Locomotive maintenence - oil

[Russian]

Hello, what do you guys use to maintain your locomotives? This is what the sheet that came with my locomotive tells me:

Locomotive wheels should be cleaned by spinning them on track wetted with cleaner, then dried with a pipe cleaner. Locomotives must be properly lubricated. Sparingly use a fine grade oil that is plastic-compatible.

What kind of an oil are they talking about? Is it something fairly simple that I would be able to buy at a Wal-Mart or a similar store?

As for the track, does it have to be a separate piece of track or does regular track work fine?

How do you guys maintain your locos?

[CBCNSfan]

What kind of an oil are they talking about? Is it something fairly simple that I would be able to buy at a Wal-Mart or a similar store?

Hi Roman, Plastic compatable lubricants. I kind of hesitate to pass this on, but it should work ok for you. Should you buy this product, first test the product on a piece of plastic to ensure it will not attack the plastic of your loco.
I got my lubricant at Radio Shack part # 64-2301 Precision Oiler. It has a needle tip which will dispense one drop at a time. The Lubricant is Teflon and Fluon based. It's super slippery, resists rust, doesn't coagulate and has no oily residue, works good for me.

As for the track, does it have to be a separate piece of track or does regular track work fine?

Regular track will work but it would be more convenient to have track on a seperate board, keeps from messing up the layout, just my opinion.
Cheers!! Willis

How do you guys maintain your locos?

If it works good I leave it alone, if it doesn't then I find out why. Most bearings are scintered bronze, which is porous and holds the lubricant for a very long time. Oil leaves a residue which collects dust & dirt. A lot of locomotive gears are made of rilsan plastic which is quite slippery anyway. Golden Rule" If it's not broken, Don't fix it" If it's running poorly, find out why?