Athearn Locomotive Tune-up

[Bartoli]

I've been reading through a few webpages, magazine articles, and books about how to tune up and improve an Athearn locomotive, and I've got a few questions based on what I've read:

1. Does polishing the gears with Pearl Drops make a big difference?
2. Where the heck do you get this stuff (can't find it in southern Indiana)? 3. What else can be used instead (I was thinking about using Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound)?
4. How much of an improvement does polishing the commutator make?
5. What other kinds of tricks and procedures are there to tune-up an Athearn?

I polished the commutator on two of my Athearns and it didn't seem to make any difference to me, however, I used 600 grit sandpaper which may be too coarse.

I'm quite happy with my Athearn equipment, I'd just like to quiet it down a bit!!

Any experiences and stories would be greatly appreciated.

Just for reference, here's what I've been looking at:

"Model Railroading with Athearn Locomotives and Cars" which is a bunch of articles from Model Railroading in one book.

"Tuning and Upgrading Athearn Locomotives" which is a bunch of articles from Railmodel Journal in one book.

"Quick and Easy Tune-Up Procedures for Athearn Diesels" from the November 1993 Model Railroader.

"The Care, Feeding, and Growth of your Athearn Power" at http://hackitup.railfan.net/athearn.html

[NYC-BKO]

Besides following all the other tricks of the trade, I found that electric motor cleaner works wonders on the motors, It'll clean the commutator off quickly. Last night I pulled an old Athearn out to run and it was running poorly drawing about 1.1 amps, took the shell off sprayed the motor and it only drew about .4 amps and started at a lower voltage. Proper lube and checking of the drive train also helps tremendously.

[Hostler]

Having been a HO modeler since my teens, one area that I did some experimenting in was improving drive trains of locos. I've found that the Athearn drive train mechanisms to be very good. If you notice most diesel loco drives mimic the worm and spur gear arrangement that athearn has used for decades. I found the motors were always the weak link, they are current hogs. It was not unusual for their motors to run 3/4 to 1 amp under load. I have read many ways to improve things such as putting a small amount of very light oil on the commutator, but that only collects dust. Wetting a Q-tip with some silicone spray would be better. The electrical cleaner route is a good idea every once and a while to get better operation. The first thing I do to a new engine is tear it apart and remove existing greases and oils. Just wipe it off, no solvents. I use Labelle lubes and grease, only the plastic compatible type.
Use a light application of teflon grease on the gears, medium oil on the worm gear bushings. Next re-assemble and break the engine in gradually. I have a loco test stand from that I bought over a decade ago and still use it. Run the engine at different speeds in both directions for about a total 30-40 minutes. Kind of like a new car - break it in gradually. Repowering a Athearn loco with a can motor is the best way to go. I am not familiar with the newer motors that they make, at least they are skew winding them now.

[Smilin' Ed]

You should be able to find Pearl Drops in the toothpaste isle at your grocery store. I haven't seen it advertised for a number of years, however, so it may be part of history by now. They used to have really odd tv spots. A very pretty young model with BLINDING white teeth used to smile and run her tongue over her front teeth and try to say "mmmmmmmm" (like in Campbell Soup's old "mmm...mmm..good" campaign). Of course with the tip of her tongue touching her top front teeth it came out, "nnnnnnnn". I wonder if some other dental product might work just as well. I will look for Pearl Drops this weekend just to see if it's still out there.

Cheers!

[Chuck Walsh]

Give Fantom Racing Motors of Michigan a call, 269-649-9583. They sell a product called"F369 Brush/Comm Stick" specifically to clean up commutators.

Was $3.59 at my Michigan LHS a few years back.

[jwb1323]

It's worth pointing out that Athearn has steadily improved its product over the decades. In the early 1980s they changed their motor, for instance. When I started serious modeling in the early 1960s it was common for Athearn wheelsets to be out of gauge (something the mags didn't tell us about).

As to advice to polish the gears, I've never seen the need for it. I can agree with using good-quality lubricant and cleaning dirty commutators, but this is common to all model locos. The other really big improvement nobody mentions is to hard-wire the current pickup to avoid the pressure-only contact of the metal strips. But past hardwired pickup and improved lube and cleaning, your real options for older Athearn are replacing components. You will probably get quieter running if you replace the older plastic drive train with either NWSL universals or newer Athearn components (assuming they fit). You will get better current pickup if you replace the wheels with JayBee or NWSL nickel silver wheels.

In the past 5 or 6 years, Athearn has changed its drive train components to reduce noise. A big part of earlier noise in 1980s and 90s Athearn locos was the older style drive train components vibrating -- also the flywheels, which were cast and not turned, so would also vibrate. I think the flywheels in RTR locos are now turned, but someone may be able to correct this. RTR also uses nickel silver turned wheels, another big improvement. Also hardwires the current pickup.

I have 2 SD50s and 2 CF7s, and my impression is that Athearn RTR locos have improved considerably over blue-box.

[pdt]

I haven't found Pearl Drops to make enough of a difference in the noise level of my Athearn locomotives to justify the extra step. They seem to be reasonably quiet once you've removed any flash from the gears, splines, U-joints, etc., cleaned everything up and re-lubed them. But once the shell is replaced the remaining noise gets amplified. So, I suspect placing some kind of noise-deadening foam tape on the shell might help, but I haven't tried it yet.

My theory on this is that the shells on the older Athearn locomotives I have (GP38-2, GP50, first release SD40-2) aren't mounted as snugly as on the newer models (GP60, retooled SD40-2) which allows for more vibration. Vibration equals noise. Maybe a spot of silicone where the shell contacts the frame might reduce the noise...

I'll have to try the electric motor cleaner. That sounds like it would really help out my Athearn locomotives since almost all of them are at least 13 years old. The other thing I plan to do is change out the wheels to NWSL nickel silver wheels. That should improve contact and reliability.

[dti406]

One thing I can say for sure is do not use sandpaper on your communtators, it will pit the communator which will lead to more arcing and the commutator getting even dirtier than it was before. I would try to find a "Rush" eraser which should be found in drafting supply stores or office supply stores. This is an eraser with fiberglass core which will do a great job on cleaning communtators, wheels etc without causing any pitting.

After that you can use an electronic cleaner or degreaser, make sure it does not contain any pertoleum products as it will again dirty up your comutator.

The other thing to make an Athearn run better is to remove the metal strip between the motor and the trucks and hard wire the connections to assure good elcectrical continuity between the track and the motor.

Rick

[denis]

I was involved with a model train museum, and for years, the owner had been applying tape to the inside of the shells. He understood that vibration was the culprit. Applying foam mounting tape sounds even better, and placing it so that it would contact the shell and chassis, should take care of those loose shells.