34theletterbetweenB&D

Walton on Thames is what springs unbidden into mind...

Yes, if that's what Hornby state. The caveat is that a later owner or dealer may carelessly lob that term into a s/h sale description through ignorance or by intention... The service sheets are available on Hornby's site. Here's one: https://support.Hornby.com/hc/en-gb/article_attachments/5620233797138 But you have to learn how to read them. It's got the good black can motor, 5 pole, skew wound, in the loco where it should be. It's also got a few dated design items: The mechanically inept motor retainer/worm cover (I glue in the motors to take the load off this item in any model with this construction). See the wire from the tag under the screw that holds the motor retainer in place? That tells you the chassis block is live, and the 'connection' via the chassis block to one of the pick up strips is by means of a cast pin that rests on it (eliminating this feature by removing the cast pin and the wire on the tag, and soldering in a wire connection from pick up strip to motor terminal or DCC decoder socket would be my choice, as it's a source of 'mystery shorts' in DCC operation). Hornby started to get fully with the programme on steam products introduced all newly tooled from about 2006 with the Britannia: solid motor mount, all wired circuit from pick up wipers to decoder socket to motor, isolated chassis block. These go on the layout and work with no significant trouble. The 08 has a good mechanism (but the Bachmann is superior thanks to a sprung axle which is a major aid to reliable pick up on a short wheelbase model). The twin bogie diesels, classes 30/31, 50, 56, 67, 73, HST, with centre motor drives are potentially mechanically decent but may need work. The motors are good, but IME the gear trains in the bogies have too much sideways slack so tend to be poorly meshed; addition of washers to keep everything centred is possible. Never looked at their ex-Lima bogie drive traction tyre dependent diesels, these should have gone extinct long ago IMO. Straightforwardly, there's no substitute for doing the homework by searching through Hornby's service sheet files for the models of interest, and having picked what you want, then comparing the construction with the diagram. HTH

(Applicable generally to mazak castings.) Initially, if the casting is painted, cracking of the paint because the effect of mazak rot is to expand the casting. A close fitting plastic body moulding will initially be jammed on, then begin cracking. Then visible cracks in the metal, and ultimately pieces dropping off, thinner sections are usually first to show these effects. Specific to the Hornby 30/31 the cracks to the body shell mostly appeared behind the bufferbeams on the cab sides, and by the time this was noticed and the body was removed to see what was happening, one or both of the thin 'cab floor' elements at both ends of the cast chassis block would break off in the process. Interesting side note, the drive shafts to the bogies have a splined coupling in them. The effect of this is that those of us still running mazak rotted chassis have a slightly over scale length wheelbase under the model, but the drive shafts remain engaged between the flywheel and worm couplings despite the expansion.

Or Woodland Scenics. (I particularly like the dark grey Moly grease as it looks mucky on slide bars.)

Mostly code 7. (7lbs per square foot) Codes 5 and 4 can be handy if thin pieces are required, less hammering. (A real plumber's or builder's merchant will often have offcuts and may be willing to sell.)

Indeed, but sixty odd years ago, very young and broke, sewing machine oil from mum was what was available - if you peeled the taters, laid and cleared the table and did the washing-up without complaint. Grease came later when in my teens, and had a Saturday job and a bike. Quickly discovered that the plastic hub insulators on Triang-Hornby mechanisms swiftly became about as strong as liqourice and 'all wheels fall off right now!' when Moly grease for the bike bearings was trialled. Now I use plastics compatible grease for all the drive train and exterior moving parts in RTR and kit model mechanisms; with the sole exceptions of crankpins on a bi-monthly oil round schedule, and (extremely rarely) motor bearings when one complains, which get oil. Reason is that the grease stays put and keeps on doing the job with no attention required. I learned this back in the 1970s with the Athearn PA1 centre motor mechanism (transplanted into Brush 2 bodies) and various US steam models; all now gone except my 52 Y.O. Big Boy, still going as well as ever.

Remember that hole punch and ring binder set you bought at some stage in your education? That still works for me.

It's all in your state of mind, man...

Why not? because once the oil is transported to the worm it is flung around the interior of the model including the commutator and brushes of an open frame motor and drips down the body interior and exterior falling on the wheels and the layout. Experiment performed on an H-D N2 in the mid sixties in an attempt to quiet its drive. Result: FAIL. I did not attempt a fully oil sealed enclosure...

The only such mechanisms I have from Hornby are salvaged mazak rot affected mechanisms from their Brush 2. The gear train from pinion to axles was so slack laterally - especially between the axles - that washers had to be added to keep the gears as well engaged as possible to eliminate 'graunchiness'; which I suspect may be the 'gone dry' effect you describe. The brass pick up bars on the axle ends had to be straightened too.

I only ever used one for a friend's ultra compact project, and it was excellent. I believe the owner of this business was also the decoder designer and had previously been with Zimo. Definitely no longer available, I would suspect the person concerned has moved on to something yet more profitable, there's always going to be demand for such skills. If you go ahead with this, I am sure many would welcome the information you are prepared to share.

Clearly, the OP has acknowledged that the item not working is out of warranty, which suggests that a very different scheme applies to DCC kit, as compared to the lifetime cover offered on their own brand DC controllers. Notice the line that ends 'subject to the usual caveats' in the Gaugemaster advertising? This is the reason for my earlier posting: The reply from Gaugemaster quoted above suggests to me that what was previously possible to support a customer has now unfortunately become uneconomic.

Definitely a lifetime warranty on their own brand DC controllers. Careful reading of the applicable warranty for DCC kit seems to be in order.

The message from Gaugemaster up thread makes it plain enough - no longer economic due to change in circumstances. Add this to another major retailer ceasing operation because future profitability looked unlikely, and it is clear that there is a cold wind blowing in some aspects of trade support for this hobby. Such things happen.

Alternative opinion, it was a poor model by simply not capturing the appearance, thanks to the insufficiently narrow top half of the cab. Looked like a hybrid BRCW/Brush type 2 end on. Despite much liking the centre motor drive, this model - in common with the misshapen 2001 release Heljan 47 - not purchased. (The mazak rot was the good news, plenty of cheap lightly rotted mechanisms became available which could be inserted into old Airfix GMR Brush 2 bodies; and they are still running as well as ever.) So there's definitely superior competition coming, and based on photos seen so far, my feeling is the Bachmann has it: but I definitely want eyes on before getting my wallet out. All the sophistication now on offer goes for nothing if the characteristic appearance is not captured.

Inevitable question, now that maroon is in frame, will there be a subsequent batch of 'E' ideally suited to your BR green Brush 2, or do I pick and choose among your 'M' and 'Sc' unlined and scrape off these letters and replace with an 'E'? Thanks.

And one more thing, the landscaping. In the space proposed, realistic terrain rising and falling relative to rail level is possible. Open frame construction is more flexible than a 'baseboard' approach, and more easily supports a broad notch arrangement in the corners of the operating area, so it isn't an impossible 4 foot reach to the back of the corner.

Hopefully someone can advise if anything of potential interest is present. They certainly did, and some maybe still do*. The range ultimately developed for the collectorati, with new liveries released every month, to potentially enable the completists to have every class XX in every livery it ever carried, had Lima remained in business. *A new UK distributor engaged the revived Vi-Trains operation in an attempt to restart this programme with a couple of diesel models, but on the evidence available the collectorati had 'moved on' we know not where. I am still waiting for a report of a house collapsed under the weight of a RTR OO model railway collection...

1. Yes. 2. Yes. (Hopefully the model has overall been wired to conform to the DC convention of right rail positive, it moves forward. This is with respect to a 'driver sitting in a cab', easy enough for steam locos with a single cab and the forward direction clearly defined by the boiler ahead of the cab. With twin cabbed D&E the same should apply to whichever cab is the no.1 end in UK railway terms.)

All is forgiven for some of us, by their production of the N2 and Brush 2 which looked and performed like the real thuggish machines; and the N2 only lightly modified to take the sweet running 'Black Can' is still in production with Hornby. (The original motors in both were sound designs with running performance unimpeded by low precision manufacture, resulting all too often in the coffee grinder racket as they did the job. 'Tidied up' with a balanced armature and replacement bearings they ran as quietly as the best contemporary open frame motors, although the bogie mounted version quickly degraded due all the other high wear out 'features' .) That, and the wagons, some of which happily made it into the Hornby range and were among the best they offered for over a decade until the decision to go for some new tooling from China.

I am waiting with interest to see which brand will march out a model on the constructional basis Bachmann have demonstrated on their two recentish 0-4-4T. Basically make everything over the coupled wheelbase in metal, put a light coreless motor behind a gearbox on the trailing coupled axle, make almost everything behind the rear coupled axle in plastic, and accomodate lightweight gear such as DCC tackle there as most convenient. With the centre of balance within the coupled wheelbase, stable traction is achieved, no need for traction tyres. Locomotion should only commission a 'Gladstone'.

Assuming that the model you illustrate is in original ex-factory condition, there will have been a Bill of Materials and Assembly Instruction (or equivalent term) for whoever got that task in China. If you are that curious, ask Dapol if they can supply it.

Common term is a Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) suppression circuit. The polarities you are reading are irrelevant to the RFI suppression. And frankly you don't want to read too much into these descriptions on model PCB's in my experience; so long as the assembly operation performing the wiring gets the correct rail polarities to the motor terminals so that a DC loco goes in the expected direction, that's job done.

Gaugemaster are the UK distributor and hold what Heljan spares stock is available.

Mine have been fine with DCC control, and I am an enthusiastic operator so my four are forever on the move on inner sub and branch services, and this has been the case for over four years on my first two purchases, one of which has been rebodied with an old whitemetal N7body, so even heavier than as supplied. Not found any problems yet...