Hornby Dublo 3 Rail Track

[Wolseley]

I recently bought a few more pieces of track for my (still) projected layout and, in the last lot I received, the colour on two of the half-length straights is different from the rest.  I have posted a copy of the vendor's photo below, although the difference is even more pronounced when you look at the actual track itself.  Instead of the usual grey and beige mottled appearance, these two are almost, but not quite, uniform in colour.

 

I am curious as to why they are different.  Are they faded (they don't look as if they are) or did they leave the factory like this?  Maybe they're from a batch that just came out a bit differently.  Or, as they have the older style narrow tongues, maybe they are a couple of pieces of pre-war track (aside from the points, which I believe originally had sleepers printed on them, was pre-war track any different in appearance?)

 

I would be interested to see if any of the experts on here could throw any light on this.

 

[Il Grifone]

These are first issue post war I believe.  There were notable variations up to the period of the Korean War (steel rail and cardboard insulators - avoid!). Afterwards there was only the change to the wider tongue. I try to keep these together as they do not interlock 100%.

 

Pre-war track has brass rail  and tongues. The point work has the same mottled 'ballast' as the plain track but the cast cossing units and lever are prone to the usual zinc pest. The grey base (and the nickel plating?) came in with the electrically operated points (1941 IIRC). There doesn't seem to any increase in 'value' with pre-war track, unless it is the clockwork version whick lacks the centre conductor rail.

 

A variety of combinations can be found in early post war track (due, I assume, to shortages of materials). I made a collection once of different half rails and there were nearly a dozen different items. They are all mixed up in a large tub in storage at present.

 

I find manual uncoupling rails tend to have this plain base (Stocks to clear?).

 

At one time Beatties were advertising an exchange scheme for Dublo three rail track, but would only take the wde tongues.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Il Grifone

[Wolseley]

Thanks.  I find this interesting, although as far as track is concerned, I collect it so I can run my stock on it rather than collecting track for its own sake.

 

Thankfully I don't have much of the track with steel rail and cardboard insulators - about three or four pieces, I think.  I found out about it not long after I started collecting, and have tried to avoid it ever since then.

 

I have ten manual uncoupling rails and, on checking through them, I found that one of them has a plain base.  Funny, but I never noticed that before.....

[Il Grifone]

Steel track can always be used at the end of sidings at a push.

 

Alternatively it can be used as a source of genuine Dublo tinplate....

 

It was just a a mini collection (half rails don't cost much). Normally, I agree it's to run trains on! I avoid track that's been stepped on and/or had the fixing screws overtightened (bent bases are difficult to straighten).

[NCB]

Packed away (I must get it out and play with it!) I have 3-rail Dublo which started in the late 1940s when my brother was given the LMS 0-6-2T train set, followed not long afterwards by Duchess of Atholl and 2 LMS coaches, and a bit more track. After I took it over some further track was added, in the 1950s, and I also acquired a  few bits and pieces later. From memory, there was usually a noticeable variation between different batches of track.

[Il Grifone]

I could never understand why it had to be a yellow/beige colour, even at a very young age. The similar Märklin* and Formo track shared this weird choice.

 

* Märklin was, I believe, the first and the other two copied. Märklin track also comes in many variations, but Formo was short-lived and only came in one as far as I am aware.

All can be joined together, but have different geometries and the high Märklin base gives problems. The Märklin track I have appears to be 16mm gauge* and Dublo stock does not run well on itespecially on the curves. Märklin wheels are coarse and have no such problems. I used  some on my layout, but replaced it with proper Dublo item as soon as possible; A couple of pieces of Formo track survived to fill odd gaps where Dublo geometry failed. It was easier than the alternative of chopping up Dublo track....

 

*There was a strange Continental custom of measuring gauge between the centres of the railheads. Italian metre gauge is 950mm for this reason and it is the origin of some of our model gauges (Märklin again!).

 

The Formo track has a wider base and sleepers stamped in the tinplate. This makes it the most realistic, but there is no pointwork AFAIK. The wide base would have caused problems.

[BR60103]

Lionel also measured to the middle of the (round-headed) rail. They also had 2 sizes of railhead, so the gauge between the faces might be different.

They also measured the curve diameter over the ends of the ties (sleepers), at least in the diagrams in their manuals.

Has anyone commented that the gauges (toy, from HO up) seem to be convenient imperial fractions? 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1 1/4"...

[Il Grifone]

There are basically two series of scales/gauges where each is roughly linked to the next one up by a factor of √2. The initial Märklin gauges were metric, but were soon changed to Imperial in translation. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modelling_scale_standards

[Wolseley]

I recently picked up a pre-war Hornby Dublo point fairly cheaply.  I probably won’t use it on my layout, but it is an interesting addition to my collection.

 

Pre-war Hornby Dublo points are, of course, non-isolating, as isolating points weren’t introduced to the Dublo range until the 1950s.  I knew that pre-war Dublo points looked different, in that they had sleepers painted on them, rather than being painted a plain colour and that the frogs were different, being much more realistic but also much more fragile.  Putting it next to a later example, it becomes evident that there are some other differences too.  The main ones are that the rails and the tongues for the third rail are brass and that the switch blades on pre-war points are each in one piece, but the post-war ones are made from two pieces, with only the pieces at the toe end of the point moving.

 

I realise that the frog design was changed to the less realistic solid casting because, as Dublo was aimed at the toy market, it needed to be robust, but why did they decide to paint their points and crossings in one colour instead of having a representation of sleepers?

 

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with three rail Dublo points, here are some photos of the pre-war point and, for comparison, a group comprising, left to right, pre-war, post-war non-isolating and post-war isolating points:

 

 

 

 

[Il Grifone]

I've no idea why they decided to paint the bases grey. It came in with the elecrically operated points and may have been a war time economy measure?  I've no idea why they redesigned them either, as the revised form must have been more costly to manufacture because it uses more parts.

 

Incidently the longer blades on the pre-war points allow the passage of scale wheels without them dropping into the gap, though the ride is a bit bumpy.

 

The diecast crossing assembly (also the point lever) is, of course, liable to the dreaded pest and intended purchases should be examined carefully. It can be rebuilt from rail, but it is debatable whether it's worth the trouble.

[Wolseley]

I bought it from J W Model Railways for £4.00.  I needed some Dublo coach wheels, which is not something you can get locally and found the ones available on eBay to be not available in quantity and, when reasonably priced, which most were not, had ridiculous post and packing charges.  Buying from John Winkley was much cheaper than buying from eBay.  While I was looking through his online shop, I noticed the pre-war point and added it to what I was buying.  I also bought a loading gauge and a re-railing ramp - the latter item should prove useful, as it's not as easy as it used to be to see where the wheels are in relation to the track.....