Ted S posted:This might be hardened grease on the worm gear, but it sounds electrical to me. More likely brushes & brush springs. Clean the commutator, especially the slots between segments. Clean any oil out of the brush wells. Put one DROP of oil on the cotton wick at the top of the motor shaft. If that doesn't solve your problem, get authentic Postwar replacement brushes from a local service station, and make sure the brush springs have enough tension.
Please post back and let us know what solved your problem.
so it turned out to be the tender. i changed to a lionel lines scout tender and the problem stopped almost immediately. it was either the tender or the fact that it had been sitting in my grandmas basement for a year and a half.
