LGB O&K 0-4-0

[Dodod driver]

I bought one of these new in the late 1980s. It hasn't had a lot of running over the years, but I notice that the bodywork beneath the rear of the loco gets very hot. This occurs on both dc and dcc operation.
Drawings of this loco from the internet dated 1999 show the motor to be located under the cab floor, with a worm on the motor shaft driving a gear on the rear axle. However, the leaflet with the loco refers to a gear box needing lubrication. This isn't shown on the 1999 drawings.
The motor appears to be getting hot as I can't see any route for cooling air to circulate around it. It sits within a sealed box of the loco frames at the sides, the cab floor above and another section of bodywork underneath.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there a solution?

Thank you very much for any suggestions.

 

[dutchelm]

The motor on these locos gets very hot. I had one running all day at a show & it melted the chassis. The only solution is to not run them continuously. At a show I now use at least 2 locos & swap them at intervals.

 

[Dodod driver]

That's reassuring, Mike. I wondered if I had a problem that I had caused somehow. Thank you very much for your advice.

 

[Fred2179G]

Drill some ventilation holes in the box?

 

[Dodod driver]

Your suggestion is very sensible. I think that holes would help, but I am reluctant to start modifying an otherwise pristine LGB loco.

 

[Fred2179G]

modifying an otherwise pristine LGB

It won't be very pristine when the chassis starts to melt?

 

[Dodod driver]

Thanks Fred2179G for your comment. Having noticed the problem, I tend now to run it for only short periods. I can live with this restriction, but I'm surprised that LGB didn't design some cooling flow through the bodywork.

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Yes, I have noticed that this loco runs hot. As I use mine mainly for shunting/switching (on a Ginglenook puzzle layout), it does have time to cool down.