I recently acquired an almost-new 2-rail Sunset/3rd Rail L-131 (Rio Grande articulated engine). It was working fine, like most Sunset engines, until all of a sudden - literally overnight -- it started running very slowly and drawing up to 3 amps. The drivetrain has been thoroughly lubricated and there's no intermittent binding in the mechanism.
There are no scraping or knocking sounds. The engine will run normally for a few feet, drawing less than an amp -- but then will suddenly "bog down" and just barely creep along while drawing high amps. Any ideas about what might be causing this problem? I was hoping I could fix it without taking the whole thing apart to inspect the motor and drive belt, etc., which is kind of a chore with this large articulated mechanism.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! The engine operates on old-fashioned analog DC -- no decoders or other fancy electronics involved.
