Hornby Rocket problems

[AndyThomas]

I have a Hornby rocket that looks fairly new that I bought from an auction in Berlin of all places. I would say about year 2000 make. I have had it on the back burner for some time as it trys to run but doesnt but I have just had another look at it. The motor itself is running fine on test and the wheels turn properly but when on the track it hardly goes at all. I cant work out the wiring on it and neither can I work out how the pick ups work. Can anyone enlighten me please? Do the back wheels act as pick up as well or is it just the front? Is the sheath on the brush contact on the live side supposed to be like other trains and insulate from the brush and wire?

[Going Spare]

Hornby have made two radically different versions of 'Rocket', the first from 1963 until 1984 and the second since 2020. From your description, I imagine you have one the first version. This is a split-chassis design with pick-up through all four locomotive wheels which have plastic axle centre sections to provide the insulation. Electricity passes through the metal stub axles to the chassis frames which are also insulated from each other, so there are no pick-ups as such.

Looking forwards, the righthand brush arm is live to the chassis through the brush spring screw and the lefthand brush arm should be sheathed to avoid contact with the brush spring and, by means of a tag sitting between the sheath and the brush arm, wired to the other side of the chassis to complete the electrical circuit.

If the loco has a smoke unit in the chimney, this will potentially be draining some power away from the motor and if you are using a modern train set controller, its output may not be sufficient as the older motors were more power-hungry than modern units.

Service Sheets 40/40A and 41 (accessible via the 'Useful Links' sticky post at the top of this forum section may be of help and the current model is covered on sheet 451.

[AndyThomas]

Yes that figures. I actually have 2 rockets but one is a very early one and this one which came in a mint box must be towards the end of the first run and looks like new. There is no smoke unit just some sheathed wiring up the chimney with a ceramic "resister" or something. As I say the motor is running fine on test and likewise when back in the chassis the wheels etc work nicely on test as well but as soon as its on the track it struggles. Must be a short or something somewhere. I will have another look tomorrow but my fingers are bigger that the train so it is a finicky one

[What About The Bee]

Hi Andy

Many of the older style Rockets had the axles lubricated with oil.

Oil is a insulator. Remove each side of each axle in turn and clean the axle and the chassis bush it rides in with alcohol.

Lubricate axle/chassis bush liberally with graphite when dry. Graphite is a conductor.

Bee

Edit to add: A small flat bladed screwdriver will slide up in between the chassis and wheel. Bring the tip of the screwdriver right up to the axle. Twist the screwdriver as if you are tightening/loosening a screw. The wheel and stub axle should slide right out of the friction fit plastic axle in the center. This works for front wheels (take the cross slide and connecting rod off first) and the back wheels. If you only do one of the two wheels on an axle at a time, the friction fit plastic axle in the center is always in position, cannot get lost!

The connecting rod screw is super tiny, easy to lose. Please don't ask me how I know. I eventually gave up and bought another one. Don't be me!!

Regarding graphite. Many stores sell this as a lock lubricant. If they make keys, they sell graphite.