L&B LOCOS IN STOCK !

[Stevelewis]

Just  had  009 news  drop thro' the door  Oct 17 issue

 

Dundas  models are advertisng  that   they  have  stock  of Heljan 9950  MW loco  at  £170  just  a  few  left  at  this  price  no more  until 2018. Qtr 1  or  later

 

so if any one interested.....................

 

Personally  I will not be  ordering.     EDIT  Oh  Yes  I   will  ( Have done!)

 

Edited!

Edited September 27, 2017 by Stevelewis

[bertiedog]

Well..... the likelihood of purchasing any Heljan is fading away rapidly........

[Stevelewis]

Quick update  the loco I ordered   failed  within a few minutes of running  and  has  since been returned  to Dundas Models  its  reported in  the Heljan  thread, I have  also learned  from NGRM forum that  a member there  has  also returned his recently purchased loco as  faulty

[Jeff Smith]

If I was Heljan I would have recalled all unsold examples....

[Stevelewis]

If I was Heljan I would have recalled all unsold examples....

 

You  would have  thought  that would  have  been  an appropriate step to  take, but  maybe logistically difficult,    there  are  some I have  heard of who bought  the  MW loco  but  have  yet  to actually run  them!

There  are still  locos   being  listed occasionally on eBay, and  some  retailers still have them for  sale

 

Some   owners  have locos  that  are  running fine  still,  I thought  my  2nd  failed  loco  was  going to be  OK  as  it ran  for  at  least  20 hours before the  valve  gear  came  apart,  the  3rd one lasted 15 to 20 minutes. 

 

Such a  shame  because  it is  a  very  nice  loco,  with an excellent chassis capable  of  smooth powerful performance

Edited October 31, 2017 by Stevelewis

[Pete williams]

I also bought one , from the same supplier as stevelewis.

Ran ok during testing, but on close inspection with a lense,before chip fitting , found that the triangular pivot pin on the n/s valvegear was never fitted into it's hole in the chassis, also the threads for the pony truck pivots were either overtightended and stripped or had been tapped out oversize- anyway they would not grip and just spun.

The loco was returned the following monday. Got a message back that all the other engines were in a similar condition. Never got the cost of postage refunded, though !

 

Also got a email from hattons, this evening- apparently some of the latest batch are with Heljan for testing, they SHOULD be with the dealers in september.

[Edwardian]

Apologies if this has been dealt with before, but I am perpetually teetering on the brink of a narrow gauge adventure, and had it not been for commitments in the form of my current standard gauge project, I would have bough one or two of the Heljan L&B Manning Wardles.

 

Since then I have heard that the first batch were mechanically very poor, but that the subsequent batch were OK.  Without wanting to appear unduly negative, just how much of a car-crash are these models mechanically?

 

It the subsequent batch(es) is/are OK, which are the ones to go for and which to avoid, please?

 

Frankly, coming across things such as this does not fill me with confidence: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heljan-99501-009-L-B-Yeo-Spares-Repairs/273262699716?hash=item3f9fb9e4c4:m:mo1ELZbdHDBBwnXn79ia_mA

[PaulRhB]

They were withdrawn and a totally new batch are due in September (ish).

There was a relatively high failure rate due to the factory assembly rather than the actual design from what I've seen of several models. Those of us who got good ones are very happy with them.

It appears either poor glue, insufficient glue, wrong type of glue or possibly oil contamination on crank pins might have been the cause of the valve gear failures. The pony trucks sometimes derailed on any track twists because there was insufficient play to allow them to move and the pickups could add to the problem if they had rough edges.

[Edwardian]

They were withdrawn and a totally new batch are due in September (ish).

There was a relatively high failure rate due to the factory assembly rather than the actual design from what I've seen of several models. Those of us who got good ones are very happy with them.

It appears either poor glue, insufficient glue, wrong type of glue or possibly oil contamination on crank pins might have been the cause of the valve gear failures. The pony trucks sometimes derailed on any track twists because there was insufficient play to allow them to move and the pickups could add to the problem if they had rough edges.

 

Thanks Paul.  so, provided that they are not all sold out on a pre-order basis, it seems from what you say that I could plump for one of the September batch with a reasonable degree of confidence.

 

Thank you.

 

James

[Nile]

As you have the right to return it in any case, you might as well. Finding one still available to pre-order might be a challenge, but some people have cancelled to it's worth a try.

[Stevelewis]

As you have the right to return it in any case, you might as well. Finding one still available to pre-order might be a challenge, but some people have cancelled to it's worth a try.

 

ArcadiaRail  Shaw 01706882900  I believe  still has  a few not  yet  presold ( well at  least  2  because  I  have  cancelled mine as  other  things  are  taking precedence)

 

Can  I suggest  that  you telephone Tim (rather  than email as  he does not always  get a  chance to respond  being a 1 man business)  and  I am  sure  you will get  an excellent  price   as he  always  matches  the  box  shifters.  And  in  many  cases  he  gets  stock   days  before  them!

 

Tim  is  closed  ALL DAY  Tuesday.