MikeCW

I have some sympathy with the previous owner. My one attempt to repair an armature where wires had detached from the commutator ended up with soldering very like theirs. Though I'm reasonably proficient with kit-building, fine wiring, and other modelling activities, I decided that armature rewinding or repair was a bridge too far. Swapping a dud and some cash for a rebuilt one make a lot more sense, for me anyway. The Southern Electric looks really good Ray. Well spotted! Another interest of mine is the restoration of vintage vehicles. I learnt a long time ago that, if a vintage car's bodywork was sound, but the mechanicals were shot, then it was a viable project. If it was a runner, but a rust bucket, then it was time to look for another vehicle, or at least another body. It seems the same principle applies to Dublo tinplate stock, at least if originality rather than repainting is the intention. (And rest assured that I'm not an evangelist for either path!) Mike

On a slightly different tack, I thought it might be useful if I shared a recent experience when I was reconditioning a couple of 3 rail Hornby Dublo locomotives. I've cobbled together a test bed (as illustrated) using some meters which I had intended to use on the control panel of my analogue "scale" model railway, but decided not to use. The rig consists of a 0-20 DC voltmeter and 2 ammeters; 0-1amp and 0-5amps. Unfortunately they are not "centre off" so I needed DPDT switches to give readings in both forward or reverse. The track is 4 feet of Peco Code 100 with a third rail added via copperclad sleepers. The slide switch at the end simply helps feed power to either left and right rails (for 2 rail locomotives) or to both outside rails and the centre rail (for 3 rail engines). The first subject was a 2-6-4T with a very weak magnet which barely ran at all. Not having access to a remagnetiser I fitted a neo magnet and the engine ran well but was pulling about 1 amp at 5 or 6 volts. I put a multimeter across each pair of commutator segments and this gave equal measures of resistance across each of the armature windings - which suggested that the armature wasn't the problem. I loosened the gear wheel and tested that the chassis was free running. No problem. To cut a long story short, after cleaning the commutator with isopropyl alcohol, ensuring correct gear mesh, oiling everything that needed it, and many test runs,all of which showed 1 amp current consumption, I cleaned out the slots in the commutator with a fine toothpick. Immediate transformation. Power consumption now settled to between 0.4 and 0.55 amps depending on load. The second subject was an 0-6-2T which I picked up as an indifferent runner. The gear wheel was bone dry and there were traces of rust on the armature shaft. The armature shaft was also tight in the bearings. I got it running satisfactorily but, like the 2-6-4T, it also pulled nearly 1 amp. This time I went earlier to the commutator. The slots were very close and needed a fine brass wire carefully manipulated to clean them out, followed by a cotton bud and IPA. Again, the amps dropped to well within the 3-6 range. It seems to me that, had I not tested the current draw, and then picked up on the carbon build up in the commutator, I might have been happy with the running of both locomotives. And both may, over time, have cooked their armatures. By way of a final comment, these Dublo mechanisms are a pleasure to work on. Everything is repairable or replaceable and, as been pointed out before, will be running long after some of the more "delicate flowers" from today's manufacturers will be in the 4mm equivalent of Woodham's scrap yard.

I've admired your work from the other side of the world Garry, including looking at some of your Youtube videos. (I must say that your output puts my own productivity to shame.) That said, I've been sufficiently motivated to take a break from my struggles with a "finescale" 4mm layout to unbox and power up some items from my own modest Hornby Dublo 3 rail collection, added to over many years from the circle of track, Duchess of Montrose, and two suburban coaches which arrived at Christmas 1956 - at some financial sacrifice to my late parents I suspect. I've recently been fortunate to acquire some early post-war Dublo items, in used but sound, operating condition, from a local collector/operator who is downsizing a lifetime's accumulation. From another source I've just picked up a tired (no pun) two rail Class 20 Bo Bo, one of Binns Road's lesser efforts. I've got a Marklin pick up skate on order and will attempt my first conversion to 3 rail. It will likely involve "de-insulating" some of the wheels by pressing out the plastic bushes and replacing them with home-brewed, press-fit, brass ones. I'll post a picture if all goes well. A couple of questions if I may Garry. The Black 5 in your photo looks a nicely balanced engine, the sort that Meccano might have produced. I assume the body is Triang/Hornby "Railroad". Is the valve gear 8F? And what chassis did you use? (I know you have used "Castle" chasss for some of your other 4-6-0 conversions. Also, your photos are often taken with the locomotives parked on pristine boxes. I assume these are replicas? Tony Cooper? Thanks for your continuing, interesting, and motivating posts.

I've just picked up on this thread. I bought six of these signals around 25-30 years ago at a long defunct model shop in Auckland, New Zealand, which had extensive second-hand stock. Five were electric, one manual. The electric ones were four homes and one distant - two of the home signals being on short posts for platform or yard mounting. They were all boxed and in good condition. I didn't know anything about them at the time but was impressed with the quality. The finish and detailing were certainly more refined than the equivalent Dublo product. The only fault was that some of the spectacle glasses had fallen out over the years. I've replaced these very satisfactorily with Krystal Klear. An attraction for me was that (like the Dublo signals) the post and cap looked LNWR, and the fitting of upper quadrant arms to original signal posts when older signals were renewed was not uncommon. Though I've started signalling my LMS Western Division layout with servo powered signals from MSE parts, I've recently installed three of these SME (confusing similarity of initials) products on my layout. Their "flick" movement is certainly not as realistic as servo powered arms but, in my view at least, they deserve to be out there controlling trains rather than sitting in their boxes in the "stores department". Three points about installation. First, I initially drove them off an AC adapter plug from some long defunct electronic equipment, giving 12v DC and 300 milliamps. One signal worked perfectly, but the power output was insufficient to raise and hold the arms of two or more signals in the "off" position simultaneously. So I then used an adapter giving 12v DC and 1.5 amps. They all work perfectly with no overheating. In any event the signals will only be "off" for a minute or so at most if the "bobby" is doing his job and putting the signals to "on" once a train has passed or departed. Second,I did have trouble with one signal which for no apparent reason seemed to become quite stiff in operation and would not operate satisfactorily. I realised that when I was inspecting the signals prior to installation I had inadvertently screwed the coil from the "home" onto the "distant" and vice versa. I swapped them back and all was fine. I suspect that there might have been some hand fettling of each signal in the factory, at the expense of interchangeability of parts. Finally, the detail painting on the signals is rudimentary so, with an 00 brush and steady hand I tidied up the painting on the post cap, and also painted the lamp, hinge and balance weight and arm satin black. In all, they are a respectable addition to any current layout except perhaps those built to the most exacting prototypical standards. You may also note that this is my first post. Mustn't be so loquacious in future.