Hornby Dublo diesel shunter conversion

[roythebus1]

Having a thorough clear-out in the railway room due partly to an infestation of mice and partly trying to find bits I know i've got that are missing from kits, I re-discovered my Hornby Dublo diesel shunter. I remember buying it back in the 1960s when i worked at Patricks toys in Fulham. the shop is still going by the way..

 

I put the loco on the track to see if it went, it did, just about. not surprising. I'd done a weathering job on it ll those years ago and the back of the cab had cracked many years ago, but it had flush glazing. The screw that held the body on was missing but the body was securely attached. It seems I'd modified the pick-ups and fitted what looked like Romford wheels. the motor worked but with a grinding noise and very slowly. then the wheels locked, one of the cranks had become unsoldered. But how was the body held on? I eventually found a well-hidden countersink screw in the front over the radiator. I undid tht and the body came off.

 

The bigger surprise was that it was the loco I'd fitted with an MW005 motor back in the day! I'd cut a lump off the chassis block, taken out the ring Field magnet and removed the commutator. A bit more hacking and the MW fitted, driving the remnants of the armature through what I think is an 80:1 bevel gear set maybe from a racing car.  No wonder it ran slowly. The grinding noise was where the bevel gear was fouling the the top of the HD motor housing. I need to space that out with some 8BA washers or plasticard. It'll be nice to get this running properly again and get the detailing finished! I thought I'd lost this model years ago.

 

Pictures to follow tomorrow.

[cypherman]

Looking forwards to seeing the finished model.

[roythebus1]

Trying to convert HEIC photos to jpeg is not easy!