Hornby Split Spring

my un scientific view is if the seller says "no key", that means they did check it out and it does not work   Never got a Hornby YET that did not work, some better than others though. Both Marx & Hafner are pretty durable. A/F does not seem the durable, but I fave only a small sampling. James P will probably be one of the best to offer advice.

Steve

I must be born under a bad sign. It came with the original key, ran a full cycle, during the second run was the boing of a sprung spring and thats all she wrote. What was weird was that the spring broke in a way that it looked like someone took a metal shears and cut it off.

 

I looked at a vintage monorail that was battery powered on Ebay two days ago and the seller said I don't know if it works. So I emailed him, and said it shouldn't be a big deal to put a battery in to test it. If it works, Ill buy it.

Never heard from him again.

Bruce

Bruce, I have just a single Hornby and it has yet to break the spring, so I don't know how the end is terminated.  However, almost all mainsprings terminate with either a hole in the end that engages a post on the spring hub, or the end of the spring feeds through a slot in the spring hub.  The only way to find out is to carefully unwind the final piece of the spring from the spring hub.  Needle-nose vice grips are your friend.  Once you see what the old end looks like, you can reterminate the spring.  Just remove the temper from the end of the spring by heating it with a propane torch until it is cherry red, then slowly remove the heat and let it cool down in still air (don't quench it in water or oil).  Then you will be able to drill a hole in the end - or if needed, grind the end to shape - whichever it needs to connect to the spring hub.  You can carefully form the end to the spring so it will curve around the spring hub, then attach it to the spring hub and wind it into place.  Just be careful; even broken mainsprings can unwind quickly and hurt you!

 

If you think it needs a new spring, you can usually find a close match on the Clockworks website - but you will still need to reterminate one or both ends to match the motor.  If you don't want to tackle the spring, I would be happy to work on it for you... after I get through repairing a little Hafner motor that recently arrived! 

James

I really ( as always) really appreciate your advice as I like( as they say)  to measure three times and cut once before disassembling the critter, especially when it comes to a spring. I was fortunate enough to have it break close to the winding spool. I have a wheel puller so Ill take off the drivers on the non gear side to open it up. I can see where a vice grips come in handy as a heat sink. If I end up wearing the spring around my neck, theres always 911..I can hear it now.."You were working on what?" 

Again, thanks James.

Bruce

I was a member of the HRCA and their magazine had two articles on how to replace a spring.  I've replaced or repaired two Hornby motors.  I'll try to find those articles and post them.  It's not easy and having two people helps.  However I did find this link 

 

http://www.melright.com/lightred/service1.htm

 

Tcox009, thanks for the exploded diagram of the Hornby motor - that is really informative!  I would really enjoy seeing the articles, too.  Bruce, if your motor is similar to that diagram, you may not need to take it apart to replace the spring.  On most motors I can remove the mainspring without disassembling the motor, so long as there is an opening in the perimeter of the motor and the outside end of the spring is accessible.  The motor shown in the diagram has a catch that engages a hole in the spring, so it should be a simple matter to reterminate it, then wind it into place.  Pictures would help... always like to see pictures of clockwork locomotives! 

 

Edit - I was so excited to see the diagram, I completely missed the article underneath it (didn't realize there was more to see by scrolling down).  Very good, lots of tips for working on the motor!

Bruce,
did you receive this type of Hornby-Loco ?
I have one for parts (clockwork motor runs).
You can have it if you like

Peter

Peter

I really appreciate your generous offer but it is a different type but thats a great gesture.

 

tcox009

Much thanks for the link..I can use all the help I can get. I'm off to absorb it. All the folks on this forum are simply great.

Bruce

Was probably a L/H wound spring and you wound it R/H...remember what side do they drive on?!

You don't want those problems...just toss it in one of the boxes before your wife goes...

 

...pics of the 4 were sent...you'll have the sparker - the spring might work...beats it collecting dust here....

 

BTW- speaking of pics, let's see this lil tea kettle!

James

The light is too dim where the layout is so Ill post pictures of the engines etc tomorrow morning.

Bruce

Hornby Repair Articles

Hi All

I went to thank everyone for their generous support of BR Tank #82011 as she has fully recovered from this morning's surgery. As promised here are some poorly taken shots. She has gone back to duty on suburban service pulling her coaches "Marjorie" and "Aurelia". Shes waiting for a clear signal and for me to lower the track stop ( a small track lever).

The shunter has a detailed backhead. The brake and reversing lever are inside the cab like her larger cousins.

 

 

Who says container freight is a new innovation?

 

Bruce, that is some fine lookin' British Tin you have there - glad to hear it is alive and well!  Tcox009, thank you for the .pdf of the Hornby repair articles; I haven't had a chance to read them carefully (yet), but I look forward to studying them soon.

James-tcox009

One last followup. The spring repair was surprisingly easy. I managed to replace it without having to open up the motor block. For the record, the spring was attached to the winding spindle by way of a slot centered on the spindle shaft itself. n this picture you can see how the two halves of the block are tabbed together.

 

 

The original bent to the spring where it attaches to the spindle is shaped like the letter "S". The spring itself ( taking it slowly) pulled away easy since there was no longer tension on it. The failure was due to someone having repaired it before and the annealing was overdone... making the spring steel brittle which caused the break.

The article from Tcoxoo9 was invaluable and again..thank you. The two footnotes on the article even more than the article itself were right on the money. 

 

This is the opposing side of the block and you can see on the upper left, someone has scratched some cryptic letters onto it.

The most difficult part is reassembly. The two levers that go into the cab, the two piston rods and the motor block itself have to be inserted all at once, which is not easy but doable. Also, when rewinding the now repaired spring, I reversed the winding of it as it was slowly pulled back to tension by turning the key which gave the spring a lot more tension and increased running..The termination of the other side of the spring to the block is a simple "J" shape. Again easily reattached.So..if you find a Hornby at a reduced cost due to a broken spring, thanks to tcox009, it can be done= less intimidation factor.

Bruce

Bruce, thanks for the pictures and details.  The spring hub termination appears to be similar to the way Marx does it, with a slot in the hub and the "S" bend in the spring.  I'm glad you were able to repair it without disassembling the motor.  You can replace the mainspring on most motors without disassembly; although the most difficult to do are the Hafner motors since the spring is contained by a "basket" with 4 tabs... but it can still be done.

 

Now I just have to keep repeating to myself, "I will not start collecting Hornby, I will not start collecting Hornby..." 

Fortunately you had one of the smaller Hornby locomotives with a less powerful motor. Had you tried to replace the spring on the #2 Specials or #3s, it would have been another story.  You can really get hurt if those giant springs get out of control. Here are examples of the larger Hornby locomotives.  Lew Schneider

Lew, it's a small world - we have talked at the WF&P on a number of occasions, but it was always about 12" gauge trains; I had no idea you had tinplate, also.  Perhaps I'll see you at Member's Day if you are coming out.  I'm not sure if I'll bring up any of my equipment, but I do plan on being there.

 

You guys are making it very difficult for me to keep my distance from Hornby clockworks...