well filled baps The Sheep Chronicles : These are the adventures of a Sheep, the Works Forecat and Naughty George,

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

Has the above contributed to my malaise?

Very probably.

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, St Enodoc said:

Very probably.

 

Doesn't take much to cause the mojo to walk off in a huff I'm afraid Kevin.

[90rob]

9 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Very probably.

 

I'm glad you said that! A new pedigree terrier turned up this weekend, and it has turned out to be a right dog...

 

[NHY 581]

2 minutes ago, 90rob said:

 

I'm glad you said that! A new pedigree terrier turned up this weekend, and it has turned out to be a right dog...

 

 

It can't be any worse that my Hornby example which, after a bit of tweaking is almost there but it was not initially encouraging.....

 

Rob. 

[Gilbert]

2 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

Morning all. 

 

There is little ( actually nothing ) going on in the way of anything new. 

Being honest, I have unfortunately lost interest in anything that was planned. I can't account for it but sadly, I really don't see this changing any time soon. 

 

However, I have a couple of layouts to be going on with and have been playing with them. 

 

I did however purchase a new Peckett, a B2. That did not go well. Three examples and all are reasonably good in forwards but halt and start abruptly in reverse. Simply not good enough. 

It was suggested when I took the first back that I should consider going DCC to get the degree of control I seemed to require. Why? 

Other locos run to an acceptable standard on the existing set up. So as far as I am concerned there are no changes required there. My recent purchases haven't been acceptable runners and have been returned as unfit. 3 x Beattie Well tanks ( tight spot on all three despite much running in) 3x Peckets as per above. 

A Heljan 1366 was fine after reading up on here about issues with tight axles. An adjustment to the chassis base plates ( can't think of the correct term....) but why two  of them !! and things were all good. 

A Hattons P class was perfect straight from the box as was a Dapol B4. 

 

Has the above contributed to my malaise?

 

Can't say for sure but its been a tad disappointing. In total, nine locos tried and only three found to be good enough. 

 

 

On the back of the Peckett debacle, I dug out Westminster by way of a comparison. I knew the new one wasn't acceptable but I sought confirmation. Was I expecting too much? I wasn't disappointed so no. Westminster ran very well, slowing to a nice crawl and halt. Nothing abrupt about that one. 

 

Therefore the new Peckett is packed up and its now awaiting a return to the shop. Not sure how that will go to be honest but it isn't right so why should I accept that it is? 

 

In the meantime, I shall continue to play with my trainsets..........

 

Rob. 

 

Morning Rob

 

I think we all get setbacks that kidnap our  Mojo....I'm not even really running trains at the moment although I did get Penmaenbach up and running for a photo session and quite enjoyed myself....I have plans, baseboards  and materials for that S&D branchline but its very much stalled.

 

The receipt of a duff loco is quite a regular occurence sadly and I have learnt to use my regular sources rather than grabbing opportunistic bargains off the net.

 

We are not alone. This is lifted from a post today on the British Railway Modelling FB page.

 

"Not a happy bunny...another six month old Hornby loco has its valve gear fall to pieces... this time on an S15... in the last year I’ve had to repair my two Q1’s automatic lubricators with sheared pins, 9F linkage rivet fell out, Rebuilt Merchant Navy expansion link fell to pieces... lubrication and correct servicing count for nothing if tolerances are poor... oh, and did I mention Mazak rot on my T9 ...grrrrrr" 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/137680486384860

 

At last the sun's out and I'm managing to see a bit of the real thing...

 

Chris

[MrWolf]

As we are paying substantially more than we were for model locomotives, I think that we have every right to expect more from them.

All the fine details and livery variations aside, the absolute basic concept of a model railway locomotive is that it is self propelled and behaves like the real thing. I have some ancient locomotives here by several popular manufacturers and they all work.

 

By the sound of it, your works well going forward but not backwards issue is related to the alignment between the gear on the motor shaft and the first driven gear. There's enough clearance for it to start smoothly one way, but the other the motor is jacked up as it were trying to climb over the driven gear until there's sufficient power fed to the motor to overcome the resistance of friction. It may be a case of putting shims under the motor to increase the root to tip clearance on the gear teeth.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by MrWolf
SNAFU

[Barry O]

Fortunately my Peckett (Ryhope) has always been ok. What is concerning if the appalling QC to be seen in new items from China (not just with Hornby and Bachmann.. look at the wonky steps on the GT3). It all contributes to losing your mojo. Hence, i have stopped buying new locos unless I can build them or  tweak them. 

 

The way you describe it rob it is a gear misalignment problem.. asnin someone in a factory has got the gears in the wrong place. It is very annoying though. 

 

Hopefully a replacement which works can be obtained.

 

Baz

[90rob]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

.... It all contributes to losing your mojo. Hence, i have stopped buying new locos unless I can build them or  tweak them....

 

 

 

That is exactly the conclusion that I have come to (for the third time!)

[MrWolf]

It's certainly put me off buying new locos. I will be upgrading the ones that I have and searching for more relics.

It certainly explains the rise in price of some of the old Bachmann Branch Line models on eBay, I think that people are willing to risk the chance of monkey metal rot for a locomotive that looks good and does what it is supposed to.

Perhaps the manufacturers ought to know how many people are unwilling to potentially waste their money on items that are unfit for purpose (I believe that there's something in the trades description act on that.) or be put off the hobby altogether.

 

Manufacturers sit up and take note.

Or are you happily making enough profit just selling to collectors who buy one for the display cabinet and one to put away unopened as an "investment"?

[90rob]

Yes I really think we need a new thread on making more of what we already have (particularly engine wise) - it could be called something like 'Parsimony, frugality and downright stinginess'!  Having said that, it is probably not just the money involved - it is the sense of disappointment we all seem to experience when the package arrives and it contains something which looks great but just will not perform in the way it ought too. I know I have dug out my old reliable panniers, collett goods and 45xxs - high time I made more of them...!

 

I'm ranting - I have decided what I am going to do, and that is to not buy any new engines unless I can go to my local model shop (Alton for me) where I can have anything that might tempt me test run! Oh, and avoid the online 'bargains'...!

[mullie]

The last new loco I bought was the J15 when released, since then I have been upgrading old locos and wagons as well as buildings I made. Some are over 20 years old.

 

Admittedly it also coincided with a move to EM as well as developing my chassis building and soldering skills.

 

I know not all will want to do this but it has reinvigorated my modelling which I felt was losing direction.

 

Hope you find your mojo soon Rob.

 

Martyn 

[keefr2]

7 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

Please don't let my recent experiences influence any progress you make with any projects.

 

Thanks Rob, tbh it wasn't really your experiences alone, I've read of so many other problems from other threads and forums I was just starting to think it just wasn't worth bothering with. However your comment had a more positive effect as I thought seeing as I have a working Pannier (or at least did have when I bought it!!) and as I had a couple of shelves ready for a baseboard why not just see if I can do something with what I have. So I disappeared up to the model room to dig out said Pannier - and found a Heljan Class 14 I'd completely forgotten about and which is also a great runner! So I put together a simple track plan of a run-around with a siding off the loop, bodged together the wiring and to my surprise the diesel ran up and down, through the loop and onto the siding and back again! So, my enthusiasm has returned - hope yours does soon too!

 

Keith

[NHY 581]

1 minute ago, keefr2 said:

 

Thanks Rob, tbh it wasn't really your experiences alone, I've read of so many other problems from other threads and forums I was just starting to think it just wasn't worth bothering with. However your comment had a more positive effect as I thought seeing as I have a working Pannier (or at least did have when I bought it!!) and as I had a couple of shelves ready for a baseboard why not just see if I can do something with what I have. So I disappeared up to the model room to dig out said Pannier - and found a Heljan Class 14 I'd completely forgotten about and which is also a great runner! So I put together a simple track plan of a run-around with a siding off the loop, bodged together the wiring and to my surprise the diesel ran up and down, through the loop and onto the siding and back again! So, my enthusiasm has returned - hope yours does soon too!

 

Keith

 

 

Now that has really made my day, Keith.  Great to hear and so glad you've had the chance to play trains. There's such a lot to be said for it. 

 

Now, it doesn't have to be Clapham Junction. Perhaps use this as a test bed to practice on ? 

 

Please keep us updated. No pressure but any progress, no matter how small, is progress. 

 

Rob. 

[Stubby47]

13 minutes ago, keefr2 said:

...and found a Heljan Class 14 I'd completely forgotten about

 

Is that a good thing or a worrying sign...

[keefr2]

Thanks Rob, no plans for Clapham Junction, tbh all my failed layouts in the past have been due to me wanting to be too ambitious. The track plan will stay as is, I need to lay the track better (and clean it!), wire it properly and then i can get onto the scenic work - which is probably what I enjoy most.

 

Keith

[keefr2]

2 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Is that a good thing or a worrying sign...

 

Bit of both I imagine...!! 

[Captain Kernow]

I've just caught up with this thread after a hard day on garden duties of various kinds.

 

Oh dear. Don't get me started on this.

 

Oh, you already have.

 

Reliable smooth running is a key, essential ingredient for any locomotive and I also agree that DCC ought to make no difference, if the mechanism is set up well and correctly. Then again, I know nothing about DCC.

 

I have been as frustrated with certain RTR mechanisms as all of you who have commented on this thread recently. It's got to the stage where I don't trust anything to run properly. Some items have been returned and then changed for another example, only for that not to run very well either. In the end, I loose interest in said loco and put it in the cupboard, as I tire of constantly sending stuff back to the retailer (I know I should keep doing this, but it makes me loose the will to live).

 

Eventually, the loco will get dusted off again and once again, I am reminded of my earlier disappointment.

 

Then, one of two things usually happens.

 

Either the loco gets packaged up with the latest consignment of 'brand new but unused stuff that I've decided not to keep' and gets sent to Hattons, in exchange for money.

 

On the other hand, if it's a loco that I really want or need, then it gets a new chassis, by which I mean an etched chassis kit, with a (usually) highly-geared High Level gearbox and a Mashima motor, maybe even a flywheel, if there's room. That way, if it still doesn't run properly, it's no one's fault but my own (or would be, if Markits wheels self-quartered correctly - mostly they do, but the debacle over the recent 16XX is still fresh in my mind).

 

I've now replaced several RTR chassis with etched chassis, as described above and these are for locos that are staying OO.

 

For P4, I almost always give a steam loco a replacement chassis, as the wider gauge makes things like RTR pick ups and brake shoes more trouble than they are worth (although I am planning on starting a Bachmann 8750 conversion shortly, using some Ultrascale wheels that I've had for a long time).

 

What I don't really understand is why Bachmann diesels, for example, almost always run better than their steam locos (odds are that this will be the case, anyway and it's certainly my experience).

 

Also, why some manufacturers seem to get it right and others don't. Like Rob, my Dapol B4 is superb, yet some of my Hornby Pecketts are going to have something unspeakable done to their innards in due course.

 

Another brilliant runner out of the box is a Heljan 05. I also have a Hattons 'P' class, which pretty good as well.

 

However, there is another factor to consider, that of feedback control in DC, which I have only recently begun to appreciate.

 

I can think of three locos (all acquired from others) that ran indifferently on conventional DC controllers (and all three had kit or scratchbuilt chassis and decent motor and gearbox combinations). Yet when presented with one of my AMR hand-held controllers, which seem to use a mild feedback, the running improved so much that none of them is any longer due a replacement chassis. This was confirmed on a recently acquired Gaugemaster feedback hand-held controller.

 

I don't really understand all this feedback malarky, despite earnest and strenuous efforts by kind folk to explain it to me, but there does seem to be something in it.

 

That said, I've always said that I would be prepared to pay more for an RTR loco that could be guaranteed to run better, without any of this faffing about or angst. Continental manufacturers seem to be able to achieve this more consistently, even if it is at a premium.

 

[Ighten]

I sometimes wonder if some of the gearing ratios that are applied to "shall we say small little steam shunters" are just absurd and don't help the issue before the then failings of other  QC  issues come into play...   

 

I   returned a "Charity" Peckett to a retailer who I wont name only to be told there was nothing wrong with it as we watched it hurtle along semi smoothly with a slight disco hip move at a scale 80mph on his test track - Perfect!!!!

 

Anyway we need more pictures - and more baps

[NHY 581]

On 31/05/2021 at 23:13, Ighten said:

Anyway we need more pictures - and more baps

 

Well, the Peckett was returned.............

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by NHY 581

[MrWolf]

Iffy shade of green on those locos and your signwriter is clearly dyslexic. Only got the last three letters right - ERN. 

[Ramblin Rich]

8 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Iffy shade of green on those locos and your signwriter is clearly dyslexic. Only got the last three letters right - ERN. 

Surely only one can be ERN. The other has to be ERIC.

 

[chuffinghell]

14 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Iffy shade of green on those locos and your signwriter is clearly dyslexic. Only got the last three letters right - ERN. 

Ouch 

[Ramblin Rich]

Rob, sorry to read that the mojo has faltered. It really doesn't take much of a setback to make what's supposed to be fun turn into a chore, then get ignored. I'm certainly guilty of that. Just hope you do get some enjoyment out if what you have, so that the mojo can re-emerge into the daylight at some stage....

[chuffinghell]

22 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

 

Well, the Peckett was returned.............

 

That’s a shame 

[chuffinghell]

23 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Iffy shade of green on those locos and your signwriter is clearly dyslexic. Only got the last three letters right - ERN. 

 

I find that comment offensive!

 

I’m dyslexic and I’m also a member of the ERN (National Dyslexic Association)

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by chuffinghell