaugemaster today shamoo737, as you left your feedback a few minutes before I left mine. Yep, mine came in today too. What I did not know was that it needs an AC input, so I guess I have to mount it on my power pack. I was going to mount it under my module, but I don't want to have the extra wires, so I will figure out a way to attach it to my power pack. -Robert
This is a great question as I am sure I will own a few of these locomotives myself. The wife knows that once the SD70's and the Gp35's are out, that someone will be expanding the roster! One of the things about being is Z you really have to be able/willing to breakdown your loco's for cleaning and lubing if you run them often and desire consistant perfromance. So knowing what to do is extreamly important. As for the guagemasters, how do you guys like yours? I am impressed and will be ordering anotherone come payday myself.
The easiest way to see how slow the loco is going is to watch a steamer, because its easier to see the side rods move.
Hey guys! Good questions. AZL locos are very easy to maintain. Labelle 108 oil is recommended for the gearing. Just add it very sparingly. Coreless motors have no brushes to replace. The gearing is touted as self lubricating. I have been running some AZL locos since 2000, and all I have done is clean the wheels. These are great trains! Now, a tip. Since most of these locos have open gearing on the bottom of the loco, it is easy to pick up debris. I piece of ballast will stop a loco if it gets in the gears. If this happen, drop the trucks out by pushing the pin. Rotate the gearing by hand until you find the obstruction then clear the debris. This is really the only issue I have seen with these trains. The F59PHIs are a dream to maintain. There are no screws and the complete chassis just snaps together. It is great for tinkering. AZL has asked Ajin to supply parts. We do have parts available for the F59PHIs. We do have some parts available for earlier releases, but it is spotty. As for an approved decoder, all AZL's were designed to accommodate Uhlenbrock decoders. Digitrax will also work. Rob Kluz
I have a question about the gaugemaster. The light doesn't light up when I am running the train. It only lights up when I disconnet it from the track. Does this sound ok.
From what the instructions say, the light will only come on when the loco looses contact with the rails. That sounds like you have excellent trackwork , so it will not be needed much. Try to limbo down on the loco speed and see what happens? -Robert
Thanks Robert. You mean we have to read the manuals. By the way, I love to see how slow I can make the side rods go.
Thanks for the tips on the AZL locomotives Rob. Seems like they are desigend well, the way us runners like em! As for the guagemasters, if you watch the light while the loco is running every now and then it will flash. The flash tells you when it kinda gives the loco a push so to say. I use it fo find areas in the track that I need to clean off better. It works pretty well.
