Those old H+M controllers are great. I inherited a Duette and a couple of others all still going strong.

Hi just come across your channel so I subscribed look forward to seeing some more updates and follow your progress

Hi Richard, along with all the good advice you have been given regarding servicing your 0-4-0 loco, don't forget to put a drop of super fine oil on the bearing at each end of the motor. The motors in these locos are middle to lower end budget motors and can quickly freeze up if it gets any resistance i.e. dry bearings. I was given a similar loco that exhibited the same stop/start issues as yours, cleaning the wheels, pickups backs of the wheels and back to back check helped a little but a single drop of fine oil (such as sewing machine oil) to the motor bearing and it took off like a startled gazelle. If you are going to use an abrasive paper to remove the build up of corrosion on the old rails use a fine wet/dry paper about 1200 grit or finer and do it in the sink under running water. the water will wash away any of the crud. Once the track/points are dry using a small piece of hardboard as Simon Davis advised will polish up your track to provide good running until you get the fund to upgrade.

You might consider making a track cleaning wagon. It's just something that you can drag behind a loco with a square of hardboard between the axles, free-floating and skating over it, rough side down. Try not to use chemicals because of the residue. I just got a job lot of rolling stock including a lot of those tankers but the later ones have ladders going to the inspection platform on top. Once you've seen that, the old ones look incomplete and silly. I'm going to have to retrofit ladders onto them!

Hi, thanks for sharing your modelling adventure. Just reflecting on your track plan, if you're able to add a short straight after the curve, it might offer you smoother transition. Well done on getting to the trains "running" stage. It's inspirational to see. Keep going!

Hi Richard, I would say that with the shunter the wheels are suppose to move like that to get around sharp corners, The loco will need a service, I would start by cleaning the pickups (the metal contacts touching the back of the wheels, also clean the back of the wheels and you may find that not all the pickups are connecting properly to the wheels. To do this you will need to take the loco apart so watch some videos on servicing locos first before you have ago, It's quite nerving when you do your first one but rewarding in the end.

Hi, the first thing I would probably check on the loco is the wheel spacing with a back to back gauge before you try anything else. You'r e right about the old school controllers, they seem to have been built a lot more sturdy that modern ones. John

Check your track joiners are a tight fit, loose joiners can cause voltage drop out on the track due to bad connection. You could also check that the wheel pickups on the loco are clean and not bent out of shape. Good luck.

Be careful with the older Hornby steel track, once it starts to rust its pretty much a lost cause. Any sort of abrasive such as track rubbers and fine grit sand paper for a cleaner will eventually make matters worse as you're cutting through the protective layer of the rail which prevents it from rusting, especially in an outside environment like a shed or garage based layout. It'll work for now, but I'd make replacing those steel rail bits a priority for replacement to help the reliability of your layout. Even with nickel silver rail the micro scratches from sandpaper and track rubbers really do speed up dirt accumulation and it turns into a vicious cycle of needing to always clean the track. I nearly always now use a bit of hardboard, the rough side, as its softer than the track material and can't cause scratches. I've had the clubs exhibition layout up and running in places as inhospitable as the engine house on the Severn Valley Railway, where the naturally damp air was causing other layouts to need to clean the track every few hours! I cleaned ours twice in two days by comparison. For a controller, I'd thoroughly recommend either a Gaugemaster Combi (for single track, or two of them for both of your lines) or a Gaugemaster model D (for twin track). The H&M controller, while very good indeed, isn't so friendly to modern coreless motors. So to future proof your layout it might be better to invest in a Gaugemaster, especially for the lifetime guarantee!

On ur Blue Diamond,, I'm wondering if the problem goes deeper,, like brushes on the motor,, or dirty armature, good luck

Hi Richard As a follow up on using the dremel on the end of your track just give each side of the track a touch to make a slight taper inside and out side and it let's the fishplates slide on to the rail with no bother try it an see

I would get a guagemaster controller in my opinion they are the best

I saw a video recently talking about different methods and the one the guy used was wood. Sure enough I took a scrap piece of 2 X 4 with a nice smooth side and ran it along track that was giving me issues (N Scale) and it actually picked up dust and grime. The engine giving me issues was working fine after that. I feel like my N scale trains are more prone to failure from dirt than my HO trains, since they are lighter and wont have as good contact on the rails due to the lessened pressure between the rails and the wheels. My trains and track are all still fairly new, since I started building last winter, but dust has been a big issue. Sanding down on the rails will make them work again temporarily, but you will need to take care of them a lot after that or they'll corrode and rust.

Hi Richard, I have an E-link DCC controller by Hornby and have had no problems with it. Nice video keep going, Have a look at my layout Smallton you might get dome ideas and I tend to do how to videos from time to time

All model locos eventually require that the pick ups are removed and cleaned, as the collect a coating of gunk over years of running. Lima locos tend to be the worst for this, followed by Hornby 0-4-0' and SSPP (sprung axle) 0-6-0 locos. Triang Railways / Triang Hornby locos seem to be able to run for decades between pickup cleaning maintainance.

Further to the other advice given, about cleaning, that particular chassis is notorious for being slightly twisted as the equipment that produces the main extrusion is quite old. Put the loco on a straight and flat surface and see if all four wheels touch. It can be almost microscopic but if it's there, the loco will never run well. I had a diesel shunter which was rubbish until I found another loco, with a broken body and did a swap - problem solved. I can also recommend Gaugemaster DC controllers, although I've gone DCC now to get the sound effects.

hi brilliant video i am currently re build my lay out after a house move . but no i have a door into the room how and which is the best way to hinge and get a connection many thanks David

Steer clear of the Propanol when cleaning track - it's an electircal insulator and leaves a thin, insulating residue on the rails when it dries which doesn't help conductivity. If you must use a solvent to clean the surface of your track, use WD40 which is a water displacer specially designed for electrical equipment and conducts. The best solution of all is to use a small block of balsa wood in the same way you'd use a track rubber which will remove the tarnishing (it requires some elbow grease) without scratching the rail surface. Good luck with your build and enjoy!

i have a few of the 0-4-0 s and maybe i'm just lucky but they run fine... contacts would be my suggestion too... 🚂👍🏻Neil

Make sure the backs of the wheels are clean. With the pickups, make sure they contact the back of the wheels when they are pushed over to the extreme. Now, take your wheels off and make sure the pickups are clean. Check the back to backs of the wheels and put them back into the loco. Being careful to get the pickups behind the wheels. Job done.😊

Visit Budget Model Railways, and look up episode 22 of Tutorial Tuesdays. It is about building yourself a simple controller using a cheap Pulse Width Modulation module, fitted to one of their 3D printed controller cases - they seem to be much more reliable than the Hornby item.

7:31 i am by no means an expert but maybe add more weight to the blue train that might help, also take the loco apart and lube the motor if you can and see if you got cracked plastic on the wheel axles or cracked plastic anywhere, or just run it for hours and hours on end and maybe it just needed to be ran

Ive had lots of unavoidable delays with my layout build, but I'm looking forward to the simple pleasure of a train, or just a loco, running around the circuit. You've already had lots of good advice, but my two pence worth:- Track cleaning can be a challenge. W&D or Sandpaper can leave micro scratches attracting more dirt. A piece of hardboard rubbed over the rails, maybe with a squirt of IPA is a good place to start. If not using DCC or Portescap motors then an electronic cleaner can be really good too. If the track/baseboard is completely level put a coating of pencil onto the rails (graphite) cuts down on cleaning etc. Hornby track (rails) which is Bright Zinc Plate (BZP) iirc, will deteriorate, you're much better going for Nickel Silver rail - but I understand your reasoning. For reliability bonding the points with hard wiring helps no end, also helps if you're planning on going DCC too, but bonding the running rails and switching frog polarity (instead of relying on the switch rails for contact) is best practice for DC or DCC. Also check all aspects of a point before laying it, even when new, there are times when light fettling is required. I've a Duette, circa 1976, I still use it now, I knocked it over circa 1977 and it's got a slightly twisted body/chassis, but it works well even now, with 7mm stock. I've also got a twenty year old Guagemaster and that's a great controller too - a bit more finesse than the Duette and a bit kinder on modern motors especially N gauge etc. The little 0-4-0 (Smokey Joe style chassis)? Check the back to back measurements, give it a light service, you might need to fit a later Hornby motor (depending on its age) - they run better on DCC too though.

Hi Richard. Great video, you may want to use wire wool on the track to clean it then a wipe down after. The Basic Hornby controller is terrible and the dial setting’s are way off compared to other controllers out there Also serviced locos run better may be a motor issue or pick ups need a bit of tlc Combine all 3 methods you should see some great results Kind Regards Jack

Hi Richard, I use a light sandpaper don't press to hard a soft rubbing, then I use WD40 to rub down with a bit of cloth, then a clean bit to wipe of any left, you should run better, not a good idea but it's clean and running. I've also used flexi track, yesterday for the first time and yes I had fun and games just like you, I had two bits on my inner track one or two engines didn't like, stopping or leaving the track, I screwed down the flexi after a bit of gigging and thank goodness alls good. Keep going Richard and I'm sure you will end up with fine layout,.....

I do have of of those duet controllers if u want it to get u going

You may have to do some maintenance on your little loco. Might be the pickups, or a bad solder connection. Cheerio

buy gaugemaster power supply twin controllers you can use 1 side for the locos and the other side for your track lights etc etc great for beginners

Just dropped you A sub. check the quatering on the 040 they may have moved or not been assembled very well at the factory. You can use a 9v battery on the wheels to get one side to rotate so that where the connecting rods fix to the wheels are say at the 12 O`clock position the other side should be say at quater turn to that IE at 9 O`clock, if there out you should be able to grip them in your finger and rotate it so they line up. controller wise H & M are plentiful but the transformer weight will push ebay prices up on the postage, there are some single units that dont go for great money I sold a pair a few months ago. I have the panel mount Gaugemaster ones that use a seperate transformer. I`m still using an old triang one for Dc on vids at the mo and a prodigy for the Dcc stuff, I have a home built feedback one I built that i keep saying i`ll show on a vid, It will run a loco so slow it will rival a Dcc controller for slow speed running, If you get handy with that soldering iron you could build one with a few cheap componants

Sanding is a big nono, it may leave tiny holes ready to be filled with dirt and dust. As for that loco, spacing of the wheels might be an issue, I sometimes have the same issues in N scale.

I just use a hornby rubber works well for me

You need to get a back back gage

For the weels and then see

100 grit ? ! I hope that's equivalent to 400 in the USA. 100 will start the rust quicker than you can say "Bob's Your Sister !"

Back to back measurement should be 14.5 but anything between 14.0 and 14.5 should be good to go.

the Hornby basic0-4-0 chassis is too crude to work well

Use foil to cover the central rail areas as the contact and gaps are too great..by moulding foil on thse black areas you extend the rail and reduce the gap..do not clean...

wire wool

The train wheels are slipping, very little traction. Add some weights to the loco. Also, check the depth of the wheel flanges. This could cause poor contact with the track. Just buy a gauge to check the width of the wheels or just use a ruler if you can find the measurement online.