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Know nothing about Hornby

6.5K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  kristopher1805  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi all , I'm new to this forum and need some info. about a set I acquired . Its a set in the box marked " HORNBY DUBLO ELECTRIC TRAIN Made in England by Meccano Limited" on the top , and "HORNBY DUBLO EDG7 Tank Goods Train" on the end . It has a Black 0-6-2 engine marked LMS 6917 on the side that looks like it's HO gauge . It has a Gondola marked LMS 12T 210112 6-8, a box car marked LMS 12T 508194 7-15, and a caboose marked LMS 730026 20T . It has a bundle of 8- 3 rail curve track and 2- 3 rail streight and also whats called a controller . I don't see any transformer . All of it seems to be in very nice shape with all the original boxes , tissue paper , etc. The only thing I see that is an issue is one of the side rod pins that connect it to the front wheel is missing . I'm looking for a value on this set and wondering how the electrical part of it works . Can you hook up an AC transformer to the controller and will it convert to DC , or do I need a DC transformer ? I've tried to just touch the engine with wires from a small DC HO transformer but it doesn't seem to be enough power to run it . A couple of times it ran for a short time then stopped. I've cleaned and checked all the wheels , contacts, commutator area, and checked the brushes , all seem to be fine.
I'm a Postwar ( 1940's-1960's) American Flyer S gauge collector, seller, and runner and besides this being 3 rail instead of 2 rail like flyer , it's very much the same with the brushes and commutator , etc. Do I need a stronger transformer than the little HO/DC transformer to check this out ? Any help would be appreciated , thanks , Will
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Andy,

This is 'Hornby-Dublo'product. No expert so I cannot suggest a value. The motors were always very current hungry, and the 1950s magnet material can lose field strength very badly, leading to even higher current draw and risk of motor windings burning out. Construction is basic and robust, so eminently repairable: there is a collectors club in the UK which can help with spares.
http://www.hrca.net/

'Controllers': integrated units that have transformer, rectifier and (at this date) a rheostat to regulate the 12V DC output. Unless you have an export set there, expect the controller to be designed for a 240V AC mains supply, standard in the UK. Best to use whatever 12V DC 1 amp + controlled output unit you have available locally. (I wouldn't use the controller from the set at all, the power cord and other insulating components were often made from rubber at this date, and that can be well perished by now, and thus hazardous.)

Hope that's some help, ATB.
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
I can't suggest a value either! The EDG7 set you describe was produced before WW2 (production ceased during the war) and was reissued from 1947 onwards. According to "Hornby Dublo Trains" by Michael Foster (ISBN 0_904568_18_0, New Cavendish Books 1980 and 1991) this set was renumbered EDG17 in 1953. So your set dates from before then.

The British outline models do run on 'HO' 16.5mm track, but are made to a scale of 4mm to the foot rather than the HO scale of 3.5mm to the foot. This was due to early manufacturers wanting to get a bit more space for moving parts, such as valve gear and early electric motors, into the rather tight confines of the British loading gauge. The British loading gauge is significantly smaller than most due to various historic constraints imposed by being the first country to develop a railway network!

The loco is based on a Class N2 developed by Mr (later Sir) Nigel Gresley in 1920 for the Great Northern Railway - which became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923. They were used for both suburban passenger trains and goods trains. Hornby Dublo put them into the liveries of all four major railway companies although they never would have been seen in LMS (London Midland & Scottish railway) colours!
They continued running into British Railways (BR) days from 1948 onwards, although Hornby did not produce a BR version until 1953.

Regards,
John Webb
 
#4 ·
Thanks guys for the help . I played with it some more last night and low and behold, it ran ! I didn't do anything different than I did the night before, so I'm not sure why now it decided to run. It ran fine with the small HO-DC transformer. The set looks like it's in really nice shape. I doubt I'll hold onto it as I have enough of my own gauge ( S) plus HO and O . We have a local Scale and Hi-rail show here coming up and I'll probably put it on the table to sell . I have no idea what it's worth but I hope this nice set goes to a good home. As for the side rod pin , I'll let someone else fix it . It would cost me quite a bit I would suppose to get that part from England for something that's smaller than a pin head. It's a no brainer . Thanks again for the comments and help !
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
The EDG7 was, as stated above produced from 1938 through to 1953 with a break between 1940 and 1947. those produced between 1947 and 1950 were mainly exported, the home market not being served until 1950.

There are a number of variations mainly with the locomotive. Pre-war the couplers were horizontal loops using "tags" to couple The loco was lettered with charaters with serifs and the motor had a horseshoe magnet

Early post war examples were similar, but the couplers were changed to "Peco" style (similar shaped to a knuckle coupler)

The next versions have the characters changed to Non Serif

The final versions have an improved "block" magnet

Value depends on version and condition, and the LMS model is probably the most common type

The horeshoe magnet can quite weak after all this time but is remagnetisable.

Dublo models often have chassis swapped either at the factory or by an individual

They run on 12 Volt DC and any controller capable of supplying a minimum of 1 Amp is suitable. The MAXIMUM current is 0.65 Amps (8 Watts) above this will cook the armature windings and this is usually caused by a weak magnet. Armatures are rewindable in the UK by specialist suppliers. If the magnet is removed, its magnetism will be greatly reduced.

If I can help any further, let me knoe

Terry Dyckhoff - HRCA 6022
 
#6 ·
Just be careful, the US frequency of AC is 60Hz but British is 50Hz sometimes they will not work, this old stuff was extremely robust and Hornby Dublo was a real premium product back then and being very durable can still be used today but there were many variations and they constantly altered details, it morphed into a 2 rail version from about 1960, they then dropped the 3 rail, sold out to Triang which became Triang Hornby but then had to sell off Hornby Dublo due to anti trust reasons to the Wrenn Brothers but kept the Hornby name, Hornby Dublo has almost nothing really to do with todays British Hornby. Wrenn continued into the 1980's and went through some ownership changes before folding.

So long as you supply something around 12volt DC and some current they will work, it might need a service so a clean then a touch of light oil will help but these are tough, the 0-6-2 tank would be based on the LNER N2 used on the London suburban network but never an LMS loco but it did look like the N2 at least which was not at all common back in 1938 for a loco to look like a prototype.

As a matter of interest Dublo introduced plastic super detail models from about 1958 on aluminium chassis to replace tin plate versions and some of these bodies are still made today and appear on Dapol modern plastic chassis.