Hornby Dublo N2 3 Rail: Repair Request

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  • Опубликовано: 23 янв 2025
  • My first look at a 3 Rail Dublo. This old Hornby Dublo N2 needs a bit of help.
    Wonderful old machine though.
    www.buymeacoff...

Комментарии • 79

  • @jimcrawford5039
    @jimcrawford5039 3 года назад +5

    When I was a boy in the early fifties I worshipped Hornby Dublo from afar and had to make do with a Triang Jinty goods set. It was all my poor parents could afford. I was happy when I got the green Princess Elizabeth later. Lol.

  • @kellypaws
    @kellypaws 3 года назад +3

    You inspired me. I dismantled by badly running Lima Class 26, remagnitised the ring magnet, polished the armature, cleaned and re-greased the gears, hard wired a DCC controller, fashioned a front bogie pick up from brass strip and drilled out the chassis to take the new wiring to the new front pick up.
    Ran beautifully, first time. I don't think I'd have bothered if I hadn't been watching these videos - AVIDLY, and thinking, "That looks kind of restful and satisfying."
    More videos OOBill, more videos please.

  • @dolfmeister-r5i
    @dolfmeister-r5i 3 года назад +9

    Pretty much sound advice , except to point out that there are supposed to be 1/16" steel balls in the top and bottom bearings. I find the lower one is often stuck tight and it's a bugger to get out (no hole at the bottom to push it through). Sometimes, a strong magnet will pull it out, otherwise it just has to stay there as is. The top one is often not there at all, so it needs replacing. They can be had from popular auction sites from the model RC car section.
    When installing the top bearing, the nut is there to lock it in position. Screw it down to touch the armature shaft, then back off 1/4 turn. This will allow for any thermal expansion in service. Note, that when tightening the nut, the bearing can turn with it, putting the adjustment out of whack. Check the end float before applying power. The old windings fry quite easily and an Ohm reading should be taken of each. They need to be equal for smooth running.
    The pickup is held together by a single screw and it has to be taken apart if any repair/straightening is necessary. They do also gunk up and rust a bit. Worn spoons I fill by soldering a suitable bit of brass into the groove and then filing it to shape. When reassembling, the springs inside need to go back in the correct orientation for it to work.
    The only time I remove wheels is if they are loose on the axle, or if the rear bearing is worn, in which case a brass tube is superglued in the holes and filed flush.
    I have put together my Dublo collection from buying more or less scrap for peanuts and polishing them up. There isn't one I haven't got going again. Anyone interested in learning more about Dublo should check out Ronald Dodd's excellent YT channel.

  • @dennismodelrailway7187
    @dennismodelrailway7187 3 года назад +2

    Good jop I had one at 9 years old now 67

  • @nigelsabin1713
    @nigelsabin1713 3 года назад +1

    Hi.
    Just imagine repairing an engine 60 years old! Satisfaction guaranteed!
    I made an old 'piko' from the 50s into a dcc fitted loco. It is so quiet and crawls very slowly. I order a collection of those "tweesers",so have lots to do when they arrive!.
    Regards. Nige

  • @kevinwilliams1602
    @kevinwilliams1602 3 года назад +1

    My first ever train set was Hornby Dublo 3 rail, I was around 12 years old, it was a birthday present from my parents and wish I never got rid of it. In recent years I have collected HD3 again, it is fantastic. Triang bought Hornby out in 1964 so yes most of it is 60 plus years old. How much of this modern stuff will last, the electronics normally fail within three years I suspect.

  • @ciaranburke3243
    @ciaranburke3243 3 года назад +2

    Brilliant job bill so smooth in the end, interesting to see one taken apart 👍

  • @cogidubnus1953
    @cogidubnus1953 3 года назад +5

    What a great improvement...know what you mean about the charm of those old models...the tinplate coaches too...not great models by modern standards but beautiful...

  • @petersmith4455
    @petersmith4455 3 года назад +1

    hi there. this n2 sounds great now that its been fixed, had one in 1961 as a child before i got a Triang train set, as i said before now have a Wrenn n2 as a reminder of the good times with mum and dad in the early 60s

  • @User-3O3
    @User-3O3 3 года назад +1

    I was surprised how well she ran even at a slow speed for such an old mechanism. Really nice.

  • @russellbenton2987
    @russellbenton2987 3 года назад +2

    There’s a charm about these locos . I haven’t any Hornby Dublo but I have been buying Wrenn that I couldn’t afford as a boy and as you say even though they are less detailed , they have a presence .

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      Wrenn took over Dublo so a lot of their stuff is the same. They go for decent money in good nick these days. I keep looking for one going cheap under the radar...

    • @russellbenton2987
      @russellbenton2987 3 года назад

      @@oobill Good luck with finding something cheap. Unlikely I fear!

  • @fernsnyder7072
    @fernsnyder7072 3 года назад +1

    I really enjoy your videos. I had a hornby dublo castle when I was a kid. I would often wonder why it was a bit noisy, and it wasn't until many years later I read that there were very small ball bearings that sat either side of the armature shaft which I didn't know about, and must have lost when servicing it. I suppose this loco used to have them too at one point. All the best, keep up the good work!

  • @brucewoods9377
    @brucewoods9377 3 года назад

    Well done. What a difference a full service makes

  • @davidcann4329
    @davidcann4329 3 года назад

    Really enjoyed your servicing video and what you did to clean the mechanism. You have some really good equipment and materials there (some I've never used on my Hornby Dublo locomotive collection) and you really treated the N2 with respect. I also spotted the re-magnetising unit, I've really got to get hold of one of them - although it's possible to obtain "neo" type magnets that do not depolarise over time. It's pretty durable stuff, you find that most items made from 1950 to 1960 hardly need any maintenance other than cleaning, but later models (including the "Ringfield" motor types) can have issues where the armature was wound around plastic (they used to be wound around fibre card) - this can deteriorate badly and require replacement.

  • @michaelwolak3098
    @michaelwolak3098 3 года назад

    Hi bill another fine repair . Keep them coming
    Mike

  • @timsmith8189
    @timsmith8189 3 года назад +1

    You are the man "Dublo Bill"👏👏👏👏👏

  • @marcdempsey5850
    @marcdempsey5850 3 года назад +2

    Now that’s a treat to see and hear. Wonderful job again, few more decades left in that locomotives. So enjoyable seeing these 3D puzzles come apart and go back together, hopefully with nothing left out. A treat I guess for you, 60plus yes and you have rejuvenated it for more to come. When is the 1980’s APT coming👍thanks again for an enjoyable video.

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      APT? Leaves on the line....

    • @marcdempsey5850
      @marcdempsey5850 3 года назад

      @@oobill lol excellent just the ticket

  • @robinforrest7680
    @robinforrest7680 3 года назад

    What a coïncidence! I was working on my 1949 vintage LMS one with its horseshoe magnet motor just this weekend. Unfortunately remagging isn't really an option on these so I took Ronald Dodds advice and bought some néodyme magnets. Worked a treat. I completely agree on Dublo models compared with modern ones. It's their sheer weight that makes them so appealing...
    I have a few converted 3 rail HD and Wrenn locos from my youth and a few years ago couldn't resist the N2 and an A4 Silver King that came up on Ebay. It gave me an excuse for keeping the small amount of 3-rail track I'd inherited from friends as a child and which had been sitting unused ever since the Duchess of Montrose and D8000 got two railed in the 70's. I bought a fair amount of extra track too when I got the N2 and A4 (7 or 8 years ago it was very cheap!). It had all been sitting in a box until last weekend when it was all cleaned up and set up as a temporary layout on trestles in the garden.
    Silver King got a thorough service and runs like a dream. It's hard to believe she's been around since 1953 or 54! Even the playworn bodywork and paint came up a treat after some careful cleaning. The N2 has been more of a challenge, missing a rear coupler and a crank pin, having a very worn commutator and practically no magnetism left in the horseshoe. She's not perfect yet, but I'm getting there! I just have to figure out how to get the body back on with the neodyme magnets fitted!

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад

      Neodymiums get a bad press but I'm glad to hear Ronald advised them. They are the only real alternative to remagnetising and work extremely well on old locos especially. If the neo you fitted isn't the same size as the original causing an issue fitting the body look into getting some smaller neo ring magnets cheap on ebay and making up any space with little washers.

  • @rydermike33
    @rydermike33 3 года назад

    Great work Bill. I have two of these lovely old tank locomotives on my HD 3 rail layout. They're just wonderful. Many thanks for sharing.

  • @michaeldavies9600
    @michaeldavies9600 3 года назад

    You are right old stuff is better! One of my favourite engines is a 1970s Triang Jinty,i have no idea how it keeps going but it does,i doubt if a 2021 purchased loco will be running in 2071 ! Well done on the service you clever chap you!

  • @curlew1000
    @curlew1000 3 года назад +1

    Well done. It must be nice to with real engineering.

  • @irishplucker
    @irishplucker 3 года назад

    Great job Bill....what a difference that made.....well done.

  • @robertgates7686
    @robertgates7686 3 года назад +1

    I enjoyed your video. I may be wrong but I thought some types of Hornby Dublo and later Wrenn had a single tiny ball bearing at each end of the armature shaft to make it free running. You did not seem to find any in this model so perhaps not all were fitted.

  • @stephenparrott3377
    @stephenparrott3377 3 года назад

    Well done Bill. Fancy a go at TRIX-TWIN 14V A/C. now that would be interesting. Got to be very careful due to Mazak lead failures. I have a layout with both two and three rail. It's just great fun. Most of my collection was made in 1934-1950. British-German design. The war in 1939 changed things.

  • @bianchikat
    @bianchikat 3 года назад

    fascinating service. I agree there is an innocent charm to those early HD and Triang models and to my mind its about the 'resemblance' to the prototype if it looks and feels 'right' Its obvious I'm not a rivet counter. If you're old enough to remember HD/Triang like me then my poor eyes struggle to see the rivets and the super details and my fingers struggle with the 'detail' packs...

  • @jnigeb
    @jnigeb 3 года назад

    Well done! It runs a sight better than the Dapol example from the other day!

  • @MariaMartíneztriiviño
    @MariaMartíneztriiviño 11 месяцев назад

    Have one, works fine after 60+ years!

  • @shb8124
    @shb8124 3 года назад

    What a lovely loco, good job 👍

  • @henryhunter5026
    @henryhunter5026 2 года назад

    I remember saving up to buy one of these when I was a kid. It cost me 42/6 old money as far as I can recall. I always preferred the old Hornby three rail stuff , the major competitors back in the day were Tri-ang. The two rail system looked much more realistic but I didn’t like the plastic construction much preferring the metal Hornby trains and rolling stock.

  • @dodgydruid
    @dodgydruid 3 года назад

    I've found Holts circuit board spray cleaner absolute rock solid in cleaning out the gankiest armatures, really eats quickly into dirt and grime and tackles copper verdigris on brass or copper contacts really well too. I just spray a bit into the cap and use a cotton bud to apply it liberally then a cotton bud dipped in to give a good clean out of the residue.

  • @marmion150
    @marmion150 3 года назад

    With reference to the front end screw holding the body on....I have the 2 rail version, and that screw head is on the underside - thus avoiding scuffing the smokebox door. Got mine 2nd hand so don't know if it was always like that.

  • @ianhaynes5898
    @ianhaynes5898 3 года назад +2

    Good stuff. I have Hornby Dublo set up in my garage, Duchess of Montrose with two of the original coaches, but I often put some of my VIA Rail coaches on it as well to make a nice long train. They certainly do not make them like that anymore, totally lacking in detail but also totally tough.

  • @russ3069
    @russ3069 3 года назад

    HI BILL, I ENJOY YOUR VIDEOS, WITH GREAT INTEREST. I MUST THANK YOU, FOR YOUR TIME TO TEACH US THE INS AND OUTS OF RAILWAY MODEL ENGINEERING. WELL DONE! I WAS WONDERING WHERE YOU GOT YOUR MAGNITIZER AND HOW MUCH IT WAS? SORRY FOR THE CAPS, BUT I'M NOW PUSHING EIGHTY. AND MY SIGHT IS NOT SO GOOD THESE DAYS! BUT I'M STILL BUILDING A LAYOUT, WITH ALL SORTS OF VISUAL AIDS! FROM RUSS, A FELLOW SCOT.

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/0A-hLYS9RvU/видео.html

    • @russ3069
      @russ3069 3 года назад

      @@oobill THANKS BILL.

  • @stevekovoc3939
    @stevekovoc3939 3 года назад

    I have a few Wrenn locos which are very similar to this thing mechanically. They're nowhere near as nice runners as modern engines, but they're built like absolute tanks, and as long as you treat them alright, they'll still be going long after those aforementioned modern engines burn out. I currently have a Wrenn City of London, Sir Nigel Gresley, Cardiff Castle, and my most recent acquisition; the 4MT 80033. They are all superb runners for their age, and when I received them, even the worst off ones just needed a bit of cleaning, lubrication, and running in to run as good as new.

  • @chuckoster8221
    @chuckoster8221 2 года назад

    Would probably benefit from rewinding the armature as well.Make sure that the brushes are aligned with the curve of the copper part of the armature with the curve worn in the end of the brush.Always clean out the brush tube with a matchstick wrapped in duraglit or Silvio wadding then finally polish with cotton wool using the m/stick.Always take off the 3rail pickup assy’,there is a copper spring strip that does tarnish and you can clean the rest of the collector assy’ as well.Finally, turn the loco upside down,connect a wire to the collector,one to the chassis,run about a quarter speed and polish the wheel - rail contact flat with Silvio wadding.All this ensures good electrical continuity from wheels to armature.You can still get rewound exchange armatures,springs and brushes.

  • @stewartbennett6837
    @stewartbennett6837 3 года назад

    My first loco as a boy in the late 50's. Second was a Duchess. Both good runners.

  • @smithge4uk
    @smithge4uk 3 года назад

    Yet another good job. Genuinely surprised that Dublo motors had brushes and springs. Really expected them to be X04 style motor brushes. Learn something new.....

  • @egnbigdave
    @egnbigdave 3 года назад

    I have one of those (with all the associated 3 rail track and roling stock)in the loft at my folks house (along with a Duchess of Montrose that was converted to two rail for us in the 80's). Used to be my dads set, then mine but its sat unused since about 1985.

    • @nigelsabin1713
      @nigelsabin1713 3 года назад +2

      Hi,
      Retrieve it one day, and have a good "play!!!". You can be a teenager again!!!

    • @egnbigdave
      @egnbigdave 3 года назад

      @@nigelsabin1713 I just dont have the space.. would love to for my own lad. Have some normal 2 rail too.. LMS coaches (Peco I think) and a tank engine I bought in about 82/3 possibly Lima. House is just too small.

  • @JohnJohnson-cn9fh
    @JohnJohnson-cn9fh 3 года назад +1

    wrenn did a version of this loco in two rail,this and the r1 060 were gems a bit noisy but built like tanks,marklin till recently built their locos in a similar way,great but very pricey

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      I know. I very nearly bought one in my local second hand shop. Wish I had. Shop opens tomorrow so if it's still there....

  • @ewanperridge3387
    @ewanperridge3387 3 года назад

    What a difference keep the good video s coming

  • @Hal-Zuzzu_Model_Railway
    @Hal-Zuzzu_Model_Railway 3 года назад +1

    Another job very well done! :)

  • @PeterJewell2
    @PeterJewell2 3 года назад +1

    Great improvement. How much of the reduction in 'grinding noise' was due to the re-mag, I wonder? Appreciate the 'before'/ 'after' at the end, very useful.

  • @ronphillips3339
    @ronphillips3339 3 года назад

    Christmas 1958 I received a Hornby 3 rail on baseboard with holes in the track that you could screw down onto any type of wood firmly. A joy to use because you could change the track configuration with ease, As a 12 year old I could handle the train without bits falling of, On a side note real trains were dirty 10 years after the war in London are, you were lucky if you could see out of the windows, everything was black dirty building covered in years of soot, we were bankrupt after the war and it took years until building and trains where cleaned up, so if you are building a layout on post war Britain until I would say the mid 1970s, Weather them Black Soot. Modern model trains don’t last long, My brother in law had a model shop and would run a loco in the widow for a few days before Xmas and the loco motor was finished by Xmas day, Unlike the old 3 rail with careful use of oil would outlast you…Ok

  • @themodelshed7066
    @themodelshed7066 3 года назад +1

    One of the first looking forward to this bill

  • @BilkoNero
    @BilkoNero 3 года назад

    My Hornby A4 is missing a brush spring Peters spares can not help where can one source wrenn /Hornby Dublo spares

    • @dublodriver3539
      @dublodriver3539 3 года назад

      Try looking on eBay lots of genuine spare parts can be found from several sellers all at reasonable prices Search Dublo or Wrenn in Model Railways and Trains. Hope that helps

  • @dodgydruid
    @dodgydruid 3 года назад

    I would add for lubrication, I use the "Keith Appleton special recipe" which is steam compound oil mixed with a 20% of rapeseed oil which makes the oil super clingy and tends to stay put, almost like a runnier grease, I use the steam compound oil on my actual steam engines as its designed to not wash off and can take some heat but is still super lubricating where a grease would not work so well (high melting point grease is also a very good set and forget stuff superb for worm gears and axle bearings)

    • @chriswade7470
      @chriswade7470 7 месяцев назад

      I use the same mix of oil on my Marklin locomotives, ( the old analogue ones anyway)

  • @brianlaw3161
    @brianlaw3161 6 месяцев назад

    You failed to mention the possibility of losing the ball bearing in the top and bottom bearing housings. Also, with a complete strip down, to remove gunge from the wheels and axles, I find it best to push the chassis to and fro in a shallow bath of paraffin or white spirit.

  • @thomasmcelroy3637
    @thomasmcelroy3637 3 года назад

    hi bill. what a wonderful little loco.a few more years left in her i think. i have a little hornby 0 4 0 loco. one of the pickup wipers got stuck in a wheel she stopped and started to smoke.after a repair she will not run just shorts out the controller. any advice would be a great help.she is not worth a lot but she is the first loco i ever had. and i would like to see her run again.great video looking forward to see more of them. cheers tom.

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      Impossible to advise without seeing it. You could send it to me but you'd have a long wait. I've a bit of a waiting list growing.

    • @thomasmcelroy3637
      @thomasmcelroy3637 3 года назад

      @@oobill hi thanks.yes i can sent it let me know when you can look at it. again thanks. take care tom..

  • @nickdoughty518
    @nickdoughty518 3 года назад

    You have to thoroughly clean out the tubes for the brushes which can get so bad that you can get shorts.

  • @StephPNE
    @StephPNE Год назад

    Do you still service Dublo 3 trains. Thank you I have 3 trains struggling a wee bit thanks

    • @oobill
      @oobill  Год назад

      I do. Just not right now but email me details if you want.

  • @LNERA3PRODUCTIONS
    @LNERA3PRODUCTIONS 3 года назад +1

    A question is it posible to convert 3 rail to 2 rail

    • @harryfaber
      @harryfaber 3 года назад +1

      It is, but there is no point, 2 rail chassis were built. The joy of old HD is that it is often way cheaper to buy a good antique than a modern locomotive.

  • @7649angel
    @7649angel 3 года назад

    Great fun!

  • @jeanscott1133
    @jeanscott1133 3 года назад

    What is in your metal cleaner tub?

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад

      Metal Cleaner :)

  • @michaelhodson2188
    @michaelhodson2188 3 года назад

    Another job well done Bill. Have now watched several videos. Do you take on these jobs purely as a hoppy or otherwise.
    Carry on the great work. Michael.

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад

      Just a hobby.

  • @johnjephcote7636
    @johnjephcote7636 3 года назад +1

    I had one (three rail) in original LNER green. I remember the vertical commutator and worm. The underframe lasted much longer as it formed the basis of my first essays into scratcbuilding in the mid-1960s. I wish I still had the attractive body in its apple green.

  • @lezyyy13
    @lezyyy13 Год назад

    i have that same loco on my hornby dublo 3 track

  • @TheAntisocialTrain
    @TheAntisocialTrain 3 года назад +1

    Just the thing after a l o n g day.

  • @TheGodsrighthandman
    @TheGodsrighthandman 3 года назад +2

    No, things *were* built to last back then, because they were a LUXURY ITEM, not a 10-a-penny thing *anyone* could afford. With regard to model loco's, that Hornby-Dublo N2 in the mid-to-late 50s probably cost @ £3 6s . . .The average weekly wage in 1955 was @ £9 9s.
    A mate of mine, who's into the whole re-enactment thing, has just ascertained that the Singer sewing machine he's using to knock stuff together is 128-years-old, being built in 1893. Bit scruffy but still runs just as good as it did when it left the factory.
    As he commented, "I wonder how many modern machines will still be running in 128 years time . . .?"
    I'll bet ££££ that N2 will STILL be running in another 65 years whilst most of this cheap modern shite will have been binned.

    • @oobill
      @oobill  3 года назад +1

      Being a luxury item has little to do with it it's simply how a model locomotive was made in those days. What's the cost of a loco today? £150 to £200 +? Average weekly wage approx £460 or thereabouts. So really that hasn't changed much. Model locos are still very much a luxury item yet they have lots of plastic and none serviceable motors. Built to last? No. Just built to work and sell. As they were back then. Just so happens the materials used then last longer and things were built simpler due to the technological limitations. So they just last longer as a result not by intent. Same with sewing machines and any other "machine" built back then. They didn't build it to last they just built it to work! The argument really is not whether things built back then were built to last it's more are things built today built not to last??

  • @metadude1234
    @metadude1234 Год назад

    I personally prefer working with older models; because there's less fiddly bits (usually); and far more durable mechanisms