Does customer have to lube new Bachmann locos at purchase?

The instructions packed with all new Bachmann locos advises the purchaser to lubricate the model.

A minor amount of lubricant is applied at the factory, but the models cannot be fully lubricated because the lubricants will creep in transit. Wide ranges of temperature and pressure experienced on a container ship have proven that this is true.

Its no big deal to lubricate the model.. Just follow the instructions. Thre are exploded views of the model on the instruction sheet to assist you.

John Glaab Peach Creek Shops

Robby wrote: I don't understand why a brand new loco had to be lubed.

-------------------------------------------------- I remember back in the 1970s, Corrs Hobby Shop in Washington, DC would lubricate and test run the locomotives when one purchased them. A nice touch.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

I was at the local hobby shop when a customer brought back a Bachmann diesel and said it ran very noisily. The employee behind the counter opened the box, took off the shell, and applied a little lube. The unit was practically silent then.

He explained to the customer that Bachmann does NOT pre-lube the models as sometimes the models will sit on a shelf for an extended period of time and the lube will thicken and cause worse running problems.

The above is not correct. modern day lubricants do not thicken over time.

New locos SHOULD be lubed correctly at the factory. This does NOT always happen.

All lubes, especially the synthetic plastic compatible ones, dry out with time. Thus even a properly lubed model that has been sitting on a shelf for a while may need to be re-lubed.

Oil on the outside of the model does NOT necessarily mean there is oil INSIDE, or in the correct places.

Bachmann's quality control is notoriously unreliable. It's a LOT better than it used to be, but I still would not trust it. Their Diesels are well known for poor quality brass bearings that dry out wonderfully fast and squeal a lot.

Normally all shaft bearings should be lubed with a light oil. Spur gears with a 'gear lube' oil of about the consistency of syrup. Worm gears should be lubed with a light grease. Labelle and others sell such products for hobby use. Use ONLY a "plastic compatible" lube on models with plastic parts. Many oils will attack plastic in NASTY ways.

Sorry, but the only really safe choice is to take the model apart and make sure it's properly lubed.

Dan Mitchell ==========

robby wrote:

Your statement needs revision. There are MANY 'modern' lubes on the market, of many makes and types, and lots of 'old' lubes as well. Who's to say what's "modern', and how can the consumer tell? If you mean 'synthetic' instead of petroleum based, those have been around since W.W.II.

Many DO thicken, others just evaporate, and some turn to dust. I've seen the dried lubes actually become abrasive and do awful things to plastic gears. Whatever Model Power used to use was especially bad for this.

And, even if it does NOT thicken or dry out, it still collects dirt and other contaminates and needs to be cleaned out and replaced periodically.

I check the lube in every engine I actually RUN about once a year.

Dan Mitchell ==========

PEACHCREEK wrote:

My Spectrum G Shay included a owner's manual and instructional video admonishing the owner to lube the locomotive before first use, and frequently thereafter.

Thoughts? That someone had already lubed it with a too-generous hand, and that any model of the sort needing such frequent maintenance either was using substandard lubes or had some design weaknesses. On the advice of other Shay owners, I cleaned out most of the stock lube, relubed with my usual brand, and replaced the plastic housing for the wheel pickups with a much stouter, cast brass replacment: The stock plastic part apparently was a real maintenance issue, so rather than fuss over it endlessly, I figured why not do away with it altogether. For various reasons, the model sat around for a couple of years before I ever gave it a test run, but when I finally did, it ran beautifully. It's not perfect, but it's a heck of a nice model.

Jeff