Lima Class 52 "Western Gladiator" : Repair Request

[@Mapplewell_Park]

I have a Lima 52 Western Renown. My late dad bought it for me at a train expo in about 1987 2nd hand then. It was played with. Went into the loft for years and came back out in 2020. Passed onto my 2 boys and it’s been played with some more. I have to say I think it’s actually indestructible!!!!!! Still running well, minus a buffer or 2 and 37 years after I took ownership of it. Far more robust than my own modern day models. Great to see one come back to its former glory. 💪🏻

[@Mike-kc8rl]

What always bewildered me was why Lima never sprayed the awful yellow plastic inside? The motor was a cheapo looking item but I think it was better than Hornby at the time! They had tremendous power and went like the clappers? The magnets were also super strong ,and still are on used motors!

[@johnmassey7687]

Lima resurrections one of my favourite types of video,your last comment about changing the gears around is brilliant

[@JerseyHighlandsBruce]

Bill, watching you bring a locomotive back to life is the perfect way to enjoy my second cup of morning coffee! I'm looking forward to seeing locos running the rails on the new layout - even if it is on plain foam for a while.

[@robertmarsh3588]

The Western is my favourite diesel loco. I've always adored them and was lucky enough to see them in traffic when I was a trainspotting youngster, albeit in their final years. I still have my blue Lima Western bought new back in 1979. I added brass name and number plates to it, deleted the moulded tail lamp and painted the ends in BR signal yellow, since the model came with moulded yellow ends. One point - the wheels came blackened including the circumference part which conducts electricity and touches the rail. I believe that's what you were seeing on the model you were servicing, rather than that example just having super dirty wheels.

[@paulcherrytrains3339]

Great repair video. I have just bought Lima Western Pioneer. Ran straight away just needed a little oil. All my Lima locomotives have been very reliable. Thanks for showing. Regards Paul.

[@C119G]

I have five of them on our layout.I upgraded the pick-ups on the motor and trailing bogie simply by bending a small piece of brass wire to shape so that it ran on the backs of the insulated wheels,soldered on a length of wire on to reach the required contacts and fixed the brass wire pick-ups with five minute epoxy. I serviced the power bogie in the same way as seen here,but flatted the backs of the gearing lightly with fine wet n dry to flat the moulding marks too,the extra pick-ups and work on the motor make it run over points superbly.

[@PeterLane-p8h]

Wheels came black, and you cleaned the paint off 😮 but probably ran better Great channel.

[@johnstephens649]

Familiar path as I have the very same Lima Western with much cleaner wheels. Nice to have it confirmed that I am doing all the right things! Runs really well and have added extra Gaugemaster pickup on the non-powered bogie which is more than worth the effort. Have several other old Limas to upgrade so will try your “b-string” method on one of those.

[@modelrailroader5619]

Wonderful restoration and I’ve got my fingers crossed for a view of something running on the new layout! Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@JamesSmith-zk8gl]

Good idea using sponge as a cradle for maintenance

[@theangelsmodellingandrailways]

A great recovery Bill, another Lima loco brought back to life, running great too. I also look forward to seeing trains run on your new layout, its good to follow your progress on this. All the best. Brian @ The Angels

[@clivegoodwin8931]

I also have Western Gladiator, plus Western Renown and Western Enterprise. They're all lovely engines and quite easy to repair (thanks to your videos!). I seemed to find they all had fairly black wheels, even when new. When I got the multi-tool on them with the wire brush, they looked strange when cleaned up! However, they worked very nicely after 30 years of non-use!!

[@StBlazeyModelWorld]

I am just about to attempt a repair on an identical loco so this video was very helpful. Many thanks for posting my friend :)

[@SoRTs6233]

Hi Bill, the way those wheels came up after cleaning was amazing! Particularly liked your treatment of the solder burns as I have a 142 Pacer suffering in the same way. I think I'm going to have trouble colour-matching too! But thanks for the tips. Looking forward to seeing the first repair 'come out of the shed' on the new layout! Cheers

[@davidclough7346]

Another informative video Bill but I agree with another comment that the wheels are chemically treated, hence they look 'dirty'. Using a solvent cleaner and a cotton bud would have been sufficient - I've got one of these and it runs beautifully.

[@timothyduncan3457]

Hi Bill, Excellent video as always. Nice to see the new layout advancing at a pace! On the touch up paint job - I wouldn't worry about it, the last Maroon ones running were a total patchwork quit of different shades. Keep up the good work. Timothy

[@22whizzo56]

Hi Bill, re that white 'dust' on the bogie frames - it's not because the loco has been in a dusty area - the plastic bogie frames on the old Lima locos tend get this 'dusty' appearance just from being in storage for many years. They soon clean up with a 'manky brush' and a bit of soapy water.

[@nicholasbishop3300]

Lovely looking loco Bill Great job Looking forward to the next layout update Nick Australia

[@srduke]

I was hoping you'd say "Gladiators ready!" at the end of the video 🤣

[@petervance318]

Hi Bill, I have one of these and the wheels were just the same before I lightly sanded them. To me it looked like the wheel faces and treads were painted all in one which seems counter-intuitive.

[@JohnJohnson-cn9fh]

it looks great,remember in service these loco,s were working hard all sorts of muck bits of ballast etc would have inflicted minor damage give this loco a reasonable weathering job i am sure it would look great,nice job bill,best wishes.....jpj

[@roberthocking9138]

Looks like it was left out of the box on top of a wardrobe to me, great job Bill

[@donaldkerr6629]

Nice one - it'll be good to move to the new layout and see it grow from bare polystyrene into a fully scenic masterpiece!

[@petersmith4455]

hi Bill,great video,the shape of these lima cl52s is simply ghastly,than goodness for the Dapol version

[@robinforrest7680]

Still better than the Hornby one of the same vintage!

[@ModelRailwayShed]

Great repair again Bill

[@mikeking2539]

OMG! I have never seen wheels in that condition before!

[@decidedly_retro]

The "white dust" on the bogies is the surface of the plastic oxidising. I've a Class 118 DMU which has precisely the same issue.

[@PeterJewell2]

Weird, that. I've only ever seen it on Lima bogies, and loads of them are affected. Doesn't seem to affect the strength, just the appearance. Never seen other plastics 'weather' like that (although many will seriously degrade in sun/UV light).

[@Colin399]

Another great job👍👍

[@thedepot7416]

Got a few limas, pull anything, I use a track cleaning rubber on the wheels, come up good

[@charlesemerson6763]

You probably should have used a grey primer over the yellow plastic . A yellow base like that with a thin red acrylic is always going to look funny.

[@robinforrest7680]

Good idea to remove the weight! I bought one a few years ago from Rails of Sheffield. When it arrived the glazing was all smashed ( that’s French La Poste for you !) Rails we’re brilliant, they offered me a full refund or 50% if I kept it. As it was a simple fix, I opted for the latter. Great loco. Actually the wheels were factory blackened. They seem to be made of some sort of phosphor bronze. Mine are black and the loco runs fine! So it may be that it was just the motor that was truly disgusting and stopping it from working… just a thought

[@robertmarsh3588]

Yes, exactly. That's how mine was when I bought new in 1979.

[@howardavins9234]

Very informative I have a Lima Western. Runs but not well. With give it a try. Many thanks. Howard

[@Whizzy-jx3qe]

I’ve one of those locos major problem is the weight isn’t firmly fixed and at times causes the wire from the motor to the brass pin keeps detaching.

[@locohauledforum]

Regarding your comment about the Lima motor being a bad design because lubricant is free to get on to the commutator, I guess Lima would reply that the motor was never designed to have lubricant added as the nylon gears are self lubricating.

[@MarkInLA]

Bill, I being a Yank, don't know the terms employed for OO coupler components, but just wanted to ask if the one coupler which has no hook, is correct ? I'd think the loco should be capable of pulling cars from either end. Did you merely just not notice it ? Or is that in fact, correct for that loco ?

[@PeterJewell2]

These tension-lock couplings have been standard on British OO rolling stock since the 1960s. As they are rather obtrusive/ugly, it is quite common practice to remove the hooks from locomotive couplings. Some people go further and cut the loops off too, replacing them with a similarly shaped loop of wire, which works just as well but is almost invisible. Since the rolling stock will have a hook on its coupler, the loco can still pull a train. The slight downside is that if your loco has erratic running (typically dirty wheels/track, or rail breaks) the jerking can sometimes cause the single hook to jump up and let go, leaving the train behind! For propelling, a short vertical wire bar may be soldered in the middle of the loop (to push on the adjacent rolling stock loop), but the alternative, of relying on the buffers, may suffice if you don't have sharp curves/pointwork.

[@Fogerty1959]

Bill the only problem with the 52 is the chassis. Rather weak and breaks. Good video

[@blue2sco]

I have one of these packed away in the attic, and not in a good condition :(

[@dialwright]

Are you sure the wheels were not chemically blackened factory finish?

[@SDR702]

Spot on. They were indeed chemically blackened, hence not much dirt coming off. As a result of wire wheeling it, the wheels will become dirtier faster. Had the same problem with my Deltic. I replaced the wheels in the end, problem solved.

[@platformten5958]

​@@SDR702 Oh dear, looks like Bill made a boo-boo there. 😅 Paul.

[@platformten5958]

Hi Bill. Usual excellent service on a loco. I use a small round tub of silicone grease that has a Vaseline texture but I would like to purchase a tube of the thinner silicone that you use. Please could you tell me the name of it. Many thanks, Paul. 👍

[@adrianolsen-woodhamwoodtur4980]

Bill…a question on the suppressors fitted on the Lima Ringfield. Are they necessary these days? I’ve converted mine to take an 8-Pin DCC chip and wonder whether I could/should remove the suppressor. Any thoughts? thanks

[@howardavins9234]

Converting mine to DCC. It was Recommended to remove suppressor I "think " it interferes With frequency of DCC carrier frequency if that makes sense.

[@adrianolsen-woodhamwoodtur4980]

Thanks for that Howard

[@andrewpalm2103]

Dirtiest. Wheel treads. Ever. 🙂 As usual, Bill, an enjoyable return from the Loco Land of the Dead. Cheers from Wisconsin!

[@ViewFromAfar]

I'm curious as to how many amps it draws to start moving

[@stephenparrott3377]

Bill. Do what I did and give the bodywork a spray of "Railmatch Frame Dirt 1402" that will cure the paint miss match.

[@allenemery4665]

Another one back on the rails

[@rhiwderinraytube]

Not sure why you use a mankey brush to clean things - surely a clean brush would be better? 😂😂😂