Resurrecting old train set

[GarethG]

My wife decided that the Christmas tree needs a train running around it, so I have been tasked with resurrecting my childhood set, which dates from 1990. 

The locomotive is a BR class 58 R250 and the controller/transformer is an R912. 

The set was stored for at least 20 years in an attic, boxed up quite neatly. On first inspection the only part that looked dodgy was the bit that connects the wire to the rail, so I replaced that.

I hooked everything up, switched it on and the loco moved under its own power for the first time since the early 90s. Unfortunately the movement was measured in millimetres...

So I opened up the engine and it's very clean inside, but I gave it a little WD40. The tracks are clean but I sanded them anyway with a track sander. I sanded down the wire connectors where they plug into the bit that connects to the track. Leaving the engine cover off, I can see that when the controller rotary knob is turned the engine turns over a little then stops. Moving the knob around can induce some little engine movement but only for a couple of seconds and even then it's only very weak. 

Any thoughts as to what might be at fault? I suspect the controller/transformer unit might be dodgy, but is there anything else I could try before buying a new one?

I might add that the loco wheels connected to the engine don't rotate freely. Is that normal?

Any help appreciated, thank you!

[St1ngr4y]

Hi Gareth,

Welcome to the Forum.

I think most people frown upon WD40 as a lubricant for model railway locos. Make sure there is no oil or dirt on the loco wheels and pickups, if there are any. Don't try to force the loco wheels around. There will be cog wheels involved, so you might damage these if you force them.

Ray

[GarethG]

Thanks for the welcome and advice Ray. I won't use WD40 again. 

I did a "screwdriver test" of the tracks and I'm getting sparks so there is some power reaching them, although how much I don't know. The loco wheels look clean, as does the motor.  The motor rotates freely when I turn it by hand and it turns the wheels freely. 

 

[dadad]

Hi there,

 

I can only agree that  

[dadad]

  Hi there,

 

I can only agree that WD40 is not a good idea, it rots plastic.  A colligue used to sprey the hinges of his spec's and they fell to pieces.  If the gearing is a worm and wheel trying to turn the loco wheels can only strip the teath off something.  Much better to turn the motor and see what happens.  Agood old test is to put the terminals of a pp3 batery across the wheels and see what happens.

 

John

[Tony57]

 Hi

The Class 58 R250 has two types of M7 motor as well as a X type, I would agree with the advice to lubricate with a pin all the drive cogs on their shafts, wheel axels plus oil the end drive shaft bearing and the bearing just behind the drive worm, you could also apply power to the motor via the transformer leads to kick start the motor into running.

As there are three different motor assemblies in the Class 58, you need to find Service sheets 137, 137A, 137b to find the correct one for you loco.

[Fishmanoz]

And unfortunately, sanding your track was a bad idea, it causes scratches that will only catch more dirt.  You can use a track rubber, the rough side of a piece of Masonite (hardboard) or IPA alcohol. 

[Michael_A]

What do you mean by a track sander? Is it a track cleaning rubber? As has been said, you should be very careful cleaning track.

The eaisiest approach to fault finding with model railways is I'm afraind elimination.

The easiset way to test a loco is to connect the wires form the controller straight to the loco and see if it runs smoothly. You can try and hold the wires on the wheels, on the pickups, or across the motor connections. (All fairly staright forward to get at on that loco). If it runs smoothly, you know the motor and mechanics are probably OK, and the issue is probably dirty wheels, dirty track, or bad connection to track.

 

If it doesn't run try removing the motor, connect straight to the connections and see if that runs smoothly. If so, then makk sure all the wheels turn smoothly and easily WITH THE MOTOR STILL REMOVED.

 

[GarethG]

Thanks for all the replies. Too late with the WD40 advice I'm afraid. I've wiped it off as best as I can. and by track sander, I did mean track rubber, which has worked nicely. 

So I brought the loco and the transformer to a model shop and both worked fine. That left only the tracks so I bought a new piece to connect the wires to and rubbered the rest. Which was successful so I'm back in running order. 

20+ years in the attic, €10 of investment in replacement pieces and it works fine. That's a fine testament to Hornby quality!