Thanks all, for the help and comments. I had a 6-12944 animated oil derrick originally and it bubbled to beat the band at 14v. I tested the 24112 oil field at the same voltage and only two operated- that is what started me on the wild chase to figure out if I had bad tubes since all the bulbs were to spec. Based on feedback above, I increased voltage and get 5 of the tubes bubbling at 16 volts and all bubble really well at 18 volts (which is what the Lionel manual says to operate at) . But who reads instructions?
I plan to try that grease since I don't want to run an 18 volt line- my accessory buss is 14 volts.