341 mile loco post-mortem

I have to admit it would never occur to me either to disassemble a can motor, after all they can be purchased so cheaply. But it does give some insight into the other areas to check if you have HO/OO gauge engines that are playing up. The business with the oil was weird too, usually with OO gauge Hornby the wisdom is to use oil very sparingly as otherwise it gets into parts like the pickups or on the wheels where it shouldn't and actively causes trouble, in fact it doesn't tend to do plastic much good either unless it is the specialised silicon based oils.

The thing I found most interesting though was the fact that such a basic engine has been built with relatively common components yet can last so long and be so reliable. Still I suppose it explains why there are so many of this enduringly beautiful design available cheaply second hand, I suspect it takes a hell of a lot to kill one as I've never had one come through my hands that doesn't run silky smoothly