Frequent Hornby Questions

Resident expert 'Brains' has the answers...

You can ask Brains anything but please make sure he hasn't answered your question already. We send the reply to you and print the good ones here. Brains is rather big headed about his vast knowledge, so if you can embellish or contradict his answers, please do.

You can scroll through the questions or jump to the relevant link.

• How can I contact Hornby Hobbies?
• Where can I get Scalextric in the US?
• Where can I find spares for Hornby trains?
• Can I convert 3 rail locos to 2 rail?
• What's the best way to clean Hornby-Dublo?
• What is the history of Triang in Canada?
• What's the gen on the old Hornby Zero 1 system?
• Has anyone ever made a model of an Underground train?
• How can I join my old track to contemporary track?
• What sort of gradients can I get away with on a layout?
• What is the difference between HO and OO gauge?
• How much is a 'Bristol Castle' loco worth?
• How much is a 'Silver King' set worth?
• How much are Atholl and Montrose sets worth?
• Is there any way to make trains run on the ceiling?

Hornby Hobbies manufacture Thomas the Tank Engine, Hornby Railways and Scalextric. Check out the Hornby Hobbies web site or contact the Marketing Manager, Simon Kohler, at;

We aren't related to Hornby Hobbies but we are indebted to them for allowing us to use the Hornby-Dublo logo. We love their products, including Scalextric which is undergoing a renaissance at the moment. See above for their address, and please mention us when writing.

Stop press!From Marwan Nusair:
Have a look at www.slot-cars.com This dealer is reputable and can sell on the internet or by mail. I know several of his customers and all are satisfied. Prices are standard list, not discount, but they stock a lot of stuff, so delays are minimal generally.
roadbinns@aol.com

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You can in effect put a 3 rail body on a 2 rail loco, but not the Duchesses though, the equivalent City loco has a different chassis.

As you correctly speculate, with conversion there would be a need to insulate all the wheels. There are supplies of original replacement wheels, many ex Wrenn, but you'll be surprised how the cost mounts up when you start this sort of thing. There are kits with plastic bushes advertised in Railway Modeller but it is hard to keep the wheels straight and true on the axles; that's the first thing you inspect on a conversion. You also have to split the valve gear to get at the driving wheels.

I have found that many conversions never seem to run quite as well as they did in 3 rail. The simplest answer re conversion is don't; they are worth more kept original. There are even people who specialise in re-converting the rarer locos back to 3 rail! However, the Duchesses, A4 and N2 tank are fairly common so if they are playworn it would not be the end of the world.

In order of preference I would:

1) Keep a 3 rail circuit to run the locos
2) Change them for original 2 rail or Wrenn
3) Have them professionally converted

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Thanks and welcome back to the wonderful world of Dublo 2 rail, a folly which is close to my heart. And an excellent question. The advice you have received is pretty accurate although I'm a bit nervous of white spirit. I have used meths for stains on plastic though. Some pieces clean up better than others. First the good news, then the cautions.

Plastic buildings; dismantle and straight into the washing up bowl with washing up liquid, not too hot water, sponge and toothbrush for nooks and crannies. Rinse and dry, just like her best glassware but with more, er, respect.

Super Detail wagon bodies; as above. Transfers seem resilient.

Tinplate; Pledge and cotton, Mr Sheen for super detail coach sides.

Die cast; dust with a brush. If you must wash, pure white unscented hand soap and minimal water.

Metal buildings; damp dust with sponge, maybe some of that white soap.

Wheels; a finger nail or smooth screw driver blade, followed by meths on a cotton rag, hard work.

Loco wheels; fibre glass pen. This is a small brush with retractable fibre glass bristles used by jewellers and the like, available from suppliers of specialist tools. Nasty to use as it sheds fibre glass hairs (consider rubber gloves) but very effective for removing wheel crud. You need to use the brush firmly, tip can be dipped in meths for extra power. Otherwise a Peco track rubber will do in the meantime, also essential for the track.

Boxes; clean with a slightly damp sponge, leave to dry and then Mr Sheen to bring it up lovely. Wood glue for repairs.

Removal of paint from plastic; if some idiot painted it you may be able to get back to originality with brake fluid! Seriously. Make sure it's fresh, old fluid goes off. Leave it on for a fair while and wash off with water. I have heard Mr Muscle oven cleaner works well but I haven't tried it yet.

Note from Tony Edwards; for removing paint from plastic, Mr Muscle oven cleaner is the best I've used (apart from the specialist "Strip-A-Kit", expensive and REAL hard to find outside of the US), only the "original" formulation works tho, I tried using the non-caustic version, and it just won't attack the paint. You just spray it on, wait between 15 mins and an hour (depends on how much paint and crud are present, and how old the resulting mess is) and then wash off with "hot" water and an old toothbrush. The main problem is that this CAN attack the plastic a little... I used this method on a "mis-sprayed" 1/350 Titanic hull, and some of the detail was muted a little... not as bad as brake fluid would do, but it's worth bearing in mind. My background is in 1/76 and 1/35 Armour and Aircraft modelling (with the occasional ship thrown in), and have had more than one occasion to get paint off something that is definately allergic to solvents :)

That's it, all our priceless hard won experience given away on the internet. CAUTION: It's fun to play with lesser pieces, and good learning. If it's very rare/valuable I would leave it original. Beware of going to town on one bit and finding the other parts don't clean up so well - if the roof is knackered and the sides are mint it looks odd. Dublo suits a patina of age; it is at least 33 years old so it doesn't all have to look new. If trading, it's a good idea to leave room for the next man to improve it.

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The Canadian branch of Lines Bros (makers of Tri-ang) were based in the Thistle Works in Montreal. However, the trains were imported from the UK. The operation was not a success due to the size of the country which the salesmen had to cover. Combined with this, business in the UK was too pressing to concentrate on conquering Canada.

The models themselves were designed in a hurry from poor photographs, which accounts for the crude locos. They were not popular, and sold better in the UK than they did in Canada. The second generation Trancontinental Series models were more authentic, but the level of interest did not justify updating the locos. Sales continued to be poor in the 1960's, not helped by import duties and the exchange rate, and the business petered out by the early 1970's.

Brains would like to acknowledge 'Tri-ang Railways, The Story of Rovex, Volume 1 1950 - 1965' by Pat Hammond, New Cavendish Books (ISBN 0 904568 57 1) for this information.

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These are the top guys for spares; please MENTION THIS SITE when contacting them.

The best place I have found for Tri-ang and newer Hornby parts is Modelspares, 65 Burnley Road, Hapton, Burnley, Lancs BB11 5QR, UK. Tel 01282 771109, Fax 01282 777784.

For Hornby-Dublo spares try Tony Cooper at Wrenn Railways who has copious supplies of spares for Hornby Dublo and Wrenn.

Also check out Dennis Williams at 29 Chestnut Grove, Barnton, Near Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 4ST, UK. You will need to enclose a stamped addressed envelope and be prepared to wait, he is not full time. Update Good news, Dennis is now on email so you can help him get used to it;

Please mention Brains at the Hornby-Dublo Web Magazine when replying.

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Zero 1 is out of production but the equipment is still bought and sold secondhand, mainly by die hard enthusiasts who appreciate an effort, doomed by lack of development, to move model railways into the digital age.

I have never used the stuff but I have a) removed modules to convert to ordinary control and b) kept a couple of instruction manuals for future reference. I do know that for Zero 1 to work properly the track and wheels have to be immaculately clean. I have even heard of enthusiasts a) fitting extra pickups to all wheels and b) soldering every rail joint, and then it 'works great'.

I have also heard that the system lacks power if you try to use too many locos, and I notice a distinct lack of any form of LCD display to confirm commands!

If you just want to run a train, forget Zero 1, remove the modules and return the loco wiring to original (not difficult) and use an ordinary transformer. If you want to be an expert on Z1, expect to pay peanuts for big bits like power units and slaves, and £10 for small bits like modules. Point motors can be the same as for standard power/control methods, although there were accessory modules with the Z1 system.

Zero 1 will be collectable in its way, like early computer technology, but most modellers are sticking with wire and 12 volts. The leaders in the current wave of digital model railway technology are, of course, the Yanks. Search for references to DCC on the web or the newsgroup rec.models.railroad to find out more. Bye now, Brains

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Brains, has anyone ever made a model of an Underground train?

The famous company that makes the blue batteries, Ever Ready, produced a very crude but kind of attractive Underground Set in the 50's. It's quite collectable, around a hundred pounds worth in the original box, but not exactly runable on a standard layout.

You know how obsessive railway modellers can be... Apparently one guy decided to model the underground faithfully, to the extent of running a network of tunnels underneath his floorboards. When the property was surveyed it came to light that he had caused serious structural damage to the flats...

The lack of a ready-to-run Underground train highlights the absence of any old style EMU's (Electric Multiple Units)from the major manufacturers, although technically the modern Hornby 225's and Eurostars are EMU's. It would be nice to see more models of the old third rail electrics which were so common in the south of England.

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Brains, I bought my son a Model Train set (Hornby) for Christmas. I have a collection of trains and rail from my own childhood. Although they are the same gauge (00) the older track is sligtly thicker (as are the sleepers). The OLD track is about 20 years old. Is it possible to purchase adaptors, otherwise it it advisable to grind a slope on a track to suit? Thanks.

Your old track was made by Tri-Ang and called Super 4. It worked well and is still bought and sold secondhand.

They made adaptors for a while and you can still by them secondhand foraround a pound each at swapmeets or secondhand train shops. Ask for a Tri-ang Hornby converter rail. As you surmise, it's about 3 inches long with a slope. Also the joiners are on the same rail at each end. You would likely need two adaptor rails (when you think about it) and the ready made ones would be best, but home made would be better than nothing. You're welcome.

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Dear Brains, I am a bit of novice and am searching for some advice. I have built a HO layout, but have painted myself into a corner so to speak. I therefore need to build an incline to a higher level, but I am having problems with how steep to make the incline. I'm short of space and am wondering what sort of gradient I get away with. Hope you can lend a technical hand.

Gradients are a source of problems and we've all been there. My policy is to stay on the ground! It makes track cleaning and portability easier too. Alternatively have two completely separate levels, possibly including a steep ramp for occasional downward traffic. When including gradients as part of a circuit the trains will usually have difficulty somewhere. You always seem to end up with a smooth gradient one way and an impossible curve/slope at the other end.

Thanks for the following information which has been researched and submitted by Anthony New:

I've actually carried out some (fairly) scientific tests on a wide range of locos and rolling stock for traction, weight and rolling resistance. The upshot is that on nickel-silver track:
(a) older through-axle Triang coaches have an enormous amount of friction and most Triang-Hornby locos will only just pull a train of seven of them on the flat, and will be lucky to pull four of them up a 1 in 72 slope.
(b) modern pin-point bearing stock is much better and most T-H locos will pull a seven coach train up 1 in 72 or a four coach train up gradients of 1 in 36 to 1 in 48 (3 to 4 feet per inch rise)
(c) only a few locos will reliably pull a seven coach train of modern stock up gradients of 1 in 36 to 1 in 48, or a four coach train up a 1 in 24 gradient.
(d) most older locos can be improved by adding extra weight but you have to ask yourself whether you want ANY runnable train to climb the gradient, or are you prepared to use special locos, or bankers, etc, all the time?

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Dear Mr Brain, I am a collector (just getting back into it after being away for some time) and operator of HO gauge passenger trains. I am trying to collect complete representations of trains from countries OTHER than the USA.

I understand that HO and OO (I'm told most British trains are OO not HO) are essentially the same with the exception of scale. They both run on the same track gauge, 16.5mm. Not having seen the two side by side is there any significant visual difference if they are run on the same layout? Any assistance you can offer would very appreciated.

A copy of a UK model railway magazine would really open your eyes, Railway Modeller is a stalwart and they have a web site, Peco Publications Apart from Hornby there is Lima, Dapol, Bachmann and many others producing UK kits and models.

Re scale, I'll tell it in layman's terms. OO is 4mm to the foot and HO is 3.5mm. Don't ask me why they mix millimetres and feet! I run the occasional HO train on my OO. They look OK side on, but if you look closely HO is smaller. From the front, OO looks overwide for the track. HO is correct, OO is a compromise. We don't mind too much, the reason was that in the early days they had to get smaller British outlines onto big clumsy motors, while staying half the size of O gauge. (HO allegedly stood for 'Half O', crazy huh?)

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Dear Brains, I live in Australia. I have a Hornby Dublo EDLT20 Loco and Tender with the name of Bristol Castle. The reason I have emailed you is that I am looking for information on my train e.g. when it was manufactured and value etc. Thanks

Your Bristol Castle was manufactured by Meccano, Binns Road, Liverpool from October 1957. It was superseded in 1961 by the rare ringfield motor Ludlow Castle. The Castles were also available in 2 Rail as Denbigh Castle and Cardiff Castle (ringfield motor). The Castle was a very handsome model and exeptionally close to scale. It fitted well into the range, making up for a lack of Great Western locomotives.

There are plenty of average examples on the market, the paintwork is often playworn as the raised rivets make it particularly susceptible to wear. Prices may be firmer outside the UK. Here its value is 45-75 pounds sterling unboxed, depending on condition, and up to 150 pounds for a nice boxed one with paperwork.

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Thank you. The engine came in gloss, later matt finish, produced 1953 - 1956, guards van is presumably not part of the set. The set is fairly easy to find but popular. Look after the box, maybe improve it carefully with wood glue, avoid sellotape. Value up to 100 pounds sterling and should appreciate. Silver King was an A4 pacific designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, same class as the record holding 'Mallard'.

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Hi, nice thing to find in your loft. We think you have a 'Montrose' set and an 'Atholl' set. The Montrose is fairly common so around 80 pounds sterling, 100 for the Atholl, but give or take 20 pounds depending who/how you sell it. Last time I sold a Montrose set it fetched 60 at a general auction. Good to have boxes, spanner and oil. If you have lots of extra track allow 1 pound each long straight and 2-3 pounds for points.

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Dear gary, thanks for the weirdest question I've ever had. After considerable experimentation with overhead wires and pantographs I conclude there is no method which will allow trains or slot cars to run upside down reliably. I suggest you leave the trains on the floor and attach the furniture to the ceiling. Hopefully this will resolve your dilemma.

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