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Duke of Gloucester wobbles badly on the straight


Balwyn

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Hi, 

I recently purchased an R1177 Duke of Gloucester train set (second hand but immaculate), the engine wobbles badly like a fish on the straight track. The engine see-saws slightly on centre driving wheels

Can anyone advise me what I can do to rectify the problem.

This is my first foray into model railway since my childhood, to entertain my grandsons 😉

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Most likely the wheels have slipped on the axles such that the coupling rods on each side of the loco are now out of sync. This is called 'quartering'. So use the 'Search Forums' box with the green magnifying glass symbol and search the forum for 'quartering'.

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Run the loco upside down using a 9v battery on the wheels to see if a wheel is buckled. Check each wheel is tight on the axle and as Chris says Quartered correctly - i.e. one side wheel crank is at 90 degrees to the opposing side.

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Forgot to add in my initial reply.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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Hiya Balwyn

Welcome to the Hornby Forum - you have came to the right place  😀 I have the exactly the same R1177 Duke of Gloucester train set as you - I've just checked mine, anothe avanue to check may be, There are 8 small screws along the base of the Loco (See photo)

 

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Are any of these 8 screws either lose or missing???

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Thanks everyone, the quartering was OK I think, but the con-rod connecting the three drive wheels on one side was actually bent vertically and horizontally. So heart in hand I took the rear wheel screw out and gently tweaked it back straight(ish), and success! (must get one of those con-rod spanners though) 😀

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Back to the point M-R wisely makes from time to time, scale appearance is all well and good, BUT it is as naught if it makes the model so flimsy that parts get damaged so easily as to render them useless. 

 

Sounds like the new 'Rocket' is likely to be a victim. ☹️

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My own Duke of Gloucester does waddle a bit but not too badly. This does suggest that there was a quality problem with some of them. I do hope that you get it sorted or at least improved. However, taking a chassis apart is not for the faint hearted. Make sure you have the correct tools to undo the coupling rods to try to improve the quartering.

Having said all that, I have examined mine and the quartering seems to change significantly as it is run and yet it still runs okay (at the moment)! Bizarre!

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Disaster! 🫨The front Coupling Rod screw came loose and fouled slide block and slide, snapping off the slide, the piston rod is still connected to the connecting rod and the Loco still runs. Unfortunately this locomotive is now obsolete in the Hornby range and the spare parts all but non existant.Does anybody know if another locos valve gear is compatible

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