Pak75

= Hi Mike Missed this comment..... in my enthusiasm for the conversion actually working, I did not realise locomotive was indeed running backward. Rotated circular magnet so red spot went to top then had to turn it around back to front. Running beautifully.... Same happened with 0-6-0, magnet had to be turned around back to front. Magnet has a channel in it for screw so lucky there was space in body to accomodate magnet now sticking out towards rear. Running well. Jim - an EBay Duchess of Atholl? You outbid me Cheers

Thanks Ray and David. I like idea of glued cardboard to keep track in place. Will use combination of cardboard and screws as layout is still evolving, easier to fill a screw hole. Have had problems before with screws in MDF so will use plywood as a base. Cheers

Hi there, happy New Year! May your trains run fast and true. On balance seriously looking at Shapeways - horse box doors detail is exquisite. Will update later. Next question is question of track fixing - what screws to use? I realise this topic is sacrilegious to some... SWMBO is getting fed up of a room being taken up by trial layout and I am soon to be banished to newly renovated sheds. Have looked at www, read various fora and have located these 10 x 2 mm flat head screws. http://www.alansrobinson.co.uk/model railway track pins and track screws.html Anyone any experience of these or other suggestions? Thanks

Hi Thanks for advice, plenty of food for thought. The Shapeways doors look good but as usual postage is more than the cost of item. Variations in maroon plastic explains the mismatched colouring on some models offered on EBay so would more than likely have to do complete repaint as suggested. Have not seen Model Supplies UK before so they could be an option although T & Cs are a bit intimidating plus 14 day delay on posting order... Airmail to Aus is bad enough at the moment... Cheers

Hi Contemplating next project after converting HD 0-6-0 to three rail - (pls excuse crude soldering but runs beautifully). Pick up contacts are brass paper fasteners. I want to repair some HD 4315 horse boxes which are either missing some or all of the doors or are extremely expensive when complete on Ebay. I am proposing to make the doors out of white styrene sheet. Does anyone have any advice on the appropriate paint to use to match HD maroon wagons? There is plenty info on maroon colours for locos (Duchess of Atholl etc) here and on www but nothing i can find on wagons... Thanks

Hi Mike Thanks for info, will use it next time i do this. I did notice one of my plungers is looser than the other... Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Cheers

Thanks Ray and Dave for advice. Ray has confirmed what i finally came to suspect about tender - and people said conversions were simple! There is actually very little 'meat' in the plunger socket for machining so HD must have been taking 1/32nds or smaller fractions off. RE loose wheel Problem is that wheel is slipping off axle, suggesting one or both are worn. However solutions suggested involve rebushing - a snug fitting axle will contribute to resolving problem of wheel coming off? It is not economical to send chassis back to UK for rebushing, so options are buy another chassis (no guarantee not worn either) or attempt Dodds fix with copper tube. This morning test ran loco with Araldite fix and so far so good.... another Gresley saved! New brushes, magnet and rewound armature - good for another 60 years (i hope)!

HI SR71 This pic shows power to exit rails

HI there I was inspired by projects on this site to convert a HD 2 rail Castle to 3 rail using a conversion kit for tender plunger pickups. Strange thing was that plungers with supplied insulating material would not fit into tender metal sockets no matter how i tried and in the end i used so much force that one socket broke; I was saved by Araldite. Did HD let QC go on tender casting when they converted to 2 rail or is this normal? As insulation was needed i used plumbers teflon tape with success. Now have a locomotive that tears around the track at speed and has to be watched or it will derail itself. The older Gresleys that i have do have problems with wheel wobble and on one Gresley a drive wheel on gear axle is loose, causing lateral movement of whole axle and gear wheel to disengage from worm drive. From a search of this site my options would seem to be: 1. Araldite 2.New axle 3. Insulating bush Anyone any preferences? Cheers

HI Installed rewound armature without too many problems. I could not see if there was a ball bearing in bottom bearing despite poking around with a paperclip. When i added a ball bearing, brushes were considerably elevated above centreline on commutator so i took it out. Similarly when i added ball bearing to top bearing, there was insufficient thread for lock nut to grab on to. Did some locos not have ball bearings at ends of armature? Also did my first coupling rod and valve gear replacement, thanks to RM folk's advice. Removing wheels was relatively easy after the first tentative one. I kept old coupling rod in place on one wheel to help with lining up of adjacent wheels when reinstalling. Coupling rod pins were not so much riveted in but ends just slightly burred over on inside. New pins went in with aid of multi-grip pliers without too much fuss. Coupling rods were very worn - see photo. Valve gear went in easily but was I confused by pins sent from UK- they were all the same size as coupling rod pins so had to reuse old valve pins. Guide in slot of Walschaert valve gear was bent down, causing whole gear set to be locked up - had to bend back up. Locomotive chassis has now done several laps of track, getting faster each time. Happy to have salvaged a locomotive destined for the scrap heap. Cheers

Thanks David Will give it a go. There is also a lot of play in rearmost axle (gear wheel) that at times gear become disengaged from worm drive. Might have to put a metal bush in as per Ronald Dodds video.... I watched Duggleby's auction live hoping to pick up a bargain - my hopes were dashed when i was quoted 130 GBP for sending one to Australia...! While collectors fought over rare items, there were quite a few bargains (if you lived in UK) ; lots of 2 or 3 locomotives in good nick went for 60-100 GBP, far less than you would pay on Ebay. Most rolling stock esp wagons went very cheaply.

HI there So the Dublo Surgeon's order of spare parts finally arrived inc the spare coupling rod and valve gear for RHS of the A4. However I struck a problem trying to remove crank pins. Despite being very loose and sticking out (therefore no rivet head behind?) I cannot get pins out and one has in fact sheared off. Anyone have any tips for removing these pins? I am reluctant to use brute force.........

Sorry didn’t express myself very well... Is this summary correct? On the A4 the valve gear is secured by two thin pins to chassis either side (4 in total) and shaft of valve gear connects by large later pin to centre driving wheel/coupling rod. Other driving wheels have same larger pin (4 in total) securing coupling rod. Trying to get order from Uk correct in my head

David/Jim Thanks very much your responses, esp David for persevering despite IT issues. I now understand pins better, thanks. So each loco has 4 separate pins, the valve gear already has a pin soldered to it for centre wheel? I had spotted valve gear on Ebay but also baulked at price; I did not spot chassis so thanks for that Jim. Prices are extortionate but that is supply and demand -there is virtually no supply in Australia so i will i have to accept going rate, inc gilt-edged postage if i want item. I am guessing Covid has interrupted sourcing locos from car boot sales, jumble sales, etc in UK. I don't like to get chassis just for spares, but may be only solution. PS Colchester bred lad...

Thanks Dave. By mid period I presume you mean later grooved pins? Also are you saying valve gear pin is the same pin as early coupling rod pin? Happy to use more force, just didn’t want to break anything. I noticed rear drive axle is quite loose with considerable play in it. I watched Ron Dodds video about inserting axle bush with usual admiration and mounting trepidation... I hope laconic Dublo Surgeon in UK can help although valve gear is apparently in short supply. i think this loco had a hard life before I bought it

Hi Another qsn or two if folks don't mind... One of A4s i bought needs RHS valve gear replacing. On examining wheels and coupling rods, every pin seems to be working its way out. They cannot be pressed back in. Should these pins take much force to push home? On further reading, there are two types of coupling rod pin, one small (early) and one large with grooves in it. I pulled out centre pin of coupling rod and it is the large type. However, as others won't push home, is it possible this locomotive should have small pins? When was switch made by HD to larger pins? I also noticed pin had a lot of oil and gunk on it - is it possible the locating holes are full of dirt?

Jim Very well done and inspiring! I have seen the transfers now available so the possibilities are almost endless... Tried David and he said he only does rewinds and not at present as his UK supplier is not working. Not sure what that means up but looks like UK is only place to go. Thanks

Thanks for good info! The A4 without suppressor also has a horseshoe magnet so that helps date it as well. Unfortunately magnet has lost most of its strength so I spent an unrewarding few hours adding small neodymium magnets after watching Ron Dodds YouTube clip. Maybe I had the poles wrong... Armature now on its way to UK for rewind in any case.

Thanks guys for welcome. i did visit Train Traders a couple of times until they shut up shop and went on line before disappearing altogether. Thanks Wolseley for info, mine has no valances and must be post war as you say. Interestingly it has no suppressor - either an owner mod or was that was how they were sold...?. Do modern LCD and plasma tvs require a suppressor? Haven’t noticed any interference... Next purchase is 2–6-4 but most on EBay look like they have been used in a Mission Impossible film! Like the Castle, reminds me of Flying Scotsman. That raises a qsn - if you restore/repaint a loco does it lose its value? Cheers

HI there Maiden post - have been lurking for a while, absorbing much helpful info posted by members. Hope this is right topic. I am in process of resurrecting HD layout that I acquired by a sort of karma. When I was a boy in England, i had a large HD layout and spent many happy hours on it though with not much tech or financial support. My teens saw other pursuits develop, girls, music, etc and the railway was packed away in the loft. Fast forward 20 years and I innocently asked after the railway - to my horror, little brother had flogged most of it in, guess what, pursuit of girls, music, etc. Fast forward another 20 years and mother-in-law was clearing her loft and she found a HD train set which she has given me. Now my son and I are actively building it up again, buying track, locos, etc,. Makes a change for him from computer games.... Competing against collectors for working models is difficult, plus here in Australia there is the tyranny of distance (exorbitant courier/postage fees from UK) to bear. Some kind people here in Australia have helped, thank you. Enjoying it immensely - planning new layout and will soon be attempting to renovate non-runners with help Dublo service providers in UK. There is more info around now than when I was a boy so making full use of that. Duchess of Atholl Sir Nigel Gresley x two (one in bits, pre war?) Silver King in bits 2-8-0 (love it!) 0-6-2 Cheers