A couple of ideas that might or might not help. 1/ Ray Pearson, one of our long gone luminaries, taught me to clean HD/Wrenn locos by removing the motor where possible and brushing some kerosene into the bearings. Avoid getting it on the motor brushes; let dry if you do. Air dry - don't use a heat source against the unlikely event of the element starting a fire. Work outside. (Yes, I know, but there might be kid reading this). Lightly oil. Job done. That's what I do, anyway. Never had any plastic compatibility problems, but exposure is only fleeting; the stuff dries pretty fast. I suppose in this day and age electronic degreaser might work. Make sure all is dry before oiling. 2/ While you have your screw drivers out and are circling for something else to attack, it might be worth swapping the driving wheels such that both the appalling tyred wheels are on one axle. You might need to arrange pickups. Now you have three pickup wheels down on each side rather than four on one and only two on the other. I have found two down is not enough - not on bogie stock anyway. HD was a better three rail system than it was a two rail system. The side-frame setup on HD always seemed to be an afterthought. I suppose this might be a good 3d printing project, there being no real stress or prospect of the part heating and giving off goodness knows what gases. In a well ventilated space it might be worth researching heat-welding a metal part in place, or if possible, heat welding a home made staple (fine steel guitar string) across the join. Proudly show this to Mrs. Snooze, and while you await praise you will hear 'Is THAT really how you spent the whole morning, Darling!'.. 'Um..Yes, Dear'. For me the big let-down of the HD range was the Deltic; big challenges for sure, but the result lacked 'FIZZ'. What is a Deltic without 'fizz'. All the best to you, the long suffering Mrs. Snooze, and to fellow participants in this channel. Great stuff.
Thanks for watching again Pete and for the excellent comments. Some clock mechanisms that arrive with me have had a wash in the past and the actual bearings are never as clean as when they have been disassembled and cleaned properly. I suppose I enjoy taking things apart too much. I had thought of the idea of melting in new copper fixings to the side frames but I've repaired them using a different method that seems to work well. Mrs Snooze doesn't like projects encroaching into the general house area. Also she is encouraging me to be a little less of a hoarder of things that might come in handy someday. New year, new ideas. Take care, all the best to you
Wonderful; that helps. Keep in mind that in the knowledge you and a lot of viewers are aware of anything I suggest, are for the general awareness of mostly kids. It's my way of supporting what you do. Weeks ago I mentioned backing a train at speed through turnouts; it was in relation to wheel standards. Have been trying to put together some comments, but surprisingly hard to do. There are a few 'elephants in the room' with mostly British outline model railroading; track/wheels are among them. Shall keep thinking. For a clock repairer 'RU-vid Clickspring's' latest? video is on early lathes and is still relevant today. Worth seeing. Pete PS: There is no cure for hoarding. Hoard more. comments@@MrSnooze
Nice work. You may want to consider getting some small plastic tubs on your work bench so that all parts from each loco go into their own tub. That way screws and side panels won't get separated/lost as easily? Just a thought, as I've started doing this myself. Stay safe Mon
Hello Mon, I actually found the missing sideframe.... in a plastic container that I keep my traction tyres in. I'm working on a fix now to get them back on. Take care, all the best to you
Great video in this old Hornby Dublo/Wrenn loco. Always enjoyaoyable to watch and listen to. Thank you. Really disappointing that those side frames have cracked. Of course they are quite old now, but it reminds us that plastic isn't as robust. At least this loco doesn't suffer from Mazak rot. I'd be very interested to see any fix as my own Wrenn class sits in a box together with many others in the loft awaiting recommissioning. I dread to think what I'll find. Most of the stock has never been run. That's a task after my retirement though. Making a small TT 120 layout will be my first model rail task.
I have successfully made new side frames for locos by making rubber moulds and resin. Or you could try baking soda and superglue to fill the broken piece and drill new hole. Another interesting video, thank you.
This sounds a great idea. I will have a go at creating a mould sometime. I have found the lost item and devised a quick repair which works well so I'll share this soon. Take care, all the best to you
Another successful repair. I would still like to see you put both power bogies on one loco as an experiment. We have a product (glue) here called Goop that I think would work well at holding the side frames in place. It is tenacious in its hold and yet can be pried away if need be. I use the Goop Max II (outdoor) version for such repairs. Regards, David
Hello David, I do have a new idea to fix the sideframes now. I like the sound of that glue you have. If I get another motor bogie I will definitely try out a two motored version. Best regards to you
The class 20 seems to be running much nicer now. Im hoping to pick up a 3 rail version. Such a nice looking loco and it looks wonderful hauling those lovely dublo tankers.
That's running very nicely, I'm sure that aside from will turn up one day... very annoying when you put stuff down and then the item vanishes, happens more often than it should. Take care. Oscar
I also use that Peco Electrolube as on axels that pickup, great stuff. As you say only a little drop is needed so it’s surprising how long those little bottles last. I’ve put some in a syringe for better application.
The Wrenn 20 is running well. I realise now that when I sorted my non-powered bogies (on the 2 Wrenn examples that I have), I did not do the power bogies which of course have the same method of power pickup. I will get to that soon and also try the Peco oil. Great inspiration from your video. Thanks!
I have now got the Peco oil and serviced the power bogies as well as the others. Makes quite a difference. As a point of detail, one of mine has the push on side frames but other has side frames with holes and what appear to be perhaps self tapping screws which screw into the support post on the chassis. Not sure which of the units is the older. Best wishes. @@MrSnooze
Methyle methacrylate two part glues are the best glues for plastic , I use it for all plastics , it’s brilliant and I found I could mold it using insulating tape with the sticky side facing the glue to make a rough mold , when set it can be drilled and it’s ace on flexible plastic .
I use laser bond quite often for repairing things like damaged buffer beams in n gauge. Its a very useful thing to have. I don't like electrolube or its derivatives, I have found it corrosive. Things like commutators should be kept dry. Regards, Martin.
Hello, I shall see how I get on with this lubricant. I'm only putting the smallest amount on axles. I'm not using it on motor bearings at all. So far the model is running well now. Thanks for watching, all the best to you
I wonder if pipe cleaners would work for cleaning through axle boxes? they're a bit more robust than cotton buds. Good to see both 20's working well. Thanks. Mike
I love the sound of the wheels crossing the points and diamonds? The repair job seems to be great? Hopefully the PECO lube will keep the axles clean? Is the "back to back" tool one of your own making? Seems like a very handy piece of kit? Maybe the sideframes could be re-produced as a 3D print? It looks like "spares" could be a worthwhile item to have a few of in stock?
I got the back to back gauge from a show a while back. I've ordered a set of genuine Wrenn items but now I've found the lost one and devised a good repair so I'll hold on to the new ones as spares. Take care, all the best to you
Hello Mr Snooze, I’m a relatively recent subscriber to the channel and I’ve been enjoying catching up on all your content. As a matter of fact, you’ve motivated me to dig out the few pieces of my Tri-ang trains that I have left from my layout when I was a boy in the late 60’s and attempt to put together a layout now that I’m retired and have all the time in the world. I have a couple of locos in severe distress, one of which came with the first train set I received for Christmas in 1965. I would dearly love to get them up and running again and I was wondering if you would be willing to undertake the necessary repairs (with compensation of course). It could be the subject of a future video! Best regards from Canada!🇨🇦
Thanks for watching and taking an interest. I'm always happy to help Tri-ang locos back to health but you might find postage costs a bit high from your location. You can e-mail me at info@snoozevideo.co.uk for more information if you like. Best regards to you
Hi. You need to purchase a can of WD40 Contact Cleaner. OOBill uses it and so do I. It's brilliant stuff that eliminates faffing about with cotton buds etc. Paul. 👍❤
Thanks Paul, I'll look into that brand. I had a bad experience with a contact cleaner a while back, it might be ok on modern items but it caused a few issues with the insulating bushes in old Tri-ang loco wheels so I tend to take things a bit slow and disassemble and clean. Thanks for watching, all the best to you
Great model the class 20, she runs very well now. Enjoyed seeing her run on your layout. What size back to back gauge do you recommend for the older models?