Ok. Great seeing you getting started on your Hornby Dublo. But. If you want to get the track realy clean then follow this tried and tested method. You get no fluff trapped. DO NOT wire wool as strand can get stuck in places and cause electrical shorting issues. The method to clean track is:- Lightly rub the upper surfaces of the rails with a pencil rubber then wash the track pieces in warm soapy water with a soft nail brus. Then rinse well in clean water. All track must then dry well. I use on old hairdryer. Once dried go over the rails again with a cloth wetted in IPA or Rubbing Alcahol. Thats the cleaning done. There are a lot of other factors to get the locos to run well and to get the track to fit together well too. Drop me an email if you want to ask me any questions. Looking forward to your next vid.
Some problems are on the track connections, where they push together aka Fish Plates. Give them all a little spray with your switch cleaner. Let it evaporate then push tightly together. Give the old controller the switch cleaner treatment. Or as you suggested give the train a clean, Wheels, Motor check the brushes, clean the commutator. There may be a lubrication felt piece on the train motor under the body inside that requires a tiny drop of fine oil. Do you have a volt meter / multimeter DC volts check the track and the controller outputs power while tuning the controller. Check all electrical connections. Could go on But saying to myself shut up now. Thank you for the video great job.
I have with me a small collection of Hornby Doublo tracks. When I bought these tracks they were very dirty. So I dipped the tracks in viniger and after a few hours cleaned them up with Scotch bright used in the kitchen. Dipped the tracks once again in viniger. After a few minutes took a tooth brush and cleaned the tracks up. Wiped the tracks and sprayed WD40 and wiped the tracks once again. Now the trains run over these tracks flawlessly. I am from Chennai India
Use steel wool to take off the thin layer of oxidation/carbon. Then take a microfibre cloth, soak it in hot water and wring it out as must as possible. Then wipe it all off. Super quick and easy that way. You don't need alcohol, it's not important, and those cue-tips will always be dirty, you can clean it forever and it will never go away, that's the oxidation/tarnish, which always comes back. Then you can get yourself some 'dielectric grease' and wipe it all over the rails, to protect it from oxidation while still being electrically conductive.
Excellent video Ian 👍 I have some old OO track.... came after your type, possibly Tri-Ang ? I know it's old and dirty....maybe enough to make a circle, I also have an early DMU I could put on it..... 🤔 Feeling inspired to try it !
To see if the engine is running ok I take the train of the track turn it upside down and put the two wires on the bottom of the train one the centre connector and touch the other on one the edge of the wheel now of the wheel will have a connection on the side you might need to clean the inside edge of the wheel if it doesn't run smooth. If you do this in a darkened room you will see quite a bit of sparking if it need cleaning.
Welcome to the hobby my son has the Tornado set from Hornby I have had to learn how to do it been in the process of adding more track but I think I have a join problem. That what you have there is really old style track probably very very early so antique great find watching with intrigue
The centre rail is the power feed so its important to make sure the little tabs on the ends are clean to make good contact with the next centre rail. The outside ones are your return. At the age most dublo is now theyve probably been cleaned with all sorts so if they are really bad you can use fine wet and dry to take the worst of the corrosion off. Id never recommend that for modern track because its nickel. But stuff from the 40s and 50s, that should be ok just to get the worst of it off. Then just use lighter fluid after that. And yeah that loco definately needs a remagnetise and probably a good wheel clean and service. It probably has a grotty commutator too.
Hi Ian the bulb should not light unless there is a short so it has a lot of power being drawn from the controller try putting the wires straight on to the loco one on the center pick up and the other on the chassis or wheels if it runs fast then the track has a short if it still runs slow it needs a service or remag if you have a different loco see how that runs I recommend you get a H & M controller much better for dublo 3 rail 👍
That bulb, is actually a current limiting device - search "barreter" or "lamp limiter". Its purpose is to act as a means of buffering the motor against sudden increases in electrical load. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't light up at all, but if the loco is pulling a heavy load, it also draws excessive electrical current. Without that bulb, the motor would suffer. It would overheat, and would ultimately fail. The bulb is there to dissipate some of that excess current, which is dissipated as light and heat, and thus limiting the current passing through the motor. You could, to point of fact, lay a metal object across the tracks, and the worst that would happen is that the bulb would glow quite brightly. I wouldn't recommend trying it on purpose because the bulb is now quite old, and probably weaker than it was, and it could fail if subjected to undue stress.
..well with electric trains those railings are your contact points, so they can get oxidation over time. Steel Wool will remove any oxidation and surface rust.
Ok. Great seeing you getting started on your Hornby Dublo. But. If you want to get the track realy clean then follow this tried and tested method. You get no fluff trapped. DO NOT wire wool as strand can get stuck in places and cause electrical shorting issues.
The method to clean track is:-
Lightly rub the upper surfaces of the rails with a pencil rubber then wash the track pieces in warm soapy water with a soft nail brus. Then rinse well in clean water. All track must then dry well. I use on old hairdryer.
Once dried go over the rails again with a cloth wetted in IPA or Rubbing Alcahol.
Thats the cleaning done.
There are a lot of other factors to get the locos to run well and to get the track to fit together well too.
Drop me an email if you want to ask me any questions.
Looking forward to your next vid.
Wife calls out to me... What are you watching?
"I'm just watching a ginger bloke play with a train set" 😂
The Royal Mail Traveling Post Office was a class of its own. I used to have the Hornby TPO with the gantry and catcher
00 Fun! Back in my railway set days i used to use a relco unit to keep the track carbon free
Hi Ian. I use a 2 pence coin and rub it over the track. Love the video 😊
Some problems are on the track connections, where they push together aka Fish Plates. Give them all a little spray with your switch cleaner. Let it evaporate then push tightly together. Give the old controller the switch cleaner treatment. Or as you suggested give the train a clean, Wheels, Motor check the brushes, clean the commutator. There may be a lubrication felt piece on the train motor under the body inside that requires a tiny drop of fine oil. Do you have a volt meter / multimeter DC volts check the track and the controller outputs power while tuning the controller. Check all electrical connections. Could go on But saying to myself shut up now. Thank you for the video great job.
Ooh a third rail setup, nice :)
I have with me a small collection of Hornby Doublo tracks. When I bought these tracks they were very dirty. So I dipped the tracks in viniger and after a few hours cleaned them up with Scotch bright used in the kitchen. Dipped the tracks once again in viniger. After a few minutes took a tooth brush and cleaned the tracks up. Wiped the tracks and sprayed WD40 and wiped the tracks once again. Now the trains run over these tracks flawlessly.
I am from Chennai India
Thanks for sharing!
Use steel wool to take off the thin layer of oxidation/carbon. Then take a microfibre cloth, soak it in hot water and wring it out as must as possible. Then wipe it all off. Super quick and easy that way. You don't need alcohol, it's not important, and those cue-tips will always be dirty, you can clean it forever and it will never go away, that's the oxidation/tarnish, which always comes back. Then you can get yourself some 'dielectric grease' and wipe it all over the rails, to protect it from oxidation while still being electrically conductive.
I'm no expert but I had a train set as a kid and I used steel wool to clean track. Love your channel
Excellent video Ian 👍 I have some old OO track.... came after your type, possibly Tri-Ang ? I know it's old and dirty....maybe enough to make a circle, I also have an early DMU I could put on it..... 🤔 Feeling inspired to try it !
To see if the engine is running ok I take the train of the track turn it upside down and put the two wires on the bottom of the train one the centre connector and touch the other on one the edge of the wheel now of the wheel will have a connection on the side you might need to clean the inside edge of the wheel if it doesn't run smooth. If you do this in a darkened room you will see quite a bit of sparking if it need cleaning.
I use a toothbrush to clean the track. Soak your connectors in vinegar or rust cleaner to clean the rust out
Welcome to the hobby my son has the Tornado set from Hornby I have had to learn how to do it been in the process of adding more track but I think I have a join problem. That what you have there is really old style track probably very very early so antique great find watching with intrigue
I always would use steel wool on my tracks. It would get the corrosion off the rails.
awesome on my oo gauge model i use a pencil rubber to clean my track
The centre rail is the power feed so its important to make sure the little tabs on the ends are clean to make good contact with the next centre rail. The outside ones are your return.
At the age most dublo is now theyve probably been cleaned with all sorts so if they are really bad you can use fine wet and dry to take the worst of the corrosion off.
Id never recommend that for modern track because its nickel. But stuff from the 40s and 50s, that should be ok just to get the worst of it off. Then just use lighter fluid after that.
And yeah that loco definately needs a remagnetise and probably a good wheel clean and service. It probably has a grotty commutator too.
Can just imagine stuck in that room playing trainset with Wurzel Gummidge and Dr Who tunes on repeat.
Hello ian from iks Try DW40 That will do the job ☕️
Hi Ian the bulb should not light unless there is a short so it has a lot of power being drawn from the controller try putting the wires straight on to the loco one on the center pick up and the other on the chassis or wheels if it runs fast then the track has a short if it still runs slow it needs a service or remag if you have a different loco see how that runs I recommend you get a H & M controller much better for dublo 3 rail 👍
Thank you folk :)
There's something strangely satisfying in those trains, at any age. 🌌
That bulb, is actually a current limiting device - search "barreter" or "lamp limiter". Its purpose is to act as a means of buffering the motor against sudden increases in electrical load. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't light up at all, but if the loco is pulling a heavy load, it also draws excessive electrical current. Without that bulb, the motor would suffer. It would overheat, and would ultimately fail. The bulb is there to dissipate some of that excess current, which is dissipated as light and heat, and thus limiting the current passing through the motor. You could, to point of fact, lay a metal object across the tracks, and the worst that would happen is that the bulb would glow quite brightly. I wouldn't recommend trying it on purpose because the bulb is now quite old, and probably weaker than it was, and it could fail if subjected to undue stress.
Thank you for that information
Give your train a good strip down and clean to well come to model trains lol 😂
Check out Pete Watermans Making Tracks good stuff on the Tube
I had a loft ,full all work back in 80-90s
..well with electric trains those railings are your contact points, so they can get oxidation over time. Steel Wool will remove any oxidation and surface rust.
Do you watch LMM on RUclips? He just covered dublo!
Enjoying this series, a relaxing watch whilst editing photos folk! That's a cool jacket is that another West German thing?
Thanks folk yeah nice body warmer in the winter can’t beat them :)
I would suggest you try either fingernail polish remover or acetone as ive used both with very good results
Dirty contacts in the train motor?
I clean up my 1980s BMX chrome parts with a ball of tin foil and Brasso.
I don’t know if that would be too abrasive for the train track though..
methylated spirits is what I used to use back in the day 👍
..there's a spray contact cleaner called Deoxit
Can you not use our chopping board to clean your train tracks please husband 🤣
lol sorry sweet wife 😂😂😂
Anyone play Train station 2? I love that game, since I don't own a train setup and no room for one at the moment
..do all contact points. Steel Wool.
Just out of interest Have you done any videos on the Isle of wight
Not yet folk
As Chris says not yet but will be soon
@@IKS-Exploration Theres a Wealth of places here on our Island and Quite a few exploration videos on RUclips! Thankyou for your Quick response!👍