A: One similarity between postwar steamers and modern steam locomotives is that all external parts that experience friction still need oil or grease to ensure movement is friction-free. Don’t use too much lubricant, though, or it may end up on your track, making a mess and reducing your traction.
You’ll need to use a light-viscosity machine oil on the drive rods (at each motion point), the valve gear, and the crosshead guides. Oil the armature at the brush plate and at the gear end. A postwar motor will need oil, but be certain to use the oil wick (if the engine has one). Never oil the motor brushes!
Use light-viscosity oil on the axles rather than grease. Using grease only collects more dust. I also avoid using oil near the pickup rollers, but I do use a degreaser to clean the moving parts, especially the pickup rollers themselves.
You will need to use a good-quality grease to lubricate several places on steam locomotives, such as the pilot truck pivots and guides. The gear teeth also need to be greased. I never use white grease on a locomotive, since some of these greases harden after a couple of years and become very sticky.
A modern can-motor-driven steam engine, such as those made for the RailKing line, need rod and axle oiling. They also need their gears greased after about 50 hours of use. You’ll need to remove the shell and gear box cover to apply grease into the gear box.
