Locomotives DOA

[rogerzilla]

How many other people have this issue?  I've had four in the last three months, about a 50% failure rate.  Two that did a couple of circuits and then died, one where lights didn't work on one end.  All these were new.  One s/h one which had rattled about in its box (bad packaging) and broken a wire to the motor.

 

I believe model trains are classed as toys to dodge regulations on consumer durables (which would need a 2 year warranty) but quality is woeful, really.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

What products are these?

 

Over the same time period I am on 3 out of 3 new purchases, all good. They have had my usual programme of intensive running to shake out any infant mortality in functional components: all the detail has remained attached throughout, which typically means it will stay attached 'forever' unless I am clumsy with the model. 

2 x Oxford N7 (one for myself, the other now gone on to a friend following decoder fitting).

Dapol class 21 (all the lights work, but I haven't yet got around to puzzling out their optimal control with the decoder I have used, this being very low down my priority stack!).

 

Second hand - and I purchase a fair quantity though no traction recently as nothing suitable has turned up - it is the luck of the draw. Usually fine, or only with a defect reported by the vendor when offered for sale; occasionally damaged either by vendor or transport. My largest s/h sampling of traction is Bachmann's Cravens DMU, their vulnerability to the cab front windows 'coming loose' or perhaps pushed inwards by mishandling; underside detail detached, again whether by mishandling or simply falling off, has been the only trouble: easily rectified.

[rogerzilla]

Two Farish, one Dapol N gauge.  The eBay one was a Bachmann but that was just careless packing, allowing it to shake itself to death in the post.

[Sam Moss]

We treated ourselves at the club to a couple of new locos from the Rails sale and one of the O4's turned up completely dead. Motor and pickup connections where fine and all the connnections on the circuit board in the tender were ok. In the end we just took out the DCC stuff and wired the pick ups straight to the motor. Couldn't be bothered to send back. The club won't ever run it on DCC so no harm done.