Refurbishing an Old Switch Engine

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July 19, 2021

Phil writes:

“I have an 0-4-0 B N HO scale switch engine from the early 60’s I cleaned and lubed. It is running now but is noisy. The part that confuses me is it runs better and is quieter when going backward. Any ideas why?”

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2 Responses to Refurbishing an Old Switch Engine

Dale says:

July 19, 2021 at 7:46 pm

Take it off the track and disconnect the motor from the drivers. Test the motor by itself in both directions to see if the noise difference is in the motor. If it is noise-comparable in both directions, the problem may be with the drive gearing or with the side-rods. My guess, without seeing it, is that there is a slight misalignment somewhere that is more prevalent when torques are present while going forward. Pay attention to any ball joints and worm gearings. Lastly, you may have to use your fingers to try to feel for bindings that are too slight to see.

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phil says:

July 22, 2021 at 9:54 pm

thanks. it was the drive gear that needed alignment and oil.

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