Ellis Clark Trains Finescale O Gauge Black 5

[AY Mod]

What an absolutely stunning model Ellis; well done to you and the team. It oozes quality.

 

Reviewing it for BRM at the mo; I got a bit humpy about Hornby's brightwork on the 2MT but it's absolutely superb on this.

[Bucoops]

Not my scene but to go with ABC for the drivetrain just screams quality (unlike the noise the box makes ;)).

[AY Mod]

I'm bad. 😇

 

The last line of my review...

 

"The other, mischievous, thought that I was left with after reviewing this, in an age where there are multiple manufacturers of several diesel classes is – would another OO model of a Black Five be viable? If there’s a list you could add me to it."

[thegreenhowards]

6 hours ago, AY Mod said:

I'm bad. 😇

 

The last line of my review...

 

"The other, mischievous, thought that I was left with after reviewing this, in an age where there are multiple manufacturers of several diesel classes is – would another OO model of a Black Five be viable? If there’s a list you could add me to it."

Hands off - We need Ellis to continue to concentrate on O gauge!

 

Andy

[simmo009]

Recently had 2 of these brought to the club by their new owners, who are very happy. There were many oohs & aahs from the gathered throng. Ellis & team, bravo, you have delivered in spades with this model, keep up the great work.

[Adrian Stevenson]

A few photos of the Black 5 taken today at Kettering. 

[90164]

Looks very nice indeed. The only problem with the plain black one, especially with the late BR crest is that it would almost certainly have had the top smokebox lamp iron moved to the three o'clock position and the one on the lower footplate moved to be in line. How easy would it be to move the lamp irons? Was there any news on when the remaining models are coming into stock?

 

Regards

 

Frank

[neal]

Ellis suggested April.

 

N

[neal]

The guys also confirmed that a corrected speedo detailing part was being made and would be available to those who have bought the model.

 

ECT do show a passion for their models, and commitment to their clients that is very engaging.  5241 came home with me (in lieu of a pre-ordered 45379).

 

Sadly, whilst Ellis confirmed there was a new O Gauge loco on the way he wouldn’t be drawn as to what it was.

 

Didn’t sound like it was going to be an 8F, I suggested a B1 instead!

 

It will also be interesting to see whether detail/boiler variations might be considered for a new run of Black 5’s.  Given the interest at the stand, and scuttlebutt around the show, I am sure this batch will sell out.

 

 

N

Edited March 3 by neal
Typo

[neal]

So, 5241 landed on the workbench.  As with 45337, this was to have an ESU Lokpilot 5L decoder installed.

 

Having done this before, I felt more confident taking the loco apart, and the boiler came off easily from the chassis.  Again, the wires connected to the front lamp were disconnected.

 

Upon inspection, I did find a severed green wire, one end connected to the firebox pcb.  The other end of the wire was found attached to the decoder PCB.  Happily, there was enough of the wire left to connect the severed end directly to the PCB.  Indeed, this being shorter I figured this would be less likely to be trapped and cut when I put the loco back together.  I don’t know whether this was severed before I opened her up, or if this happened as I lifted off the boiler.  The boiler seemed to come off easily so I suspect the former was the case:

 

The image below shows severed wire (one end after I had stripped the sheathing for reconnection), and the small pcb unscrewed from atop the plastic decoder mount for better access:

 

 

As with the prior install, it was necessary to trim the plastic moulding that retains the socket.  The lobes can be seen above either end of the pcb.

 

And one of the removed sections:

 

 

Reassembly with the decoder added does require care, as some cables run between the decoder and socket, connecting to the small pcb and elsewhere.  With this decoder these were pushed aside to avoid clashing with the stay alive capacitors, but there is not much slack.  The small pcb screws back on ok.

 

When replacing the boiler, there are two tabs at the front of the firebox that wires need to run between.  Take care when dropping the boiler down so that these are not stressed or trapped.  I found this was best done with the model on it’s side whereby you can gently guide cables between the tabs as the boiler meets the running plate.

 

With the boiler back on, and running without tender and pony truck, I was surprised to see the front lamp come on when running in reverse, I wondered if I had connected the lamp lead incorrectly, but this was not the case.   Indeed, with default settings, the loco appeared to be running backwards - not an issue I had had with 45337.

 

Pondering whether this might be sorted through CV settings, after studying the rather large and somewhat unfathomable on-line manual for the 5L, I decided that the easier option was to reverse the motor leads.

 

Opening her up again - and this time dislocating a couple of the copper boiler pipes - it was evident that the motor terminals were concealed, and I didn’t fancy opening the lovely Maxon can motor up.  The cables from the motor are spliced, and the tails (coloured brown and grey) connect to the decoder pcb.  Removing the small pcb again, and then the decoder gave good access to the soldered connections.

 

These were readily re-soldered - before:

 

 

After:

 

 

So back together, and with details added (this time omitting the cab doors in readiness for ECT replacements) she runs superbly.  Again for this decoder set CV 52 to 0, everything else is fine (aside acceleration etc that might be set to personal preferences).

 

And here she is - beautiful!

 

 

Again, I hope these notes (and this time images) are useful, and help Ellis with future QA and product development.

 

I am not aware of any others having the directional issue, and guess mine might have been a rogue.  Anyway it gave me a testing but throughly satisfying morning of tinkering.

 

Neal

 

[neal]

Additional images:

 

Blanking plate removed, ‘lobes ‘ shown before cutting back:

 

 

Decoder fitted, small pcb refixed, with the cables rising between pcb and decoder.  Note with the decoder fitted, this lifts the pcb by around 2mm above the cradle.  This still allows the small pcb to be refixed with the original screw, and does not foul the boiler:

 

 

N

Edited March 16 by neal

[90164]

Seems like other liveries are  in stock. Had a phone call re. my pre-order this afternoon. Hopefully will have an un-numbered, lined, late crest one next week.😀

[zr2498]

I am considering getting one of these fantastic models but a bit late to the party. The one I was after with sound is sold out, so wondering if the sound system (decoder / speaker) is available separately and how easy to fit?

[thegreenhowards]

I deliberately bought mine without sound because, while I think the sound project is great, I wasn’t convinced by the speaker set up which sounds tinny to me. 
 

So I’ve bought a Zimo MS950 from youchoos and one of their dual sugar strand speakers. I haven’t fitted it yet but it just plugs in. The difficult thing is getting the body apart but Ellis’ instructions are clear. 
 

I’ll report back once fitted.

 

Andy
 

 

Edited Sunday at 07:06 by thegreenhowards

[Gilloverland]

Does anyone know if the return crank can be moved into its correct position or are they fixed solid?

Edited 10 hours ago by Gilloverland
typo