Servicing LGB Points

[jayiscupid]

Hi! After a very wet winter, it's looking like some better weather is coming this week so I'm keen to get out and run the layout again.

I use LGB R5 points (with the manual point spring mechanisms). Other than cleaning the track tops for electrical conductivity is there anything else anyone recommends doing to the points at the start of the season for better running this year?

 

[Gizzy]

Just make sure the tie bar isn't full of crud, and nothing is trapped in the point blades.

Check the operation of the levers. Sometimes, crud can get inside but it's rare....

 

[jayiscupid]

Just make sure the tie bar isn't full of crud, and nothing is trapped in the point blades.

Check the operation of the levers. Sometimes, crud can get inside but it's rare....

Thanks Gizzy. I wondered if they needed to be removed from the garden and have contacts etc cleaned?

 

[Gizzy]

Thanks Gizzy. I wondered if they needed to be removed from the garden and have contacts etc cleaned?

You should be fine cleaning them in situ....

 

[Northsider]

Not specific to LGB, but make sure nothing (grit/ballast, small twigs, moss) has got wedged in the check rails, or is sitting in the frog.

 

[Software Tools]

have contacts etc cleaned?

Spray some lubricating contact cleaner on the moving parts and contact surfaces.

 

[David1226]

I often have problems with the frogs on my pointwork.



David

 

[PhilP]

Reddit..
(Seen that one before David1226 )

PhilP.

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi! After a very wet winter, it's looking like some better weather is coming this week so I'm keen to get out and run the layout again.

I use LGB R5 points (with the manual point spring mechanisms). Other than cleaning the track tops for electrical conductivity is there anything else anyone recommends doing to the points at the start of the season for better running this year?

The metal in the frog gap certainly needs a clean, wheels ride on these and they do help with pickup. On the ruschbahn we used a piece of wood slightly thiner with some very fine wet n dry paper to get that metal clean, most likely will be fully black and not even look like metal now.

Looking at the left parts highlighted by software the slider can be mucky and the pressed in links (older points can have screws) can come adrift. Lifting the points will not be necessary help as Gizzy says, check out power functionality with a meter along each rail and the diversion of it. If necessary a jumper wire or two will resolve issues, but black wire please!

 

[JimmyB]

we used a piece of wood slightly thiner with some very fine wet n dry paper to get that metal clean,

A lot of people frown on the use of abrasives that mark the metal, as these then attract dirt, and hold it between the grooves, and reduce the contact surface by 50%.

 

[dunnyrail]

A lot of people frown on the use of abrasives that mark the metal, as these then attract dirt, and hold it between the grooves, and reduce the contact surface by 50%.

Indeed so but for the metal in those grooves there is little ootion.

 

[JimmyB]

Indeed so but for the metal in those grooves there is little ootion.

I have a cut down "Peco" rail (rubber) cleaner, when required (other makes are available).

 

[jayiscupid]

Thanks, everyone! The sun is out today, so I hope to get the trains running this afternoon.

 

[Paul M]

Indeed so but for the metal in those grooves there is little ootion.

When cleaning a clock, where anything abrasive is frowned upon, we just use wood to clean the dirt off. It's not a quick process, but works well, and doesn't mark the metal

 

[dunnyrail]

When cleaning a clock, where anything abrasive is frowned upon, we just use wood to clean the dirt off. It's not a quick process, but works well, and doesn't mark the metal

Aha so a thin bit of wood should work nicely in the frog groves.

 

[Rhinochugger]

I don't have LGB, but I have Aristo and USAT #6 plus to Aristo 10ft.

Apart from clearing grit away between the blade and the stock rail, I only clean the tops on track power days - been like that for more or less ten years now.

I did have a contact failure on the USAT point - only found out when RioGrandad's Sumpter Mallet stalled on it. Fitted a jumper lead, and that was that.

 

[Paul M]

Aha so a thin bit of wood should work nicely in the frog groves.

A lolly stick is probably the right sort of size

 

[curtis]

A lot of people frown on the use of abrasives that mark the metal, as these then attract dirt, and hold it between the grooves, and reduce the contact surface by 50%.

For this, I use spare pads (LGB 67005) for the LGB Track Cleaning attachment. I've found they're great for this kind of job

 

[Dan]

One thing I watch for is making sure the frog section is level. If slightly uneven then the rails will not move easily, esp with power driven frogs.