Flying scotscman

[Keelz]

Hi , I'm new to hornby as my young son has taken an interest, we bought him a second hand flying Scotsman, however when I place it on the track it either judders then stops , or the rear wheel spark and it doesn't run at all , can hear the power flowing to it, then it starts to smell. I posted on a local forum and a guy told me how to clean it , which I have , and oiled it etc , he said that the metal plate underneath should have a small piece of sellotape on to stop the wire touching the main body of the train , so I have done that , still no luck , any help appreciated 

[GWR 14xx Tank]

Check the wheels - even tiny amounts of dirt can make electrical pick up from the track interrupted. Try cleaning the wheels with a cotton bud and some methylated spirits - such as IPA (no, not Indian Pale Ale, Iso-Propyl Alcohol) by applying some IPA to the cotton bud and rubbing the wheels with it. If you do not have any IPA to hand, try spraying some WD-40 onto the cotton bud and rubbing the wheels with that. Be careful not to get any WD-40 onto the plastic body, it MAY start to eat away and destroy the plastic. MAY is in bold, as this is a widely debated topic.

 

Does the smell just smell old, or is it electrical burning? It may be the motor just burning off some dust / moisture that has got in there - my sewing machine once started smoking, then was fine when we switched it back on again. 

 

Check that the motor is properly clipped in place, and that the gears are meshing correctly. 

 

I'm not to sure about the sparking, although some of my 0-4-0's on clean STEEL track spark, but not on Nickel-Silver Hornby Track.

 

(I might be being slightly picky here, but note that an engine, such as the Flying Scotsman, is a LOCOMOTIVE, by itself. It only becomes a TRAIN when passenger coaches or freight wagons are coupled to it).  😉 

 

Hope this helps,

14xx Tank

[ColinB]

I get sparking on my track especially with older locos. What I do in cases like this is work back. So take the body off and put power across the two terminals of the motor, that at least checks that the motor is running properly. It may be a good idea to run the motor for a couple of minutes to let the motor burn off any oxide on brushes and commutator.  Next put the power directly on the pickups, not the wheels and check the motor still works. Now do the wheels and finally check it on the track. After all this time it might be that the magnet has lost its magnatism which would cause the motor to draw more current, but before you go there just do all those checks.

[LCDR]

Welcome to the forum,

 

The difficulty with pre-owned locomotives is that you don;t know what kind of life it has had before it came to you. 

 

The other issue here is that over the years Hornby have made different versions of Flying Scotsman since 1968 and the advice given will alter depending upon which version you have, As the most popular large locomotive in Hornby's range things can get very complicated.

 

A summary of the different versions may help to identify which one you have.

 

1968 to 1980 open frame motor(X03 / X04)  in the locomotive (loco drive)

1981 to 1997 ringfield motor in the tender (tender drive)

1998 to 2004 still tender drive but with added detail, and from 2002 with five pole ringfield motor

2005 onwards  loco drive with sealed skew wound 5 pole can motor

2007 onwards loco drive but simplified RailRoad version locomotive drive 3 pole can motor 

After 1981 the power pick up was split between the locomotive and tender with a connection between them through the drawbar.

 

The symptoms suggest something is jamming the drive and the motor is attempting to turn and is unable and is therefore overheating. The ultimate result will be the armature burning out. This will necessitate a new motor. 

 

It is therefore necessary to closely examine the motor, drive and the wheels and motion (piston rods, coupling rodes etc) and examine each in turn to see that they turn freely. Assuming you have a locomotive drive version the following is the process I would adopt.

 

Start by reading this posting https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/faq-beginner-question-my-locoset-is-not-working/?p=1

 

You may have to remove the motor. How you do this will depend upon which version of the model that you have. So take the motor out, noting how the wires connecting it are attached so you can reassemble it again afterwards.

 

Once the motor is out you need to see it turns freely by turning the worm or gear wheel. If it is a sealed can motor and it doesn't turn freely then I am afraid you will need to souerce a new one. If it is an older open frame motor (X04/X03) you need to check that the carbon brushes have adequate carbon, and are resting correctly on the commutator, and that there is nothing jammed between the armature and pole pieces. Being magnetic these can attract stray metal bits like track pins.Once you are saisfied the motor is free try applying modest power briefly to the motor and see if it spins.

 

With the motor out you should be able to turn the wheels by hand and these must turn smoothly, the rods too must not catch or jam. There are many things that can cause jams and it is a matter of trial and error to sort this out. Look at any brass wipers that slip along the inside of the wheel rims to pick up power and check these are not dirty or distorted. 

 

Please feel free to come back and tell us what you find and ask further questions as you go along.

 

It might be helpful if you know precisely which version of FS you have, and if you can let us know.