# G scale Lionel runs very slow



## mcmyster (Feb 23, 2009)

I have a g scale Thomas the Train Lionel and a James Lionel. 
I bought them new this last year, they have not made these for years, but they were never opened. They are about 8 years old. They run slow, so I had them cleaned and lubed.
They still run slow. If I clean the track, they run ok for a day or so, but they start running slow after a few hrs of running. I am not ver happy with them. 
I bought a g scale Bachman xmas trolley and put it on the track and it was fast!!! The troley ran fast every night for hrs for the whole xmas month. The trolley ran on the Thomas track with no problems.
Is there something that can be done with the lionel trains that will make them run better?

Thanks


----------



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Weeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, 

You have to realize Lionel, ESPECIALLY large scale Lionel, is most definitely NOT the same quality as the O or Standard gauge stuff your dad or grandpa had. They CAN be made to run decently, but, to put it bluntly, are generally c-r-a-p straight out of the box... especially the six coupled drive like they used on the Gold Rush and Thomas pieces. (My considered OPINION, no more, no less. And I've had one Gold Rush, two Thomases, and still own James -- Plus a Mickey and Donald handcar, cute, but has never run real good either) 

My first question for you before I go blathering on, is to ask how well you cleaned and relubed them... Did you disassemble them and remove ALL the old grease from both upper and lower gearboxes? That stuff Lionel used tends to set up like tar... or maybe peanut butter, when it gets old.... especially if they just sat in a box for the last 15 or so years. The motor isn't very powerful to start with, so you need to make sure you eliminate all the internal drag that you can. 

Also, a big part of the performance problemin general is those brass wheels. They get grubby and oxidize pretty fast. Someplace, a ****'s age ago, I saw where a guy had used some sort of conductive blackening process to try to minimize or slow the oxidation problem... I forget where I saw it, or how well it worked. With James you can always add metal wheels for extra pickups to the pilot and tender... Thomas is pretty much on his own beyond adding a wiper type pickup to the center drivers. 

Another option to make them perform a LOT better, is to do what I recommended in the other recent Lionel thread ( http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx ) - My James works MUCH better now than when he arrived... He still requires his wheels cleaned rather often, but otherwise... but only YOU can decide if it's worth all the extra trouble to you. 

Sometimes you just gotta keep telling yourself that half the fun is in the journey...... Maybe you'll even believe it. Maybe. LOL!


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Go complain to Neil - 










My, my, hey, hey..... 

-Brian


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

I have seen a few of the original LS Thomas's run around the track and they seem to run at a decent speed. Its possible that the gear lube in yours has thickened to the consistency of Mississippi mud sitting in the box for 8 years. Crack 'em open, clean 'em up and relube 'em! 

-Brian


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Motor commutator/brushes might be worth a look at... 

Regards, Greg


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 08 Jan 2010 12:41 PM 
Motor commutator/brushes might be worth a look at... 

Regards, Greg 



Greg,

Do these do bad with just age?

-Brian


----------



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By altterrain on 08 Jan 2010 01:50 PM 
Posted By Greg Elmassian on 08 Jan 2010 12:41 PM 
Motor commutator/brushes might be worth a look at... 

Regards, Greg 



Greg,

Do these do bad with just age?

-Brian 


Depends if the things ever got damp during storage. Or were stored in a humid place for a long time.Never gotten brand new stuff with rust or corrosion?


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If a motor is over-oiled, the oil can get on the commutator/brushes, and soak into the brushes... that makes a mess for sure, and the motor will run poorly. 

Age usually does not matter, but the brush tension can go bad on occasion over a lot of years. Brushes can fail... I would be more suspect of oil contamination on the commutator. 

If you can see the commutator, a q tip with alcohol can clean it up 

Regards, Greg


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Total thread hijack, I know, but along the same lines of old motors with problems. 

I have an old die cast H0 Penn Line PRR E6 Atlantic I bought at a train show. 50+ year old model for sure. 

Anyhoo... Here is the question, any reason why the motor (DC-60, removed from the loco) runs faster in one direction than the other? I do not feel any binds or the like? 

Thanks.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Brush spring tension, position on the commutator, (alignment), non-symmetrical wear on the brushes, commutator twisted on the shaft relative to the poles, and just plain crappy motor. 

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Garret, I have an old HO 040 Steamer with tender. It also runs faster in one direction than the other. If it runs faster going forward, I can turn it around on the track and then it'll run faster going backwards. Why? Because the continuity between the tender trucks and the wire going to the motor isn't as good as the continuity between the drivers on the boiler and thewire going to the motor. I've cleaned all contact points on the tender trucks and frame yet all I have to do is put a little downward pressure on the tender and it runs faster. Solution: Solder wires to the trucks and the wire going to the motor.


----------



## mcmyster (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks for all the input. After all of this, I decided to buy the new Bachmann G Scale Thomas. Had it for 5 days and we have enjoyed this new one so much better. The train actually starts and stops and runs just as smooth as it did on the first day. No more push starting. 

Thanks


----------



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

If you decide to deep six the Lionel one, please consider sending it here (I'll pay the freight). I can always use spare parts and bash fodder if he's not fixable.


----------

