Hornby Dublo 3 Rail

[yelrow]

One controller ample for all track. No booster needed. If you run 2 separate circuits, not connected, then you need 2 controllers. My 3 rail runs 80 feet, around he room happily n one controller.

[Range Rider]

Thanks for that John. Another question… how do you power the rails on the turntable?

[yelrow]

simply connect track to entry rail on turntable. That will allow train to move onto turntable. Then drive across to exit track which will also be live. If you are connecting sidings to other exits, each will become live when you manually turn turntable to that exit rail. That should work fine. Any locos on sidings will have no power until lined up manually.

[Range Rider]

Many thanks John.

[Mountain Goat]

Regarding rail joiners. Hornby Dublo 3-rail track tends not to like ordinary Peco rail joiners, but instead, I used old Lima railjoiners from old secondhand steel Lima track. (The railjoiners are a copper colour). These tend to be the right shape of railjoiner to use.
Not sure if Peco or anyone else does railjoiners the ideal shape for HD 3-rail track.
It might be possible to widen ordinary Peco joiners but to be honest, I found them a bit too tight to try.

In regards to HD 3-rail, the turntable is the only item I have always wanted and never been able to get, as every time I saw one up for sale I either did not have the funds when I saw one for sale, and when I did have the funds, it was always a case of "I just sold one of them" but no dealer had one in stock! After 20 years of trying all dealers I could find right round the country, I gave up!

[Range Rider]

I find the front double bogies on locos derail easily… did I read a fix for this somewhere on this forum?

[yelrow]

No, dont remember many 3 rail loco queries. Doubt if its the loco, probably 1/2 pieces of track, either not fully located, or needing new fishplates. 3 rail locos much heavier and better built than lightweight modern stuff. Do they jump off each time on same location. You have a spare controller. make up any spare rails you have into a dummy layout, say 4 foot, and run locos on that. If they are ok, its your track. You just need to find culprit, and change, or re fishplate. I have a supply of fishplates, removed from rusty track. You often see cheap track on ebay. Worth buying, purely as fishplate supply. Track also may have odd dent, causing it not to lay totally flat. Remember, track is 50, plus years old, and often needs fettling. What i do is gently run a wagon over track. When it lifts, wobbles, or clunks, there is your problem. Points are notorious for derailing front bogies. There is far more maintenance needed on 3 rail track, as while locos, are forgiving, due to their weight, they do like it to be bump free. You cant buy new fishplates, and as MG, says, peco ones, really are not the solution.

[Range Rider]

Thanks John, have just bought these….

[yelrow]

ok, they should be fine. at least they are original. May need a clean. Not cheap, but would probably be same price as surplus rails. Keep an eye on Gumtree, on the net. They are a good source of 3 rail stuff from time to time. Bit like ebay, but not as professional.

[Range Rider]