oorail.com | Hornby OO Gauge Steam Locomotive Tender Motor Removal Howto 

The only King Class Loco I have is an old Lima one. Which King Class Loco is it? Have might find the service sheet here - www.hornbyguide.com/class_details.asp?classid=1

+David Llewellyn I don't think I actually have a County Class locomotive, but looking at the service sheet for R.390 it looks like its the same as most of the other tender driven ringfield locomotives. There are plastic clips between the tender chassis and the body. All you have to do is squeeze (very gently) the sides of the tender about mid-way up the tender body, and the clips should unclip from the body, you may have to push one side more or rock it back and forth a little, but it should unclip. If its never been opened it maybe very stiff. I've been meaning to do a follow up video to this, so I'll gather up some tenders and try to do it tomorrow evening (Wednesday). I've got a major layout update coming down the pipeline first :)

The ringfield motor featured in that video is a 3-pole motor. The key difference between the 3-pole and 5-pole motor is the armature on the 5-pole motor has five poles (or surfaces) that interact with the magnet, while a 3-pole motor only has three. I will be doing a 3-pole to 5-pole conversion project over the Christmas holidays this year, so watch out for a video on this. In terms of power requirements, they are relatively the same - so you would be looking at up to 12v DC, and the current requirement will vary depending on the motor. Typically the older motors will draw a bit more current, but since 5-pole motors are relatively new, I would expect it to be less than an amp, perhaps even as low as 0.5A.

I didn't have an old A4 tender on hand when I filmed this back in October 2012, however I have substantially more locos now than I did then, so if you would like to see one being taken apart let me know.

Get someone to do a voice over cos your voice is crap

I have several Hornby A4 locos... I actually have one sitting on my workbench for an upcoming overhaul, so I'll see if I can put together a video for you over the next few days...

ok i managed it.....from your clues Thnx

Arnold Robert Lee What loco is the tender that has you perplexed from? If I have it here, or a similar one, I can easily knock out a video for you this evening showing how to dismantle it. I could have put up a video a few hours long if I went through and dismantled every tender that I own! :)

Thanks for your feedback Andrew. The video you commented on is from October 2012, since filming that video, I have built a dedicated workbench with better lighting. You might want to check out later oorail videos. I'm sorry you weren't impressed, I'll see if I can dig up that third tender and do an updated video for you. In the meantime, you might want to check out this more recent video, it doesn't show how to remove the motor, but it does show an easier method for removing the tender. You can find it at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jkptWv9kypE.html. We have a very broad audience at oorail, videos from 2012 are very early on, before figuring out the fine balance between showing people more detail and not offending them by showing too much. Can't please everyone, however if you'd like something shown, just ask, we're more than happy to help. What loco is the tender you are trying to open from?

Hello there, & apologies for my harshness - it wasn't justified, & I note that this was an "early" presentation. The locomotive in question is a Hornby A4 'Seagull', with the later, metal cased ring motor, mounted in a plastic chassis. I consider my frustration in failing to disengage one from the other, spilled out onto you, which is unpardonable. There appears to be a low registered 'whine' coming from the copper windings spindle, & it is that which I require access to - I can then assess whether (that) assembly needs part/full replacement, or just lubrication - I suspect it is the former. the locomotive itself, being a 'Silver seal' type, runs as sweet as a nut. Wishing you a very happy New Year !! :)

No worries, I think everyone who has worked on those tenders can identify with your frustration! That video I linked in my previous comment should be the same A4 tender (its definitely the metal cased ringfield motor). So I 3D printed a tool to make it easier, but you can use an old credit card or a piece of thin plastic to pop it open in the same way. Does the loco move when powered? If not, have a listen on that video and see if its the same whine. If its not moving, the problem is probably a disengaged worn center cog or a completely missing center cog. The cog can fall out, so be careful when moving the tender. If its missing hit up peters spares and make sure you have a good bench vice on hand when you get the new cog. If its still there and lose, you will need something to hold the cog in place as the metal spindle basically seems to bore out the inside of the cog over time. I have a 3D printable part that'll fix it, or if the tender is the same as the one I have, if you flip it over, the rivet / spacer that is holding the last wheel axle to the tender chassis, you want something like that. Not sure what they are called.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. This video, as per the title, is just showing how to get the motor out of various tenders, was requested by some viewers. The channel has a search feature, what you're looking for is the ringfield motor tear down video, which you can find at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2wy50CAM36o.html ... hope that helps you out. If you need something else, please feel free to ask, aside from the couple of hundred videos on the channel, I can turn around videos pretty quickly if needed.