Model Trains

[theguvernor15]

So after my little boy has a new found obsession with grown-up trainsets, my dad got his old trains out of the loft,
Are there any value in these? Not looking to sell them, just to get them working for my boy.
Currently they don't work but i guess it'd mean taking them to the local model shop to be serviced:
I believe they're from the late 50s/early 60s although i could be wrong.

[spitfire-ian]

Track looks knackered so I'd invest in some new shiny stuff.

I imagine the loco wouldn't take too much to get moving again. There's quite a few YouTube videos of servicing old trains.

[theguvernor15]

Yeah he's got a load of new track, can't quite believe the weight of the old stuff!

[Yertis]

That's the Tri-ang "Pullman Express" set from the 1960s. Not worth a great deal of money, but worth looking after, and a nice thing to have. The track is "Super Four" and is actually very tough, I'd say better for children to play with than the newer stuff which is more fragile. It'll clean up fine with meths or if really tarnished, some fine wet and dry.

[theguvernor15]

I can imagine they're noisy based on the weight of it!
He really wants to get the flying scotsman going, for some reason he thinks its like the mecca of trains, although i think it's just because Grandad has told him it's the best.
If anything if i can get them going so he has some more engines to play with i'll be happy, is it just a matter of taking the cases off & lubricating/cleaning them?
A couple of them wouldn't move at all & one of them would move say a 1/4 inch, then stop, or move if you gave it a push for a very short distance, making me think it could just be corrosion/grime?

[Yertis]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

By that era they little capacitors or whatever they're called to prevent that. 1950's models and Hornby Dublo however...

[Yertis]

theguvernor15 said:

I can imagine they're noisy based on the weight of it!
He really wants to get the flying scotsman going, for some reason he thinks its like the mecca of trains, although i think it's just because Grandad has told him it's the best.
If anything if i can get them going so he has some more engines to play with i'll be happy, is it just a matter of taking the cases off & lubricating/cleaning them?
A couple of them wouldn't move at all & one of them would move say a 1/4 inch, then stop, or move if you gave it a push for a very short distance, making me think it could just be corrosion/grime?

They'll (almost certainly) just need a good clean – the driving wheels most especially, because they collect the current from the track. The easiest way to do this is connect up the juice directly to the motor via the component that collects the current (name escapes me, it's 41 years since I've done this) on the bottom of the chassis. As the wheels whizz round clean them with meths / mid abrasive paper. I expect that will be enough. It may be that the commutator in the motor needs cleaning out and if the models were hard used the brushes worn out, but that's unlikely. The XO4 motor in these is nearly indestructible and the models are really very reliable.

[W124Bob]

Triang/Early Hornby XO4 motors are easy to find on fleabay and very simple also look in charity shops and classified in your local rag for older train sets.
Basic XO4 motor https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=triang+xo4+motor...