howardpidd

Perhaps then Bachmann should supply a free micrometer with every model. At £200+ it really shouldn't be necessary.

Frankly when you pay over £200 for a model you expect it to at least run without derailing. This doesn't. If its not a a design fault then it's very poor quality control. Either way it's unacceptable.

I've fitted none of the things you mentioned. The loco derails as it emerged from the box.

I don't know.

I'm afraid I've only just come late to this topic so apologies if I'm asking a question that already been answered, but I've just taken delivery of a new Bachmann V2, a lovely looking model that I've been promising myself for a some time, not least because my late father was fireman on one during the 1940s. However, I was very disappointed to discover that her tender derails repeatedly on my 2nd radius curves making her unusable. I have rechecked my trackwork and it isn't at fault, and I have many other locos which negotiate the curves without a problem. I can only assume it's a design issue with this model so I'd be very grateful to hear of other people's experiences and solutions they have come up with.

Explosive news! According to Rails the motorised version of Dapol's water tower is on it's way back next month. I wonder what surprises this one will have in store.

Thankfully I just avoided buying one when news of their explosive qualities came to light. However, this and other examples of poor design/quality control have made me very wary of buying Dapol products. I have Dapol signals that have never worked properly and Dapol wagons where the hooks on the tension lock couplings simply fall off. I like the look of their forthcoming 43xx Mogul and 78xx Manor, but there is no way I'd risk pre-ordering either.

Cutting off their nose to spite their face...

So does anyone know what did become of the motorised version? I notice that Hattons still have the static version available but is the famous exploding one now gone for good?

Having endured a veritable tsunami of wrath for daring to raise the obviously very touchy subject of price and value for money I'll just make a final point, yes obviously ultimately it is up to consumers to decide for themselves what to buy or not to buy, that's how markets work. But for the majority of railway modellers in the real world price most definitely is a major factor in making a purchase decision despite what some in this bubble may like to pretend. And if you are contemplating what amounts to a major investment in say a new loco you have a right to be made aware of exactly what it is you're getting for your hard earned bucks. So if some innocent is looking to buy a Hymek for example and they come across this exciting new model railway range haven't they every right to expect it to be what the branding promises: Exclusive and a First Edition, not some other manufacturer's 17 year old product repackaged at a higher price. I rest my case and await summary execution!

You're right it didn't take me long to learn that any mention of price here is invariably met with a barrage of outraged sound and fury, accusations of whinging and advice to find another hobby. The fact is that in the real world value for money is important and can't simply be ignored. I don't object to paying a fair price for a decent product, but I do object to being manipulated by a huge multinational corporation.

And the RRP for this vintage model is I believe a mere £159.95. Nuf said!

And of course no alternative views have any legitimacy!

No it's healthy scepticism. It's not a conspiracy theory just a reality check highlighting a marketing technique widely employed by manufacturers not just those selling model railways. But please don't attack people for having the temerity to question the tactics of a multi national corporation whose ultimate, and quite legitimate, aim is to make as big a profit as possible. But not all of us have bottomless pockets and I worry that the way prices continue to escalate - as has happened with products in this 'new' range - threatens to price many out of the hobby. I know raising the issue of value for money isn't exactly welcomed in some quarters but I fear is something we ignore at our peril.

I hope I'm wrong, but I can't help thinking that and all this sounds suspiciously like no more than just a marketing exercise to justify 'enhanced' prices for existing products (hopefully now improved in some cases) simply being sold under new branding.

If this whole episode has taught me one thing it's to keep things simple. At the end of the day I came into this hobby because I enjoy running trains and now I'm able to do so. The increasingly complex, and expensive, technology today is fine and dandy if it serves that purpose, but in my experience it can easily become an end in itself and when it goes wrong it really detracts from the pleasure of modelling.

Just a quick update on how I finally resolved the issue of my non-working points. Well despite all the help and advice I was kindly offered here nothing actually did the trick and the points stubbornly refused to function as they should. Fearing for my sanity I therefore resolved to cut my losses and replace them all. Finding sufficient Peco Code 75 electrofrog points of the correct type during the current pandemic proved to be quite a challenge, but eventually I tracked down sufficient from a variety of sources. Extracting the old points and inserting the new ones without destroying the rest of the track in the process was a rather trying experience, but finally it's done and the good news is that everything finally works - for the first time I'm actually able to use my layout as intended. Having originally modified the points as per advice by soldering wires between the stock and closure rails, cutting the wires connecting both the rails to the frog and then connecting the single wire from the frog to Gaugemaster DCC80 Autofrogs, I decided this time to do none of those things and simply install the new points unmodified and without the DCC80s. Lo and behold they work just fine!

Although none of my points were bought second hand I did reuse some of them from a former layout following a house move. From the comments above it's quite likely they suffered as a result, although no damage was apparent. But subsequent problems have now lead me to conclude that reusing points isn't necessarily a good idea! So whilst really appreciating all the advise I've been given here unfortunately nothing really worked, so reluctantly I have decided enough is enough and I am replacing all the faulty points with new ones. I have decided to stick with Peco code 75 electrofrog points mainly because the track already laid is Peco code 75 and I don't know of any other viable alternatives. All I'm hoping for is trouble free running with the minimum of complications. Reliabilty and simplicity are my top priority so I can at long last get back to enjoying my railway modelling once again instead of the frustration and inactivity I have recently endured. Unfortunately it looks like I'm in for a bit of a wait before I'll be able to achieve that because everyone appears to be out of stock of the particular points I'm after at the moment due no doubt to the virus interrupting production. So my pre-order is now with Hattons awaiting developments.

Many thanks I'll try that.

It's reassuring that I've connected the DCC80 correctly. I'm pretty sure that I did cut the correct wires on the underside of the points and soldered wires between the stock and closure rails, both as recommended by Peco. But I really don't seem to be getting any closer to a solution to enable the points to work correctly.

I had assumed that the 'thin' end of the point equated to the heel of a foot and the other end where it the rails diverge was the 'thick' or toe end of a foot! But I'm quite happy to be corrected. So does that mean that the DC80 leads should be attached to the other 'frog' end of the point, or whatever we call it?

This shows where I cut the wires on the points. I agree that power doesn't seem to be reaching the frogs. Assuming I cut the right wires is there any other explanation? k

I really do appreciate all the helpful suggestions everyone has made, but regrettably I'm no further forward. I've spent quite a bit of time testing all my droppers to ensure that power is reaching every part of my track and I've added a number to be absolutely sure. The attached plan shows where all the track feeds are. Maybe a bit of overkill, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance. Sadly nothing has improved. As before most of the points will only work properly one way (shown by the green arrows on the plan, the red arrows show the direction in which locos stall on the points). The problem seems to be that only one part of the frog is getting power and so the loco stalls in exactly the same place on virtually every point when set one way but not the other. The arrows on the following picture show the offending parts of the point I'm talking about. I've used my voltage tester to confirm this is the case. I use these Gaugemaster DCC80 autofrogs on all 14 of my points: The orange and white wires are soldered to the heel of each point (these are colour coded to correspond to the power leads to the track) and the blue wire is attached to the wire from the frog of the Peco electofrog point. As an experiment I reversed the orange and white wires on one offending point and discovered that whereas before the point would only allow the loco to cross one way, but not the other, the situation was now reversed. So for example, when the point when is set straight it allowed the loco to move smoothly across, but the loco stalled when the point was changed to the other direction. Reversing the wires on the autofrog reversed the problem. Now the loco stalls going straight across, but moves unhindered when turning off. I'm sure this is significant, but I haven't any idea wheat to do about it! Having spent a ridiculous amount of time on this problem and not being able to enjoy using my layout at all I'd appreciate any useful suggestions as to where I go from here.

Thanks, in fact that's what I have done. So now to try and get to the bottom of the problem I'm replacing the layout wiring with the aim of simplifying it and hopefully eliminating the problems. Sounds drastic but I'm desperate!