Dublo 3 Rail Layout

6231 is probably wondering what her sister has been smoking !

 

She certainly adds some colour to the MPD!

 

I think so too, though black does look better. I think a single yellow line between smoke box and boiler and another one at the cab end.

 

So 6234 has taken her place in the MPD. She runs beautifully. I still can’t believe the quality of these old locos that are now around 70 years old. Time for some scenic development on the layout. I’m on the lookout too for a freight locomotive. I already have a nice Dublo 8F in 2-rail, but the 3-rail versions seem to be more expensive than 2-rail ones these days - which wasn’t the case just a couple of years ago. So I’ve got an eye on eBay. If anyone reading this has one (even a very rough non runner) let me know. I’m running freights with the 4MT or the Castle for the moment. One of the N2’s is also used, but I really need an 8F. Anyway, here’s 6234 « at home » after running an express tonight. I have to admit, I’m now used to the colour, and really quite pleased with the result, I’ve picked out some of the detail in silver and still need to get the smoke box number plate printed out.

 

I’m going to make a detour on my way back from the station tonight via « Leclerc auto » where I bought the current paint and see if they have an auto paint in a darker blue. This is nice but is just too bright .
With 500ml car aerosols with great coverage and a nice finish somewhere between satin and gloss at only 9€90 I can afford to do it again . The lettering will show up better too.

 

I think I might be on to something here…

 

That looks more like it.

 

The paint maker and reference, if anyone is interested is :
MULTONA Autolack 0799-4. It’s made in Germany by « Peter Kwasny Gruppe ».

It looks like a metallic paint when you are applying it, but hardens to a nice satin finish after an hour or so.

 

I just sprayed the rest…and now I’m getting impatient to get the masking off and see the result.

In the meantime it’s about as interesting as watching paint dry

 

Well… She needs nameplates to be refitted, numbering and smoke deflectors, but now looks more like I’d imagined her when I started this project.

 

My problem now is to find suitable transfers. They’re available in the UK from HMRS, but I refuse to pay the outrageous shipping charges and customs duty levied post Brexit. So I need to find another solution.

 

I’ve found a pair of Dublo smoke deflectors on eBay. I’m getting them sent to my cousins in Margate, who’ll post them on to me. They’ll take a bit longer to get to me, but I’ll save around £15!

 

As I understand it, if I buy from a professional seller I get stung for 20% VAT + 10% duty on top. If I buy from a private seller, no Vat but I can be charged 10% duty. Gift - no charges. A real pain to work around, and so complex for sellers too, that a lot will no longer send to France. If I ever get hold of Mr Farage …

 

A pair of Dublo smoke deflectors and a set of Methfix LMS transfers are on the way via my cousins. Watch this space! In the meantime I made up some paper LMS letters by copying the ones in the advert, printing them on paper and cutting them out. 1946 Crewe style straw coloured block lettering. They were a bit of a nightmare to cut out - so much so that I didn’t have the courage to attempt the cabside numbers ! But it’s a pretty good « proof of concept « . Looking forward to receiving the transfer sheet.

 

I will of course post up a photo when she’s finished. In the meantime I’ve been ironing out wheel and track gremlins which were causing derailments.
I was very surprised to discover that simply thoroughly cleaning all the wheels on my tinplate coaching stock has pretty much eliminated all the problems. Even though the cast 3-rail wheels appeared to be clean, scraping them with a small jeweler’s flat headed screwdriver peeled of an incredible amount of black gunk. I used to regularly clean my 2-rail stock this way, but on the Dublo wheels it was invisible until I started scraping. I finished them off with a cotton bud and meths. Now everything runs fine, so the quality of my track laying and maintenance is vindicated !
Another job has been recommissioning my prewar « LMS » horseshoe motor 0-6-2T 6917. Among the treasures I picked up in August was a reconditioned coarse thread armature. That coupled with repositioning of 4 x 5mm neodymium cube magnets on the ends of the horseshoe magnet’s pole pieces have at last enabled me to get her back into service.
One day I’ll have the cash to buy a remagnetising machine from Ronald Dodd, but until then neodymium magnets seem to do a pretty good job (though 6234 which has 4 x 7mm neo magnets is notably less powerful than her sister 6231 who still has her original Dublo magnet)
As for 6917, powerful and quiet, she’s now an excellent runner with performance belying her age of nearly 90.
Sure, her paintwork is a bit rough…

…but she’s like Rita, my 1985 Renault 4TL


Their patina is part of their history and charm. So neither Rita nor 6917 will be getting a repaint ! Mechanically they’re both perfect and that’s what counts for me.