Hornby dublo

[Paddy]

Hi Folks,

 

My apologies for posting in this thread but I was not sure where the best place was.

 

I am currently in the process of setting up a media server and this will contain my collection of modelling and railways DVDs.  One of these DVDs is the two programme collection on Hornby Dublo by Laurence Hogg (hence the Hornby Dublo) connection.  Sadly both of the DVDs seem to have become "damaged" and will no longer play despite careful storage (I can only assume it is heat or something).

 

Normally I would have gone back to Laurence to obtain replacements but as you may know he died a while back.  The programmes are no longer available and I have check Google, eBay etc.  Does anyone have these DVDs and be willing to sell them or lend them to me?  Alternatively, I am attempting to convert them to MP4 720P files and would be pleased to have copies in this format.

 

Any help and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

UK

 

[kevinlms]

2 hours ago, Paddy said:

Hi Folks,

 

My apologies for posting in this thread but I was not sure where the best place was.

 

I am currently in the process of setting up a media server and this will contain my collection of modelling and railways DVDs.  One of these DVDs is the two programme collection on Hornby Dublo by Laurence Hogg (hence the Hornby Dublo) connection.  Sadly both of the DVDs seem to have become "damaged" and will no longer play despite careful storage (I can only assume it is heat or something).

 

Normally I would have gone back to Laurence to obtain replacements but as you may know he died a while back.  The programmes are no longer available and I have check Google, eBay etc.  Does anyone have these DVDs and be willing to sell them or lend them to me?  Alternatively, I am attempting to convert them to MP4 720P files and would be pleased to have copies in this format.

 

Any help and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

UK

 

Try these tips, you might get lucky!

 

https://itstillworks.com/12112132/how-to-clean-the-laser-pickup-lens-on-your-dvd-player

[Paddy]

3 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Try these tips, you might get lucky!

 

https://itstillworks.com/12112132/how-to-clean-the-laser-pickup-lens-on-your-dvd-player

 

Hi  Kevin,

 

Thank you for your reply.  So far I have been able to recover disk 1 via Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier and cleaning the DVD with face cream, toothpaste and Vaseline!  Disk 2 is proving more stubborn at present.

 

I would not have believed this would work unless I had done this myself.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[Paddy]

On 28/08/2019 at 23:55, sagaguy said:

A short video of my 48158 with a 1/2" motor .it was bought new for me in 1958.A drop of oil & it was as good as new.

 

                      Ray.

 

                        

 

 

Hi Ray,

 

What a fantastic layout.  How big is it?  Do you have a copy of the track plan?

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[Paddy]

Hi Folks,

 

Disaster averted - after a lot of trial and error, polishing and cleaning of drives I managed to copy the second DVD as well.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[kevinlms]

41 minutes ago, Paddy said:

Hi Folks,

 

Disaster averted - after a lot of trial and error, polishing and cleaning of drives I managed to copy the second DVD as well.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

That's fantastic.  I just found that link, but have never tried it!

 

Now how does one go about finding lost DVD's? Specifically Train Simulator?

[sagaguy]

Hi Paddy,the problem of Hornby Dublo is that being sectional & easy to alter,the track plan tends to change quite often.It`s about 10ft x 8ft,the holding loops at the rear were laid in the last few days to hold some of my EMUs including a modern Hornby 2BIL converted to run on 3 rail,this shot video may help.A couple of photos may help as well.Most of the points are electrically operated,the colour light signals run off of a 9V dc 5A power supplywith a 3A inline fuse.

 

                           Ray

 

                               

 

[Wolseley]

I have mentioned the layout I am constructing a few times in this thread.  Until recently, it was loosely laid on the baseboard with the electric points, uncouplers and signals non-operational, while I worked out exactly where everything was to go.  At the moment I am fixing down the track and tackling the wiring, so it's very much a work in progress, with services suspended due to trackwork, other than a solitary 2-6-4T that is being used for testing purposes, a situation that did not impress our 2 year old grandson (his 4 year old brother was a bit more understanding) when he stood at the top of the hallway, pointed to the room where the layout is and said "Trains".  Here's where I'm up to:

 

[gtis]

Hi this his my layout 

Edited September 30, 2019 by gtis

[Paddy]

They are all fantastic layouts.  There is something rather special about HD 3 rail.  Have you seen Barrie Davis’ layout on YouTube?  Not HD but it has the same train set character.  
 

Kind regards 

 

Paddy

[MikeCW]

Paddy, I  agree with you about the fine layouts pictured above. They don't make any easier a decision I'm facing in making a running track for my own Dublo collection.

 

Until the advent of the Hornby Dublo 2 rail system, during the 1950s the quality and prototype fidelity of HD locomotives and rolling stock surpassed that of the pre-war designed tinplate track. The 2-6-4T, Castle, 8F , the diesels (perhaps not the Co Co), and the SD stock (even though the coaches were short of a length) really needed more realistic track and larger, sweeping curves to show them to full advantage.

 

Garry (Golden Fleece 30), who has now moved on to Triang TT, demonstrated this in his 3-rail layout which used ballasted, plastic-sleepered Hornby and Peco track, with a third rail added, and featured Hornby Dublo locomotives and stock, (both modified and in original condition), Exley coaches and the like.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzUuFUyZFec

 

Though perhaps not for the Hornby Dublo collector or  "purist", to my mind his layout showed just how good Hornby Dublo models were for their time. I  am planning a portable/demountable layout to run my Dublo collection, something about 4 metres long and 1.5 wide, with a scenic front section and storage sidings at the rear.  (Think of a poor man's Stoke Summit! ) The front will be a double track main line with a passing loop.  Tight curves at each end can be concealed by the usual modellers' conventions - tunnels, road bridges and the like,  The storage roads can be Hornby Dublo track but I'm considering plastic sleepered Code 100 track and Peco Insulfrog turnouts, with third rail added, for the scenic section.  Has anyone else gone down this route or done something similar?  I'd be interested to hear from them.

 

Mike 

[Wolseley]

There were three models in the Dublo range that I always wanted back in the early 1960s, but I didn't get my hands on any of them of course, as they were too expensive. The Three were the City of London, Golden Fleece and Cardiff Castle.  Anyway, over 50 years later, I managed to get myself a Castle when I bought, on a whim, a boxed set of the Hornby Dublo Bristolian, albeit with the three rail Bristol Castle rather than the two rail Cardiff Castle.  It was my first piece of Hornby Dublo and led to me starting a collection of Dublo Three rail. Here it is:

 

 

 

Now the original Dublo Castle looks more realistic than the Ringfield version, as the Ringfield motor is rather bulky and visible, taking up virtually all the space in the cab, but I still wanted a Ringfield Castle.  As I was running three rail Dublo this meant, if I was concerned with originality, I would have to search for a rare Ludlow castle and, when I found one, pay between five and ten times what I have paid for most of my other locomotives.  So, when a rather playworn two rail Cardiff Castle popped up very cheaply on eBay sans tender, I bought it and then had to find a tender top (I had a tender chassis complete with plunger pickups in my box of spares) and found one for £5. It will be a pretty straightforward job to convert it to three rail.

Here is my Cardiff Castle (the tender top hasn't arrived yet):
 

Now it would be irresponsible to restore it as Ludlow Castle, and the Cardiff Castle nameplates are damaged, so I decided to finish it as something else, and it will end up as Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The lining is in a bad way (the other side is worse) and will have to be replaced but the paintwork (except for the cab roof) isn't too bad, so I'll probably get away with retouching it and giving it a spray with semi gloss clear. I ordered the transfers and nameplates from Fox Transfers last night.....

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Wolseley

[Il Grifone]

Miy original Bristol Castle will be 7017 G.J.Churchward when I get round to it (I do have another). The tender top is from a Dapol/Hornby County-not quite right but 'near enough' The model was converted to two rail back in the early sixties, but is three rail again.

Conversion just requires the two rail pickup to be connected to chassis and a link from the tender pickups to the other brush of the motor, which then requires insulation from the brush spring of course.

[MikeCW]

What's a bloke to do? I'm in the process of turning a battered collection of unmatched Hornby Dublo A4 parts  into a full-valenced, double chimney, "Peregrine" in pre-war blue.  The donor locomotive chassis is a well-worn "Silver King" version, with some of the valve gear missing, no bogie or pony truck (I know that should be a Cartazzi axle box but I'll stick with popular terminology), but with a strong motor,  For under 40 pounds  landed in NZ I sourced a non-running "Silver King" and tender from Hattons, my intention being to to use it as a donor for this project, stripping it of useable parts, especially the front bogie and trailing axle, The engine arrived today.  When I opened the box I found a pristine,  gloss painted locomotive with the armature and driving wheels locked solid.  

 

I loosened the armature lock-nut, cleaned all the axles with isopropyl alcohol. gently worked the driving axle until movement returned, including vertical movement of the armature, lightly lubed all the axles and bearing surfaces, carefully cleaned the armature slots (which looked pretty clean anyway) and applied power.  It runs like the proverbial sewing machine, pulling just 0.3 amps with no load.  That's bad news!  I can't bring myself to cannabalise what is probably the best  A4 in my Dublo stud.  So I have to find another donor.

 

You can see in the photos how little use she has had.  The nickel plating on the valve gear is as shiny as the day it left Binns Road, the pick-up "spoons" are only lightly worn, and the tender underside looks brand new.  The plated wheel fixings in the trailing truck are bright and clean, Though the model  has sat unused for years, it must have been stored in a dry place, as there isn't a spot of rust anywhere, including on the tender coupling, a favourite host to the deadly oxide. The only problem is the almost inevitable distortion of the plastic/acetate tender coal load.

 

So now I have to find another donor locomotive, and probably change the name and number of my next best "Silver King" as this latest purchase is taken into "capital stock" .  Ah, the First World problems we face!

 

Mike

Edited October 8, 2019 by MikeCW
1.Grammar 2. Amperage corrected.

[Wolseley]

9 hours ago, MikeCW said:

What's a bloke to do? I'm in the process of turning a battered collection of unmatched Hornby Dublo A4 parts  into a full-valenced, double chimney, "Peregrine" in pre-war blue.  The donor locomotive chassis is a well-worn "Silver King" version, with some of the valve gear missing, no bogie or pony truck (I know that should be a Cartazzi axle box but I'll stick with popular terminology), but with a strong motor,  For under 40 pounds  landed in NZ I sourced a non-running "Silver King" and tender from Hattons, my intention being to to use it as a donor for this project, stripping it of useable parts, especially the front bogie and trailing axle, The engine arrived today.  When I opened the box I found a pristine,  gloss painted locomotive with the armature and driving wheels locked solid.  

 

I loosened the armature lock-nut, cleaned all the axles with isopropyl alcohol. gently worked the driving axle until movement returned, including vertical movement of the armature, lightly lubed all the axles and bearing surfaces, carefully cleaned the armature slots (which looked pretty clean anyway) and applied power.  It runs like the proverbial sewing machine, pulling just 3 amps with no load.  That's bad news!  I can't bring myself to cannabalise what is probably the best  A4 in my Dublo stud.  So I have to find another donor.

 

I have ended up with a few unexpected additions to my locomotive stud in a very similar fashion.

[Bill Matters]

Did you mean 0.3 Amps?

[MikeCW]

22 minutes ago, Bill Matters said:

Did you mean 0.3 Amps?

Indeed I did Bill.  My post is amended accordingly.

Edited October 8, 2019 by MikeCW

[Il Grifone]

That's a really nice example!

The real thing has a Cartazzi truck, but on the Dublo model it's a straightforward pony and just goes along for the ride. It's nice and heavy and hardly ever derails.

 

The pre-war valenced A4 lacks valve gear and the connecting rod just slides in a slot. I don't think there is any room for anything more accurate.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Il Grifone

[MikeCW]

2 hours ago, Il Grifone said:

The pre-war valenced A4 lacks valve gear and the connecting rod just slides in a slot. I don't think there is any room for anything more accurate.

 

Thank you David.  I'm having just one shot at incorporating full valve gear (or at least that part of the valve gear which Hornby Dublo incorporated in their post-war A4s) in my conversion.  That means quite a bit of work bringing the valve gear closer to the driving wheels on each side to fit under the valences.  Hornby Dublo clearances are very generous so there should be room - just!  The heavily and unprototypically cranked connecting rod may need changing in profile, but I'll let readers know how I get on in a week or so.  Ray (Sagaguy) managed to pull it off on page 27 of this thread.

 

Mike

[sagaguy]

Hi Mike,no need to alter the valve gear,if you use thin brass valences epoxied flush with the running board,the valve gear fits comfortably inside the body.

 

                         Ray

Edited October 9, 2019 by sagaguy

[Il Grifone]

A thinner valance helps considerably. The connecting rods are cranked to clear the leading crank pin. They can be straightened out and filing the dome on the crank pin flatter will help.

 

I'm undecided whether to modify a Dublo body or use one of the several GBL mouldings I have These seem a bit wider as they are copied from the Tri-ang Hornby model.

[sagaguy]

I didn`t touch the valve gear at all,no straightning of connecting rod.It all fitted well.

 

                     Ray.

[MikeCW]

It was your fine model of 2511 which got me started down this path Ray,  However, unlike you, I couldn't manage to squeeze the valve gear under a valence, even if the valence were made of shim brass. The attached photo of another, unmodified Hornby Dublo A4 illustrates the constraints I ran into.

 

Orange arrows.  The fouling points were the top pivots for the combination lever and the expansion link. (In fact, on the "Silver King" in the photo the whole expansion link projects beyond the body casting on one side.)  Filing down the heads of the securing pins didn't give enough clearance.  I suspect that the return crank on the centre driver would also foul the valence, though I didn't get far enough to test the clearance.

 

Green arrows.  My solution was to remove the valve gear entirely and file back the four posts (arrows) which form part of the chassis casting and to which the valve gear is pinned.  This gave me a millimetre or so extra clearance each side.

 

Blue arrows.  But that caused further problems.  Pulling the valve gear as a whole closer to the driving wheels by filing back the fixing posts caused the eccentric rod to foul the heavily cranked connecting rod.  My solution was to move the unprototypical kink in the con rod further forward. 

 

Mauve circle. Moving the valve gear inwards on the fixing posts also risks reducing the clearance between the back of the crosshead  and the front driving wheels.

 

You may recall that in an earlier post I said that the A4 I'm modifying is a battered example with some of the valve gear missing. So I'm not only  in the middle of  a sequence of adjustments, but I'm also remaking some valve gear parts.  I'll let you know in a week or so how it all turns out.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[MikeCW]

Ray, a question if I may.  When you added the valence, did you leave the Hornby Dublo flat "cylinder covers" in place and epoxy the valence to them, or did you cut them away before fitting the valence?

Mike

[sagaguy]

Hi Mike,here`s a pic.It was a long time ago when i did this but i don`t recall having any problems.the valance was 10thou brass epoxied to & flush with the rib on the casting.It was an old Silver King body casting that i had been given but for some reason,someone had cut off the cast cylinder covers so the valence was one long piece of brass,this may explain why i had more clearance for the valve gear.

 

Incidentaly,i received yesterday morning from JW models in the UK,five brand new D2 isolating rail switches so there still is new stuff out there after all these years.

 

                                  I hope this pic helps.

                                              Ray.

Edited October 10, 2019 by sagaguy