Hi Bill just watched this video then stripped down my Mainline J72 and found that main gear was doing the same ie showing signs of wear on the chassis. I did the same as you and filed the offending bit of chassis down very slightly. When I reassembled the chassis I noticed that the main gear was moving side to side slightly which would possibly account for the wear on the body. I placed, with a couple of dabs of super glue) a washer to fit over the 4mm dia raised piece on the non geared chassis body. On reassembling the chassis I checked that the main gear was free to move but that the washer had limited the side ways movement of the main gear, and on testing under power everything was ok and the motor was quieter.
I never thought of T-Cut and always used toothpaste. In scratch building I used ASDA Cream Cleaner as a grinding paste for easing my homemade coupling rods.
I purchased one that seemed never to have been run, a little service later - very smooth but very noisy sort of reminds me of a can opener, but still quieter than my Dapol Terrier. Very informative vid. I'm going to hit it with some grease!
Hi Bill Thanks for the mention regarding the T-Cut. You can also utilise the T-CUT to clean your wheels as well it doesn't take the chrome surface off the treads but leaves them with a mirror surface and I find you don't have to clean the wheels nearly so often
Yes thanks a great tip that has really made a huge difference. I have tried it on wheels as well and coupled with contact cleaner it does a great job. I need to get some buffing pads for my rotary tool to really get the process sorted,
Another great informative video👍 Sheer coincidence that today I started putting the boards together on my layout following a house move and the inaugural run was by a Mainline Pannier which I guess is the same chassis. Beautifully detailed loco but the noise! I'll be following your method to see if I can make the same improvement, but I no longer buy Mainline locos - all prove problematic.
Just make sure you get all the T-Cut off and you will know when you have done that when there is no further black deposits on a clean Cotton Bud you can also use T-cut for cleaning your wheels leaves them also like a mirror surface
OK Bill, that's pretty spooky. Today I was running my Mainline J72 for the first time in ages, and it acts EXACTLY as yours did 'before.' The noise doesn't really worry me, but I was cheesed off about the lurching when it pulls away. Thanks for this - I'll be getting some of that Hob-e-lube and giving mine a go. Cheers!
As others have said, Mainline locomotives: beautiful body, terrible chassis. The split chassis locos are renowned for their problems. The plastic axles tend to react to lubricants, swell up and split, so the stub axles become loose, the wheel quartering goes, and the mechanism jams up. I have been recommended to use just graphite, which doesn't react with the plastic -- was told this by a chap who's been using that (not oil) for years on many locos without issue. Replacement axle sets are available for some locos from Peters Spares, and there's a 3D printing company making sets that I have seen advertise in FB model railway groups. (These work out at about a tenner a loco, so you need to buy your non-runners very cheap!) As I understand it, another problem is that the plating on the metal stub axles wears through. What's worse is that the metal under the plating is not conductive, so once the plating has gone, the loco can't get any power! Not sure the solution on that, although fitting external pickups on the wheel rims might work. As a result of all these problems, there is a plentiful supply of non-running Mainline locos on eBay -- caveat emptor!
I’ve got a mainline jubilee, beautiful to look at but very poor and noisy in running . We all know about the awful motor and live chassis pick up issues , but I’ve noticed the main achilles heal with mainline locomotives are the axels. They can split due to wear in the plastic and cause the quartering to go out of sync , you can superglue them back but as you mentioned bill , mainline locos for their time were very detailed models , but awful runners , I had an N2 , very noisy no matter how much TLC I gave it , Hornby’s version is the way to go .
Wonderful details on these little engines only to be let down by badly engineered chassis . Warning stay clear of on runners unless you get them for spares. Why you may ask? Wheels that split, axles that are non repairable (replacements very hard to come by ) and chassis casting that crack , if you're lucky to track down a Mainly Trains chassis kit for this loco you will be able to have a perfect little engine, what's the catch. You have to buy a set of Romford wheels. Motor and gears, not cheap but well worth it, for very smooth running and you can DCC it. Sorry to say Mainly Trains close a few years back but there's still their stuff out there coming up on those buying sites..... stay safe
The Mainline Class 45 isn't too bad for noise, but the Class 42 and Class 03 sound akin to wind-up toys. An incredible amount of noise to get... not much. It has to be the geartrain, the Class 42 and 03 have long geartrains full of small gears to transfer their power, the 45 is much more like the Ringfield. I've serviced my 03 and it became a little quieter, but it's still as noisy as something like the Triang Blue Pullman.
The gears and axles are prone to failure, which is a shame. They set a new standard in terms of realism and detail but long-term serviceability is not the best.
Is this your only Mainline Loco? I have a J72 - It needs a good service, so watching your film will help me, when I come to take it apart. I have a few Scots. They are noisy, but they sound great. A good model for their time. Better than the J72.
Wow . You are certainly into major surgery of your locos . I have J72s. A Jubilee and a 2251 and I’m afraid they are all noisy . It doesn’t bother me but it is a bit of a din !
I have a Mainline Collett and as the axles just run in grooves which can't retain oil I use copper grease as used on car brake parts, my thinking being that the copper won't reduce conductivity through the axles too badly.
Hi, thump thump thump every J72 I ever had does that lol I wonder if its the way the wheels are held in place? What was that grease you used on the axles please?
The axles are very poorly made and not perfectly smooth or even round. I'm almost tempted to split them and try bushing them but once they are apart they are probably done for. Grease is silicon grease. Type you might use on brake calipers. There are better lubricants but I use what I have to hand.
@@oobill Hi bill, look on peters spares I think you can get replacement axles for mainline locos there, tbh I avoid mainline at all costs due to issues with them
Extremely instructive video, many thanks. May I ask, what grease do you use? And why do you use two different greases, as on this video? I have a J72 and will attempt to service it in the same way. dave
On plastic gears or where a thicker grease is appropriate I use Moly Grease. Currently using Hob-E-lube but it is a bit expensive. Where I want a less thick grease but not oil I use silicon grease.
Hi Bill i have 2 of the J72's and a couple of the Mainline Royal Scot's. they all sound the same when they run, must be the way they have been produced.
Hey Bill, Can you please tell me If OO gauge can run on HO scale track? Is the track the same distance between the rails as HO scale track? I would appreciate your feedback. Thank you. You have great videos, Just love em.
Hi Rocco, yes American and European HO and British OO are the same gauge between the tracks. The scale of the rolling stock is different, but that won’t affect their running on the same tracks. This is why British rolling stock looks a bit narrow on the track, but runs perfectly well and most modellers of British outline accept the compromise.
I have read that Mainline locomotives have problems with the gears and axles, but I have never seen the issue demonstrated. Is there something with the plastic axles that breaks with time?
In my experience, all Mainline locomotives with the split chassis suffer from disintegrating axles eventually. When Bachmann acquired some of the range they set about changing the chassis to a more conventional type. As others have said they look good but appearances can be deceptive
I'm not sure why yours runs so noisy even after servicing. I have one but it appears to run quieter than that - difficult to judge with the video microphone....
Excellent video - I could have done with this a few weeks ago! I bought one of these as a none-runner, it was advertised as having a jammed motor. When I opened it up it turned out that the 'gearbox' had self destructed and the two pins which held the gears in place had broken off. Too add to that issue, the axels also decided to self-destruct when I was putting the thing back together! Anyhow, I made a short video containing photos of the work needed, and a bit of running at the end: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ccyi7pbuIDU.html Like yours, it's very noisy, and wobbles a bit too. I think most of the noise is from the gears. It's a great looking model, but I think Triang did a much better chassis years before. Makes me think that Mainline were trying to re-invent the wheel, or something like that! I'm going to look through some of your other videos now - I'm pleased to have found your channel! :-)
To an extent but according to the bumpf on their site it also removes oxidation and grime: "T-Cut Original, launched in 1954 is the original color restorer with the unique formula that brings back original colour and lusture in minutes. Removes oxidation, ingrained road grime, tar spots and dried insects. T-Cut Original contains no silicones and leaves no harmful residues, preparing an ideal surface for re-painting." www.t-cut.co.uk/index.cfm?page=55 So yes I suspect part of the reason it's gleaming clean is it has a polishing aspect, so I would expect something that improves conductivity like Inox or WD40 specialist contact cleaner would be better.
