mossdp

If you insert the power leads through the brush hole, strands of wire may bridge the gaps in the commutator segments leading to a short circuit. On a separate matter, the brush springs might possibly need replacing as seem to have got too squashed to provide much springing.

If this is an OO class 121, then the symptoms described of spinning wheels if at one end are consistent with the tiny plastic ends of the drive shafts loosening on the metal drive shaft. It is an extremely common problem. It affects many of these models.

There was a special rail with an electromagnet underneath that tipped the hopper when energised.

I had a virus warning seemingly relating to an RMWEB page. As I had several pages open at the time, I do not know which one was responsible.

I think many of the diesel sound Warships were sold without accessories even though they were shown on the box. Many of the later steam sound models that had both chuff and whistle were also sold without accessories and in a polystyrene tray only.

You will probably find that either the bearing cup on the motor in which the universal drive shaft rotates has come unglued or the corresponding bearing cup the other end by the worm. This causes the situation where one bogie works Ok but the other does not. You will need to glue either the bearing cup into the end of the flywheel or the bearing cup to the drive shaft at the worm end. It is a common fault on some Bachmann and Heljan locos with similar drive systems.

Not eBay and probably a little overpriced but it is the gushing description of it - "crafted by master artisans"! https://www.bradford.co.uk/cleaningtankertrain.html I have to say the way the track cleaning pad is steered by the bogies to stay over the track looks good.

There is some more information about these in this thread

There was also LMS Maroon Princess Lady Patricia and BR green Duchess City of Lichfield made around the same time. Not sure if these other have been mentioned already. I think they were sold through more than one catalogue retailer. At some point there was also a BR blue Duchess of Atholl.

Yes, the motor with quite a bit of plastic around it is the Phantom. Some tend to run a little warm even with a really good magnet.

It is a choke also for supression.

Later Lima 08/09s, along with nearly all other Lima locos, had different and usually lower gear ratios fitted to models made from sometime in the 1980s. These have the gears held on by small hex headed brass screws rather than a spring clip. The 08/09s also had geared drive to all wheels on the later type rather than just relying on the coupling rods. These later ones usually run a bit better than the earlier ones. Both types picked up on four wheels only - easy to add extra pickups on the remaining two wheels. I think later type had pickups on top of the wheels that may have been held in by a few plastic pips. These can get pushed up out the way a bit so a small screw to secure them to the chassis helps pickup. Older ones I think picked up current from contacts on the back of the wheels. Some of the last produced models had coupling rods that were quite a lot finer than earlier ones.

I think the buffer height is still to high.

There were three versions of LNER A3 Pretty Polly. LNER green, BR blue, and BR green. I think made for Beatties.

The one with the circular mounting that is not too heavy is probably Coachcracft. About the nicest part from these usually banana shaped coaches are the bogies. They are not too heavy. The one that is in two halves divided lengthways down the centre will be a Stewart Reidpath. Too heavy to be really useful. Acro/Teaness/Nucro ones (all look the same thing) with their sprung metal plates tend to be too heavy to be used just like the Stewart Reidpath if you want to have a train of coaches with them unless you have a loco with a lot of power. I have seen somewhere, possibly on here, where someone had cut out as much mass as possible out of Acro ones to reduce the weight to make them usable.

Quite common on Hornby Dublo Castles are the armature windings shorting out a bit or a lot as they warm up and expand slightly causing the loco to slow down or stop and the current to increase. However, you mentioned a shower of sparks. Are you sure the condenser is not very nearly touching both sides of the motor so shorting out when subject to vibration or warming slightly or that it is not faulty itself causing a short circuit under certain conditions.

BSL made a 4COR kit. They are quite uncommon now and I am not sure if they have been made again recently. I am not sure if they made a 6PUL or 6PAN. Both Ratio and CCW offered 4COR and/or 4BUF kits in wood in the 1950s along with some other multiple unit kits. They may also have made a 6PUL/PAN.

Van Riemsdijk made two different clockwork locos in 00. There have also been various Hornby starter locos over the years.

I have seen some Lima Mk1 coaches with the inside of the think window surrounds painted black to disguise their thickness. Does seem to have some beneficial effect.

I think motor bogies for 5 pole models have grey gears rather than black.

As has been suggested, sometimes this is the screw holding the motor down working loose. Sometimes, even with the screw tightened the motor is only just in mesh or may come unmeshed. In which case, a bit of packing may be required to tilt the motor forward. On other occasions, the gear on the driving axle has shifted off the splines that are holding it to the axle so it just rotates without turning the wheels. In this case, sometimes this can be just pushed back by removing the retainers under the wheels. However, sometimes the gear has cracked and needs to be replaced. Often the crack is very difficult to spot - try just moving the gear back on the spines and seeing if it stays there.

I think the brake vehicle is closest a representative of cars 94 or 95 (although I do not think even these two were quite the same) but even then not an exact match as I do not think these vehicles narrow over the doors.

A picture here of the Kirdon motor bogie acquired recently in box of oddments with Zenith, Romford, and Exley coach bogies. Needs some restoration and someone has improvised a way to attach it inside a coach:

These coach kits were made of brass. There were at least Mk1 coaches and LMS porthole coaches. Some or possibly all LMS coaches may have been shaped to a Mk1 coach profile with Mk1 coach windows but weren't some late LMS coaches a different shape? Coaches consisted of a wrap round brass body, wooden, floor, two bits of bent brass as underframe trussing, hardboard ends, with extra angled brass shapes for Mk1 ends. Roof ventilators were pressed into the brass shell a bit like they are on Exley aluminium coaches. I am not sure if Jamieson made additional parts you could buy or you had to rely on other suppliers as sometimes kits are accompanied by other bits. I think I have identified the following from photos from eBay auctions in the past. There may be others and I am not exactly sure of the some of the coach designations looking only at a brass shell: Mk1 - BCK - CK - SK/TSO - BSK - FK or FO LMS Porthole - SK - BTK They are uncommon to find but not sort after either!

If completely failed, sometimes it is the wire come unsoldered from the pickups underneath. Other times it can be corrosion at the end of brush spring where it meets the phosphor bronze strip through a hole or corrosion the opposite end where the strip goes under the magnet.