The LNER Encyclopedia

As subject title.

I have had the insulation breakdown on one Romford Driver . It does a nice impression of a Catherine Wheel when rotating in one place on the rear of the wheel.

Before I bin it ,and spend another £7.00 on one wheel, is there any way the insulation can be repaired ?? There is a small gap visible in the brown insulation.

Also is the any cure for wobbly Romfords Driving wheels , holes checked no burrs or debris. I have used old axles which look ok, could they be the cause ?

Thanks for any advice.

mick b wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 6:19 pm ...I have had the insulation breakdown on one Romford Driver . It does a nice impression of a Catherine Wheel when rotating in one place on the rear of the wheel.

Before I bin it ,and spend another £7.00 on one wheel, is there any way the insulation can be repaired ?? There is a small gap visible in the brown insulation...

Repair is usually possible based on my - groan- near fifty year past experiences. There's carbon tracking bridging the insulation, all of which must be removed until the ohmmeter says no conduction. Back then I filled the gap with 24 hour Araldite, and immediately tested that there was still no conduction. Now I would use a two part epoxy putty like Milliput as much more convenient to handle; and immediately test that there was still no conduction.

mick b wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 6:19 pm ...is there any cure for wobbly Romfords Driving wheels , holes checked no burrs or debris. I have used old axles which look ok, could they be the cause ?

Sadly it is more likely to be wear or deformation to the cast wheel seat. Worth trying new axles in case you have a tolerance mismatch.

Thanks very much, I will update for others info, re any success.
The wheels when bought via ebay appeared unused . I now have my doubts as whether that assumption is actually correct!!.

The wheels could be unused. Quite what technique was used to ensure the casting locators and machined axle squares were made for a closely toleranced fit I don't know...

Success, Driver back on the Loco and no flashing !!

Many thanks.

Good morning all

Thanks for the methodolgy, Hatfield, I've mucked up a couple of wheels by soldering using solder paint while the wheels are still in the chassis.

Now to return to the workbench to "dirty up" some PO wagons.

Earlswood nob

Good to know that the technique still works', thanks Mick; and all the best with your fix, earlswood nob.

(Past suspect of cause was a lubricant damaging the insulation material resulting in carbon tracking. My D2 which was construted using s/h wheelsets was fixed this way around 1971/72 and still runs, but now 'plays away from home' as it was withdrawn before my present modelling period and is DC only and would need a partial mechanism rebuild to eliminate the live chassis to motor terminal connection for a DCC decoder fit.)