[Robert Stokes]

I recently bought a secondhand Hornby 2-6-4 tank. It runs well (in one sense) but makes a hell of a racket while doing so.
I got it for a bargain price so I'm not too disturbed by this fact, although I would like to make it a lot quieter.

Can anyone suggest why it might be very noisy and more to the point what I can do about it?
Thank you, Robert.

 

[80class]

Probably chuck the motor in the bin and replace it with a new one, but that might cost more than the models worth. Sometimes the noise will get less after a good long run in both directions as it cleans the motors internals. Worth a try!

Rob

 

[34C]

I would want to tinker with the motor mounting, particularly to ensure the worm gear is meshing properly. A couple of years ago I bought two Hornby 8F's. Both ran very well as received, one was properly quiet, the other sounded like a coffee grinder. The motor and worm gear cover were not quite in a straight line with the rest of the chassis on the noisy one. A slight slackening of the screw holding the worm gear cover, realignment by eye, and retightening, and it was quiet. If it is not that, similar noisiness can result from a tight gear or axle in the drive train. With the motor mount slackened off enough to free up the drive to the chassis you can check whether it is the motor that is intrinsically noisy, or the drive train tight or binding in some way. As Rob wrote, if it is the motor it may quiet down with some running, but usually if they start out rough, they never become really quiet.

 

[flygopher]

Sometimes it was caused by resonance.
I got one old Triang Princess and it was noisy.
After I filled inside the boiler with lots of bluetacks,
it runs quietly. You also need to tighten all screws.

Another of my loco ran noisy because of a loose pick-up
which shakes and hits bogie during move. After I correct its shape,
the loco runs quietly.