>I have a Hornby 9F, about 10 to 15 years old, and it displays all the
> >characteristics you've described, as well as one new one - the gears now
> >regularly slip out of place, and leave the motor whirring noisily away to
> >itself but the loco being stranded.
>
> Sounds like stripped teeth on the drive gears. I'm just looking for
> an online source of Hornby spares now, so I'll let you know if I find > any :-)
Mine does the same with the metal gear and the rod it is connected to moving sideways until it no longer makes contact with the nylon gears. It almost appears that there should be an e-clip/circlip at the other end of the rod to hold it in place against the chassis although there's no obvious groove in the rod for one to clip into. Any suggestions on how to fix it? What is it that holds the gear and rod in place?
Thanks in advance.