[jmm150]

Hi all

I have joined the site in order to get some advice.

I have found some old Hornby Dublo trains in the loft of my house but unsure if they work. Is there any way of finding out? I have a few things in a box including an RP15 power unit, could I check with this, to be honest it looks liike it could kill me if I wired myself to it!!!

The reason I am checking to see if they work is to sell them as they are no use to me and someone else who collects these will benefit from them more than me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

 

[7113]

Hi Jamie,

You are quite right not to trust the RP15, if it's been stored out of use for any length of time, especially in a loft, it is almost certainly not safe.

One cheap way of testing if the motors still work is to buy a 9 volt battery and with the aid of two wires touch the ends of the wires to the centre contact skate and a driving wheel, if it's three rail equipment, or to a driving wheel on each side if it's two rail.

You have stated that they are of no use to you so I am assuming that you don't have a model railway power source to hand that can be trusted.

Depending on where you live there may be another member in your locality who could possibly assist in this.

As an aside the market for Hornby Dublo is fairly bouyant and these items will have a value if only for spare parts.

Hope this helps.

Regards

John

 

[jmm150]

John,

Thank you for your advice, I will not be wiring up the trains to the power supply.

I have found a box full of Hornby trains, stations/platforms and tracks and turn table etc.

The trains are in good condition as they have been wrapper in blankets and some in cardboard, these consist of :

1) Bristol Castle 7013
2) Black British Railways 48158 written on the cab bit (appologies for my ignorance)
3) Dutchess of Montrose 46232
4) Mallard 60022
and various carriages and a Royal mail carriage.

I was hoping that someone else will benefit from these so would help if I knew they worked. I will wire them up to batteries to see if they work.

Thanks again for the advice

Jamie (Stockport)

 

[double00]

A point of interest! if most of the locomotives have been wrapped in blanket material for protection, most probably some of the wheels, couplers etc have endured a degree of surface rust. Blanket material can attract and retain moisture, which in turn adheres to materials covered by this material.
It is most annoying to see a particular model covered in part with a film of rust, as this will put off a sale or at least a price reduction. Best to wrap models in materials not liable to attract damp conditions, but still strong in make up to safeguard against damage from other items stored on top of them.
However, reading your entry, you state that you have no wish to enter the model railway hobby and only wish to obtain help from this Forum - much the pity, as I am sure through time you could take an interest and enjoyment.

 

[Colombo]

Jamie,

I had a Bristol Castle and the 48158 over 45 years ago. All these Hornby Dublo locos in good condition are valuable: however in poor condition and without boxes they may be worth a lot less. Are they two rail or three rail? The older three rail track is pressed steel and may have rusted badly. The three rail locos have a central pick up skid. Two rail track had plastic sleepers.

The magnets in the motors may have lost their field strength and may have to be remagnetised, but otherwise, if they are not rusty, an experienced person could get them working again as they were very well made. There are people who want to collect these Hornby Dublo locos. Certain items of rolling stock are rare, these include the black track cleaning wagon and the 6 wheeled passenger brake van.

Certainly do not dump them. Look for a model shop, or a model railway exhibition and take a sample to show to a dealer. If you still have the original boxes look after them, they are valuable as well.

Have a look at the Hornby Dublo Collectors Association site on : http://www.hrca.net/

You could try to sell them on ebay. This site will give you a good indication of what these items sell for.

The station buildings can also be worth quite a bit.

Colombo

 

[Gary]

Even in rough condition Dublo locos seem to realise a fortune at Vectis (well £30 to £40 a loco for what I consider to be tat!). Anything in good boxes with instructions adds 60% to values and if the locos are unmarked, unchipped and in mint condition then

£

£

£

Vectis have an auction archive and its guide is much better than ebay which is very hit and miss and does not give you a true guide due to poor sellers who offer fuzzy pictures and one line descriptions. A "good condition" in the mind of a ebay seller is "bad condition" in the mind of an ebay buyer! And the ebay guide only covers the last 2-3 weeks or so. The Vectis auction archive covers 10 or more years and they auction off probably 1500 Dublo items a year!

At least at Vectis collectors are bidding on items that they have actually seen first hand and Vectis do have a large following of collectors.

Happy modelling
Gary