Help, my Hornby J52 and Hornby Bill's wheels aren't connected to the motor, how do i resolve this?

[Fifo]

Hello, I've got a Hornby J52 and a Hornby Bill (from the TTTE range) which seem to have their wheels not connected to the motor, since i hear it spinning. I don't know how to fix it.

The J52 worked fine till a few days ago, now there's a low chance of it moving. While Bill just didn't move at all. Is there any way i can fix them? How do i find the problem?

[Going Spare]

I have already advised what checks you need to make on Bill's chassis in your earlier thread in the 'Thomas' sub-forum.

Can you confirm that the J52's motor runs when power is applied? If it is, the normal problem is that there is so much wear on the driving axle gear teeth that they no longer, or intermittently at best, mesh with the worm on the motor shaft, so no movement occurs. Do the edges of the teeth on that gear appear concave (i.e. worn away in the centre) or sloping (worn away to one side)? There may also be signs of wear on the worm; you will need to remove the body to check and the maintenance sheet that is supplied with the loco should show you how to do so.

[Fifo]

The J52 Motor runs fine, one thing i forgot to say is that the back wheels are a bit "less connected" than the other two

[Going Spare]

Ok, if the motor runs, do the checks I suggested.

By "less connected", do you mean the rear wheels are able to move (rotate?, vertically?) more than the centre ones? The motor drives the centre wheels so these are held more rigidly; the rear wheels are probably sprung to allow some vertical movement; and both the front and rear wheels will have some slight rotational movement as they are only linked to the centre wheels by the coupling rods and there is some built-in play (and, perhaps, wear) where those rods are screwed to the wheels.

[Fifo]

I mean theyre not attached to the chassis well, But all of the wheels are "free rolling", not always tho. From what i've seen they do a 180° turn "free rolling" and then get stop in place

[ntpntpntp]

If that's truly the situation then something's very badly worn out or broken to the point of the gears and motor worm no longer meshing, or possibly a split gear on the main drive axle.

Needs opening up and investigating. Post clear photos on here if you're not sure of the cause, and someone can probably spot the problems.

[Going Spare]

That does tend to confirm a worn gear, but worse round half the total circumference allowing meshing to take place for half a revolution where the wear is not so bad.

What is the Hornby catalogue number of the loco or the running number on the side of the loco?

[Fifo]

It's the J52 "3111"

[Fifo]

By the way ill send the photos tomorrow since right now i cant

[Going Spare]

That loco dates back to 1992/3 so you probably do not have the Operating and Maintenance sheet. If you do not, the body is separated from the chassis by unscrewing and removing the rear coupling then releasing the horizontal chassis lug just above the bufferbeam by inserting a small bladed screwdriver between the body and the chassis and gently levering them apart. Lift the rear of the body and push it forwards to release the two fastenings at the front. Do not attempt to work on the front end first as the two fastenings are easily broken.

[Fifo]

here's the chassis and a video about some stuff i was talking about https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iztqPuCffDzsmGoprhbRnO153_GMKIAJ/view?usp=sharing

[Going Spare]

Your video confirms that there is severe wear on the axle-mounted gear, which will have to be replaced. This will mean unscrewing the coupling rods from the centre wheels and removing the plastic wheel retainer from the bottom of the chassis to release the centre wheels. If you can source a replacement wheelset (the two wheels on their axle), the assembly number is X1845, but more likely you will need to remove one wheel from the axle so that the damaged gear L5714* can be replaced and the wheel replaced in the correct fashion called 'quartering' which can be explained if you follow this procedure.

(*) Not all versions of the worm on the motor shaft and the axle gear will mesh correctly if you 'mix-and-match' so can you please advise the colour of the worm - possibly blue, yellow or black - and the colour of the gear.

If this seems too daunting, seek assistance from your local model shop, a local model railway club or the spares specialists (Lendons, New Modellers Shop or Peters Spares among them) who may be able to do the repair for you.

[Fifo]

The gear is black

[Going Spare]

And the worm colour?

[Fifo]

I'm not sure

[Going Spare]

In that case, I would suggest you replace both the motor/worm/plastic carrier/pick-ups assembly and the gear with packs X8809M and X8199, respectively, as these have guaranteed meshing. In view of the age of the loco, replacing the motor would probably be a worthwhile investment in any case. However, as your loco is among the earliest to use that type of chassis, I would ask your chosen supplier to confirm that these two packs are appropriate for your needs.

And to maximise the use of the carriage charge, replacing the traction tyres (pack X8101) would also be beneficial. For these three packs, Lendon's appear to be the cheapest at around £14.00.

Another option would be to search the net for a complete new, or secondhand if in good condition, more modern complete chassis of the same type. More expensive, but an easier solution to your problem.

[Fifo]

How can i find a new and better chassis? Do i just search "J52 Chassis"?

[Going Spare]

As this chassis was used for a number of other different tank loco's (GWR open-cab pannier, LMS Jinty, LNER J83, 'Thomas', 'Duck') and the class 08/Devious Diesel/'Arry/Bert diesel shunter, searching for 'Hornby 0-6-0T chassis' may give you more hits. Yours is also known as an SSPP chassis.

But get confirmation from the seller that it will fit your J52 as that is not automatically the case. Triang and Hornby have produced 0-6-0 tank locos since 1953 and not all chassis will fit your body - even the very first release of the J52 was fitted with a different chassis.

On ebay at the moment, /item/295711861537 is another example of your complete loco, (current bid £24 with 8 hrs remaining), which looks to be in good condition.