Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?

I put a post on the what's on your workbench yesterday relating to a box of Tri-ang 'Junk' I'd got off eBay. I got all the locos working without much problem but hadn't taken much notice as at first glance I thought they were nothing special apart from the loco I'd bought for the motor. On closer inspection what I'd thought was a bog standard Nellie turned out to be a Blue No6 Connie with one of the nameplates still in place. It's one of the very early ones with solid wheels but one I didn't have so rather than pass it on it's now on display. Very happy.

I remember one of my first locos, 1st time around was Polly - had great fun with that - good at hillclimbing !!

Al.

My first two standard electric locos were second hand Polly and a red dock shunter. I did have one of the starter sets earlier with the blue continental tank and two yellow coaches But the crown gear on the axle stripped on that and spares weren't available.

I have just been running the blue Connie again and despite it being well over 50 years old it's running like a new one. All I did was clean the wheels and lubricate the motor and chassis. There isn't much left on the brushes but they are working for the time being. Just shows how well designed the chassis was for these And other contemporary locos, especially with the X04 motor. 

Hornby R2297C BR Class110 3 Car  DMU.

Taken a bit of a gamble and ordered a Lima Crab in LMS Crimson livery. Let's hope the dreaded internal weights are not causing the body to rub against the wheels !  I hope I don't have to moan on here later. 

Hornby's LWB Box Van '100th Anniversary' R6986

<Photo of the LWB Box Van>

<https://www.hornby.com/community/hornby-wagon-2020-centenary-year.html>

I gave up on my Lima Crab many years ago. It ended up with the driving wheels just locking up and the motor burnt out.  Very happy with my Lima diesels ( 50,40 and 47) and Diesel railcars ( 117 and 121) which have given in excess of 25 years of service.

I night try again having a look at the Crab, but at the time I just could not stop the wheels locking up.  

I have had several Lima locos with the miraculous expanding metal weights including a 94xx, King and crab. It all happened within a few years of getting them as Christmas/birthday presents when they were still fairly new to 00. I read that some people filed the weights back to shape. I found the best method was to remove the weights from the chassis and bash them back into shape with a heavy hammer. The only filing I then had to do was a little bit where the axles fit into the weight. They have never moved since. The only loco to suffer any permanent damage was the pannier which is slightly distorted around the front. 

I know the Lima motors get a lot of stick but all my original ones still work and they are easy to service. I have had to repair some I have bought second hand. Not the best slow runners but very powerful, especially the King. My two Lima Westerns also seem to have pretty much indestructible motors. 

The cheap continental locos are a good source of spare armatures for burnt out Lima motors. Most seem pretty standard, or you can buy one of the CD remotoring kits. 

MAZAK expanding is normally a sign of imminent disntegration and destruction, known as MAZAK rot.

I would keep an eye on it, ensuring it doesn't destroy the bodies in the process.

Al.

As far as I remember Lima used good old rough cut steel square bar as weigh? definitely  in there bo bo diesel anyway. As it's cheaper. ie class 33 warships and the GWR parcels unit. Which won't expand.