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Hornby cl47 haulage issues...


125_driver
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I am lucky enough to possess several Hornby 47s all the TTS type modelled on the old Lima design.

Now lately some have started developing a very specific fault (3 of my fleet of 6), whereby they are suddenly unable to pull a rake of 7 coaches when the motor bogie is trailing . They are fine if there is no load to pull,  or if the motor bogie is leading , or even if the motor bogie is trailing but the loco is propelling and not pulling the coaches. 

The issue is only when pulling and the motor bogie trailing. 

I've looked at all the obvious stuff like wheels properly spaced etc. They all used to run fine in all directions so I don't feel extra ballasting is needed as they worked fine but over time have developed this problem.

Has anyone else experienced similar? 

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  • RMweb Gold

I have found that the factory grease goes hard over time. This might be now clogging up the gears and slowing things down. I suggest cleaning the old grease off and carefully relubricating. 

 

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2 hours ago, MikeParkin65 said:

Have the traction tyres either come off or been contaminated (perhaps with oil or grease seeping from the mechanism)? 

Possibly. However it is also noticeable that one wheelset , closest to the fuel tank , lifts up and is not quite on the track .

I also forgot to mention in my original post, this haulage problem only happens on curved track, not straight.....

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1 hour ago, 313201 said:

If I am right and it is possible I may not be, the class 47 uses the same chassis as the railroad class 37 with the updated motor bogie which has a clip mouted on the top of it and clips into the chassis that way.

 

The wheels on the motor bogie are also a more suitable profile for modern day running but the traction tyres do leave a lot to be desired as they are too narrow for the wheels on which they are fitted and are easily shed from the wheels as the loco runs around.

 

For my railroad 37 before I converted to an unpowered loco, I did try fitting wheeled axles from a Bachmann class 66 to the bogie, the gear cogs are the right size to mesh with the Hornby gear cogs although the loco did end up sounding as though it was an electric loco due to gear noise, the loco did need a lot more weight in it than the original weight fittedin order to move even 15 of the ews 4 wheeled wagons all of which are loaded, the only thing I never tried was fitting pieces of lead on the part of the chassis directly over the motor bogie to give it more downward force thus keeping it on the rails.

 

You mentioned that the problem mainly occurs on curved track, can I ask please, what radius are the curved pieces because the lowest radius suited for the loco I would guess is Hornby 2nd or 3rd radius curved track.

 

Hooe this helps.

It won't even get round a 4th radius curve! 

I'm sure adding lots of ballast probably would sort the problem, but it is frustrating as I feel that because it was working fine, I'm reluctant to go down that road.

Agree the traction tyres aren't great , I'll have a look at them again maybe try swapping them over with another set. 

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Sounds like worn traction tyres to me, loose in their grooves and slipping on the wheels.  My  Hornby 47 was an old ring field monstrosity but with a 28XX tender drive and Flying Scotsman tender wheels in the trailing bogie it became acceptable.  It hauls 13 boges around 2ft radius curves and prefers to run power bogie trailing as a 6-6-0 not an 0-6-6.

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The bogie lifting off the railhead will probably be due to the pivoting of it being restricted in some way as 313201 suggests.  If the powered wheels do not sit properly on the track, the result will be exactly the loss of haulage power you describe.  Replacing the traction tyres will do no harm, but will not resolve the situation unless the ‘sit’ of the bogie is unrestricted.  This could be as simple as redressing the wires or the bogie mount/pivot may be the problem.  

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Right just had a bit of a play,  tried everything suggested on here, but to no avail .

Then, quite by chance I noticed that the loco had good haulage when the bodyshell wasn't fitted. Experimented with a few different things and eventually realised it was the lima cab desk that somehow or other was negatively impacting traction! I removed it and put it back in again making sure it was really snugly fit, and hey presto the loco is working fine again. This also worked on another of the "broken 3" I have  with just one loco not responding positively to this course of action, so further investigation needed for that one.

But as then saying goes, 2 out of 3 aint bad, so thanks alot for all the advice on here.

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