 Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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Recently my Hogwarts Express 29552 recently stopped running. All else continued to work so I figured it might be the motor and not decoder. Upon taking it apart it seems that the 2 brushes are warn down so much that there is limited contact with the rotor. I contacted an authorized Marklin repair shop and he said that there is little support for that engine due to its age. He stated that Marklin does not offer parts and to try Bachmann as he had read it was a Bachmann made motor. I know here that I have read it might also be Hornby. I know I have 2 pics I will post of the motor, and the brushes are round. I do not know what the material is, but I would assume it to be graphite. I believe I read somewhere that Bachmann also uses carbon but I do not recall where. Either way, any advice towards how to go about getting this family favorite running again would be greatly appreciated. Also in my research the motor and setup to do not match the motor and setup of either Bachmann or Hornby Hogwarts express motors. Bachmann has their Hogwarts Express motor with a single frame with a motor and a worm gear, which this does not have. Hornby does not even offer up a similar motor in their repair or purchase section of their website.   Thanks, Vince
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 Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 3,564 Location: Paris, France
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Hi Vince
First I am very surprised that the brushes are worn off unless you kept it running for ages. But if this is Hornby or Bachman this may be different.
Unless the motor is burnt I would try to find similar size brushes and springs (if they are damaged).
If you have a dremel-like drill you may even adjust the brush diameter to exactly what is needed.
Brushes for old-style Märklin 600300 could be used (only the carbon brush one so you need 2 pairs of 600300 brushes. You will have to check the diameter and be patient.
Brushes is something I change only once on one loco every 5 years (I use regularly 32 of them) so I guess Märklin sells very few of them.
With very rare exceptions (like very old Märklin motors) all brushes are made of graphite. This is a good conductor with excellent lubrication characteristics.
Bonne réparation
Cheers
Jean |
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 1 user liked this useful post by JohnjeanB
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Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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How would I tell if the motor is damaged or burnt? I noticed like an ozone smell emanating from the motor before it stopped running. The rotor was significantly covered with whater the medium was either carbon or graphite. In looking at brushes across the internet, it looks like they are significantly smaller than any new brush whether it is a Makrklin, Bachmann, or a generic brand. What would symptoms of a burned motor be?
Thanks,
Vince.
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 Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC) Posts: 3,998 Location: Paremata, Wellington
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The Hogwarts Express has been discussed here several times in the past. There are threads that categorically state the Märklin model is actually Bachmann, and others that state it is Hornby. Unfortunately It appears not one of them cites any reference to back up the claim either way.
For "proof" I would like to see the insides of all three, then it should be more obvious. If anyone knows 100%, and can back it up with photos, references etc please do share.
I too have the set, but have only ever run it a couple of times but the photo you posted of the motor brush plate looks nasty. In a Cheap plastic nasty kind of way. I'm sorry (really sorry) to say this but when you compare against more common production items it's glaringly obvious.
My personal view is that in this instance, M. sold themselves out by lowering their own standards and tried to ride a wave of popularity on a passing fad.
SBModellbau make quality motor kits for a range of M. models, I seem to recall they did one for the similarly-fated Thomas Tank Engine but I don't recall one for H.E.
I'm sure you will be able to find suitable brushes but you may need to do some shopping around to find them, or better still, just wait a few days for others to read this thread and more experiences or ideas to come in.
Best of luck in the quest.
Cookee |
Cookee Wellington  |
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 Joined: 05/03/2016(UTC) Posts: 369 Location: England, Bedford
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The Marklin Hogwarts is definitely derived from the Hornby model, NOT Bachmann. Bachmann did an even cheaper and nastier one for the USA market based on pre-historic tooling. I have both. Different marketing and licencing franchises for Europe and America. I suspect that Hornby would be the place to go for spares. Just to complicate things further, despite being Hornby it may have been made in China by the Kader factory who are the parent company of Bachmann.
IanC
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Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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Thanks to all replies thus far. As I said, it does not match the limited information that I can find on either the Bachmann or Hornby versions. The Bachmann was a solid piece with a cheap engine and worm gear. The Hornby was different than this. I have found a video on a gentleman repairing a cheap Life-Like motor that looks very similar to this. I have a few e-mails into Hornby repair shops and Marklin. The Marklins have no Marklin provided info and the Hornby has not gotten back to me. I might just find a set of brushes that fit and hope for the best.
Vince
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Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC) Posts: 3,998 Location: Paremata, Wellington
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Originally Posted by: IanC  The Marklin Hogwarts is definitely derived from the Hornby model, NOT Bachmann. Bachmann did an even cheaper and nastier one for the USA market based on pre-historic tooling. I have both. Different marketing and licencing franchises for Europe and America. I suspect that Hornby would be the place to go for spares. Just to complicate things further, despite being Hornby it may have been made in China by the Kader factory who are the parent company of Bachmann.
IanC Hi Ian, thanks for that but have you something to back up your statement, something concrete would be great to settle it for sure - photos of the models or some documented and verified reference confirming the origin? Not doubting you for a minute and from what I've read there are far more people saying it's an origin Hornby rather than Bachmann or otherwise so I'll go with that but would still like something to support it. Cheers Cookee |
Cookee Wellington |
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 Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC) Posts: 8,234 Location: Montreal, QC
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I seem to recall some posts saying that it was Hornby. Perhaps there is something on the inside of the model which would identify the manufacturer. Either way, if it is not working, you should just wave your wand and state "locomotore" and it should start moving again... Seriously though, this might be of some assistance: Regards Mike C Edited by user 17 October 2019 18:10:17(UTC)
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1 user liked this useful post by mike c
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Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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Ok. It is definitely Hornby. The Castle locomotive schematics match it to a "t" I Just rigged it up with some aluminum foil to bridge the gap between the spring and brush. It was working. Now just to buy Hornby spring and brush. Man what a chore it was hunting information on this. Thank all of you for your help.
Vince
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1 user liked this useful post by number655321
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 Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,594 Location: Australia
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When you do fix the loco, please post the part numbers you used to do the job... |
Adrian Australia flag by abFlags.com |
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Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC) Posts: 3,998 Location: Paremata, Wellington
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Originally Posted by: number655321 Ok. It is definitely Hornby. The Castle locomotive schematics match it to a "t" I Just rigged it up with some aluminum foil to bridge the gap between the spring and brush. It was working. Now just to buy Hornby spring and brush. Man what a chore it was hunting information on this. Thank all of you for your help.
Vince Hi Vince, yes I am also confident that it is Hornby. Are you able to post the schematic images you refer to or a link to them and any other helpful information you found? May save someone else (even me one day) having to research it all again. Cheers |
Cookee Wellington |
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Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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Here is the link to the castle class Hornby: https://www.newmodellers...nty-and-castle-class.pdf Now I am not going to guarantee that this is for all models of the Hogwarts Express because I do believe that there might be different models; the gentleman that I contacted was surprised that this particular model was not a Bachmann. Again, this was set 29552.  I just need new brushes/springs to get it working. Thanks all Vince
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Joined: 11/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 14 Location: Cornwall
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The Hogwarts engine you show there is the Hornby version, it has the Hornby (and old Lima) Ringfield Motor assembly (a bloody awful machine) if you need spares best place I know is Peter Spares in the UK, although no doubt there will be other suppliers world wide, but I know Peter Spares supply genuine Hornby parts. |
Best regards.........David |
1 user liked this useful post by Boxbrownie
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Joined: 16/10/2019(UTC) Posts: 16 Location: New Jersey, Clifton
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So I got it working. Have an update email set at peters spares for ehen they get the necessary partd in. Got a replacement used off of ebay. The springs were shot on my model; about half of what the new used ones I got are. So it works.
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3 users liked this useful post by number655321
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Joined: 09/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 41
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Given how quickly these models seem to fail and the lack of decent parts is it safe to assume that these are not great models to buy used unless you really are willing to put in some effort? They pop up once in a while on eBay and higher asking prices seem to match the Marklin name and the Harry Potter theme, but not the reality of the quality. I was thinking of maybe trying to get one, but I think I am starting to get over that seeing how many are sold for parts or not functioning.
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Joined: 26/08/2002(UTC) Posts: 320 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
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Originally Posted by: AJH4 Given how quickly these models seem to fail and the lack of decent parts is it safe to assume that these are not great models to buy used unless you really are willing to put in some effort? They pop up once in a while on eBay and higher asking prices seem to match the Marklin name and the Harry Potter theme, but not the reality of the quality. I was thinking of maybe trying to get one, but I think I am starting to get over that seeing how many are sold for parts or not functioning. I'm in the exact same position. Starting to feel better about not pulling the trigger on sets I've seen on eBay in the past.....
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Joined: 05/03/2016(UTC) Posts: 369 Location: England, Bedford
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Things to consider: it's basically a Hornby and not Marklin quality, it's been adapted for 3 rail AC operation. Apart from the slider and a DC / AC converter there should be shedloads of Hornby Castles to cannibalise for spares. In my experience, the metal tyres on the plastic drive wheels can slip sideways and cause an eccentric motion so need to be pushed back on concentrically occasionally. Finally, it's out of scale at OO 1:76 and looks a bit odd alongside other Marklin HO at 1:87 scale. But it's fun and the kids will love it. The HP sets for the American market were Bachmann formerly Airfix models and far inferior to the Hornby / Marklin offering.
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