Useful and simple repair video, I got myself a Hornby Thomas from the charity shop that I volunteer in. I was not going to buy it at first, but I knew that 'he' would get knocked about in the back of the shop and end up with parts getting broken, so I made an offer and 'he' and the two coaches came home with me, He won't get much use because I mostly use DCC for my layout. The Thomas I have must be an older one as 'he' has got traction tryers!
Very interesting. Your channel is urging me to rescue my 1979 Lima trainset from my parents' house and finally make my childhood dream of making my own railway layout come true! Greetings from Italy!
As someone who has always been somewhat "mechanically challenged," I very much appreciate your repair videos, Sam. Getting broken or older equipment running again will become increasingly important to the model railroad community as we leave the Golden Age of the hobby when decent new equipment was affordable. Cheers from Wisconsin!
I bought a "non running" Thomas that just needed a good clean and lubricating, and converted it into an E2, with splashers removed and proper cabsides. Much more convincing an E2 than the SECR ex Thomas that Hornby sell now.
Informative as ever. Perhaps one day you will work out how to get dodgily-motored early Oxford Rail Dean Goods and some of their Adams' Radials to run at a normal speed. My Dean Goods currently goes much better backwards than forwards. For the latter, it sounds as though it keeps shorting every few centimetres but it does it much less often in reverse.
Thank you for this video ,I have this problem with this my hornby Thomas ,this is a lifesaver video as the hornby Thomas is part of my teenage and it would be upsetting seeing it not run, I don't really have a lot of the material on the video to fix it, now know what to do,thank you so much and keep it up
Nice to see you back in the workshop ! Nice repair you shown us here, you give me the idea to try to repair my S15 and the Peckett whose wiring had been butchered by myself due to a failed DCC decoder installation (that inclutes the motor itself toasted to death...). Just need the right spare parts now. By the way, I had seen back your Heljan Class 07 test, and I remember now why I did not buy one : it's an awfull drag to open her for DCC chipping, typical Heljan...
If it’s typical of heljan to make their models very difficult to get into then do work to then to me as a 20 year old I should find it very difficult and avoid doing it altogether, well this will be a bit of a surprise, I actually don’t find it very difficult at all, for me they are some of the easiest models to get into, and do work to from my experience, the fact that you are older than me and find it a drag to open up,or do any work to a heljan model says to me that you would likely find it very difficult which is quite frankly embarrassing, the fact that you are older than me and have probably had more experience with models and find something very difficult is absurd, let me tell you a story Olivier, I recently bought off of eBay a heljan model of the DP2 prototype, right off the bat it’s a fantastic model, runs very well and that was straight after receiving it but I decided to just give it a service because it was second hand and I had no idea what type of life it had before coming to me, I took took the whole locomotive apart and took out the circuit board, motor, both bogies were dismantled so I could get to the wheels and give them a clean, everything mechanical on this DP2 was taken out, with everything I cleaned it, serviced it, made sure it was working and made sure that it was all free to move, after doing this I lubricated the areas that need lubrication then after that came the reassembly, I reassembled the bogies and placed them back where they are supposed to go, this was a bit difficult and took a bit of time but it wasn’t an awful drag but got them back into place, I put the driveshafts back in and then connected them to the bogies and the motor flywheels, after that I then placed the circuit board back into place, reattached the various plugs onto it then that was it, I placed it onto the track, applied power and the thing ran very smoothly again, after that little test I put the body back on which is held by four screws then reattached the very bottom which is also held by four screws, now for a model that is more difficult, I recently has to clean the wheels on my hornby class 800 and I can tell you that to do that getting the bogies apart to get the wheels out while this may be easy to put them back together is more of a drag than it is to take a heljan model apart and put it back together, it took me three days to just clean the wheels of this 800 because various things kept happening while trying to get the wheels back in and get the bogie frame back into place, things like wires breaking which then having to solder back into place causes the plastic of the bogie frame to melt, a whole pickup that goes to two of the wheels breaking completely so having to fix that then after getting the bogie frame back into place and alighting the pickups, all while trying not to break the pickup that I has to fix, I was finally able to get the model all back together but that is an experience that I don’t ever want to go through again so when you go an say it’s typical of heljan to make things difficult remember what I have told you here because if I can find heljan models very easy to work on and at 20 years old then there isn’t really any reason why you should find it difficult especially when you are older than me and likely have more experience taking models apart.
This is a great concept for a video! My Hornby Gordon was an exceptionally weak puller when I got it new (like so weak that two coaches drastically slows it down) and my Hornby Henry simply stopped working after just a few months - I think a wire or two is just not attached in the right spot anymore. It really bums me out because it's not like I can just buy new ones - I mean, as it stands already the ones I already have were very expensive - and I have no expertise whatsoever on electronics and fixing model trains... but I do own a soldering iron. I'm sure there are lots of people who own these Thomas and Friends locos (which, let's face it, are fairly low-end and as such can be pretty unreliable on a case-by-case basis) but lack in the knowledge to fix them when they give up the ghost. I know I'm in that camp for sure. I'd love to be able to fix those guys one day because they look so nice and they cost me a pretty penny. So yeah if anything I'd love to see more of this, but as it stands on its own it's still a great idea for a video.
Thank you! I know it's a real nuisance isn't it? Lost count of how many engines I've had to fix like that! Hopefully you could easily do something like this - just take it steady and you'll have no problem!! :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Well that was a problem solver for me. That is the exact type of motor I found and have removed from my Hornby B12 61520. However the motor in my B12 was not in a cradle. It just sat on an angled part of the chassis with the worm gear positioned on the drive gear. I hope these motors are fairly reliable because to buy a new one here in Australia will set me back around $25 Australian dollars or 12.45 GBP plus postage. So they are not cheap and I will investigate the Chinese connection as they are a hell of a lot cheaper which makes buying them in bulk a lot more cost effective. Even the Ringfield motors here are around the $55.00 Aust mark. Once again a very informative video. I tell you I have learned so much from your videos I feel confident to tackle even the most daunting of maintenance tasks. Well done. 👍👍👍
The perfect Thomas model for the Railway Series would be a modified Hornby model. The perfect Thomas model for the model series would be the Hornby face on the Bachmann model.
Informative video. My sons thomas also packed up. You can get the complete motor and cradle assembly for just over a tenner. Part no x8809m. No soldering, just a quick swap.
Ahh sorry to hear that! And you certainly can - I've bought several myself - definitely an easier method, though quite a bit more expensive of course! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Lol I bought a Thomas off eBay cheap but not working last year . Thanks to your video giving me confidence to take it apart I did so found it wasn’t the motor so cleaned and checked all connections and pickups after a bit of fiddling I now have a working Thomas. Woohoo 🎉 😜
My hornby thomas had a similar issue. It was one of my first 2 locos (my first set was a Thomas and Percy set, so I got 2 at once to start me off), so it's about 17 years old now. First, it was super unreliable. I then got it working, but then the worm started not engaging with the gear on the axle, so I put it to one side. A few years later, I bought a new gear, then the motor packed in so I simply ordered a new motor with plastic casing, complete with a 4-pin DCC socket, and now it runs perfectly on DCC.
Can you start working on the other Thomas characters from bachmann and hornby? It seems with both companies the motors are usually the main culprit of quitting out first.
That's why you want to maintain them regularly. The motor may be defective or just worn out, but hair and dust and congealed lubricant can create so much drag that, first, it slows down, and the it burns out. It's cheaper and easier to clean it than repair it.
@@randytaylor1258 of course its easier to clean it and etc. But i thought sams trains could find or show us a work around or a by pass just in case the motor gives up even after keeping it so clean that nothing gets pass the person cleaning it. I just honestly wanted to see what sams train would do. Would he pull out the eye thing? Will he make a 3D print? Just a asked of what would sams trains do if he wanted to replace the dumb motors bachmann gots in them and probably some hornbys. Lol.
i work on electronics, some of which still have big heavy transformers in them. they are dipped in a lacquer or lacquer-like substance during manufacturing to fix all of the windings in place. and that stuff smells quite bad when they short and cook. but it will also vaporize a bit and transfer over to adjacent surfaces and parts. if the rotor was dipped in lacquer that which is probably what you are still smelling. if there was lacquer, it was transferred to the cartridge the motor was mounted in, perhaps the chassis and inside of the body too. i find it cleans off reasonably well without risk to other stuff with 90 or 99% alcohol and medium stiff brush (perhaps with non metallic bristles for you). maybe a toothbrush if you don't have something better.
Would it be possible to do a video on replacing a Triang 6-wheel loco motor? I know I mention them a lot given my fondness for the 3Fs, but those motors were used in the shunters, pannier tanks, diesels, saddletanks, small tender engines, etc. It might be nice to show your repair skills on them? Heck, it was because of you I bought two non-runners and re-added their motors. 2 running locos for less than £20, in today's price hikes that's a bargain!
THANK YOU! Finally someone made a video on this! My hornby thomas did exactly the same a few months ago and i had no idea on how to fix it, but now all my questions are answered. 😂Thanks Sam for the help!
Hi Sam, great video. It’s curios to me that some Hornby Thomas models from the 1990’s are still working yet this one broke down after roughly 6 years. The only difference I can see with the motor from the newer Hornby Thomas models and the older Hornby Thomas models, are that the older ones seem to have red coils wrapped round the amateur and the newer ones have orange coils. Do you think Hornby used cheaper coils? And do you think the differences in the coils would affect the performance and longevity of a model?🤔 You’ll notice the red coils on any Hornby model from the 2000’s or earlier with the M type motor and the orange coils on the newer Hornby models with the M type motor. I have a bit more questions to ask you, I was wondering what voltage motor did you get from eBay for your Hornby Thomas the 3 to 12V or the 6 to 18V? Also what voltage M type motors do Hornby use in their models? Lastly every time a watch your videos I admire your vocabulary, you use a broad range of words to describe something and I was wondering, do you read a lot? I desire to have vocabulary like you. Sorry if it sounds weird 😂 but I’m impressed at how you manage to convey what you want to say to your audience so well, the way you talk is very sophisticated. Anyway thank you for reading and have a lovely day. 👍
I'm glad you were able to replace the motor on your Hornby Thomas. Now I want to see you try it with some of your broken Bachmann Thomas models (while disengaging the eye mechanism so the motor doesn't turn it)
Thank you Sam. Like these DIY tutorials. Whis you would make more of them. Especially where you can point out where to get replacements motors ( not from loco creators) but as shown in this video.
Did Hornby ever make a Thomas with a "steaming" function? I recently picked one up at a flea Market and it has a switch on the cab roof and a metal tube contraption inside the funnel. It's all wired up on the inside neatly so it doesn't look homemade and the body shell comes apart in sections. The chassis looks like the normal 0-6-0 Horby Thomas one, but I can find no info online. It's dated 2006. Thanks.
Glad you managed to fix it Sam despite them not being great design for 0 6 0 very basic...my 08s of this chassis type with DCC were very sensitive to track no matter how many times I cleaned the wheels/track...I don't suppose you'd have any recommendations for traction tires for some models if you've had to replace any on youres?...only some models I have I've struggled to find adequate replacements as the ones hornby supplied were actually too small for the model they claimed to be for.
This reminds me of a question I was wanting to ask you. I recently revived my Bachman Percy, it fell off a table a decade ago, my dad never figured out what was wrong with it, and when I inspected it, I realized it was just misaligned and filthy pickups. It works now, but I really wish it had a front coupler for shunting. How would you go about adding a coupling to the front of a Bachman Percy, or a Bachman Thomas because I have him too?
Ahh very well done - nice bit of troubleshooting! Not too sure on the Bachmann Percy as that's the one engine I don't own from them - are there fittings on the body/chassis for a coupling to be fitted? Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I don't think so, or at least if there is it isn't obvious. In the position where the back has a screw hole to screw the coupling on with, the front has the hole the middle lamp iron is mounted in.
Nice to see that you got your Hornby Thomas working again! It’s almost like Thomas needing to go to the Steam Works to be repaired or fixed up! Would you work at the Steamworks to fix engines? 😂
Great info here Sam. Thx. The only thing I need to Do, Is Find a Pile of 'Elephant Poo.' So I can at least know what a Dead motor smells like. Off to Adelaide Zoo immediately..!! 😆 Cheer kim in Oz. 😎
Snap! - my local model shop used an old Thomas for demo work, the instructions from Hornby say that the motor has about 100 hours running time, the motor assembly is a spare part, there are 2 versions, standard and digital - Hornby only had the digital one available, so it needed a re-wire, which took 10 minutes (taking the parts off the both assemblies and putting the analog ones on to the replacement). And it runs fine now, the motors are very low quality - I think the brushes wear out or break
Hi Sam ,just see if you can help ,i got my Thomas for my son this Christmas cannot believe it only lasted 2 days ,looking at ebay and listing are different now ,i cannot find the same motor few seem to have shorter shafts and one seems to be to longer ,they also advertise 15000RPM and 020 Motor ,what one would i need thank you
Easy peasy: pop off the lid, pull out the motor, ease off the worm, pop it on the new one, fiddle it about a bit, screw it back together, run it, happy days…😜 If only everything was that simple, eh Sam? 🤷🏻♂️ Good to see the little chap resurrected 😎
He's 0, he's 6 and 0 once more. But poor chap he's feeling poor. His motor fried, he's feeling sore, can Sam fix him to run once more. Yes he can! He's on the mend, over hills and round the bends, Thomas and and his friends. Peep Peep!!!
I got another problem, the drive gear under my hornby Percy (It’s made in the late 90’s which is an older model) broke in half, and I need to replace it with a new one, do you know how?
When you buy a license for something like the Thomas characters, it is limited either by the number of units produced or the length of time. That makes old equipment valuable for parts precisely because you can't by a new replacement.
Your amazing Sam your my hero and I have 2 questions will you review the A4 gathering/goodbye you don’t have to own it and could you rank them and tell us 3 if the 6 you want to have
Thank you so much! I don't think I will do unfortunately - I've already covered lots of Hornby A4s, and they don't make the A4 great gathering/goodbye any more :( Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Sam I'm just curious if it's a smart move to put on a flywheel and if so where is the optimal place to put one before the worm gear closer to the motor or after the worm gear?
It could be interesting - but not easy - obviously a flywheel has a larger diameter than would fit in the motor housing... which you can't really cut as the pickups sit outside of it! Best bet might be to try and find a dual-shafted version of this motor and try it on the outside... could be an interesting thing to try! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Try an electronics supply house which stocks thin electronics solder. Considering that the motor was burned out, and so useless, you could try using a screwdriver blade to pry it off.
Hi Sam just wondering what is the best way to make sure my 00 gauge Henry (Hornby) runs properly as he (Henry) will receive power from the track but he then moves forward and just stops .. any fix for this plz ??
Ive just watched your video on servicing a model thomas, do you think i'd be able to move new wheels and body onto and old model (last type of them made to one with dark blue paint and blue running boards)
so it would be the old motor but new body. this is because i prefer the newer look however the motor dosent work similar to this. it smells and dosent move, sometimes making a huming noise, so we got an old model to replace it, coming with a percy
Either of those should be fine - you can go up to 24v, the higher the better, just be sure it looks exactly the same as the one you need to replace - think the ones I bought were 6-12v, or something similar!
Glad you did video but I wish you had done two months back. My Thomas had its motor die. And I had to fix it . I did exactly what you had to do all on my own . I can say now he does run again but I would have liked to know what I was doing. But I guess better late than never thanks Sam .
I have an old Lima electric locomotive which is currently dead, though when I got it it briefly ran, but it produced a burning smell. Eventually it died on me, can I assume it’s burned out? (Note: last run was on its own with a single coach)
Ahh interesting - that may be a specific Hornby part, so Ebay might be your best bet - you want to search for "Hornby Type 7" Thanks for watching, Sam :)
From what is being described... the commutator probably needs or needed a lot of cleaning. Assuming Hornby locomotives use commutators ... And the motor needing lubrication
They do use commutators, but the brushes seem to break off and cause a short... much easier to just replace the motor for a couple of quid than to try and repair it! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Nice. A darn shame Horny discontinued the Thomas range. Their faces were often better than Bachmann Thomas engines. Especially Bachmann's earlier releases.
Useful and simple repair video, I got myself a Hornby Thomas from the charity shop that I volunteer in. I was not going to buy it at first, but I knew that 'he' would get knocked about in the back of the shop and end up with parts getting broken, so I made an offer and 'he' and the two coaches came home with me, He won't get much use because I mostly use DCC for my layout. The Thomas I have must be an older one as 'he' has got traction tryers!
Very interesting. Your channel is urging me to rescue my 1979 Lima trainset from my parents' house and finally make my childhood dream of making my own railway layout come true! Greetings from Italy!
Ahh sounds excellent - good luck if you do! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
As someone who has always been somewhat "mechanically challenged," I very much appreciate your repair videos, Sam. Getting broken or older equipment running again will become increasingly important to the model railroad community as we leave the Golden Age of the hobby when decent new equipment was affordable. Cheers from Wisconsin!
That's good to hear Andrew, glad you like these! Appreciate the kind words,
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I bought a "non running" Thomas that just needed a good clean and lubricating, and converted it into an E2, with splashers removed and proper cabsides. Much more convincing an E2 than the SECR ex Thomas that Hornby sell now.
That's awesome - what a cool project! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Informative as ever. Perhaps one day you will work out how to get dodgily-motored early Oxford Rail Dean Goods and some of their Adams' Radials to run at a normal speed. My Dean Goods currently goes much better backwards than forwards. For the latter, it sounds as though it keeps shorting every few centimetres but it does it much less often in reverse.
Very much so Jeffrey - you've given me a good idea there actually, thanks! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I love to see these sorts of things, and more repair / upgrade videos would always be hits with me at least!
Thank you Andrew! And sure thing - more on the way soon! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thank you for this video ,I have this problem with this my hornby Thomas ,this is a lifesaver video as the hornby Thomas is part of my teenage and it would be upsetting seeing it not run, I don't really have a lot of the material on the video to fix it, now know what to do,thank you so much and keep it up
Glad you got Thomas repaired at least he's ready for action
Decent video Sam good to see you have got it working again, I so far touch wood of course haven’t had any issues with those motors.
Thanks a lot David - and very glad to hear that - you must be doing something right!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I'm glad that Thomas is okay. it would be sad to see him go.
-Miles.
Nice to see you back in the workshop ! Nice repair you shown us here, you give me the idea to try to repair my S15 and the Peckett whose wiring had been butchered by myself due to a failed DCC decoder installation (that inclutes the motor itself toasted to death...). Just need the right spare parts now.
By the way, I had seen back your Heljan Class 07 test, and I remember now why I did not buy one : it's an awfull drag to open her for DCC chipping, typical Heljan...
If it’s typical of heljan to make their models very difficult to get into then do work to then to me as a 20 year old I should find it very difficult and avoid doing it altogether, well this will be a bit of a surprise, I actually don’t find it very difficult at all, for me they are some of the easiest models to get into, and do work to from my experience, the fact that you are older than me and find it a drag to open up,or do any work to a heljan model says to me that you would likely find it very difficult which is quite frankly embarrassing, the fact that you are older than me and have probably had more experience with models and find something very difficult is absurd, let me tell you a story Olivier, I recently bought off of eBay a heljan model of the DP2 prototype, right off the bat it’s a fantastic model, runs very well and that was straight after receiving it but I decided to just give it a service because it was second hand and I had no idea what type of life it had before coming to me, I took took the whole locomotive apart and took out the circuit board, motor, both bogies were dismantled so I could get to the wheels and give them a clean, everything mechanical on this DP2 was taken out, with everything I cleaned it, serviced it, made sure it was working and made sure that it was all free to move, after doing this I lubricated the areas that need lubrication then after that came the reassembly, I reassembled the bogies and placed them back where they are supposed to go, this was a bit difficult and took a bit of time but it wasn’t an awful drag but got them back into place, I put the driveshafts back in and then connected them to the bogies and the motor flywheels, after that I then placed the circuit board back into place, reattached the various plugs onto it then that was it, I placed it onto the track, applied power and the thing ran very smoothly again, after that little test I put the body back on which is held by four screws then reattached the very bottom which is also held by four screws, now for a model that is more difficult, I recently has to clean the wheels on my hornby class 800 and I can tell you that to do that getting the bogies apart to get the wheels out while this may be easy to put them back together is more of a drag than it is to take a heljan model apart and put it back together, it took me three days to just clean the wheels of this 800 because various things kept happening while trying to get the wheels back in and get the bogie frame back into place, things like wires breaking which then having to solder back into place causes the plastic of the bogie frame to melt, a whole pickup that goes to two of the wheels breaking completely so having to fix that then after getting the bogie frame back into place and alighting the pickups, all while trying not to break the pickup that I has to fix, I was finally able to get the model all back together but that is an experience that I don’t ever want to go through again so when you go an say it’s typical of heljan to make things difficult remember what I have told you here because if I can find heljan models very easy to work on and at 20 years old then there isn’t really any reason why you should find it difficult especially when you are older than me and likely have more experience taking models apart.
This is a great concept for a video! My Hornby Gordon was an exceptionally weak puller when I got it new (like so weak that two coaches drastically slows it down) and my Hornby Henry simply stopped working after just a few months - I think a wire or two is just not attached in the right spot anymore. It really bums me out because it's not like I can just buy new ones - I mean, as it stands already the ones I already have were very expensive - and I have no expertise whatsoever on electronics and fixing model trains... but I do own a soldering iron. I'm sure there are lots of people who own these Thomas and Friends locos (which, let's face it, are fairly low-end and as such can be pretty unreliable on a case-by-case basis) but lack in the knowledge to fix them when they give up the ghost. I know I'm in that camp for sure. I'd love to be able to fix those guys one day because they look so nice and they cost me a pretty penny. So yeah if anything I'd love to see more of this, but as it stands on its own it's still a great idea for a video.
Thank you! I know it's a real nuisance isn't it? Lost count of how many engines I've had to fix like that! Hopefully you could easily do something like this - just take it steady and you'll have no problem!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Well that was a problem solver for me. That is the exact type of motor I found and have removed from my Hornby B12 61520. However the motor in my B12 was not in a cradle. It just sat on an angled part of the chassis with the worm gear positioned on the drive gear. I hope these motors are fairly reliable because to buy a new one here in Australia will set me back around $25 Australian dollars or 12.45 GBP plus postage. So they are not cheap and I will investigate the Chinese connection as they are a hell of a lot cheaper which makes buying them in bulk a lot more cost effective. Even the Ringfield motors here are around the $55.00 Aust mark. Once again a very informative video. I tell you I have learned so much from your videos I feel confident to tackle even the most daunting of maintenance tasks. Well done. 👍👍👍
Sam is all lubrication oils bad for motors? I do maintenance on my models and I want to know if all oil is bad or does it depend on the product?
There is always something satisfying about watching somebody repair locomotives
haha glad to hear that, thanks mate! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
The perfect Thomas model for the Railway Series would be a modified Hornby model. The perfect Thomas model for the model series would be the Hornby face on the Bachmann model.
Yeah definitely - there's value in the Hornby one for sure! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Weren't the Model Series props (Engines 1-7) modeled after Dalby's illustrations?
@@AbbeyYardno they were modeled after the real life basis’s of the engines.
@@cec_oregon I meant the ones on the show
@@AbbeyYard thats what i was talking abt
Mine done the exact same thing this helps me so much in fixing him thank you!
Informative video. My sons thomas also packed up. You can get the complete motor and cradle assembly for just over a tenner. Part no x8809m. No soldering, just a quick swap.
Ahh sorry to hear that! And you certainly can - I've bought several myself - definitely an easier method, though quite a bit more expensive of course!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
WOW ! You must have 10 day weeks with 42 hour days to produce so ... many great shows !
Lol I bought a Thomas off eBay cheap but not working last year . Thanks to your video giving me confidence to take it apart I did so found it wasn’t the motor so cleaned and checked all connections and pickups after a bit of fiddling I now have a working Thomas. Woohoo 🎉 😜
My hornby thomas had a similar issue. It was one of my first 2 locos (my first set was a Thomas and Percy set, so I got 2 at once to start me off), so it's about 17 years old now. First, it was super unreliable. I then got it working, but then the worm started not engaging with the gear on the axle, so I put it to one side. A few years later, I bought a new gear, then the motor packed in so I simply ordered a new motor with plastic casing, complete with a 4-pin DCC socket, and now it runs perfectly on DCC.
Great video Sam nice to see Thomas working again.
can you please restart the salvage or scrap series?
I loved it..
Can you start working on the other Thomas characters from bachmann and hornby? It seems with both companies the motors are usually the main culprit of quitting out first.
That's why you want to maintain them regularly. The motor may be defective or just worn out, but hair and dust and congealed lubricant can create so much drag that, first, it slows down, and the it burns out. It's cheaper and easier to clean it than repair it.
@@randytaylor1258 of course its easier to clean it and etc. But i thought sams trains could find or show us a work around or a by pass just in case the motor gives up even after keeping it so clean that nothing gets pass the person cleaning it. I just honestly wanted to see what sams train would do. Would he pull out the eye thing? Will he make a 3D print? Just a asked of what would sams trains do if he wanted to replace the dumb motors bachmann gots in them and probably some hornbys. Lol.
i work on electronics, some of which still have big heavy transformers in them. they are dipped in a lacquer or lacquer-like substance during manufacturing to fix all of the windings in place. and that stuff smells quite bad when they short and cook.
but it will also vaporize a bit and transfer over to adjacent surfaces and parts. if the rotor was dipped in lacquer that which is probably what you are still smelling. if there was lacquer, it was transferred to the cartridge the motor was mounted in, perhaps the chassis and inside of the body too.
i find it cleans off reasonably well without risk to other stuff with 90 or 99% alcohol and medium stiff brush (perhaps with non metallic bristles for you). maybe a toothbrush if you don't have something better.
Would it be possible to do a video on replacing a Triang 6-wheel loco motor? I know I mention them a lot given my fondness for the 3Fs, but those motors were used in the shunters, pannier tanks, diesels, saddletanks, small tender engines, etc. It might be nice to show your repair skills on them? Heck, it was because of you I bought two non-runners and re-added their motors. 2 running locos for less than £20, in today's price hikes that's a bargain!
THANK YOU! Finally someone made a video on this! My hornby thomas did exactly the same a few months ago and i had no idea on how to fix it, but now all my questions are answered. 😂Thanks Sam for the help!
Ahh no problem Will - glad this is helpful for you - good luck with the repair!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
0:58 "Thomas was dead" was not a phrase I thought I would ever hear in my life.
Hi Sam, great video. It’s curios to me that some Hornby Thomas models from the 1990’s are still working yet this one broke down after roughly 6 years. The only difference I can see with the motor from the newer Hornby Thomas models and the older Hornby Thomas models, are that the older ones seem to have red coils wrapped round the amateur and the newer ones have orange coils. Do you think Hornby used cheaper coils?
And do you think the differences in the coils would affect the performance and longevity of a model?🤔
You’ll notice the red coils on any Hornby model from the 2000’s or earlier with the M type motor and the orange coils on the newer Hornby models with the M type motor.
I have a bit more questions to ask you,
I was wondering what voltage motor did you get from eBay for your Hornby Thomas the 3 to 12V or the 6 to 18V?
Also what voltage M type motors do Hornby use in their models?
Lastly every time a watch your videos I admire your vocabulary, you use a broad range of words to describe something and I was wondering, do you read a lot?
I desire to have vocabulary like you. Sorry if it sounds weird 😂 but I’m impressed at how you manage to convey what you want to say to your audience so well, the way you talk is very sophisticated.
Anyway thank you for reading and have a lovely day. 👍
I'm glad you were able to replace the motor on your Hornby Thomas. Now I want to see you try it with some of your broken Bachmann Thomas models (while disengaging the eye mechanism so the motor doesn't turn it)
Thanks very much! And definitely... I need to find a good motor replacement for some of the Bachmann models!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
A really useful instruction on how to change the motors on these models.
Thank you Sam.
Like these DIY tutorials. Whis you would make more of them. Especially where you can point out where to get replacements motors ( not from loco creators) but as shown in this video.
It's a pleasure - and sure I will make more of them!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Ah mine did this once, I just took it apart and nudged a few parts and it started working again!
Ahh sounds good! Obviously it didn't go into full meltdown then! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Did Hornby ever make a Thomas with a "steaming" function? I recently picked one up at a flea Market and it has a switch on the cab roof and a metal tube contraption inside the funnel. It's all wired up on the inside neatly so it doesn't look homemade and the body shell comes apart in sections. The chassis looks like the normal 0-6-0 Horby Thomas one, but I can find no info online. It's dated 2006. Thanks.
Really good video Sam, my son is now wanting to see if we can fix his hornby thomas 😀
Ahh good luck Jim - hope you can! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Good instrucional video. Thanks for uploading.
Thomas, during the events in "The Runaway" being repaired while Duck helps Toby and Percy on Thomas' branch line
Glad you managed to fix it Sam despite them not being great design for 0 6 0 very basic...my 08s of this chassis type with DCC were very sensitive to track no matter how many times I cleaned the wheels/track...I don't suppose you'd have any recommendations for traction tires for some models if you've had to replace any on youres?...only some models I have I've struggled to find adequate replacements as the ones hornby supplied were actually too small for the model they claimed to be for.
Does the chassis still have the traction tires or did they wore off?
Mine's a later model - they eventually stopped fitting traction tyres, so mine never had them... much better that way too!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
This reminds me of a question I was wanting to ask you. I recently revived my Bachman Percy, it fell off a table a decade ago, my dad never figured out what was wrong with it, and when I inspected it, I realized it was just misaligned and filthy pickups. It works now, but I really wish it had a front coupler for shunting. How would you go about adding a coupling to the front of a Bachman Percy, or a Bachman Thomas because I have him too?
Ahh very well done - nice bit of troubleshooting! Not too sure on the Bachmann Percy as that's the one engine I don't own from them - are there fittings on the body/chassis for a coupling to be fitted?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I don't think so, or at least if there is it isn't obvious. In the position where the back has a screw hole to screw the coupling on with, the front has the hole the middle lamp iron is mounted in.
Brilliant and so informative for us noobs. Papa's got a brand new motor...just check his smile...
Nice to see that you got your Hornby Thomas working again! It’s almost like Thomas needing to go to the Steam Works to be repaired or fixed up! Would you work at the Steamworks to fix engines? 😂
Thank you! haha yeah exactly... and I'd definitely love that!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Great video as always! Too bad I missed the stream, sounds like it was a pretty good one!
Ahh no problem! haha it was pretty interesting with the Thomas meltdown! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I don't know why but it's just so funny when sam days "and welp it let out the magic smoke"
The smoke on the thumbnail on utube tempts me to read it as "my Horney Thomas broke down", the mind boggles.
Thanks Sam, I’m currently repairing one and this shows me the motor cradle has been butchered.
Is this the same motor as in the hornby Terrier?
Great info here Sam. Thx.
The only thing I need to Do,
Is Find a Pile of 'Elephant Poo.'
So I can at least know what a Dead motor smells like.
Off to Adelaide Zoo immediately..!! 😆
Cheer kim in Oz. 😎
It's great having Hornby Thomas back in service. :)
When soldering the motor tabs before refitting you could use the vice to free up a hand.
Snap! - my local model shop used an old Thomas for demo work, the instructions from Hornby say that the motor has about 100 hours running time, the motor assembly is a spare part, there are 2 versions, standard and digital - Hornby only had the digital one available, so it needed a re-wire, which took 10 minutes (taking the parts off the both assemblies and putting the analog ones on to the replacement). And it runs fine now, the motors are very low quality - I think the brushes wear out or break
Ahh very nice work - glad you were able to fix it! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam ,just see if you can help ,i got my Thomas for my son this Christmas cannot believe it only lasted 2 days ,looking at ebay and listing are different now ,i cannot find the same motor few seem to have shorter shafts and one seems to be to longer ,they also advertise 15000RPM and 020 Motor ,what one would i need thank you
Always enter the piece over the screw on the vice as you might twist the drive shaft.
Thomas looks pretty happy now that he is working. Maybe you could do something bout that heljin 1361
Sam very interesting video with lots going on hope there more to come.
Easy peasy: pop off the lid, pull out the motor, ease off the worm, pop it on the new one, fiddle it about a bit, screw it back together, run it, happy days…😜
If only everything was that simple, eh Sam? 🤷🏻♂️ Good to see the little chap resurrected 😎
"can i fix him?" 24 seconds in....."yes"
He's 0, he's 6 and 0 once more. But poor chap he's feeling poor. His motor fried, he's feeling sore, can Sam fix him to run once more. Yes he can! He's on the mend, over hills and round the bends, Thomas and and his friends. Peep Peep!!!
This looks like thd same motor as my Jinty has and that dates back to 1986 hehe. That definitely needs a service.
couldn't you get a 5 pole skew wound motor that fits?
I got another problem, the drive gear under my hornby Percy (It’s made in the late 90’s which is an older model) broke in half, and I need to replace it with a new one, do you know how?
Hey Sam, I bought a bogie motor with wheels and it runs the opposite way to every other loco, any tips for fixing it?
Sad to say hornby discontinued they’re thomas range. But I do want to buy an 0-6-0 being similar to a Hornby Thomas.
When you buy a license for something like the Thomas characters, it is limited either by the number of units produced or the length of time. That makes old equipment valuable for parts precisely because you can't by a new replacement.
Your amazing Sam your my hero and I have 2 questions will you review the A4 gathering/goodbye you don’t have to own it and could you rank them and tell us 3 if the 6 you want to have
Thank you so much! I don't think I will do unfortunately - I've already covered lots of Hornby A4s, and they don't make the A4 great gathering/goodbye any more :(
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I do like these repair videos 👍👍👍
Is the Bachmann Thomas HO and not OO ? Great work getting Thomas cleaned and working again...
Sam I'm just curious if it's a smart move to put on a flywheel and if so where is the optimal place to put one before the worm gear closer to the motor or after the worm gear?
It could be interesting - but not easy - obviously a flywheel has a larger diameter than would fit in the motor housing... which you can't really cut as the pickups sit outside of it! Best bet might be to try and find a dual-shafted version of this motor and try it on the outside... could be an interesting thing to try!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains thankyou so much
Will there be a salvage or scrap season 2?
Awesome video today Sam so glad you’re Thomas is working again
Thanks James - me too! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
This was a good video Sam. By any chance do you know where I can get myself one of those gear pulling tools?
Try an electronics supply house which stocks thin electronics solder. Considering that the motor was burned out, and so useless, you could try using a screwdriver blade to pry it off.
Sam's link is currently sold out - Ali Express have similar ones
Good Job 😄😄😄😄
I honestly hate when this happens, as it happened to my Thomas as well, same model and all. Hornby has to get their crap together
Great one, Sam, nice to see him back on the rails after that... failure... -TIDS
Thank you!! I was very glad to see him work again for sure! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam just wondering what is the best way to make sure my 00 gauge Henry (Hornby) runs properly as he (Henry) will receive power from the track but he then moves forward and just stops .. any fix for this plz ??
Ive just watched your video on servicing a model thomas, do you think i'd be able to move new wheels and body onto and old model (last type of them made to one with dark blue paint and blue running boards)
so it would be the old motor but new body.
this is because i prefer the newer look however the motor dosent work similar to this. it smells and dosent move, sometimes making a huming noise, so we got an old model to replace it, coming with a percy
If Hornby reintroduces their Thomas range in the revival era, they should make more characters and also update some of the characters.
That would be very cool to see!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
hi sam,i have re engined all my 0-6-0 locos with the latest motor with a brass worm on the end which seems much better.
Ahh fantastic - sounds like a very worthy upgrade Peter!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Cool repair!
This is the reason why I prefer Bachmann Thomas because he has lasted me a long time but my Hornby Thomas only last 2 weeks and he stopped working.
Nice repair work Sam.
Thanks Sean! :D
Well done - I don't think I could do that!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂
Great video Sam, will you make a Discord server
Hi Sam, I was wondering what voltage motor did you get from eBay for your Hornby Thomas, the 3 to 12V or the 6 to 18V?
Many thanks.
Either of those should be fine - you can go up to 24v, the higher the better, just be sure it looks exactly the same as the one you need to replace - think the ones I bought were 6-12v, or something similar!
@@SamsTrains thank you for the information. 👍
And my second question is could you do a strength competition between Tornado,Mallard and Flying Scotsman
That sounds fun Cairo - great idea! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Glad you did video but I wish you had done two months back. My Thomas had its motor die. And I had to fix it . I did exactly what you had to do all on my own . I can say now he does run again but I would have liked to know what I was doing. But I guess better late than never thanks Sam .
Thanks for sharing 👍♐♐♐♐♐
I have an old Lima electric locomotive which is currently dead, though when I got it it briefly ran, but it produced a burning smell. Eventually it died on me, can I assume it’s burned out? (Note: last run was on its own with a single coach)
Great Video Sam you should do more like this
Cheers Willow & Jasper
Thank you! Yeah I should actually - will do more soon! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
hola buenas tardes excelente video de como reparar el motor de una locomotora muchas gracias por subir el video abrazo grande
Well done! You fixed our dear number 1 haha
haha very much so! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Missed an opportunity here, should have done it as a Salvage or Scrap! We never got to see what the scrap man does in the end
haha yeah! Not quite enough work to do for a Salvage or Scrap though!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
That was my request lol Sorry Sam, Glad you have mended Thomas 👍
haha yeah I remember someone requested it actually!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Great video Sam!
Thank you very much! :D
l have got a problem with my Hornby Thomas there is somethin wrong with the worm drive can u tell were l can get a new worm drive
Ahh interesting - that may be a specific Hornby part, so Ebay might be your best bet - you want to search for "Hornby Type 7"
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
From what is being described... the commutator probably needs or needed a lot of cleaning. Assuming Hornby locomotives use commutators ... And the motor needing lubrication
They do use commutators, but the brushes seem to break off and cause a short... much easier to just replace the motor for a couple of quid than to try and repair it!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
H sam I hope you're ok
Glad to see it workin and now i know what might be wrong with mine
Hope you are too Lewis! Ahh good - maybe this could help you fix it then? :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I was just watching a hornby Thomas on a video and this got uploaded lol
haha awesome!! Sorry to have ruined your fun with this, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Of cource it is a Hornby loco. I just bought a Hornby TTS fitted tornado. Hopefully the loco is fine. It is for my Birthday which is in a few weeks.
Ooh very nice - really hope you enjoy it - and Happy birthday for in a few weeks! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Nice. A darn shame Horny discontinued the Thomas range. Their faces were often better than Bachmann Thomas engines. Especially Bachmann's earlier releases.
Yeah it's a pity - I like their faces too!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Every Hornby Thomas owner has experienced this unexpected breakdown
haha you reckon?! It sure seems quite common!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains yea i had a hornby thomas didnt last me a week, motor blew out when i tryed to start it XD