This post is prompted by a lot of new members joining this Great forum. First--Tyco was and is not the worst trains made. They are on the high maintenance side somewhat. If you are buying mint in box off ebay or not mint--you need to oil the motor bearing and grease gears with approved model train oil and grease. check traction tires for dry rot--many will need replacing. Do not run any engine you acquire/purchase at full throttle. Tyco recommends variuos speeds for 15 minutes forward then 15 minutes in reverse of the same. Most loco's you purchase off ebay new in box have more than likely been sitting for 20+ years or longer and others at least as long. Many used ones have been ran on carpet--carpet fibers wound up in gears and armature area. This will burn up the motor if in still running condition and not removed. Dirty wheels also will make a tyco run poorly. Clean the wheels and not with steel wool. Working on a Tyco motor is not for the non-mechanically inclined. Take it to someone who knows how to dis- assemble the motor. I have cleaned several loco's purchased off ebay and posted pictures of a dirty carpet ran loco with fibers on this forum under motive power. There are pictures i have posted for everyone to see the oil and grease methods under motive power. Track-- Nickel silver track (code 100) for tyco is the best running performance. Some may dis-agree. I get exceptional performance of my tyco on my nickel silver track. I use Atlas brand-but any nickel silver that you can afford is much better than brass or steel or Tyco old tru-steel. You can run code 83 track but some tyco loc's will tie-tap and derail on turn outs - crossovers due to the flange depth. Power pack--another important consideration in running old tyco's. Stock toy packs work ok-but do not have built in filters for power surges and some other features you will find on a better pack. Most of the Tyco packs i have suffer from being able to remain at one speed when running a set throttle position. I use MRC power packs. They have one for every budget. save that tyco pack for running accessories only-they work great for that. Tyco did have a few top of the line packs which were manufactured by MRC. Some were silver And some were gold(not the gold ones that came with train sets). RECAPPING BEST PERFORMANCE 1 = CLEAN WHEELS 2= OIL AND GREASE MOTOR/GEARS/REPLACE TRACTION TIRES IF NEEDED 3=UP GRADE TO NICKEL SILVER TRACK 4=UP GRADE POWER PACK.
Country: USA ~
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May I add this: if you're gonna DIY the motor qverhual, use rubbing alcohol the clean the cummator and the brushes. " Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
Country: USA ~
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Posted - September 29 2007 : 10:40:01 PM
USA ~
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