Hornby dublo

[Colin]

2 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said:

IMHO Superquick and Dublo go well together. Nice layout @Colin

All just a memory now - packed away yesterday morning as per our domestic agreement!

I took plenty of photos so I can build it again, next time the opportunity presents itself. It’s surprising just what you can get onto 8x4 without it looking too overcrowded.

A pleasant surprise was that it all ran so well, apart from a couple of loose track joints - soon sorted. HD really was built to last!

[Il Grifone]

On 23/12/2020 at 20:26, Colin said:

A couple of pics of my pre-Christmas “Dublo Day”, I was able to obtain clearance from SWMBO to put my 8x4 board on the dining table, a temporary layout soon followed. Rather than use HD buildings I opted for Superquick as although they have been updated over the years, I have fond memories of buying and making the kits over 50 years ago. HD purists won’t be impressed but I have opted to give an impression of the sort of layout I craved back in the early 1960s. j

 

omis

 

 

There's nothing wrong with a Dublo layout incorporating the products of lesser makes IMHO. Ideally it should be all Meccano Ltd., but I have to confess to letting Tri-ang*, Trix etc. creep in on mine.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28222-dublo-layout

 

* They do claim to be Hornby these days.... I will refrain from comment....

[Wolseley]

Predominantly Dublo, yes, but there's no harm in letting a few others infiltrate the layout, as long as Dublo reigns supreme.  On the desk next to me I have four Dublo 2-6-4Ts, one with a Wills Stanier body, one partially assembled Nu-Cast Highland Railway 0-6-4T banking tank (patiently waiting for me to three rail a Tri-ang chassis) and a DJH Highland Railway Jones Goods I have only just started on.

 

On the layout behind me there are, on the board, four Dublo A4s, a Trix Flying Scotsman, one Dublo 0-6-2T, one Dublo Castle, two Dublo West Countries, one Dublo Bo-Bo, one Dublo diesel shunter, one Tri-ang B12, a (present day) Hornby 700 class converted to an approximation of a Highland Railway "Barney" 0-6-0, and a whitemetal GEM Cardean on a Tri-ang B12 chassis.

 

All the rolling stock, other than one Bachmann wagon and two Wrenn items, is Dublo, as are all the buildings and, of course, the track.

 

In spite of the interlopers, I consider it to be a Dublo layout.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Wolseley

[Wolseley]

Not all the buildings - there are two of Australian prototypes, constructed from laser cut wood kits.

 

And I missed the Caledonian brake van which was built from an etched brass kit when I was listing everything else......

[Wolseley]

A view of one end of the layout showing, amongst other things, Cardean somewhat improbably hauling a train composed of Dublo Gresley stock.

 

[sagaguy]

26 minutes ago, Wolseley said:

Predominantly Dublo, yes, but there's no harm in letting a few others infiltrate the layout, as long as Dublo reigns supreme.  On the desk next to me I have four Dublo 2-6-4Ts, one with a Wills Stanier body, one partially assembled Nu-Cast Highland Railway 0-6-4T banking tank (patiently waiting for me to three rail a Tri-ang chassis) and a DJH Highland Railway Jones Goods I have only just started on.

 

On the layout behind me there are, on the board, four Dublo A4s, a Trix Flying Scotsman, one Dublo 0-6-2T, one Dublo Castle, two Dublo West Countries, one Dublo Bo-Bo, one Dublo diesel shunter, one Tri-ang B12, a (present day) Hornby 700 class converted to an approximation of a Highland Railway "Barney" 0-6-0, and a whitemetal GEM Cardean on a Tri-ang B12 chassis.

 

All the rolling stock, other than one Bachmann wagon and two Wrenn items, is Dublo, as are all the buildings and, of course, the track.

 

In spite of the interlopers, I consider it to be a Dublo layout.

This of course is one of the problems with Dublo,their range is finite so we need some variety.Amongst others,here`s a Hornby Cl.71,a Lima and Hornby Cl.73.Soon to be 3 railed is a Hornby Channel Packet.In the background,a Hornby 2BIL and further back,a Bachmann 4CEP emu.

 

                          Ray.

Edited December 26, 2020 by sagaguy

[Wolseley]

A view of of my almost finished repaint of a Dublo 2-6-4T, with a 48-215 Holden sedan waiting outside the Dublo station building.  The loco has a Wrenn front pony truck, as can be seen from the bright tread on the wheels.  It will be replaced in time with a Dublo pony truck and will find a place on my Wrenn LMS 2679 version, which is currently awaiting a transplant of vital organs from a scrap 2-6-4T that is somewhere between the UK and Australia at present and hasn't arrived yet.  It was intended to be 80135 as preserved in BR green but somehow I managed to get two of the numbers back to front and it ended up as 80153 - at least there was such a loco, with numbers running up to 80155......

 

 

[Wolseley]

Another repaint, this time a GWR Castle.  It started as a 2 rail Ringfield Cardiff Castle, badly playworn, with missing paint and a bent cab roof, purchased cheaply but without a tender.  I mated it to a spare 3 rail Castle tender and, after a bit of work, it emerged as 5069 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in BR green, with a cycling lion on the tender.  I generally don't, but this time I added a few detai;s: glazed cab windows, brake hoses, lamps and a headboard (Cheltenham Spa Express, from Fox transfers).  Here it is passing the Australian corner, with the model of the crossing keeper's cottage at Uralla in Western NSW, complete with holden Ute parked outside, and a route 175 bus, which normally travels from Chatswood to Wynyard and back, but seems to have found itself in a very different place.

 

[David_Belcher]

51 minutes ago, Wolseley said:

Another repaint, this time a GWR Castle.  It started as a 2 rail Ringfield Cardiff Castle, badly playworn, with missing paint and a bent cab roof, purchased cheaply but without a tender.  I mated it to a spare 3 rail Castle tender and, after a bit of work, it emerged as 5069 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in BR green, with a cycling lion on the tender.  I generally don't, but this time I added a few detai;s: glazed cab windows, brake hoses, lamps and a headboard (Cheltenham Spa Express, from Fox transfers).  Here it is passing the Australian corner, with the model of the crossing keeper's cottage at Uralla in Western NSW, complete with holden Ute parked outside, and a route 175 bus, which normally travels from Chatswood to Wynyard and back, but seems to have found itself in a very different place.

 

For a moment I thought the palm trees were there to give a Torbay vibe!!

 

David

[Wolseley]

They're not, I'm afraid.  The GWR contingent amongst my stock is fairly small: two Dublo Castles, one (green) Trix 0-6-2T and a three-railed Tri-ang Hall.  Then there's a "GWR" Dublo 0-6-2T, if you consider that to be GWR.  Less than one tenth of my total......

 

jim

[DCB]

5 hours ago, Wolseley said:

Another repaint, this time a GWR Castle.  It started as a 2 rail Ringfield Cardiff Castle, badly playworn, with missing paint and a bent cab roof, purchased cheaply but without a tender.  I mated it to a spare 3 rail Castle tender and, after a bit of work, it emerged as 5069 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in BR green, with a cycling lion on the tender.  I generally don't, but this time I added a few detai;s: glazed cab windows, brake hoses, lamps and a headboard (Cheltenham Spa Express, from Fox transfers).  Here it is passing the Australian corner, with the model of the crossing keeper's cottage at Uralla in Western NSW, complete with holden Ute parked outside, and a route 175 bus, which normally travels from Chatswood to Wynyard and back, but seems to have found itself in a very different place.

 

Looks great  Neatly ballasted track nice vegetation, contemporary bus,  working signal?  A lot more convincing than an untidy sprawl of of grey grit. Even if the coaches are 50 ft instead of 62ft and the curves 15" it captures the prototype beautifully.    (Still shouts Torbay)   Great work.

[Wolseley]

A group of black locos: a Dublo Silver King, repainted in LNER wartime black, a Dublo 8F 2-8-0, a Dublo 2-6-4T and an, as yet, unconverted Tri-ang B12.

 

[Wolseley]

And, if a Dublo 3 rail layout isn't retro enough, here's a photograph I took on Ilford black and white film with a 1936 (older than Dublo!) Leica IIIa (taken a few months ago, when the scenic treatment was not very far advanced):

 

 

Oh yes, and all the signals (other than one distant that is permanently on caution) are electrically operated, as are all the points that cannot be easily reached.

[Paddy]

There is just something about Hornby Dublo - it has a certain look/vibe that makes it stand out.  Even the three rail track does not offend me.  The models have presence despite their rather basic level of detail - something the latest models seem to lack IMHO.  Lovely layouts.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[sagaguy]

The thing is that they  work, provided the track is clean as well as the p/ups and the locos are in fine form. The electrics are simple. Nothing like the large N scale layout that I dabbled with for some years before returning to my childhood models.

 

       Ray

 

[Lacathedrale]

One question I've got - are the Dublo mechanisms usable at low speeds, or is it a case of running at either 'a gallop or a canter'?  While I'm not in a position to do much modelling, I was thinking that a little Minories using tinplate would be really nice  - I'd gotten started in tinplate 0 but it was just too large and expensive overall. I'm not looking to collect really, just to have a representative set of locos and coaches in BR livery...

 

I'm fond of 3-rail O-gauge, but not sure whether that puts me in a position of buying more expensive items in the Dublo catalogue - what impact does that have on things?

Edited December 27, 2020 by Lacathedrale

[sagaguy]

Depends on the controllers for a start,I use Trax hand heldheld on mine but Gaugemaster are good.The locos do need servicing if they have been in store for a long period but most after lubricating,should run well.

 

        Ray. 

[Lacathedrale]

Indeed - but a Hornby Smokey Joe no matter how well fettled is either stationary or full pelt

 

Any thoughts on 3 vs 2 rail?

[Colin]

I use H&M controllers with my Dublo - a Duette and a Powermaster. I chose them partly because they are "old school" and thus more in keeping with the rest of the collection and also because they seem to consistently provide enough power - my Gaugemaster Model D kept tripping out when I ran larger locos and heavier trains!

With regard to running qualities, I have a couple of Standard 4MT tanks which run as smoothly as my Bachmann models - but not as quietly. My Duchesses and 8F, however, need rather a lot of welly to get them moving!

[Colin]

11 hours ago, Wolseley said:

And, if a Dublo 3 rail layout isn't retro enough, here's a photograph I took on Ilford black and white film with a 1936 (older than Dublo!) Leica IIIa (taken a few months ago, when the scenic treatment was not very far advanced):

 

 

Oh yes, and all the signals (other than one distant that is permanently on caution) are electrically operated, as are all the points that cannot be easily reached.

What a lovely pic - thought I was looking at an old Meccano Magazine for a  second!!

[RJS1977]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

One question I've got - are the Dublo mechanisms usable at low speeds, or is it a case of running at either 'a gallop or a canter'?  While I'm not in a position to do much modelling, I was thinking that a little Minories using tinplate would be really nice  - I'd gotten started in tinplate 0 but it was just too large and expensive overall. I'm not looking to collect really, just to have a representative set of locos and coaches in BR livery...

 

I'm fond of 3-rail O-gauge, but not sure whether that puts me in a position of buying more expensive items in the Dublo catalogue - what impact does that have on things?

 

Does this answer your question? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6BrN_QFOe4

[sagaguy]

1 hour ago, Colin said:

I use H&M controllers with my Dublo - a Duette and a Powermaster. I chose them partly because they are "old school" and thus more in keeping with the rest of the collection and also because they seem to consistently provide enough power - my Gaugemaster Model D kept tripping out when I ran larger locos and heavier trains!

With regard to running qualities, I have a couple of Standard 4MT tanks which run as smoothly as my Bachmann models - but not as quietly. My Duchesses and 8F, however, need rather a lot of welly to get them moving!

Dublo locomotives can be power hungry,model D controllers are rated at 1amp and a loco that has an old armature and a magnet that needs remagging can trip modern controllers.That`s why i use Trax controllers,they are rated at 1.5 amp although my locos are in fine fettle.As regards running qualities,this is my 50 year old Barnstaple converted to 3 rail and an equally sged 3 rail Bo Bo which i refinished and rebuilt.

 

 

[sagaguy]

Equally at home with Trax,this is my Hornby 9f trundling around on my Marklin turntable.

 

                         Ray.

 

                       

 

[Il Grifone]

I find an H & M Powermaster or a Dublo Marshall III will tame anything, even a 'Smokey Joe' *. I also have an electronic feedback' controller that works as well, but some motors are allergic and overheat.

The secret is sufficient power (Dublo controllers are rated 8 or 9V.A.) and a regulated output. Start current is higher than running current, which tends to cause a jerky start. Lack of regulation means she then shoots off until curbed by lowering the voltage, whereupon she stalls. Repeat ad infinitum.

 

* I have several in the various variants GWR 101, Dowlais 0-4-0T etc.

[railroadbill]

Got 2 of the Caledonian pugs, one quite recent (from one of Hornby's black Friday sales)  and that one runs very slowly and smoothly, doesn't race away.  The other second hand one performs according to reputation, with a ridiculously "slot car" type maximum speed. So I wonder if the 0-4-0s are now fitted with a different, or differently wound motor, or perhaps lower gearing. The 2 mechs look the same (the bodies certainly are).