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

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?

Bought the X6636 pack and have to report that they are not the correct screws for the hogwarts. May be correct thread but much too short to be of any use

Peters spares said they dont know the thread size and the pack with the drawbar is rather expensive to say the least which is why I only wanted the screw

Hi everyone. I aquired a fairly new Hogwarts express but unfortunately with no tender nor drawbar screw. I can concoct somthing quite easily that will work and look the part but I am missing the screw for the drawbar. Does anyone know the actual size of the thread for this screw?

Thanks for all the advice. This has "sort of sorted" itself but not sure what the actual problem was or still may be. I have removed the secondary wires from the controller and just left one pair of wires connected to the rails. I know that everything was working fine for several months so all the wires were originally in the right place. I think there is a strong possibility that one of my two grandsons has pulled a wire from somewhere when I wasnt around and their mom has randomly put it back where she thought it came from. There was definately a short as I could see a spark coming off a connector a couple of times when running in the problem direction. I will put the wires back in place one at a time and see what happens. Thanks guys and gals

Hi there. No I have 2 feeds to the track and it was new fishplates and track all round when it was laid. Its the fact it runs fine one way and not the other that is bugging me and its the same on all trains. I have tried a third H & M controller now and its the same so must be a track problem. Wondering if a track pin is lying somewhere on a point. I will examine the layout again. What is the RL tutorial??

Hi there. No I have 2 feeds to the track and it was new fishplates and track all round when it was laid. Its the fact it runs fine one way and not the other that is bugging me and its the same on all trains. I have tried a third H & M controller now and its the same so must be a track problem. Wondering if a track pin is lying somewhere on a point. I will examine the layout again.

Very sad indeed. He answered evry single one of my threads offering help and guidance and I am very grateful for his help over the last few years. RIP

Hi everyone. Dont know if anyone can offer any suggestions about a problem I have. I have quite a large layout (10 metres or so) and I have been running trains for several months with no real problems but then trains started going slower one way. Now they run fine one way but barely go the other way and now keep stopping. I did leave the transformer on for several days by mistake which is one of the older H & M twin controllers and thought I may have done some damage to it as it was quite hot . However I have swapped it for a spare one I have and its still the same so assume I may have a dodgy connection somewhere but cant see why its running fine one way and not the other. Any ideas about this ladies and gents. Andy

Thanks for all the input with this. I dont want to go pushing and pulling without knowing what I am doing hence my questions. I have done some more tests on this and I am 99% certain now its a bad contact through the LARGE wheels. I have tested on all contact points and the motor runs fine on all apart from the large wheels. If the problem is as I am thinking dirty axles and shafts it mirrors the same problems I have had in the past on some hornby models where a dirty / oily axle means a bad contact / short. However I need to access these to clean them. Are the LARGE wheels just a prize on prize off fit from the axle or is it best to "split" the train and access from the inside? Andy

Are the axles actually fixed onto the wheels? It looks that way from the service sheet. If it is there may be some muck in between the axle and chassis causing a bad connection. It runs fine on test but not so well on the track hence my line of thought. The carbon bush is also obviously flat at present so not as good a contact as it could be if slightly worn to the same shape as the armature but its fine on test

Hi again everyone. I did start a discussion about servicing a hornby rocket 1980 edition and this is a bit of a follow on from that. I managed to re-solder the brush arm back on the carbon after watching a video and it worked extremely well. A little tip I can offer should anyone else need to do the same is that there was no central locating lug as there is on larger carbons and rather than risk soldering onto a previously used side of the carbon I used a fresh side with the copper coating still in mint condition and this soldered perfectly. HOWEVER. The rocket is still not running 100% and stutters a bit. I can see there appear to be 2 wheel contacts but I cant see how they pick up current from the wheels. Can anyone help? Also this rocket was in mint condition apart from the brush arm being broken and is in a 1980's edition box but it definately has a smoke unit fitted. I read somewhere that none of the 1980's editions had a smoke unit fitted? Can anyone verify this as a yes, no, or maybe. Thanks to all for your help. Andy

Just another little thing may be worth looking at is if one of the wheels has picked up a bit of metal or a track pin as it could be shorting across from the wheel to body. Just look really carefully all round the inside of the wheels next to the body. Could even be a bauble hanger if under the xmas tree

Many thanks Chris. This "might" help but this brush is obviously half the size of the one in video. Heaven alone knows how they do N gauge

Thanks for these. I did find the one link which was helpful. I have taken it apart and need a new brush part X567 which seem to be rarer than rocking horse muck or find out how to re-attach the carbon to the brass. This must have been faulty when new. I have never had any luck trying to re solder carbon back on. Andy

Hi again. Good news is that I found Mr Sam reviewing the new rocket and he actually took the top off an older one while comparing so I managed to give the older one a well earned clean and it basically goes "like a rocket now". The bad news is that I then turned my attention to the 1980's version rocket which I think may have a smoke unit as I can see some gauze looking stuff down the funnel. Anyway the problem is that the carbon has detached from the brush arm on the live side. I have looked everywhere for a replacement but cant find any. Can anyone help out with a contact please. I do have the arm and the carbon but I have never had any luck soldering carbon onto arms. Is there a special method of soldering carbon to brass arms? Andy

Hi everyone. I aqquired a boxed R796 Stephenson's Rocket in mint condition which I believe is 1980's edition from an auction house in Germany just prior to lockdown. Although it looks mint it is barely running so not sure if it needs a clean up inside. I have another older version of the rocket and did have a go at taking it apart but chickened out half way through as they are so fiddly and delicate for my big fingers. What sort of motors are in the 1980's version? Are they servicable or are they a throw away motor and are replacements available. If anyone has a link or instructions to one being dismantled I would be very grateful. Andy

THANKS TO ALL THIS IS NOW SORTED. I actually had 2 sets of duff express points that were both shorting which became apparent when I re-jigged the track and fitted a standard set and everything started working ok. A very frustrating couple of days laying, changing and unlaying track. I did change the feed wires to the location suggested by Chris moderator as well and found out that I didnt need the old feed wires from the main controller. Just for Chris's info its 8 meters between the 2 controllers which is part of the reason I cant see the wood for the trees let alone the trains in the engine sheds from the other end of the layout

I will try connecting some wires to the left of point B Chris and thanks for your help. I was lying in bed last night having a think about this as one does and I think that the problem may possibly be to do with either the A or C points by the main controller. I cant remember the reason that I added the extra pair of wires from the controller to the track. This long extension that we call the mainline was done last year during lockdown and is not run in sections as RAF seemed to think it is just one long circuit and we rarely if ever switch it back to the original loop. Theoretically the extention should have worked fine with the original 2 wires connected to the left of point C and it may actually be that the A or C point has always been faulty. The new controller at the far end does not have the benefit of an extra pair of wires so if there is a fault with either point A or C then the moment I switch point B it will make the track dead up to or from the faulty point. Does that make any sense to you?

Hi moderator Chrissaf and thanks for the input. The reason I have HAD to install the second controller is that I cant see the end of the layout from the position of the main controller. (ITS 20 feet or more) (Obviously to shunt a train and change its position in the new engine shed yard its difficult from 20 feet away.) The layout was originally just 3 loops that could run 3 separate trains from 3 separate contollers and all worked very well. The other two loops are irrelevant as they have there own circuits. The NEW goods yard is about 6 metres down the other end of a barn and I have to slide under 2 main roof joists to get there and I am unable to see it from the main controllers. Once there I can shunt trains in and out of sidings with controller two before putting them back on what we call the MAIN line which is the one in my sketch. Am sure this is an isolater (on the points) problem but I am pretty useless with electrics and the understanding of it.

Hi there and thanks for the input but as stated I do not have both controllers switched on at the same time. If I can do this then thats fine but as a fail safe I only have one on at present but still have this problem?