lubing/maintaining an Aurora postage stamp unit...

[Flatrat]

I inherited an Aurora postage stamp F9 {I think that's what it's supposed to be} from my brother's collection, circa 1972.  I lubed and cleaned what appeared to be the important parts of the model and so far it appears to be running/pulling very well. In spite of being very noisey, which I understand is to be expected it runs smoothly and pulls well. Does anyone with past experience of this model have any further advice on 'tweaking' maintaining this model? I would like to keep it around and running smoothly.

Scott

[DKS]

I've had these great old units since they came out; I think I have a hundred or so of them now. If you really want it to stick around, you might want to do a partial dismantle, clean and reassemble. This will allow you to remove any dried lubricants that might be lurking in the drive train. Disassembly/reassembly should be pretty straightforward; you'll need a jeweler's screwdriver set. Just remove the motor and the two trucks to expose all of the key parts. Get yourself some light grease and light oil for models. Always use very sparingly--excess lubricant will get on your layout.

If you find any evidence of dried lube, use a light solvent such as alcohol to thoroughly clean it away. What I do is use a stiff brush dipped in alcohol to remove any deposits. Apply a tiny amount of light oil to the motor bearings. Also apply the tiniest amount you can to the wheel bearings. Apply small amounts of light grease to the worms. No need to put any on the rest of the gears--it will work its way throughout the drive train as it is run. Do this every 2-3 years, and this model should last the rest of your life.

BTW, while it will be noisier than a modern loco, it should not be "very" noisy. Hopefully the steps above should quiet it down a bit. If it persists in being noisy, leave the shell off and see if you can locate the source of the noise. Inspect this area for any alignment/excessive wear issues.

[UP4-8-8-4]

    Very well explained David.
These old Aurora diesels, old Arnolds as well as others used brass gears and will always run noisy.
Like David, I still have tons of all the old early run diesels and all still run and pull great.
You just got an early piece of N history !




Ernie

[DKS]

I should also mention, in case you forget which way the motor faces (since it can be re-installed either way), the Brushes face Back. If the PC board should come out, replace it with the curved tabs facing back, like the brushes. The trucks are easy--the one with the long-shank coupler faces front.

[NARmike]

I LOVE the old Postage Stamp stuff... Reminds me of the good old days

I really like how all the F units had the same road number.... #510.... any road!

We've come a long way, baby





Mike Maisonneuve
Modeling the Northern Alberta Railways' Peace River subdivision in N scale
http://nscalenar.blogspot.ca/

[DKS]

FWIW, I will soon be launching a new website called Vintage N Scale. Although most anything will be fair game, the focus will be on the Postage Stamp line. I'm also gearing up for a new product line--reconditioned Postage Stamp products, from rolling stock to full sets (should initially have about a dozen sets to sell). Hopefully there will also be a discussion board for PSAs--Postage Stamp Addicts.

BTW, those classic Postage Stamp set boxes, which won an award at the time for creative packaging, have as any PSA knows a fatal flaw: once the wrapper is removed, the box is nearly impossible to open without things falling out. I've devised a solution: thin, rigid clear plastic panels that lock everything in place. Reconditioned sets will come with them, and the panels will also be available for PSAs to buy.

[LV LOU]

One thing you may want to look at if you take it apart.I have more than a few of these great old locos,one was my first loco I got in '67.The wheelsets are solid mounted on one side,nylon insulated on the other.The nylon has a tendency to shrink,and the wheel separates from the axle.The loco will appear to run okay,but it loses traction.Pull the wheel off,clean up the inside of the wheel and the nylon,and put a small amount of crazy glue around the nylon[REALLY tiny drop!!] and quickly put the wheel back on while twisting it.Of course,clean up any excess glue with an X-acto or acetone,and re-install it insulated side on the axle contacts.If yours are loose,you won't believe how much better it will run.Also,the contact tabs from the trucks should be adjusted so the truck is almost level when you turn it upside down,with the tab side just slightly elevated,most I see have way too much spring tension on them,that decreases traction and contact on the rear axles.Not a bad idea to also put a bit of oil on the contact wiper contact area on the plate...This set is ancient,some of my first locos,one is the first.I just did them over and got a B-unit done to go with them..The grills are Plano Kato B-unit grills I shortened,and the B has shortened E8 grills..The grills on both are the same,the angle of the shot makes them look different..
 

[Flatrat]

Thanks for the good advice. I already took it all down and cleaned old lube out and lightly lubed it and reassembled it. It runs well and pulls well and even gets down pretty well into scale running speeds.
By noisy I just meant, 'by modern standards' it doesn't sound like a busted Norelco razor or anything like that. I'll keep my eyes peeled for signs of the traction problem in the future but for now...running great!

Thanks again.

Scott

[nkalanaga]

Until the Atlas-Kato RS3 came out an ABA set of these Fs was my primary locomotive.  Hardwired together, they looked a little funny switching, but were almost impossible to stall, and cleaning the cat hair out of the works was simple.  They stayed in service for 25 years, and still run.

[Nato]

         My Postage Stamp set isn't worth anything to anyone anymore. Shortly after I recieved my Union Pacific passenger set, I sent a scathing (nasty) letter to Aurora pointing out that UP Passenger Cars should be painted yellow & gray with red stripes. Then out came my Testors Paints (paint of choice  back then) and the cars were repainted. Found small size Union Pacific road name  on Walthers HO Passenger Car sheet to do the letterboards. Kept the locos stock ,the color was better than the straight out of the bottle Testors Yellow on the cars. Photos of the original Pilot Model Aurora loki (side view only) in a magazine format book "1,000 & One Model Railroad Ideas" clearly showed a dynamic brake fan on a PRR lettered unit. I was disappointed when the model didn't have DB fan. My train is otherwise still stored in it's original box. I also have color Aurora Catalog which advertised (showed) that a U28 was coming soon. I still have quite a few of both the GE and F-9/7 locos. They were my mainstay power at train shows on N Quack (Trak) layout  for a number of years. Locos I' am the proudest fo are an A B A set of CP in old Maroon 7 Gray colurs (colors), to which I added DB fans and large weatherization hatches from Minatures By Eric. I know yall wants pics,but I don't have any. David ,looking forward to your Postage Stamp site.                                            Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah. By the way the incorrect paint schemes silver with colored stripe on passenger cars has never been changed,even on newer made in China Cars.

[Flatrat]

I'm tickled just running my heritage F unit repainted from Santa Fe to Western Maryland. i'm happy taking a bit of our family model RR collection and repurposing it and running it. it's cool and the noisy bugger is running just great. Looping around  the track just fine right now as we type.

The engine has frosted windows and no light inside to light up the cab and number board. I still have the orignal dummy unit painted to Santa Fe and it has no lights inside either. Was that the way they all were? Can you add a light bulb to the cab of these engines?

scott

[DKS]

The engine has frosted windows and no light inside to light up the cab and number board. I still have the orignal dummy unit painted to Santa Fe and it has no lights inside either. Was that the way they all were? Can you add a light bulb to the cab of these engines?

Lights were added later. The chassis was designed for it--look for tab-like extensions on the ends of the chassis with large-ish vertical holes; light bulbs with metal bases slipped into the holes, and a plastic plate with a metal tab and wire pressed against the end of the bulb. It's easy enough to add a light or LED; pop the motor out, and solder fine wires to the PC board underneath.

[Flatrat]

Thanks for the 411 David. The MU idea was just a "mental fart". I planned my layout with the outside loop having no turnouts or any other possible "obstructions" to smooth running, and worked the solder joints/connections over real well just to run my heritage trains on as smooth a track as possible. I added a minute bit of dilectric grease to the worm gears tonight and it has quieted down the F unit a little bit. It pulls great and actually doesn't seem to need additional electrical pick up at this point. I think I will just keep running the old RS-3 as a dummy for now but have carefully stored the inner workings for future 'fiddling'.

I'll review the F unit to see if I can find the electrical connection points for a light bulb but... may just continue to enjoy them for what they are. A bit of N scale history. Adding a light bulb may just be 'courting disaster' at this point. Sometimes you just need to be happy with the fact old engines run smoothly and look good. If i want a better, more accurate F unit I'll look to a newer model.

S

[nkalanaga]

If you want a headlight I'd suggest an LED and resistor.  There's plenty of room, the LED would fit in the headlight opening, and you wouldn't risk melting the body or having the light shine through it.  In my case, the headlight was a 1.5V microbulb, powered off the same penlight battery as a roof flasher, and glued into a hole drilled in the back of an MV Products lens.  My other units got only the lens, as the light didn't seem to make much difference running during the day, and I couldn't see to switch at night!