Class 52 wheel pickups

[Edward011778]

Hi, first post, hopefully in the correct section but please move if not!

I have recently re-visited my Hornby Railways collection, alongside which I purchased a used Hornby Class 52. This runs perfectly on and off load when  powers is supplied to the motor terminals but is reluctant to run slowly, even on a very clean track that other locos operate fine on. By reluctant I mean hesitant, jerky, slowing down and speeding up, that sort of thing. It is better but still not right on full power.

On dissassembly, it appears that the electrical contact between the wheels and motor is made simply by the axles running directly in contact with the metal bogie frames which act as their bearings. There don't seem to be any sort of electrical wipers or the like. Is this correct/original? It appears to be the source of the erratic running, and my (older) Lima locos all seem to have sprung copper wipers running on the axles.

Any input appreciated, maybe I'm just being daft and missing something obvious

Edward

[Stubaggieboy]

Hi there.

              If you remove the wheels from the power bogie you an then clean the axles and bearing tube using a suitable cleaning solution .Then remove the bogie frame from the non powered bogie which will enable you to remove the axle sets which you can then clean. Also clean the grooves the axles sit in, I normally use some 1200 grey wet and dry paper available from any decent car spares shop. Just make sure you put the wheels back exactly the same way you took them out otherwise you will create a short circuit. I have been doing this for more years than I care to remember and it definitely makes a big difference to the running qualities of these ring field units. One mor thing before you put the axles back in the power bogie frame put a very small amount of decent oil on them.

hope this helps.

[Chrissaf]

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[ColinB]

Yes, it is standard 1980s plus Hornby Ringfield setup. The power bogie pickups up one side of the power and the other bogie pickups up the other side. You just need to clean the axle up from old solidified oil and oil sparingly when you put them back. On some of mine I managed to put an extra pickup on the insulated side of the non powered bogie, which made then run a bit better. On some of the later China made ringfields they did add wheel pickups. Putting pickups on the wheels with traction tyres is a bit of a waste of time as rubber is a brilliant insulator, so unless the wheel is running on its rim it will never pickup power.

[Going Spare]

Pick-ups on tyre-equipped wheels are not entirely wasted because flanges come in to contact with the inside face of the rail head quite often, even on straight track and, as a certain shop says, every little helps!

[Ruffnut Thorston]

There is special oil available, which is electrically conductive....

 

Ideal for these applications...

 

Power Lube is one brand name...

[Edward011778]

Thank you all. That's definitely made an improvement.