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need help upgrading dc motor on old mantua mikado

8556 Views 36 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  tkruger, 
J
hi guys just joined up.. and about 2 weeks ago started getting into ho trains and old marx wind up o scales.. anyway ,,

I just bought a mint in box old style mantua mikado steamer.. it has the open brush motor and direct drive worm gear right to the drive gear.. I have ran it on my track for maybe 1 or 2 hours so far.. The problem Im having is it will not run at lower speeds.. and when I put my 12 cars behind it it has a problem running even at full speed and slowes it way down..

Im using a bachmann transformer and have bachmann ez track in a large approx 4x8 oval.. my little bachmann 0-6-0 will run it just fine at slow speeds .. but there is no weight to it to pull that many cars and slips.. Is there a new motor I can put in this old Mikado to make her run better.. right now I want to stay with dc seeing that my budget wont allow dcc as of yet.. Thanks a bunch for any help .. Im pretty new and figured some one on here would know how to fix this or at least point me in the right direction.
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B
Lube???

Another thing about these old mantuas, They sit around so long that everything sort of freezes up. I am currently restoring several,and the first thing I do is lube them "LIGHTLY" wirh a product called "Breakfree CLP ". CLP standing for Cleaner, lubricant, preservitive. It is available at most gun stores. The previous advice about the fragility of the "pot metal" castings is great advice too. Good luck, and let us know how thins work out.
BHTRAINMAN
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Tyco problems

And solutions. I am currently working on the restoration of several Tycos, and needing some parts I Googled tyco parts and founr Yardbird trains. The proprieter , "Dan" has been most helpful and can help you with your problem. One thing I have found with these older engines is lubrication, or actually lack of it. Most often the problem is solidified petroleum product applied several years ago. I use a silicon based product , breakfree CLP. It provides excellant penetration, and luberication. My power is an older Tyco PPack with relatively small output current availability. Egines that struggle to turn initaly come alive with this stuff. I use the 4oz. container with the tube applicator. Good luck
BH
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B
Your Growler!

Jeff,
It is likely the pulse speed control is part of the problem, but I think it will go away when you redo the motor. Some times thewinding laminations are just not tight enough for the short pulse durations at low speed. This can cause audible vibrations. Just my best guess. Glad to see you utilizing Yardbird, Dan is an a+++ to the hobby.
Bh!
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