2e0dtoeric

Rana - having seen your comments in here, and in 'Fireless', you must be living somewhere near me, in Warrington. Vespa is also near me. I'm not looking for a meet-up, so don't panic! 😛

Then the fault is in the power car. There are loads of posts in here, and other places, on how to track down a fault, using a PP3 battery and a bit of thought. Unplug the decoder first!

Swap the two decoders over. Does the fault change ends? Yes - duff decoder. No, fault is in that car. Perhaps you have pulled a wire off, somewhere, or dislodged the wheel pickups while you were fiddling.

https://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/5+6/solo_from_peckett.htm - I believe it is still parked there on a bit of grass, next to the by-pass that runs along the Ship canal. The last time I saw it, it was on Princes Park, painted all gaudy colours, and used as a kids climbing frame!

What 'R' numbers are the models? Did you fit the decoders yourself? Did they work properly on dc before you converted them? Do they still work on dc?

Both have the same output VOLTAGE, but the 965 has more AMPS - (more power). Too much power won't hurt an electric motor, they all take as much as they need, as long as the volts are right.

The American market is a lot bigger, so what would amount to maybe a few dozen modellers in the UK would equate to several hundred over there.

You both have to message Adam, at Hornby, and tell him you are willing to exchange email addresses. He will then 'put you together' - but bear in mind he only works office hours, and is busy, so it may take a day or so.

This unit, (and similar ones) do not really provide realistic smoke, it is merely an oil mist 'fog' that is heavier than air, so falls onto the layout, leaving oil splats everywhere. Also, if allowed to run dry, the coil will burn out. If used in a plastic-bodied loco, it can get hot enough to melt the plastic - (and burn little fingers!)

This one - /media/tinymce_upload/335305d7cbddc990f2b6db406e0340d1.jpg or this Penrice castle? - 😛 - /media/tinymce_upload/3b9206b3dde6d2ec7644ba477b412b5f.jpg

I also use mixed track components, mostly Peco points and flexi, but with Hornby set-track here and there, (to use up odd bits of straights!) Track centres isn't that critical, unless you have really tight curves - which isn't ideal with flexi-track. Larger sweeping curves are better. Hornby centres are aimed at little pudgy clumsy fingers, which also fits for us older folk who's eyesight can be deteriorating, too!

Early loco - does it have traction tyres - are they worn/lumpy/missing? Not sure which bit you mean by the combination lever. If a connecting rod (between all the driving wheels) is bent, then possibly the quartering has slipped. I recall reading that the insulating plastic bush in the wheel centre can split, or just wear away, so the wheel can rotate on the axle. Back to no power - are the driving wheels turning but the loco won't move - or is the motor stopping? If the first - see traction tyres - if the second - might be worn brushes, muck in the works, or the magnet has faded. All these can be fixed, with time and patience.

As I understand the problem, Three-rail wheels were NOT insulated (no need!) so to place them onto a two-rail system would merely present an instant short-circuit that will 'trip-out' the controller. Trix Twin stock may work, as I think those wheels were insulated, to allow a centre common negative, and two separate positives ( from two controllers) on the running rails. Whether Trix and Hornby couplers woujld connect is another matter!

If you solder a rail to a pin that is fixed to the baseboard, the rail cannot move as the temperature changes. Eventually, in extremes - it will buckle in between soldered pins, or tear the pin out. If you pin a sleeper to the board, the rail can slide in the 'chair' and won't buckle. - I always use flexi-track, and arrange for a gentle 'wiggle' on long straights - which can act as an extra expansion joint, because the whole section can adjust the radius of the slight curve, as needed. On a curve, I pin the ends (by the sleepers) so the curve can move slightly in the middle, if needed. (We're talking of a couple of millimeters per metre length).

LC+DR - looking at the state of that white wagon - top pic, on the right! 😛 Another 'mixed traffic' type of line is the Preston Dock steam railway. During the week, it serves an oil works, with the usual big diesels and bogie tanks linking up with the WCML at Preston station, but at weekend they run small 'shunter' type steam loco's on the same track, with a few old mk 1's - often double-ended, so there is a loco leading in either direction.

IPA (switch cleaner!) is good for cleaning motors, and removing old grease from gear trains. Be careful with it, as it is volatile. Don't forget to re-lube afterwards, and NOT with WD40 or 3 in 1! Cotton buds are good for cleaning fiddly corners. I think you are aware that you cannot run clockwork and electric at the same time on the same track. Clockworks don't have insulated wheels.

Or the Teaks in teak finish! Garter Blue (metal bodies) were a lot later, as steam was being phased out.

Oh, THAT one! I was trying to make something of my user-name that related! 😳

@EnGee - I suppose it depends on which side of the nozzle you are measuring the filament. I meant the extruded side, not the input off the reel. Even I know they are a fixed size. And I don't understand your closing comment.

I know little about 3D printing - no interest - but I do know the finished surface depends on how fine a filament you are using, and the step size and precision of the stepper motors that move the nozzles.

I suppose it depends on what you call a 'useful load'. I use a loco to tow a track-cleaning device around my layout. To me - THAT'S useful! :-)

The o/p included the comment - plus also the (steel?) track. That could be some of the problem! Steel track corrodes, and maybe the fishplates are equally poor, so no power will be getting to the track anyway. Try a simple length of new nickel-silver track, and see if anything moves then. Be wary that if the loco's and stock are as old as you say - 40+ years - the wheels will be the old coarse ones, and the flanges are a lot bigger, and may 'bump' over the plastic mouldings of the modern track. I assume you have stripped down, cleaned, and lubricated all the motors and gears? Old oil and grease can set like concrete! Also - the motors are probably Ringfields, and the magnets may have faded. They can be revived - at a cost - there are many threads on this around this forum.

The Pecketts, or maybe the diesel 08.

I don't know if it is still available, but there USED to be a 'skeleton' rotary switch, onto which you added as many pole 'wafers' as required, to make up a multi-pole rotary to your own requirements. Whether you could get twelve on at once is debatable!

It depends on how old they are! If they pre-date NEM sockets, they won't HAVE alternate couplings.