Lubrication and Model Trains

 

“What should I use to oil my favourite locos and rolling stock?”

 

This is a recurring question, with a variety of answers and opinions. The following thoughts reflect lessons and experience including over 20 years as a professional chemist in the NSWGR labs, looking at such materials as paints, alloys, fuels, lubricants, cleaning chemicals, and occupational health issues associated with the use of chemicals, fumes and dusts. They also include over 60 years of railway modelling and maintenance. However, the following paragraphs are just one man’s musings: they are not the last words on the subject, by any means.

 

Background

First, one has to understand what lubricants do:

·         They separate moving parts to minimise wear

·         They provide a slippery interface between moving parts to minimise friction and facilitate movement.

·         Some lubricants also have anti-oxidising agents to minimise corrosion and/or conserve mechanisms during storage

 

Historically, lubricants were based on natural oils and greases, such as lard, tallow and vegetable oils. These had several disadvantages:

·         They oxidise easily, forming sticky gums

·         They become less viscous (ie, they become thinner) when heated, permitting them to escape from bearings and so allowing metal-to-metal contact, resulting in seizure or excessive wear

 

From the late 19th century, most lubricants have been based on mineral oils and (later) their synthetic derivatives. In automotive oils, they also contain additives which:

·         Resist oxidation

·         Keep contaminant particles in suspension, to eliminate blockages of oil passages

·         Maintain viscosity (“thickness”) over a wide range of operating temperatures, so the oils are not too thick when cold or too thin when hot

·         May contain special additives for extreme pressure applications (such as the odorous sulphur compounds in gearbox and differential oils)

 

Some of these additives and the base oils may be incompatible with materials found in model trains.

 

Modern industrial and automotive greases typically contain a mineral oil mixed with a water-insoluble soap, such as those based on lithium. It is unlikely that the mineral oil component is “plastic friendly”.

 

Materials in Model Trains

Model train locos and rolling stock make use of a wide variety of materials, which include:

·         Brass

·         Copper

·         Bronze

·         Zinc-based die-cast alloys

·         Aluminium

·         Lead-based white metals

·         Pewter

·         Steel

·         Polystyrene

·         ABS

·         Polypropylene

·         Rubber

·         Nylon

·         Card

·         Modellers’ timbers

·         Alkyd resin enamel paints

·         Acrylic paints

 

Not all of the above are compatible with all lubricants (or the potential cleaners that may be used before re-oiling our models).

 

For example, ethanol (“methylated spirit”) will attack acrylic paints. “EP” grade lubricating oils, although great for car gearboxes, will attack bronze or brass gears, causing them to wear out rapidly. Acetone will attack cyanoacrylate (“super glue”) adhesives. Most white spirit solvents, including “mineral turpentine” will attack polystyrene and ABS, due to their aromatic hydrocarbon content.

 

In the same way, many common lubricants, such as WD40 and sewing machine oils, will degrade some components of our models. I had the sad experience of writing off two NWSL gearboxes due to the use of the wrong lubricants. Similarly, the plastic axle centres of some Mainline loco axles embrittled, cracked and fell apart after using the wrong oils. Expensive lessons!

 

Isopropyl alcohol can be used as a general purpose cleaner. It is relatively safe to use, with minimal health issues, but is still flammable, with a flash point of just 13 degrees C. It should be used with plenty of ventilation. It is relatively benign to most plastics, but may affect some paint finishes. Applied with a syringe fitted with a 25 gauge needle, it can even flush out the driving wheel bearings of Hornby live steamers.

 

Lubricating Tips

1.       Don’t over-oil. Excess oil may contaminate the rails and degrade traction tyres, cause poor electrical conductivity and cause your locos to slip.

2.       Don’t over-oil. Excess oil will attract dirt and dust, which will build up to a thick sludge that will cause bearings to seize.

3.       Don’t over-oil. Excess oil will be thrown off rapidly rotating parts to contaminate areas that should remain clean. In some cases such oils may cause embrittlement of plastics and their eventual collapse.

4.       Use oil that is fit for purpose. For example, Hornby steam cylinder oil is too thick for use elsewhere. Fleischmann wagon bearing oil is too thin for use in Hornby live steam cylinders.

 

Suitable Lubricants

My experience has led me to use the following:

·         Fleischmann 6599 oil: coach, wagon and loco axle and armature bearings

·         Labelle 102 gear oil: metal locomotive gears and gearboxes

·         Hob-E-Lube HL657 white grease: plastic/nylon gears

·         Hornby steam cylinder oil: Steam passages of Hornby live steamers

 

Servicing tips

1.       Test your models periodically to verify that they still roll freely. Those that don’t will be straining your locos and causing avoidable damage, especially to their motors.

2.       Vehicles that show resistance to free rolling should be inspected. Any sludge in the bearings should be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, while ensuring that no excess solvent goes where it is not wanted. Fine cotton buds may prove useful here, particularly to dry away all solvent when cleaning is complete. Look out also for wads of hairy sludge that may need to be removed with tweezers.

3.       Use a fine applicator to place just enough oil to where it is needed. The Fleischmann oil has one supplied with it. Such applicators can be easily made from a cork and an old sewing needle.

4.       Check that the model is rolling freely again. If not, check for other issues, such as misaligned axles, tight bearings, foreign matter, etc.

 

I look forward to reading the thoughts and suggestions of other modellers.

Regards,

Rob

On 08/06/2019 at 15:39, tabletopengineer said:

Hi Woko,

To Petes point i guess you're using zbrush to add stonework detail? 

They look very impressive, will look fantastic when all complete.

Hi tabletopengineer yes I am using z brush to basically smooth off the details and take away that typical 3d model look, though I do think the same effect can be achieved with mesh smoothing modifers and soft selections as I feel its perhaps a bit excessive to purchase z-brush for this, I just use it as I have a copy for my work  

I do however believe the most important software I use is actually meshmixer from autodesk this baby is free, and really booleans the mesh together creating one skin/shell ready to export STL's from, since using this software my prints have become so much better.

How to cosmetically improve track points

 

 

 

In our latest practical feature, we turn our attention to enhancing the appearance of this most standard element of model railway infrastructure.

 

The main objective is to improve the points appearance by removing the spring block, thus making the sleepers look more prototypical, and to enhance the point changing operation. The strength of spring was causing the actuator rod to bend slightly, mainly due to the thickness of my baseboards.

 

Find out more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques/Track/model-railways-how-to-cosmetically-improve-track-points

The BRM Guide to DCC Decoders

 

 

The concept of ‘going digital’ is no longer something new, yet there’s still a widespread lack of knowledge when it comes to decoder options. It has to be the second most-asked question, closely following “Which DCC system should I use?” Just as there isn’t a ‘one-size fits all’ DCC controller, the same can be said for decoders, though many modellers are left confused by what they require and the suitability of a decoder for a particular locomotive.

 

Read more - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques/dc-dcc/the-brm-guide-to-dcc-decoders

5 ways to improve the reliability of your layout

 

 

A reliable layout is a fun one to operate. With time on your hands, we've put together a few ideas to help you fettle your model to make it run like a Swiss watch.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques/Track/5-ways-to-improve-the-reliability-of-your-layout

Brush Painting – Top Tips

 

 

Painting models isn’t like painting emulsion on your walls at home. The model must be clean, the spread of paint must be even and the way it's applied must be methodical. Many a model can be brush-painted, though with the latest RTR models having such an excellent finish, it is best respraying these with an airbrush if a repaint is required.

 

Read more here https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/wor/techniques/model-railways-brush-painting-top-tips/

Using Weathering Powders – Top Tips

 

 

Weathering powders work best over a matt paint finish, hence if used on an RTR model, we’d advise a little airbrush work beforehand. Consider powders as a semi-permanent form of weathering. They will stay in-situ if left alone, but must be sealed if you intend to handle the model. Buildings aren’t much of a problem, but locomotive, coach or wagon sides should ideally be sealed with a quick spray of matt varnish paint.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/wor/techniques/model-railways-using-weathering-powders-top-tips/

5 glues every railway modeller must have

 

Modellers are always getting themselves into sticky situations, but do you have the right glue for each? Here are our top 5...

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques/Other/5-glues-every-railway-modeller-must-have

Wiring your model railway: top tips

 

 

When it works, we ignore its existence, when it doesn’t, we can be tempted to lose all patience. Wiring is perhaps the railway modellers’ least favourite subject to become enthused about, but it’s a necessary requirement to permit all of our track-powered models to function.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/wor/techniques/wiring-your-model-railway-top-tips/

5 ways to improve the running of your locomotives

 

 

We all have our cars serviced, so why not our models? Follow BRMs five-point plan for smoother running.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/techniques/5-ways-to-improve-the-running-of-your-locomotives/

Building Card Kits – Top Tips

 

 

Card kits are an affordable and easy method to rapidly add architecture to your model railway. Ideally suited to beginners, these kits can be enhanced further with a few simple techniques...

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques//model-railways-building-card-kits-top-tips

Working with Plastic Sheet – Top Tips

 

 

From buildings to wagons or locomotives, these sheets can be used to good effect on models, though the most common procedures used will be the cutting and gluing of parts. Attempting to cut plastic sheet to the uninitiated might require a learning curve because of its smooth nature and the tendency for a knife to slip if not used correctly.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques//model-railways-working-with-plastic-sheet-top-tips

Using Pencils on Brickwork – Top Tips

 

 

Unless you have a lot of spare time, or are building for Pendon, painting bricks on a model building individually isn't an option because of the time required. Some laser-cut bricks are too sharp-cornered for this technique to work effectively though, so test on an inconspicuous area first. The method works in all scales from N to O.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques//model-railways-using-pencils-on-brickwork-top-tips

Making Holes – Top Tips

 

 

 

Whether it’s wood or brass, quite often you’ll need to make a hole in a piece of work when making something. From small holes for handrails to large openings in chimneys, the methods will differ depending on the material you plan on cutting through.

One essential is a set of good quality drill bits, while a mini-drill is also a good investment. Here's our top tips.

 

Read more here - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Techniques//model-railways-making-holes-top-tips

Finally here is the finished Penfold patent folding modellers workshop MkI. 

Folded shut

Storage drawer/crates

Brakes and stabilisers

Space for compressor

Double width workbench

Pillar drill stand

Airbrush booth stored

Airbrush booth deployed

Test tracks for 00 gauge DC and O gauge DCC. Croc clips with uncontrolled 12v DC for testing lights etc.

As no one else has jumped in I will try and give you some ideas but my experience of different resins is limited.

 

First off, the bewildering descriptions for the resins:

• Standard: Basic
• ABS-Like: Stronger but still quite brittle
• Rapid: Cures at shorter exposure settings
• Tough: Less brittle and as suggested stronger. Can often be machined
• Resistant: No idea
• Flex: Flexible

 

So lots of different resins which in the current Covid crisis are extremely hard to source. The Anycubic Basic Grey is I think ABS-Like and is my first choice of resin. Unfortunately it has been out of stock in the Grey form for a while (unless you are prepared to pay extra to buy the 500ml bottles) and I have recently had to use White. Elegoo do a standard and an ABS-Like version. When I could not get my preferred Anycubic Grey I did buy a couple of bottles of Elegoo ABS_Like. It printed OK but I did not like it as moulding seemed to remain sticky on post curing and the uncured resin is quite runny and needed constant stirring to keep it mixed (not possible on a big print job). If you want a tough resin the one everyone raves over is Siraya Tech Blu. I suspect this is the one worth looking into for wheels based on reviews.

 

Warping seems to occur when the resin shrinks slightly. Different resins have different shrinkage rates and this can also be affected by the exposure settings used during printing. Some shapes it is almost impossible to stop warping however there are a couple of dodges that can be used to reduce this:

• Place warped item in near boiling water, straighten, and put under cold tap. This seems to remove a lot of the stresses that cause the warping.
• Add to the model various cross bars that are left in place until the model has cured, then cut them off.
• Leave the model on the support structure to cure.

I have used all three at various times. For wagon bodies I would try a simple open box with the Anycubic resin and see how it reacts.

 

I have an Anycubic Photon and there are a lot of similarities to the Elegoo Mars including some shared components. I have recently replaced my LCD screen with an Elegoo one and likewise am now using Elegoo FEP sheets in my Photon. Elegoo parts are usually cheaper.

 

The best advice I can give you is to join the relevant owners' groups on Facebook. A lot of people are present on both the Photon and the Mars groups. In addition to problem solving they are often trying new resins out and reporting back.

 

 

There are two main brands in the hobby printer range - Elegoo and Anycubic. You’ll get big advocates for each, there’s not much between them frankly. 
 

Each have a ~6” printer (the Elegoo Mars series and the Anycubic Photon range). The water has muddied in the last couple of months with new releases, but essentially there is the Mars 2 and Mars 2 Pro, which gets some incremental upgrades that weren’t hugely worth it IMO (and I’ve got one). Then there was the Photon Mono and Mono SE which are a bit cheaper than the Mars 2 and more expensive than the Pro respectively. Honestly… there’s not that much in it. Bar a few mm here and there, and often in the height, the build volumes are the same, the resolution is the same (50 micron resolution). Under the hood they all use “Chitu Systems” motherboards and firmware, so they’re not really that different in use. Some small feature differences; the Mono SE has wifi etc.

 

There’s been a bit of divergence now, with the new Mars 3 coming out last month; this uses a 4K screen, for a ~35 micron resolution (IIRC). Now whilst this is obviously better you’re talking about differences that are broadly invisible to the naked eye, and the price goes up to ~£350 (from £200-£250 for the other models). They’re big enough to print N gauge stock, or larger scale ‘bits’, but not larger OO gauge rolling stock, for example. Additionally the forthcoming Anycubic model uses a different method of curing, rather than a masked LCD screen it uses a projector. DLP as opposed to MSLA; don’t think they’ve delivered preorders yet. 
 

Both brands also have a model with a 9” screen; the Elegoo Saturn and Anycubic Mono X. The Saturn is cheaper, and again there’s not much to choose between them.  A few more settings on the Mono X (eg light intensity), but personally not enough that I’d spend more on it. The bigger printers will print OO gauge stock more easily, but use more resin, parts are more expensive etc. 
 

Pricing is pretty volatile, in part with new models coming out, so stock is all over the place. The Saturn is £490 today, but that jumped up from £450 this week, and they were down to £400 last month.

 

There are a load of other brands out there too, Phrozen (the Sonic Mini 4K was the first small 4K printer), Creality (more known for their FDM printers), Voxelab (an offshoot of industrial brand “Flashforge”) and Epax (self styled as slightly higher end; the only US based company so they focus on better customer service etc. you pay a massive premium for that in the UK) spring to mind. 
 

Personally for me I’d get the Mars 2. It’s around £200, there’s a huge community following with loads of support, they’re easy to use, parts are cheap and easy to come by (they distribute through Amazon). If you need the bigger size then I’d get the Saturn. They announced the Saturn S this week, but very little is changing. That said I’d wait to see if prices dip again. Depends a bit if you aspire to printing full items of stock, for example. If you don’t then the smaller printers are easier and cheaper to use, so I wouldn’t always go for the biggest you can. 

 

If you read threads you’ll often see references to “mono” screens - these replaced RGB screens a couple of models ago, but be aware there are still some old models lingering (Anycubic Photon and Photon S, Elegoo Mars, Mars Pro), cure times are much longer and frankly the machines just aren’t quite as refined.

 

only slight caveat to that is that there are loads of Voxelab Proximas on eBay for ~£135. These are basically the same printer as the Mars 2, but from a much less well known brand (albeit one with a decent pedigree). I probably wouldn’t start with one, but that may be unfair. I’m sorely tempted to upgrade one of my old printers to one. 
 

FWIW I’ve got an Anycubic Photon, Mars, Mars 2 Pro and Saturn. 

 

 

Those 2.8x surgical loupes in the film are of a very high quality professional standard with a significant four figure price tag. I don’t think they are currently available in the UK.  The advantage of these types is that they focus at  a comfortable working distance. 
 

My undergraduate colleagues often purchase these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BoNew-Surgical-Binocular-Distance-Aluminum/dp/B07CCLW8QC
 

They are a bit heavier and are supplied with a non-prescription lens frame. However, It isn’t difficult to screw the lens assembly to a thickish plastic-framed pair of prescription glasses (cheapo would do). I actually did the 30 minute conversion today for a student - it simply needed the front of the bridge making flat to take the bolt-on bit and two holes drilling at the correct pitch. They are supplied with some fairly coarse self-tapping screws. 
 

Hope that helps. 

Tim

Hopefully, what follows is a pretty straightforward guide to my method figure painting - but going beyond the basic colouring to get something that looks fairly nice. This is how I do it, and it works for me, but obviously everyone has their own way of doing things! I thought it might be interesting or useful to some!

 

STEP 1

I always give my figures a black undercoat. Here we have two test subjects, from ModelU, which have simply been sprayed with a black primer. 

 

 

STEP 2

I work my way outward for my painting, so I paint the skin tones first. For my figures, I use Vallejo flat flesh. For some variation, I might add a little 'basic skintone' or 'dark flesh' (both Vallejo). It's probably not obvious in the photo, but at this stage there is no need to be neat, as long as the paint goes where it needs to.

 

STEP 3

Again, I'm working my way out from the skin tones, so the next colour on these figures was the shirts. other than around the bits where this meets the skintone, again there is no need t be neat. Throughout the process, if you do get a bit of overlapping paint, you can always do some touch ups later on.

 

STEP 4

Continue working outward with the layers. I tend to leave things like ties, hats, shoes and hair until last.  It's probably worth saying that as you get into the last layers, or the details such as ties, having a finer brush will help to keep the paint where it's meant to be. I tend to leave any touch ups until all the basic colours are on, as there's nothing more infuriating than having to repaint the same fiddly bit 6 or 7 times because you slip with another colour! 

This is where a lot of people will say that their figures are done, and call it a day - so we're going to look at how we can go a bit further and improve how they look!

 

STEP 5

My next step is one that requires a steady hand, and can be missed out if you're not happy with it! I pick out the eyes and lips (only on 7mm+ scale models). You'll need a very fine brush too!

The lips are done with a mix of 'flat flesh' and a dark red colour, to something that just looks a little pinker than the skin tone. This is then applied very thinly to the mouth area. 

The eyes are done with a mix of white with a touch of flat flesh - just to avoid bright white eyes! This again is applied in a thin mix to the eyes. A touch of 'black grey' is then added to represent the pupil. It's not easy to get this right, but it's easy to just go over the eye with your flesh colour and try again if you get it wrong. You can also add a little flesh colour around the edges if you think your eye looks a bit big. Practise makes perfect - and the better the quality of the moulding, the better the result will be! It's hard to get a photo of this step that really shows what's been done, so we'll go to the next step. (You can see in the image below I've also picked out the buttons on the waistcoats.)

 

STEP 6

This is the first shading step. I use Citadel/Games Workshop 'Nuln Oil' wash, which is the only black wash I've found that works well as a wash for figures. This is just applied directly from the bottle over all the clothing, but not the skin. It can be added to the hands if they're resting on the figure, or if your figure is holding something, or has very crisp hand mouldings! When adding this wash to white, I do tend to thin it down, as otherwise it takes the brightness off the white. It's also worth adding a spot of 'Nuln Oil' to the ear to give it some depth.

 

 

STEP 7

Next up, we need to add some shading to the skin. I do this with Games workshop 'Reikland Fleshshade' wash and 'Seraphim Sepia' wash. I apply the sepia first over all the skin areas, and then the Reikland (which is a red colour) with a fine brush to the areas that need a bit more shade, such as the fingers, and around the nose, mouth, ears and eyes. 

You can subtly build up the effect, but be careful as it's very easy to go over the top! If you need some extra shade, it can be worth doing the deepest shaded areas with a very light touch of 'Nuln oil' (no photo here, but the photos below show this step to good effect)

 

STEP 8

Once all the shading is done and dry, I drybrush the highlights with a lighter shade of the relevant colour. So a grey for black clothes, or mix the original colour with a touch of white. This highlighting is very lightly dry brushed over the relevant areas. I'll also just give the upward facing parts of the face a very light dry brush with either 'flat flesh' or 'basic skin tone' just to bring out the highlights.

The whole model is then given a coat of AK Interactive 'Ultra Matte Varnish' which is the best matt varnish I've found so far!

 

 

And that's pretty much all there is to it! Before varnishing, things can look a bit odd, as there's a variation in the glossiness of the paints, but the varnish helps to bring everything together nicely! If the figure is wearing glasses I'll give them a bit of gloss varnish mixed with a tiny amount of light grey paint to give them a bit of a glint.

 

I hope this has been helpful! Feel free to ask questions. The only additional things I'd say I use other than whatever you use for painting your figures are the 3 Games Workshop/Citadel shade colours - 'Nuln Oil', 'Reikland Fleshshade' and 'Seraphim Sepia'.

 

Here is a cruel close up of one of the figures from above, and the rest of the cast that were painted at the same time using the same techniques - I like to paint figures in batches!

 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer what I can!

 

I thought I’d give an update on fixing motors, ive done 3 tonight… all the exact same issue.

 

first breaking in…

Unclip each cab foot step “pipes” protuding the chassis  and bending upwards to the bodyshell under each drivers cab door.. there are two either side of the foot step, and the whole thing is a complete unit glued to the body. (if anyone in product development is hearing this… reverse it, glue the pipes / steps to the chassis not the body on future product runs).

 

To remove the body, there is 4 retaining lugs on the body shell. Each is located, by the rear of each bogie (towards the centre by the fuel tank) .

 

 

To remove body,. DON’T grab it by the fuel tank or the bogie…. thats exactly why there are so many demics on Hattons site with unclipped bogies or broken fuel tanks…

instead:

Put the model upside down in a cradle.

i put 4 hotel keys in between body and bogie to separate at each of the 4 lugs.

Hold the frame/bufferbeam assembly at the side of the cab end, and very slowly lift it away (it will just come apart ) BUT watch those pipes/footsteps for snagging on the frame as the body comes off.. this bit is ugly but theres no getting around it but gently/slowly.

 

(Note i’m holding by the drivers cab, and the side of the airdam)

 

Once inside getting to the motor means undoing the board (2 screws diagonally opposite), (circled in blue) and removing a wiring holders (1 right next to the board). This gives some wiggle room to lift the board and tilt it sideways.

I unsolder M- and M+ joints, (circled in yellow) centre of the board, left and right.. this disconnects the motor, I mark the motor or the board with red to make sure my motor goes back correctly, to the right side with the red wire.

 

Turn the board sideways, unscrew the motor harnesses (2 harnesses, either side of the motor) .. really dont lose these or the screws !

 

lift out the motor, and let the party begin…

 

 

First remove the plastic drive shaft holders (pull out with plyers, there are softly friction fitted)

Secondly remove the fly wheels..

 

(This Guitar string puller is a nice tool for friction removing  flywheels)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustic-Remover-Strings-Extractor-Accessories/

Wedge it off, its not on too hard… just avoid it pinging into the ether..its quite a heavy brass projectile !

 

At the end of the motor is two retaining lugs, using a screw driver prize them open…

 

pull out the shaft  from the plastic end, and low and behold the fault will be revealed…

 

(A quick guide to a motor here)

https://www.motioncontroltips.com/faq-what-is-the-commutator-in-a-dc-motor/
 

essentially the motor used in most of our models today is nothing more than a 5 pole version of Hornbys X04 motor from the 1950’s.. its just made ready installed inside a can, to protect it from dust, handling, throwing around a room  etc…

 

 

as you see on these two examples, never since it was made has either motor ever worked…. The brushes are not even close to the hole of the shaft… so what chance have they ever got touching the commutator ?

 

so one twist with the screwdriver to loosen it, recentre each one, so the brushes meet over the hole, and retighten the screw..

ive found some models have been unsteady/intermittent runners, or simply slowed and stopped over time.. thats also a sign of the same fault, whats happening is part of the brush is touching the commutator.. and as its wears, it loses contact and eventually stops.

 

put the armature assembly back into the hole of the plastic end, gently use a screwdriver to nudge out the brushes and slide onto the commutator.

 

 

hold the protruding end of the shaft, tightly and slide back into the can and refit. Dont hold the plastic case, as the magnet in the can is quite strong and your armature will fly out of the plastic case into the can, and off those brushes.

 

give your motor a test, dont be put off if first time it doesnt go, first couple I did, I had to revert back and check the brushes hadnt slipped, or in one case bent on the commutator.. just reseat and try again.

 

I purposely bought a number of none runners in the past sell outs, whilst theres chances of other faults (such as broken DCC chips, or even that GBRF one person bought to find nothing inside the body!) , so far all the DCC ready ones where the lights worked, but nothing moved, ive traced to the same fault with the motor.

 

 

41 minutes ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

John has done a lot of this to fix or swap motors on a few threads,hes the go too guy for info

thanks,

 

if you want a short cut, for £5.15 and 3 weeks shipping..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002670420818.html

 

this motor is the same size/dimensions, rpm, weight, volt range etc as the Hattons 66. 
Its also near identical to several other rtr motors used across several manufacturers (ive spotted 37, 73,87,92 all with a motor looking suspiciously similar and matching credentials.

 

The one shown with flywheels, £6,06, has same size flywheel as used on the Dapol Class 73.

Theres certainly nothing stopping you using it with the smaller fly wheels in the 66, one of mine is happily running with it, but you may want to swap for the original 66 flywheels and for 90p extra you have 2 very nice spare brass flywheels (which tend to be quite expensive in europe) for a future project.

The plastic bearing cups can be pulled off with pliers, but Ali has these too, and are also a useful part to have around (especially the long ones as you can trim them to suit)… 87041…£7.93 for 12

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002394222645.html

 

For a shaft replacement, i’d suggest a Dapol class 121 shaft, and cut to shorter length, use a bit of brass rod with glue as a collar when gluing back together, as this shaft is metal…*

 

https://www.dccsupplies.com/shop/class-121-122-oo-drive-shaft/

 

* Accurascale take note… for the 66 as the Hattons 66 plastic shaft isnt very meaty and a mis-set motor, or gearbox cover will easily break them.. you’ll hear then banging side to side on the chassis wall warping !

 

However you can achieve the same result by cutting/extending with a bit of brass rod using 87044 or 87045 in the above link.

The motor and cups is well worth having as a spare, as the same profile/size (whilst different manufacturers) is used in many other brands too.

 

Beware Ali does become addictive as its cheap…. ive just recently bough a bunch of motors for a unique experiment (if it works) on my scrapped Hattons 66 chassis!

 

Hi Andy,

 

The heart of the system is the board with the thin red outline - an RR-Cirkits Watchman board.  It’s an 8 way train detection board with another 8 way i/o. (There should be an 10 way ribbon cable from it to the top yellow outline board - oops!).  The train detection uses current transformers which I have chosen to combine on one board - the thick red outline at the bottom. I missed a trick when I converted from stripboard to PCB: with stripboard I was limited to 0.1” components so went for an 8 way latching header strip which I have to crimp individual terminals on each wire.  With the PCB I could have used an RJ45 connector and cut ethernet patch cords in two.

 

My reason for going to PCB design was that it saved the hassle of cutting strips and adding jumpers.   My reject rate on getting strip cuts in the wrong place was not good!
 

The left hand yellow board is a MERG DCT2 which has the current transformer on the board.  I wanted 9 sections on this board so I added these extra two and then used both of them ‘because they were there’.

 

The orange board is a home brew H bridge driver with opto isolator to keep clean and dirty supplies separated, again previously built on stripboard.  This one is only 50% populated as there is only one point on this board.

The purple outline is a voltage divider - separate as I couldn’t find space for it on the stripboard driver - it generates the mid voltage so that the op amps switch as the input go from high to low.

 

The yellow i/o board is just a multi purpose connector bank. The 10 way ribbon has Watchman +5V, 0V and 8 configurable i/o, the converter board can take 8 x 2way i/o + 0V, or 4 x 3 way double i/o or +5/0V and separate i/o depending on the application connected.  So the MERG DTC2 needs 0/5V and has two inputs coming back whereas the point board has a three way input for two drive signals. Detection comes back as a single input from the tortoise to the i/o.

 

The four way connector bottom left brings DCC (white) and dirty 12V (black) onto the board.  12V goes to the point drive voltage splitter and on to the point drive board. DCC goes to the current transformer board where it is split to the 8 separate sections - all the white sheathed 2c running all over the board.

 

The data connection (black 3c) runs on the opposite side of the board away from the dirty stuff (I’m probably being over pessimistic, it’s just a design standard I’ve adopted).  The RR-Cirkits boards run on a modified Loconet data network - an interface from loconet adds power so I don’t need a separate clean power bus round the layout.  Because i have a  Digitrax command station I can use the cheap interface, there is a slightly more expensive one for a stand alone system.  I have that on my test system.

 

One reason why I went for the RR-Cirkits system was the distributed nature of the boards - one watchman is just about right for most of my layout boards.  They also do a Motorman - 8 slo-mo point drives and 8 i/o, and a Signalman = 16 direct drive LED outputs which can have brightness adjustments, can flash etc.and a Towerman - 16 i /o.

 

I’ll be using the signalman on the scenic section for . . . signals! and also for the indications in my frame.  Tower man for the switch inputs on the frame and Motorman where I have concentrations of points.  Others use Arduinos to make loconet compatible I/o at a much cheaper rate per input than toweman, but obviously more work (you pays yer money . . .).  Watchman is probably the most cost effective  as 4 x DCT2 starts to add up!

 

Programming is JMRI - another plus for me and there doesn’t need to be a linkage between loconet ID and board i/o pin.

 

The importer is Coastal DCC - I have always had excellent service from Kevin.

https://www.coastaldcc.co.uk/products/rr-cirkits/

 

Paul.

6 minutes ago, Neil P said:

 

Looks excellent and I like the forced perspective of the higher ground towards the back. Do you have any tips or techniques you could share?

 

Thanks Neil. I've pretty much explained everything in pictures on my thread The Bovey Saga. Take a look there and happy to answer any questions you may have.