I’m hoping someone can help me with troubleshooting a Hornby 00 Flying Scotsman. When running on test rollers, the loco accelerates smoothly and runs well in forward and reverse. When I place it on the rails, it will run for a few inches and then come to a stop. However, if I tilt the loco up about 15 degrees so that only the front pair of drivers make contact with the rails, it operates just fine. I have no idea what’s going on. I’m eager for any advice. Thanks.
2 Likes
Hi, measure the profile of the Driver Flange against the depth of the Rail, i.e. top of Rail to top of Ties (Sleepers) on the inside, where the Wheel Flanges run.
I suspect the depth of the Wheel Flange is greater than the clearance from top of Rail to top of Ties and is preventing full electrical contact and pickup.
If you are using C.83 Track, an older Hornby Loco will almost certainly be designed to run on C.100 Track, which gives a greater clearance.
The tip of the Flange will be running along the top of the Ties.
Welcome back to the Forum, Paul.
2 Likes
Of course. This makes perfect sense, as my test track is constructed from Kato Unitrack. I’m somewhat embarrassed that I didn’t think of this. Well - duh! Thanks for the quick response.
1 Like
If you have two pieces of strip brass or scrap rail, you could clamp them to the railheads to increase the clearance slightly while keeping sufficient conductivity.
1 Like
Well, the code 83/100 test was a good plan, but it didn’t work. My layout has code 100 track, so I tried the loco there. The results were the same. It rolls a couple of inches then stops dead. Tilt up 15 degrees and the loco works. I haven’t tried Woke’s test yet, but I will. If anyone else has thoughts, please post 'em.
1 Like
I did a bit of uk web digging
Converting old Triang to run on modern track - New Railway Modellers Forums
Post at the foot of this topic, "The current Peco and Hornby settrack is code 100. Very old Triang/Hornby or Triang and even older Peco track was code 124 (or one eighth of an inch tall)
If your F/S is a very old model i.e. no plated Wheel tyres, it looks like material removal is an option, or it is a full Wheel-set replacement.
Other than this, there is possibly an electrical fault - which will be a process of elimination.
Are you able to post a photo of the Loco, to guesstimate the Wheel Flange depth?
Paul.
1 Like
What happens when it is running on test rollers and you apply load to the roller under the main driver? Then the roller under the rear driver pair?
I don’t know how the gearing in that chassis works, but you might have an intermediate gear that cocks or jams when actually driving against a load, or something in the rod arrangement or quartering. Is there any way you can take pictures of the chassis with the shell off?
And does it run when both the locomotive and the track are tilted at the same 15-degree angle up and down, with all the drivers still in contact?
The "couple of inches’ that it runs tells me it isn’t likely to be a problem with low railhead height and flanges hitting fixation…
2 Likes
This seems like the most plausible answer. I will check the flange depth with an NMRA gauge. I had also considered Woke’s idea that the issue might reflect some misalignment or slippage in the gearing. I’ll look into that as well. Thank you both.
1 Like