I had a friend who used to use Goo Gone, but theres two drawbacks to that: sometimes when handling the Goo Gone, if it gets on the fingers. It will find its way onto the sides of your rolling stock, and it will mar the paint. Second issue, it can melt the little "spike heads" on the track, and eventually destroy the track, or at least, cause the rails to go out of gage. I used to use Testor's airbrush thinner on a piece of napkin.

Thank you. A very comprehensive presentation. Clear, simple and easy to follow.

I clean out my cellphone charging port all the time because dust/dirt/hair build up in it. Never thought about cleaning the train... The tips in this video worked wonders! Thank you!

30 some years ago my mom bought me my first train set. I was far too young to operate it, and she always tried to keep it stored in the box. But of course, I loved it and always wanted to play with it. I'm afraid to mention the places that CN Locomotive came with me in my pocket, I was 5 after all. I still have this train set, and I am finally in a position where I can start my first layout. While I don't plan on daily driving my old DC N scale train, at least now I know how to care for them!

Great video, thanks for showing how to completely clean and overhaul an N scale engine. Keep those videos coming.

Mike, great and informative video loaded with information that we all need. Thanks for making this video!

Thanks Mike, great video, you answered a lot of my questions in one video!

Trix HO Locomotive Wheel Cleaning Brush I appreciate all your videos, IM 74 and evidently never to old to learn, thanks

Hi Mike, I always enjoy your informative and interesting videos. Thank you so much for your contribution to my education and to advancing the model railroad hobby. - Dean from Minneapolis.

Great video Mike. It was really educational and straight forward!

Another great video, Mike. You are a great teacher, keep it up. I appreciate it. Thanks

Fantastic tutorial. This will only help when I have issues. Thanks so much!

Some great advice. Thank you I have a Life-Like GP18 in N that stopped working after a tumble. It's running like a champ again.

Great tip on running locomotive each directions at 15 minutes.

Hi Mike. Thanks for excellent videos! A friend of mine just handed me a whole box of n-scale locos and cars and they all need some serious service. A couple are European and the others Bachmann. But they are all at least 20+ years old and have not been run for at least that long. Should I try your methods first? Steve

Completely understand my friend, but thanks for all the help ya give

Thank you. I am new to the hobby I was wondering how to maintain the engine.I want to keep my equipment up and running, so thanks for the good info I bought my first Track and train in Dec.mostly Kato with some micro trains cars to get me started I am soon going to be changing to DCC

Thanks Mike great info!

Wow, Mike you actually got my last name right!!!! Thank you very much for all your great info!

Another great video Mike, I am on my 4th and hopefully last layout. I just wanted to let you know that a whole lot of us out here (even when they done leave a comment ) are learning from your videos. I know that I just did. Thanks again, Rick

once again thanks for the awesome advice

Just getting into n scale. Have over 220 engines from n scale to g scale. Thanks for the tips

thanks for sharing. I'd like to to your water soaking advice, if you need to soak something in water put a few drops of dishwashing liquid into the water first as this helps to lift grease off the surface and out of crevices. When brushing in liquid to clean be gentle as agressive cleaning can force dirt etc further into crevices. I use this approach for cleaning anything, especially fragile items, not just train parts. Of course avoid overnight soaking of metal parts to avoid promotion of rust and after drying I often gentle apply a small amount of dry ptfe lube to metal surfaces to discourage corrosion even if its not a moving part. dry ptfe i find a great lube for all sorts of things and it dries to the touch so unlike oil which is generally used as a protective coating it doesn't attract dust from the air and gunk up.

Great informative video Mike... Matt-

Great information Mike !

I'm a new fan of N scale trains! I recently bought a 2nd handed train, but it doesn't run, but thanks for the video!!!!

i just got both the tidy track kits for tack and the engines, will report back later, have not even took them out of package yet, making trees and converting couplers once ups arrives ill be in like flint on couplers, i hope

Grasias amigo buen video saludos...

Thank you. Very informative.

I like the Tidy Track wheel cleaner for N Scale locos. I have one and it works great. I don't use the fluid supplied. I use IPA (91%). I use the direction switch to reverse the loco and clean in both directions.

Tamiya Pointed Q-Tips or Cotton Tips would Work Great for Cleaning the Cap ends Mike you can get them At Hobby Lobby or your Favorite Hobby Store or from Tamiya.. I have some and they are a Great tool for many uses as this..

Ever use an ultrasonic cleaner for the axles and wheels? Why in N scale do they have the opening for the gears at the bottom of the truck? These holes are magnets for ground foam, so I have to keep my track and ballast vacuumed regularly. Have you tried the "Beardon" method of removing the inboard worm gear bearings in order to eliminate the motor noise?

*Thank You* 😊❤

@2:15; How does Kato do it? Simple answer, good design, good materials and parts and a commitment to quality sadly missing in other brands.

thx, very informative.

hi Mike.. great info... that's my next job.. thanks for sharing.. vinny

I can't agree you 100% Mike, good Maintenance is always a good thing. Once a year I give power units a Alcohol Bath and running it will get all that crap out, just remember to take the decoder out. A glass flat bowl that's fit's your locomotive fill it haft up and put the power to it....works great, try it. I've been doing it for years. I do repair work on N and HO and that's the first I do...and sometime that's all they need, a good cleaning. Great how to videos. Bob, at Longshadowsmodeltrees.com

Great video! I'll probably use this a lot to fix up my N-Scale locomotives. I have an old Bachmann F9 unit that I bought for I think around $10 at a model railroad convention thing. I love it, except it has a couple of problems.1. It makes an awful sound, kind of like a blender I guess. No clue why, but I really would like to get rid of it.2. It loses a lot of speed on corners. I use Kato R-249-45 and R315-45 turns. I'm not really sure wether it's the trucks on it not having enough turning radius, or if they're too tight.3. It doesn't perform very well overall. It jitters and bogs often. It doesn't have any lights on it, so I can't tell if it's power loss or what, but my Bachmann Plymouth 0-6-0 switcher runs well on the same track.I don't know much about maintaining model trains besides cleaning the track and wheels, so I hope you can help me out! :)

Useful tips .. thank you :)

You should try a British n gauge locomotive or a train set. They are really nice

Hi Mike I have another question for you I just bought from an auction on E9A N scale Kato Union Pacific it's not running very well at all but it seems the rear trucks are moving and the front trucks aren't

If the coupler heights don't match, is there a method of getting them to match? New couplers? Mixing coupler types/brands?

Yo limpio las ruedas de mis máquinas escala N con alcohol isopropílico para que corran bien sin detenerse. Mis máquinas funcionan bien. U36B presidencial Bachmann. GP40-2 Penn Central Atlas. F9 Chicago and North Western Atlas austriaca. GP38-2 Santa Fe Life Like. Máquinas Dummy. GP35 SP. GP38-2 Santa Fe 3560. FM Santa Fe. No tengo mas máquinas de modelos diferentes.

My N scale locomotive ran fine yesterday now don't run no power I put it on the track and my power pack pilot light dims and motor spins no power

Hi, I have just completed my first N scale layout, I am running a Bachmann 7071 locomotive which I bought used, it worked great when I got it. After cleaning it and lubing it runs sluggish. Im assuming I got oil on the motor brushes, so I cleaned them and the commutator with rubbing alcohol which made it a little better but I still get a sluggish startup occasionally. it runs great above half speed. Any tips or suggestions would be great! Thanks!!

Hi Mr Fifer... I am one of the Kato and Tomix N scale fan with numbers of trains in my collection. However, I am still new to this hobby. Could you present a review on SR 24 Modellbahnol oil? Thank you.

Those pads that you put, the one around 6:00, are those like similar ones for eyeglasses and computer screens? And does it work for like HO as well?

hi mike i have a question i had a N scale batchmann steam engine and when i put it on the rails it doesnt run, i cleaned it and i took the motor out of it and put it back together? any hints for me pls?

hi Mike, I have viewed this vid several times over the past couple of years, can you tell me what would be the life expectancy of a N scale loco, I ask as I have several Bachmann loco two were purchased from a model shop and the others were second hand. I did have found that after running they would start to scream, and jerk, my first thought was a problem with my power supply, No I am not running dcc. I am running a dedicated 12v dc supply, what I found when opening the units was the brushes had worn down and the spring was contacting causing a short. can you think of any reason this could happen. (Oil used was purchased from the model supplier as safe for N and all plastics.

my steam engine is running jerky. meaning stops and starts. is this a lubrication issue? the track is clean

Are the trucks removed the same way on DCC fitted units?

What would you recommend I bought an end scale 10 years ago ran it a couple of times stored it afterwards and I just pulled it out to test the engines and they are running spotty like stop and go and sputtering

Does anyone know what could be wrong with my Atlas N scale loco when it runs great except when it makes right hand turns? It only slows down when it goes into a turn. Runs great when turning left or straight and backwards. Any ideas on how to fix would be great. Thanks!

I have a lifelike E8,,,was my best runner,,,suddenly it is a no move,,,,,,shell off,,the motor is running fine,,,flywheels and drive shafts just fine,,,for some reason looking at the trucks profile,,the gears do not engage ,maybe a 32d clearance between both sets ,,i have tried pressing the shell firmer into place,,push down on the shafts ,,up with the trucks,,w no effecet ,,why the clearance?

*ahem* a Wire brush will NOT scratch metal. it will absolutely clean the service of any coating or grime. A wire brush is a surface prep product. The very tip of the wire will contact the metal surface only. Sandpaper however is another story!

I am having a problem with ,y pick up strips on my kato emd sd90mac. They are loose. How do i fix them?

my only concern with the trip cleaner is the few engines I have with traction tires.

My n scale steam engine stopped running. Headlight comes on but that it. I noticed the bottom plate screws were loose. I removed plate and one wheel set was not in its place. Now it runs in reverse but won’t go forward. Is there something else I am missing. Thanks

I don't know if u put LEDs in ur LOCO'S, but would u know what size LED FOR N SCALE

Hi Mike. I just watched your video in UK, looking for details of how to remove grease from an N Gauge locomotive and it's the one part you skipped over!! You showed examples of picking off lint, but you didn't actually show you using a Q Tip to remove the grease and you mentioned 'alcohol', but didn't mention what type of alcohol. Sorry mate, but you missed some essential points as far as I was converned. Keith

Why do they design the bottom of the trucks with slots? No one does this in HO. It should all scale, meaning that they should make the gears smaller, that way you don't have the slots and you won't have to fish out loose ballast and ground foam when the loco stops.

i have a santa fe 215 the gears won't turn when the top gear in on top it connects but won't turn can you help with advice

Hi, I've got about 5-6 locos that need help.... I'm not the guy for it .... can you help me out on this? You can reach me at Bar Mills Scale Models.... Art

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Love watching your videos but you say ok guys way to much....

paid a lot for tomix,,,,,junk ripoff