Q1 lubricator linkage question

[spikey]

I rather fancy a Hornby Q1 but that lubricator linkage is putting me off - perhaps unreasonably.  Given due care to avoid mechanical damage, are there any issues with the linkage which commonly occur?  And if it does need replacing , how big a deal is that?

[atom3624]

I use mine for perhaps 1 hour every few months - owned for 2 years - no problems so far.

 

Al.

[Downer]

Never had any trouble with it.  And if it does need replacing you can always renumber to one of those locos which didn’t have one. 

[spikey]

1 minute ago, Downer said:

Never had any trouble with it.  And if it does need replacing you can always renumber to one of those locos which didn’t have one. 

 

But could I?  It looks to me like that front crankpin is necessarily different to the other 5, so presumably if you remove the linkage you'd have to replace it with a washer of the same thickness.

[Jenny Emily]

I’ve had one for must be over 16 years and all still works fine. The loco has run a lot. 

[Steamport Southport]

Not all of them had them fitted. Only about half the class had them and Hornby have released them without.

 

 

Maybe get one without if you don't like it?

 

https://sremg.org.uk/model/q1var.html

 

 

Jason

[Right Away]

Both of my “Galloping Slugs” (or “Charlies” if you wish), 3 and 5 years old, are fitted with the mechanical lubricator, the drives of which have never failed. A tiny dab of oil is applied, generally once a year at the same time as the rest of the engine and tender is lubricated; bearing (sorry) in mind my railway is of an “end to end” design therefore speeds are not high and running is not continuous. The drive is delicate and exposed, but possibly no more so than the motion of some other models - careful handling and you’ll be fine. You are more likely to inadvertantly dislodge the sliding shutters on the tender, but these are easily relocated with tweezers.

 

[SRman]

I have two Q1's with the lubricator linkage. One is fine, the other dropped the plastic pin at the lubricator end after a few years of running. That was no great disaster: I simply drilled a #76 hole and stuck a small length of brass handrail wire in, threaded the hole of the linkage over it and bent the end of the wire up in a tight 'L' shape. It has worked perfctly ever since.