I bought a pair of Atlas SD60's when they first were released a couple of years ago that I have had lots of problems stalling, from almost day one. I had noticed that these locos had apparently been over oiled from the factory as the truck bolsters were shiney with it. I had cleaned these wheels over and over again with little results. I finally figured out what the problem was last nite. The little dimples that are in the metal side pick-ups that touch the wheel points, were loaded with a black oily lint which impaired electrical pick-up. I took them out and soaked them in rubbing alchohol and then used one of those little fuzzy touch-up brushes to scrub the dimples out. This has made all the difference in the world with these two locos. I guess my point here is that if you are having trouble with your locos stalling, clean track and clean wheel treads may not always be enough.
Another item to watch out for is the "black" on the wheel treads... I have several Atlas SD50's and 60's... one of the things I have found is that the wheel treads seem to be "coated" with a black coating that wears or washes off with use. Once it is "gone" the electrical conductivity is much better. There is also a conductivity issue with the light boards (especially if DCC is substituted) however, it is not as big of an issue. Harold
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Chessie_SD50_8563: that same over oiling problem caused the paint to chip on the sides<hr></blockquote> I can back that up. As we had a very interesting discussion on that several months ago. [ 20 October 2001: Message edited by: Scott Siebler ]</p>
I have heard (at the Hobby Shop), that the items now made in China are usually lubricated with a silicone based oil and grease. There is a problem with silicones migrating along a surface filling pores as it goes. It is also used as a mold release agent for injection molded plastic products. Silicone is not easily removed from a surface, and prevents paints and other type lubricants from sticking to the parent surface. The good point about silicone is that it is water proof and is an excellent electrical insulator. Silicone will migrate under paint, loosening its bond to the parent surface over a period of time. NASA uses it to prepare surfaces that must be quickly washed to remove dust and grime since nothing will bond to silicone. Silicone is sucessfully removed from a surface by boiling in Oakite for an hour or so, which does all kinds of ugly things to a plastic body shell. Oakite is used to clean steam engines, raw castings in foundries, and as a replacement for caustic soda in removing old grease residue from truck motor blocks, so be sure to wear rubber gloves and do not let either get on your skin!
Yes, we did have this discussion a couple monthes ago. I believe I even posted an entire thread on how to remove the oily and black pickup. And I also found that if using DCC the frame itself is a very very poor conductor (if you didnt know already). Alot of people are starting to hard wire even plug and play decoders simply because of the frame. Mike
