Thanks Sam! my Adams Radial went belly up last year and I figured it was the motor, I remember you saying they were weak so I took it out and pulled the chassis around with another loco to see if there was any friction in the mechanism, even without the body on it rolled around OK, I even contacted Oxford to see if they had any replacement motors, I was begining to think it was just an expensive paperweight! After watching this I figured what the hell, I went into the garage and stripped it apart and cleaned out the old grease and it's running as good as new.
I miss your old servicing videos, you should do more. Don’t remember seeing one for years so when did you release the one you mention at the start of the video.
John here-I'm on the other side of the pond modeling in On30, but your videos are a real help, and just the idea of not being afraid to disassemble a loco is compelling. Now, if you would attempt a Bachmann On30 2-4-4-2.................Thanks for your video!
Sam. Keep these coming as they give a good idea of the various mechanisms. In Australia you cant just send faulty ones back, you have to repair them yourself. I have a Hornby Castle, not that old with a cylinder block fouling the con rods. Turns out the cylinder block is in at least 5 parts to be assembled. Getting the parts in exact alignment is very tricky. Love you to do a strip down
I reckon you should do another video upgrading the motors in these locos and see if they improve like you did with Smokey Joe. I liked this video seeing the mechanism in detail!
Very interesting vid. Re. the Oxford Adams Radial I emailed their technical department a few weeks ago and was advised to clean the gear train. I have 2, one ran fine but the other was slow. After a clean as you have done it runs much better too - same issue with lack of viscosity. It would appear that the problem is something Oxford are aware of - they were very helpful.
It’s great you got those two working as they should Sam, it’s sad to see poor-running locos sitting on shelves or in boxes so this is great for people that own items like these. For me, I’m more of a diesel person but I’m thinking about purchasing a steam loco so thanks for sharing this video 🙃
I think I mentioned this before but it seems that some British OO manufacturers seem to install those small, square motors that look like HO scale slot car motors in their locomotives, even the relatively large road engines. You don't see them in American HO locomotives, not even in small switchers/shunters. In N scale locomotives yes, but not in HO scale. Too much load for them. Those motors you examined aren't much bigger; so, to me, they could be a slow burnout risk trying to carry the heavier weight of an OO loco and their larger drive trains and pulling the weight of a consist. If it is possible perhaps swap them out for larger motors?.
Hard to get the gears to mesh reliably with the common UK method used of the worm on the end of the motor shaft. Rare to see a gearbox with universal joint shaft to motor in steam UK models. That design allows easier motor swaps. Sam's reviews useful in showing these poor hard to change motors with fixed mounting design.
Sams Mum : I keep getting metal flakes on my dishes? Great video Sam. Knowing how to fix them will take so much frustration out of this hobby, especially at the cost of locos. You're the man Sam!!
As for the issue with the adams radial I had a similar problem with a 50+ year old full metal 2-8-2 mikado locomotive from mantua and the problem with the slowing down was due to a gear that was cracked for who knows how long that after it ran for a while before I knew what was wrong the gear would expand and thus stop the thing dead in its tracks even though it could pull 30+ box cars
A thought regarding the 'sticky grease' - maybe the manufacturer uses grease designed to be used in hotter countries than uk? Regardless, It looks like the motor must be at fault. The lack of friction once you had serviced the loco suggests it can't be anything else. They do look particularly cheap compared to the semi can or full can motors. My money is on the fixed magnets being weak like someone else suggested, or their size/ magnetic field not optimised to the armature? By the way, you don't really need to de solder the motor, you could either buy or make an adaptor that goes in place of the decoder blank/ suppressor board you remove for DCC operation and plug your adaptor in to the female/ chassis DCC socket pins 1 and 5. You can buy 8 pin dual in line headers online for pennies. Then you have a test harness for the future that you can use on all your 8 pin DCC locos and no fiddly soldering burned fingers or melted wire. The same idea would work for other decoder pin types. Finally since both Hornby and Oxford subcontract their manufacture I guess both these locos come from the same factory, hence the mechanism similarity.
Found the Prairie strip down useful/interesting, didn't even know you could get into those gears and I'd had the bloody body off an hourish prior to lubricate it before running it in.
I got my old model trains and coaches and whatnot back and has been great but I don’t have my controller so I’m just dusting and cleaning it all So I don’t know what is faulty or not such as my class 390, 68 HST, 2 37s and some steam shunters Have to wait till I get a chance to look in my nans attic
It's amazing what a good clean up of excess oil can achieve, even if it only solves part of the problem! What type of motor was in the second engine you investigated? 3 pole, 5 pole, coreless and would that have made any difference etc? Best, Pete.
It is actually Pete - even I was surprised how well this worked, at least with the Oxford loco. These both had 5 pole skew wound motors - appeared to be the same motor in each interestingly! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
My Oxford Rail Adams radial tank I stripped it down and removed all the old grease and oil and cleaned all the parts put it back together and it worked a treat. I think the grease they used was too thick
Great to hear that - quite a lot of stories saying how well that worked! I wonder if I left mine too long, and they've sustained motor damage from the strain? Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I'd get a replacement motor for that Prairie to compare against the original one, Then I'd take the motor that was in it and drop about ten turns off of each coil and retry it.
Am I odd in preferring to fix up, make look good loco's etc than actually building up a layout? I am thoroughly enjoying rebuilding my very very early Triang DMU and still yet have to lay down a working set of tracks other than a test track I have in the kitchen lol Just finished getting the power bogie (thanks to John's superb videos for help) down to its knickers and really taking my time in getting it all right, normally I am a watch collector and restorer but I am loving these little engines :D
I don't think you're odd - that's by far my favourite aspect of the hobby too! Sounds fantastic - all the best with your restorations! :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
More technical side of the hobby dose make for a reasonable extension of the channel's scope in my opinion. Afterall there were already videos on regauging and ... lets call it more creative projects with the underwater train, the supercharge train and alike. The power of glue or as some manufacturers call it "lubricant".
Hi Sam. I have some trains you might like for restoration! A class 67 in particular. Missing front bogie and a few other things. Was my childhood train. It’s a Wrexham & Shropshire edition :)
I seem to remember that bad/weak magnets in a model motor can also cause poor running and excessive power-draw; have you ever checked if your models have ropey magnets?
Hi Sam, the other day I stumbled on a TH-cam channel called oobill, he specializes in repairing faulty locomotives and I noticed he uses a product called Electrical Contact Cleaner. It comes in a pressure pack can and has a long nozzle. It might be worth checking it out to see if it is worth using. I have not yet tried this product mainly because I have not had a locomotive that needs repairing. Cheers Greg
hi i have an extremely old hornsby steam train, i,m trying to get it working. The motor is receiving power and is spinning well, everything has been oiled however neither the worm gear or wheels are turning. I have no idea how to fix this. Can anyone help?
Actually with the gearing on the Prairie do the gears from the worm drive get progressively smaller to the driven axle? I thought they looked like they geared for speed not torque
You'd be surprised how sticky a dodgy lubricant can be. I have know dodgy grease to totally freeze a mechanism, causing motors to burn out. Unfortunately sometimes motor design is lacking as well. I wonder how these are tested in the factory... Do the companies just hang two coaches on the loco and send it on a flat track and say "Good enough" >>>
The factory test vids I have seen are just loco only. Not sure they even test the amp draw is within specs. Too high indicating problems. Even these tests do not detect grease and oil that gets worse over time as per your good point of grease locked mechanisms.
Great work, I have a worse model than both of those, my Bachmann 57, it is the worst model I own, it refuses to pull a single coach, I have just left it in the box lol
What did they do at Oxford... watch a Marklin brown goo removal video and think 'Yeah, lets do that'? For the lubricant usage... it depends a bit on what you are trying to accomplish. For plastic-on-plastic contact which doesn't need filling of gaps, you can try the Faller PTFE lubricant For the usual metal-on-metal work, a good quality oil will do For anything that needs a combination of rattle removal and lubrication, there is the Roco teflon grease
Is there a video where you fix the springing in the Oxford Adams Radial? I've been meaning to fix that in mine myself. If not, what's a good tutorial to do so?
Hey sam. I was wondering since you fix these locos to a ponit. Maybe you can help me. Right now i got a ho scale train from tyco called the Chattanooga. Problem seems to be with motor and the gears. After a little bit of inspection it seems the motor in the Tinder because it's a tender driven loco has a pancake motor and the motor has a little gear that is on a drive rod and the gear is just not turning but the drive rod is turning. So any ideas on how to keep the gear moving on the drive rod? If you need a bit more info. Let me know. Google aint much help trying to look at these problems. Lol
Sure! That sounds like the same problem we get on Hornby Ringfield motors - the secret is to strip and clean everything, and then apply a tiny drop of glue to the inside of the gear with a needle, and then gently push it into place (being careful not to gum up the motor bearing or other gears) - only attempt it if you're confident, as it's not easy to fix if the glue goes runaway! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains thank you! I will try it when i get some confidence lol but in all seriousness thank you. I will try it when i get a free day to clean it up. Thanks again! I will let you know how it turns out.
Hi Sam I am thinking about joining the Hornby Collectors club and I would test Hornby's Loco Samples and give them Feedback a bit like when the Doctors give You Tablets and then you give them Feedback on how effective the Tablets were and whether or not they would work on you and I plan on Doing a Diesel locomotive Bash/Gala and so if I joined the Hornby Collectors Club I would Get A Collectors club 0-4-0 and I could also ask Hornby if I Test Some of their Locomotives mostly Diesel locomotives but I don't mind Testing some Steam locomotive Samples and Giving them Feedback on what I liked about the model and what Needs improving and one of the Hornby Diesel locomotives that I would Love to Test on my Layout is the Malcolm Livery Class 90 and I would love to have one to keep and one as a Test sample that I would Give back to Hornby and I would love to have the first version of the Hush hush but I'm not going pay nearly £200 for a locomotive that I am going to run and actually use on my layout because it is pretty pointless to pay almost £200 for a model that is just going to sit in Display cabinet or display shelf to be covered in Dust
Yeah!! There's a connection between Hornby and Oxford rail though which includes fluidity between their models. Even the Hornby Terrier started as an Oxford project I've heard! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam, I've recently had a revelation. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner for use with car gearbox internals and bicycle parts; it's great for those purposes, but then it dawned on me that I might be able to use it for model parts. For the large vehicles (cars and bikes) I use it with cleaning agents dissolved in water, but for models I tried it with both IPA and automotive brake cleaner because they dry off almost immediately. The results are fantastic - ten minutes is enough to remove almost any contamination, leaving components perfectly clean without any effort. I haven't tried it yet, (and if anyone does it will be 100% at their own risk) but there is a reasonable possibility that I could just drop a complete motor into the tank and let it be cleaned both internally and externally. So long as it is allowed to dry thoroughly there may well be no problem with this if you make sure that the bearings are lubricated again before running. I reckon that the very smallest of ultrasonic cleaner would be perfectly adequate if only used for models.
I use a small jewellery cleaner with ipa and it does the job very well an inexpensive too if anything seemed a bit dirty still a scrub with an old toothbrush and pop back in works a treat
Hey Sam. Ive been enjoying your videos lately, great physics today. I have a video idea or layout addition, but I’d live to see you make a station on the layout.
Thank you Sam. As an old mechanic, and a guy that used to repair HO, HON3 and T scale engines a long time ago, I really enjoyed this video. I used a needle oiler all the time. With regular straight 20 wt oil. Oh, way back when, I would purchase Atlas turntables, disassemble them, and use the can motors in locos. I anchored the motors down with early GE heat resistant silicon sealant. I'm sure there is better stuff today. Sorry for going on so.
Thanks very much Bruce - really appreciate your feedback and comments! I'll have to look into the silicon sealant - sounds like good stuff! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hey Sam a very interesting tear down, my suggestion would be to see if you can find a way to recharge the motor magnets, this will improve power and reduce current consumption. Is there room to get a couple of tiny neo magnets in there?
Hey Mike - they already use neo magnets I believe - they definitely feel strong at any rate, and they act directly onto the armature! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam, Great review, can't they just upgrade the motor, They charge enough money when you buy them , (Love the air line impression) All the Best Brian 🤗
Thanks for that, I've just recovered 2 Adams Radials that I bought cheap as poor runners and could never get going properly, one was worse than yours and the other about the same. Both gearboxes stuffed with that ghastly grease, both running very well now.
Hi Sam, two things to check magnets probably gone week you can get a machine on line to re- energizer the magnets. however far more likely is weak brush springs/ dirty commutator. Great video, stay safe.
Good ideas Richard - though these particular motors use neodymium magnets, so there's no chance of those growing weak over time. Could be onto something with the weak springs, though these motors are a bit of a devil to access... I haven't dared try it with these as of yet! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam you may be correct on the magnets not loosing power with age but that presupposes they had some go in them in the first place. you should be able to feel the poles as you rotate the arm, the more defined the better. if it turns with little in the way of definition three or 5 steps depending on number poles then the magnets are shot. looking at the crappy far east motor in these engines I would not be surprised.
I know your probably not going to see this comment, but I really liked this type of video as well as the one similar to this that you did on The LMS 10000 and Flying Scotsman. I also used to enjoy your servicing streams, and we haven’t seen a series of livestreams from you in ages generally speaking.
A small (cheap) ultrasonic cleaner can also be useful for cleaning intricate parts. I managed to revive the motor from my Bosch drill by ultrasonic cleaning. The brushes/commutator were dirty causing sparking. As a sealed unit I wasn't able to dismantle it, but it did have some ventilation slots in the motor casing which enabled the ultrasonic cleaner to do its job.
The factory test vids I have seen are just loco only. Not sure they even test the amp draw is within specs. Too high indicating problems. Even these tests do not detect grease and oil that gets worse over time as per your good points made of grease locked mechanisms.
Hi Sam, I found this video last night and it's been really useful. I picked up an Oxford Adams tank from eBay as a non-runner last year. On arrival, it was completely dead, a bit of fiddling around and a clean-up did get it running - but barely. The loco would inch forward and backward and it could just about move one coach. I gave it another clean, check the chassis would roll, etc but no change in performance. I assumed the motor was kaput. Having watched this video I thought I'd give it one last go. I followed the strip down - I love the trap door - and removed all the original grease. I oiled up the mechanism and reassembled and hey-presto the engine is now flying around my layout pulling 6 coaches with ease. Just to note the torque on mine does seem to be pretty good, if put my finger infront of the loco I'm getting some good wheel spin. Many thanks for this video, it's saved a loco from the scrap heap!
Very interesting. You certainly couldn't have done any more with them. But, honestly, an older model with an XO3 motor would haul 4 old coaches with sleeved wheels better than that. The magnets in then new motors look a bit undersized. Maybe that accounts for the lack of torque. I wonder if there is a high torque replacement out there. Beautiful looking models though 😊👍
When I reviewed Sam' I give him a high score for value.Would I pay Bachmann money for one? Probably not, but at this level of detail I can highly recommend him.
Hi Sam, just rewatched this video. My local model shop is selling Oxfords Adams radial tanks for £50. Fully aware of the faults addressed I am still tempted but not 100% sure. Is your radial working well 3 months later after removing that old grease? Im thinking this just in case I get one and it is the same. I’d like to know if it would possibly fix them for a long term or not. Cheers Matthew
Hi Sam, I love all things Prairie, my Hornby large Prairie arrived and ran well odr seconds from new... until it threw a coupling rod! Poor build quality seems to be normal these days. Even my new and eagerly anticipated Dapol Mogul dropped it's underframe on the tender when running in.
Why does everyone service their loco's, my marklin 0-6-0 has not been cleaned since 1982 and they are sti... hmm why is there coming smoke from the attic
The rubbish lead free solder is not an issue with China, Is a world wide issue caused by the EU banning the use of lead in solder. China is one of the few places that still make and sell leaded solder.
More! More! Sam. I've just checked on other comments but no-one seems to pick up your disparaging remarks about the 'lead-free soldering Chinese people' - What do you recommend for solder? Leaded? Or is it just dry joint problems? Excellent video - I am truly delighted when there's a remarkable improvement! Roger King (below) must have read my future mind as I watched you cleaning those small parts. A few years ago and for just £20. I bought, from LIDL(!) a SilverCrest SUR 46 B1 Ultrasonic Cleaner - made by HOYER HANDEL GMBH. Kuhnehofe 5 D-22761. One is, I think, supposed to use "water for topping up lead-acid batteries" in it - there should be debate on this subject - I have thought of using such stuff as Meths, or White Spirit instead (Roger King has used IPA [isn't that Indian Pale Ale?!] and automotive brake cleaner) 3 push-button controls (Start, Set, Stop) and fitted small basket - probably takes about a cup - or less - whatever.
I am So Sorry Sam but I found myself Giggling all the way a through your Repair/Lube video. In my Youth I worked in the Sex Industry ( Shhh. Don't tell anyone..!) And the Overuse of Lube can be a nightmare also Secret Trap Doors, had my morning Coffee Sprayed across the Room...! Apologies from Digression from fixing OO Trains but my Partner, Son & Self get Great enjoyment from out OO Layout. It just my past 'Perverted Youthful mind' that sees the Other side to your commentary..! Great Video and Useful Tips. Thanks from Kim in Oz. 😎 P.s. this subject will Never be Mentioned again...! 😈
You have proved that a good clean and lube will improve running.Showing how to take apart and of course put back together is a timesaver.Thanks Sam.
Thanks Sam! my Adams Radial went belly up last year and I figured it was the motor, I remember you saying they were weak so I took it out and pulled the chassis around with another loco to see if there was any friction in the mechanism, even without the body on it rolled around OK, I even contacted Oxford to see if they had any replacement motors, I was begining to think it was just an expensive paperweight!
After watching this I figured what the hell, I went into the garage and stripped it apart and cleaned out the old grease and it's running as good as new.
Ahh sorry to hear that Alan - very common with those sadly! Great work though - at least it's better now!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I miss your old servicing videos, you should do more. Don’t remember seeing one for years so when did you release the one you mention at the start of the video.
Sure Rob - got much more like this coming this year! Here's the other one I did: th-cam.com/video/yFeSnTvr0R0/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
You should do a follow-up to this and see how they perform a while later, comparing the different lubricants. I'm surprised you've not tried WD40 :)
John here-I'm on the other side of the pond modeling in On30, but your videos are a real help, and just the idea of not being afraid to disassemble a loco is compelling. Now, if you would attempt a Bachmann On30 2-4-4-2.................Thanks for your video!
Sam. Keep these coming as they give a good idea of the various mechanisms. In Australia you cant just send faulty ones back, you have to repair them yourself. I have a Hornby Castle, not that old with a cylinder block fouling the con rods. Turns out the cylinder block is in at least 5 parts to be assembled. Getting the parts in exact alignment is very tricky. Love you to do a strip down
Thanks so much Peter - ahh of course you can't, what a pain that must be for you!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I reckon you should do another video upgrading the motors in these locos and see if they improve like you did with Smokey Joe. I liked this video seeing the mechanism in detail!
Sure - if I can ever find a suitable replacement, that'd be fantastic!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Looks like another banger video has been given to us.
Thanks Sam.
haha thank you - hope you enjoy it! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
hi sam,thank god i still have my Triang jinty and dock shunters that do not fail.keep up the good work
haha you're right - all these years on, and still going strong!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thank you Sam for making this happen !
Brake down of model trains, fantastic, very detailed and informative
Very interesting vid. Re. the Oxford Adams Radial I emailed their technical department a few weeks ago and was advised to clean the gear train. I have 2, one ran fine but the other was slow. After a clean as you have done it runs much better too - same issue with lack of viscosity. It would appear that the problem is something Oxford are aware of - they were very helpful.
It’s great you got those two working as they should Sam, it’s sad to see poor-running locos sitting on shelves or in boxes so this is great for people that own items like these. For me, I’m more of a diesel person but I’m thinking about purchasing a steam loco so thanks for sharing this video 🙃
Thanks mate- they're definitely a bit better anyway, if not perfect! Sounds good- hope you enjoy whatever you go for! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I think I mentioned this before but it seems that some British OO manufacturers seem to install those small, square motors that look like HO scale slot car motors in their locomotives, even the relatively large road engines. You don't see them in American HO locomotives, not even in small switchers/shunters. In N scale locomotives yes, but not in HO scale. Too much load for them. Those motors you examined aren't much bigger; so, to me, they could be a slow burnout risk trying to carry the heavier weight of an OO loco and their larger drive trains and pulling the weight of a consist.
If it is possible perhaps swap them out for larger motors?.
Hard to get the gears to mesh reliably with the common UK method used of the worm on the end of the motor shaft. Rare to see a gearbox with universal joint shaft to motor in steam UK models. That design allows easier motor swaps.
Sam's reviews useful in showing these poor hard to change motors with fixed mounting design.
Sams Mum : I keep getting metal flakes on my dishes?
Great video Sam. Knowing how to fix them will take so much frustration out of this hobby, especially at the cost of locos. You're the man Sam!!
haha!! And thanks mate, appreciate it!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
As for the issue with the adams radial I had a similar problem with a 50+ year old full metal 2-8-2 mikado locomotive from mantua and the problem with the slowing down was due to a gear that was cracked for who knows how long that after it ran for a while before I knew what was wrong the gear would expand and thus stop the thing dead in its tracks even though it could pull 30+ box cars
A thought regarding the 'sticky grease' - maybe the manufacturer uses grease designed to be used in hotter countries than uk? Regardless, It looks like the motor must be at fault. The lack of friction once you had serviced the loco suggests it can't be anything else. They do look particularly cheap compared to the semi can or full can motors. My money is on the fixed magnets being weak like someone else suggested, or their size/ magnetic field not optimised to the armature? By the way, you don't really need to de solder the motor, you could either buy or make an adaptor that goes in place of the decoder blank/ suppressor board you remove for DCC operation and plug your adaptor in to the female/ chassis DCC socket pins 1 and 5. You can buy 8 pin dual in line headers online for pennies. Then you have a test harness for the future that you can use on all your 8 pin DCC locos and no fiddly soldering burned fingers or melted wire. The same idea would work for other decoder pin types. Finally since both Hornby and Oxford subcontract their manufacture I guess both these locos come from the same factory, hence the mechanism similarity.
Found the Prairie strip down useful/interesting, didn't even know you could get into those gears and I'd had the bloody body off an hourish prior to lubricate it before running it in.
I got my old model trains and coaches and whatnot back and has been great but I don’t have my controller so I’m just dusting and cleaning it all
So I don’t know what is faulty or not such as my class 390, 68 HST, 2 37s and some steam shunters
Have to wait till I get a chance to look in my nans attic
It's amazing what a good clean up of excess oil can achieve, even if it only solves part of the problem! What type of motor was in the second engine you investigated? 3 pole, 5 pole, coreless and would that have made any difference etc? Best, Pete.
It is actually Pete - even I was surprised how well this worked, at least with the Oxford loco. These both had 5 pole skew wound motors - appeared to be the same motor in each interestingly!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Please make more of those type of videos.
My Oxford Rail Adams radial tank I stripped it down and removed all the old grease and oil and cleaned all the parts put it back together and it worked a treat. I think the grease they used was too thick
Great to hear that - quite a lot of stories saying how well that worked! I wonder if I left mine too long, and they've sustained motor damage from the strain?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I'd get a replacement motor for that Prairie to compare against the original one, Then I'd take the motor that was in it and drop about ten turns off of each coil and retry it.
Am I odd in preferring to fix up, make look good loco's etc than actually building up a layout? I am thoroughly enjoying rebuilding my very very early Triang DMU and still yet have to lay down a working set of tracks other than a test track I have in the kitchen lol Just finished getting the power bogie (thanks to John's superb videos for help) down to its knickers and really taking my time in getting it all right, normally I am a watch collector and restorer but I am loving these little engines :D
I don't think you're odd - that's by far my favourite aspect of the hobby too! Sounds fantastic - all the best with your restorations! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
More technical side of the hobby dose make for a reasonable extension of the channel's scope in my opinion.
Afterall there were already videos on regauging and ... lets call it more creative projects with the underwater train, the supercharge train and alike.
The power of glue or as some manufacturers call it "lubricant".
Hi Sam. I have some trains you might like for restoration! A class 67 in particular. Missing front bogie and a few other things. Was my childhood train. It’s a Wrexham & Shropshire edition :)
I use degreaser then re oil with 3 in 1 light machine oil
Hey Sam, I recently bought the BR green Hornby prairie and my one runs fine. So I’m assuming maybe a bad batch is to blame with the fault on yours?
Glad to hear that - yes I am 90% convinced it's the motor to blame on mine!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam, video on wheel Quartering will be very helpful.
Ooh blimey - that's a very tricky topic! I think I've shown my method before in a servicing stream, could be wrong though!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Come back Triang Hornby XO4, all is forgiven 😂.
My two Airfix praires with their enormous 1001 5-pole motors still run fine - if a little noisily!
haha yep - they may be primitive... but they work properly and are easy to service!!
Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Remember cap is across motor can leak current back to source
Duly noted, thanks for sharing!
I love the Oxford Adams radial but with issues like these I don't think I am going to save up for one
Yeah, lovely as they look I wouldn't really recommend it - the Hornby ones are a better choice!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I seem to remember that bad/weak magnets in a model motor can also cause poor running and excessive power-draw; have you ever checked if your models have ropey magnets?
Hi Sam, the other day I stumbled on a TH-cam channel called oobill, he specializes in repairing faulty locomotives and I noticed he uses a product called Electrical Contact Cleaner. It comes in a pressure pack can and has a long nozzle. It might be worth checking it out to see if it is worth using. I have not yet tried this product mainly because I have not had a locomotive that needs repairing. Cheers Greg
Thanks a lot for the comment Greg - yes I've bought some of that actually to test, not tried it so far though!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Are you gonna compare the Dapol GWR large prairie tank to the Hornby Large prairie tank?
Awesome job. On a side note, will you be doing a review on the Caledonian 812 coming soon
hi i have an extremely old hornsby steam train, i,m trying to get it working. The motor is receiving power and is spinning well, everything has been oiled however neither the worm gear or wheels are turning. I have no idea how to fix this. Can anyone help?
Actually with the gearing on the Prairie do the gears from the worm drive get progressively smaller to the driven axle?
I thought they looked like they geared for speed not torque
Oh no the Adams Radial
Great video, Sam. Good job.
Thanks Juan! :D
You'd be surprised how sticky a dodgy lubricant can be. I have know dodgy grease to totally freeze a mechanism, causing motors to burn out. Unfortunately sometimes motor design is lacking as well. I wonder how these are tested in the factory... Do the companies just hang two coaches on the loco and send it on a flat track and say "Good enough" >>>
The factory test vids I have seen are just loco only. Not sure they even test the amp draw is within specs. Too high indicating problems.
Even these tests do not detect grease and oil that gets worse over time as per your good point of grease locked mechanisms.
*when your locomotive is faulty, who you gonna call? Faulty Busters!*
haha!! xD
Great work, I have a worse model than both of those, my Bachmann 57, it is the worst model I own, it refuses to pull a single coach, I have just left it in the box lol
Uh oh sorry to hear that Andy - I'll give that a wide berth then!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Crackin video again sir! Anyway to change or upgrade the motor? It’s such a shame that 2 lovely looking loco’s have such issues..
Thanks so much - yeah a motor upgrade would be the only way to truly fix these I reckon!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
What did they do at Oxford... watch a Marklin brown goo removal video and think 'Yeah, lets do that'?
For the lubricant usage... it depends a bit on what you are trying to accomplish.
For plastic-on-plastic contact which doesn't need filling of gaps, you can try the Faller PTFE lubricant
For the usual metal-on-metal work, a good quality oil will do
For anything that needs a combination of rattle removal and lubrication, there is the Roco teflon grease
Special Investigator Sam, is on the case. Will he find and mend the issue that plague those lovely engines?
haha love it... sounds like a movie trailer! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Like fixed train video
Hey! That was a yankee tune you were whistling there!
haha it was! xD
Very interesting video today Sam really shame how much lubricant they put on locomotives
Thanks a lot James - yes it's a bit silly isn't it?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains yeah cos I remember my first Bachmann Thomas had to much in it and it was doing the same thing
Is there a video where you fix the springing in the Oxford Adams Radial? I've been meaning to fix that in mine myself. If not, what's a good tutorial to do so?
Yeah - I did it in my review for the green one!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hey sam. I was wondering since you fix these locos to a ponit. Maybe you can help me. Right now i got a ho scale train from tyco called the Chattanooga. Problem seems to be with motor and the gears. After a little bit of inspection it seems the motor in the Tinder because it's a tender driven loco has a pancake motor and the motor has a little gear that is on a drive rod and the gear is just not turning but the drive rod is turning. So any ideas on how to keep the gear moving on the drive rod? If you need a bit more info.
Let me know. Google aint much help trying to look at these problems. Lol
Sure! That sounds like the same problem we get on Hornby Ringfield motors - the secret is to strip and clean everything, and then apply a tiny drop of glue to the inside of the gear with a needle, and then gently push it into place (being careful not to gum up the motor bearing or other gears) - only attempt it if you're confident, as it's not easy to fix if the glue goes runaway!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains thank you! I will try it when i get some confidence lol but in all seriousness thank you. I will try it when i get a free day to clean it up. Thanks again! I will let you know how it turns out.
I think the Prairie has a motor issue, as well.
Read motor resistance in ohms
I wasn't reading motor resistance - I was testing the current-draw!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains yes I know
but if you read across motor leads in ohms and rotate motor you can see if windings have isues
Very interesting sam, cheap motors and dodgy quality control looks like the issue 🤔
It could well be mate - I suspect so!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
More from Texas
It's called the "secret door"
please do dmu s next
Great idea!! :D
Hi Sam I am thinking about joining the Hornby Collectors club and I would test Hornby's Loco Samples and give them Feedback a bit like when the Doctors give You Tablets and then you give them Feedback on how effective the Tablets were and whether or not they would work on you and I plan on Doing a Diesel locomotive Bash/Gala and so if I joined the Hornby Collectors Club I would Get A Collectors club 0-4-0 and I could also ask Hornby if I Test Some of their Locomotives mostly Diesel locomotives but I don't mind Testing some Steam locomotive Samples and Giving them Feedback on what I liked about the model and what Needs improving and one of the Hornby Diesel locomotives that I would Love to Test on my Layout is the Malcolm Livery Class 90 and I would love to have one to keep and one as a Test sample that I would Give back to Hornby and I would love to have the first version of the Hush hush but I'm not going pay nearly £200 for a locomotive that I am going to run and actually use on my layout because it is pretty pointless to pay almost £200 for a model that is just going to sit in Display cabinet or display shelf to be covered in Dust
Hi Lewis - that sounds very cool - definitely worth asking them! Thanks for sharing! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I agree Sam I will check with my mum first and then we can both have a look on the Hornby website Cheers. Lewis 👍
Hey sam, do you still service locomotives fans send in? and if so, how much would it cost, and would you take ones from the US?
I don't unfortunately my friend - I'm sorry about that :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I cured my Oxford Rail Adams Radial issue by squirting WF40 into it. Just saying.
Great Sam really enjoyed
Thanks so much Pedro! :D
Just remember when all else fails, smash it with a hammer! lol
I would like to get a adams raidial Sam just got to save up first don’t know what livery is going to get tho :(
Thx Ben :)
Sounds good Ben - go with a Hornby one whatever you do! xD
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Weird how those two are similar and they are from different companies.
Yeah!! There's a connection between Hornby and Oxford rail though which includes fluidity between their models. Even the Hornby Terrier started as an Oxford project I've heard!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Lemons engines
I don't need sleep,i need answers
haha!! xD
Put the cheap ebay motors in them
good vid
Thank you!! :D
You normally seem to fix them pretty well Sam , so I’m gonna say yes you can XD
haha sort of - not a 100% success, but there is some improvement! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam looks at anything Heljan, 'Yep faulty'
Lovely video Sam's Warwells
haha not anything, just most things to some extent, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Interesting Sam. At the moment, my Heljan Class 17 is my best running locomotive. It s perfect slow crawler every time
Hi Sam, I've recently had a revelation. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner for use with car gearbox internals and bicycle parts; it's great for those purposes, but then it dawned on me that I might be able to use it for model parts. For the large vehicles (cars and bikes) I use it with cleaning agents dissolved in water, but for models I tried it with both IPA and automotive brake cleaner because they dry off almost immediately. The results are fantastic - ten minutes is enough to remove almost any contamination, leaving components perfectly clean without any effort. I haven't tried it yet, (and if anyone does it will be 100% at their own risk) but there is a reasonable possibility that I could just drop a complete motor into the tank and let it be cleaned both internally and externally. So long as it is allowed to dry thoroughly there may well be no problem with this if you make sure that the bearings are lubricated again before running. I reckon that the very smallest of ultrasonic cleaner would be perfectly adequate if only used for models.
I use a small jewellery cleaner with ipa and it does the job very well an inexpensive too if anything seemed a bit dirty still a scrub with an old toothbrush and pop back in works a treat
Hey Sam. Ive been enjoying your videos lately, great physics today. I have a video idea or layout addition, but I’d live to see you make a station on the layout.
Thanks so much!! That's a grand idea too - I'd love to try a station some time! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thank you Sam. As an old mechanic, and a guy that used to repair HO, HON3 and T scale engines a long time ago, I really enjoyed this video. I used a needle oiler all the time. With regular straight 20 wt oil. Oh, way back when, I would purchase Atlas turntables, disassemble them, and use the can motors in locos. I anchored the motors down with early GE heat resistant silicon sealant. I'm sure there is better stuff today. Sorry for going on so.
Thanks very much Bruce - really appreciate your feedback and comments! I'll have to look into the silicon sealant - sounds like good stuff!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hey Sam a very interesting tear down, my suggestion would be to see if you can find a way to recharge the motor magnets, this will improve power and reduce current consumption. Is there room to get a couple of tiny neo magnets in there?
Hey Mike - they already use neo magnets I believe - they definitely feel strong at any rate, and they act directly onto the armature!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Oh ok just an idea, does seem as if the motor is under powered, no hidden components in series with it are there?
Hi Sam, Great review, can't they just upgrade the motor, They charge enough money when you buy them , (Love the air line impression) All the Best Brian 🤗
Thanks Brian - yes I think that's what's needed... pity they don't use better ones!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks for that, I've just recovered 2 Adams Radials that I bought cheap as poor runners and could never get going properly, one was worse than yours and the other about the same. Both gearboxes stuffed with that ghastly grease, both running very well now.
Great video, Sam, as per usual, they both certainly seem a lot smoother running. Would be great to see you servicing a couple of diesels too...
Thanks so much! Got something along those lines coming up! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam, two things to check magnets probably gone week you can get a machine on line to re- energizer the magnets. however far more likely is weak brush springs/ dirty commutator. Great video, stay safe.
Good ideas Richard - though these particular motors use neodymium magnets, so there's no chance of those growing weak over time. Could be onto something with the weak springs, though these motors are a bit of a devil to access... I haven't dared try it with these as of yet!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam you may be correct on the magnets not loosing power with age but that presupposes they had some go in them in the first place. you should be able to feel the poles as you rotate the arm, the more defined the better. if it turns with little in the way of definition three or 5 steps depending on number poles then the magnets are shot. looking at the crappy far east motor in these engines I would not be surprised.
I know your probably not going to see this comment, but I really liked this type of video as well as the one similar to this that you did on The LMS 10000 and Flying Scotsman. I also used to enjoy your servicing streams, and we haven’t seen a series of livestreams from you in ages generally speaking.
A small (cheap) ultrasonic cleaner can also be useful for cleaning intricate parts. I managed to revive the motor from my Bosch drill by ultrasonic cleaning. The brushes/commutator were dirty causing sparking. As a sealed unit I wasn't able to dismantle it, but it did have some ventilation slots in the motor casing which enabled the ultrasonic cleaner to do its job.
The factory test vids I have seen are just loco only. Not sure they even test the amp draw is within specs. Too high indicating problems.
Even these tests do not detect grease and oil that gets worse over time as per your good points made of grease locked mechanisms.
Loved the video Sam can't wait for the next one have a good week
Thanks so much Seb - you too my friend! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam, question, can you do a review about a fleischmann
Sure! I'd like to do that some time! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains thanks Sam, I’m from the Netherlands and this one is the only one available for a decent price. So I’m curious what you think.
Hi Sam, I found this video last night and it's been really useful. I picked up an Oxford Adams tank from eBay as a non-runner last year. On arrival, it was completely dead, a bit of fiddling around and a clean-up did get it running - but barely. The loco would inch forward and backward and it could just about move one coach. I gave it another clean, check the chassis would roll, etc but no change in performance. I assumed the motor was kaput. Having watched this video I thought I'd give it one last go. I followed the strip down - I love the trap door - and removed all the original grease. I oiled up the mechanism and reassembled and hey-presto the engine is now flying around my layout pulling 6 coaches with ease. Just to note the torque on mine does seem to be pretty good, if put my finger infront of the loco I'm getting some good wheel spin. Many thanks for this video, it's saved a loco from the scrap heap!
Nice work! It would be interesting to try swopping the motors - as you did to a different loco in a previous video
Very interesting. You certainly couldn't have done any more with them. But, honestly, an older model with an XO3 motor would haul 4 old coaches with sleeved wheels better than that. The magnets in then new motors look a bit undersized. Maybe that accounts for the lack of torque. I wonder if there is a high torque replacement out there. Beautiful looking models though 😊👍
When I reviewed Sam' I give him a high score for value.Would I pay Bachmann money for one? Probably not, but at this level of detail I can highly recommend him.
haha that's very good to hear - I am pretty darn well detailed!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Some lovely tips and advice to fix ho locomotives, very useful!
Thanks a lot - that's good to hear! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
This is great! I missed the latest couple of vids so I’m here apologising! But this was really fun, great video!
That's okay mate - great to see you back again! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Wow. Interesting.
Don't you open that trap doooooooooooor! Sorry, showing my age there 😁😁🤣🤣
And when Sam is finished, he needs to stop it and tidy up! (Ah, Stoppit and Tidy Up!)
Hi Sam, just rewatched this video. My local model shop is selling Oxfords Adams radial tanks for £50. Fully aware of the faults addressed I am still tempted but not 100% sure. Is your radial working well 3 months later after removing that old grease?
Im thinking this just in case I get one and it is the same. I’d like to know if it would possibly fix them for a long term or not.
Cheers
Matthew
I think you fixed them, they look a bit better now you have cleaned them-Ben
Hi Sam, I love all things Prairie, my Hornby large Prairie arrived and ran well odr seconds from new... until it threw a coupling rod! Poor build quality seems to be normal these days. Even my new and eagerly anticipated Dapol Mogul dropped it's underframe on the tender when running in.
If bachann made sam and sam train buy sam Then lol
haha that would be something!! xD
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Np
Why does everyone service their loco's, my marklin 0-6-0 has not been cleaned since 1982 and they are sti... hmm why is there coming smoke from the attic
The rubbish lead free solder is not an issue with China, Is a world wide issue caused by the EU banning the use of lead in solder.
China is one of the few places that still make and sell leaded solder.
More! More! Sam. I've just checked on other comments but no-one seems to pick up your disparaging remarks about the 'lead-free soldering Chinese people' - What do you recommend for solder? Leaded? Or is it just dry joint problems? Excellent video - I am truly delighted when there's a remarkable improvement! Roger King (below) must have read my future mind as I watched you cleaning those small parts. A few years ago and for just £20. I bought, from LIDL(!) a SilverCrest SUR 46 B1 Ultrasonic Cleaner - made by HOYER HANDEL GMBH. Kuhnehofe 5 D-22761. One is, I think, supposed to use "water for topping up lead-acid batteries" in it - there should be debate on this subject - I have thought of using such stuff as Meths, or White Spirit instead (Roger King has used IPA [isn't that Indian Pale Ale?!] and automotive brake cleaner) 3 push-button controls (Start, Set, Stop) and fitted small basket - probably takes about a cup - or less - whatever.
I am So Sorry Sam but I found myself Giggling all the way a through your Repair/Lube video.
In my Youth I worked in the Sex Industry ( Shhh. Don't tell anyone..!) And the Overuse of Lube can be a nightmare also Secret Trap Doors, had my morning Coffee Sprayed across the Room...!
Apologies from Digression from fixing OO Trains but my Partner, Son & Self get Great enjoyment from out OO Layout.
It just my past 'Perverted Youthful mind' that sees the Other side to your commentary..!
Great Video and Useful Tips.
Thanks from Kim in Oz. 😎
P.s. this subject will Never be Mentioned again...! 😈
I am surprised that this hasn’t happened to the Dean Goods, Janus N7, or the new J27