USED BUT NOT ABUSED

A word about buying second-hand: the Hornby-dublo ‘R1s’ on offer on ebay ranged from mint, boxed examples to body-less chassis. Mint examples are inevitably more expensive and there is no point in destroying a collectable model just for the chassis. At the other end of the scale, a ‘naked’ chassis leads one to ponder what happened to the body, how badly the model may have been looked after, or worse, whether it has been dropped, or chewed by the dog! The bodyshell may have lost the fight, and the chassis might not have fared too well, either. I chose one which was complete, in standard black livery (so less collectable than the green ones) and described as being in ‘good running order’. These old mechanisms were rugged and well built, so provided it is in working order and hasn’t been over-used, a good clean-up and some judicious lubrication should restore the best of its running qualities. I did just that, and it worked a treat! Once lubricated and cleaned, I let it run in for 20 minutes in each direction, just as you would with a new model. However, in view of its age, I checked periodically that the motor wasn’t getting too hot. It’s easy to burn out these old motors.