Regular reader Ted has been involved in the hobby for 31 years and sent in this tip:

“In my opinion the gears are the most important parts of your model train mechanics and must be inspected from time to time to identify missing tooth, poor lubrication and damage. I recommend oiling the wheels lightly at least twice in a year but you can oil the wheels whenever the running noise of your train increases. Avoid oil spreading to the traction tires because oil will reduce the grip of traction tires, resulting in the overturning of the coach. And remember oil attracts dust and dirt so you don’t want too much oil anywhere. Use an electronic track cleaner to keep your tracks clean so that tracks can maintain its conductivity. When you lubricate gears use a plastic compatible grease, because oil will simply get thrown off the gears when at high revs, and it  will cover everything, whereas the grease will remain in place. However, never over lubricate the gears! Labelle make a lubricant or you could use AJ’s Magic Grease #0197 which is a non-petroleum based lubricant with Teflon. AJ’s Magic Grease works well and sticks okay to plastic surfaces.”

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