At last some new 33s

[JSpencer]

26 minutes ago, matchmaker said:

I don't have a 33, but I do have a 27 which I assume has the same chassis. It's a lousy runner compared to my Bachmann , Dapol and Hornby locos. It gives out a constant "thrumming" when running. I've greased all the gears but suspect the problem may be a slightly bent cardan shaft. Guess what - Heljan don't supply cardan shafts as a spare.

 

I believe they are the same except all my nine 33s run better than my one 27. Not sure why that would be. They all hmm a little but fair quieter than the Lima growls we used to have.

[adb968008]

3 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

I know this would hardly be a solution for most here reading this, but it would be interesting to know if Hornby has the ex-Lima Class 33/1 tooling. The Railroad Class 73s prove they do have the MU pipework. D6537 in green has been the only Railroad 33 release to date, they haven't even bothered to do a bog standard blue 33/0, which makes one wonder whether retooling the Lima chassis parts to take the new motor bogie was really worth the effort for one version. Perhaps they've realised it was simply too far behind the times, after all I recall buying my first one in July 1977, over 45 years ago.....!😬

I couldnt imagine them not having it.

They probably have the 26/27 too that sit on the same chassis.

 

However until very recently Heljans bo-bo sulzers were sub £100, and some places can still be bought around the £100 mark… against that railroad is almost £100, so of the two which were you going to pick ?

 

Now Heljans are over £200, railroad economics may have a place again for bo-bo sulzers… though stacked against them is lack of any contemporary action on the mainline which has been much the reflection seen in old tooling Lima railroad diesel releases.

[Legend]

38 minutes ago, matchmaker said:

I don't have a 33, but I do have a 27 which I assume has the same chassis. It's a lousy runner compared to my Bachmann , Dapol and Hornby locos. It gives out a constant "thrumming" when running. I've greased all the gears but suspect the problem may be a slightly bent cardan shaft. Guess what - Heljan don't supply cardan shafts as a spare.

 

Strange that . I don't have a 33  but I do have a 26 and 27 which are very quiet and run well . On the other hand I have a Bachmann 158 that runs well but sounds like a cement mixer on speed.  With a lot of these things I suspect its the luck of the draw and we are seeking a rational explanation by type when there really isn't one .  In general QC needs improving though .

 

I would be seriously tempted for a 33/1 and 4TC as I have happy memories watching them arrive in Weymouth in the hot summer of 76. The closest thing I could get then was Hornbys Hymek ! But unfortunately the price is too high for something that would see very occasional use 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Legend

[Halvarras]

2 hours ago, adb968008 said:

I couldnt imagine them not having it.

They probably have the 26/27 too that sit on the same chassis.

 

However until very recently Heljans bo-bo sulzers were sub £100, and some places can still be bought around the £100 mark… against that railroad is almost £100, so of the two which were you going to pick ?

 

Now Heljans are over £200, railroad economics may have a place again for bo-bo sulzers… though stacked against them is lack of any contemporary action on the mainline which has been much the reflection seen in old tooling Lima railroad diesel releases.

 

For sure, pre-owned Railroad 33s are appearing at eye-watering prices these days, considering how basic it is - so old it pre-dated Lima's attempts at flush glazing (with moulded-on wipers) and Lima added those exaggerated 'handrails' at an early stage to enable these to be 'chrome-plated' clear of the body surface, a ham-fisted answer to Hornby's wire items on their Classes 47, 29 and others; then there's the inaccurate windscreen shape and undersized roof fan grille. It has to be worth scraping some extra sheckles together to seek out a far superior pre-owned Heljan model instead.

[Torbay Express]

5 hours ago, matchmaker said:

I don't have a 33, but I do have a 27 which I assume has the same chassis. It's a lousy runner compared to my Bachmann , Dapol and Hornby locos. It gives out a constant "thrumming" when running. I've greased all the gears but suspect the problem may be a slightly bent cardan shaft. Guess what - Heljan don't supply cardan shafts as a spare.

Getting any Heljan spares for what you actually need is rather difficult. 

 

Considering the amount of models produced with 'issues' , you would have thought a comprehensive suite of replacement parts essential. 

 

Sell it and run.....

[50030]

I’ve just noticed that the new OO 33/2’s coming into stock at retailers have the later 33xx product numbers, except for grey 33201 which has an early 3325 product number, has this one been done before? 

[meatloaf]

Can anyone confirm if the new 21 pin 33s have tail lights?

[Southernman46]

On 14/02/2023 at 15:50, JSpencer said:

 

I believe they are the same except all my nine 33s run better than my one 27. Not sure why that would be. They all hmm a little but fair quieter than the Lima growls we used to have.

I had a Heljan Class 27 that ran appallingly - there was at the time (mid-late 2000's) a corrosion issue with the as-built wheels - changed the wheelsets for new from Howes and the issue disappeared - might be worth a check ...........................................

[Albie the plumber]

3 hours ago, meatloaf said:

Can anyone confirm if the new 21 pin 33s have tail lights?

I am not an expert on 33's or indeed any loco ! 

However I don't think 33's had tail lights other than the central blind  being set to show 2 red lines .

They may have also have carried tail lamps .

But as delivered , I dont think they had tail lights 

Happy to be corrected though 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Albie the plumber

[Ian J.]

They did have small lights on the body just above the buffers that were hardly visible at night, let alone during the day.

 

[hmrspaul]

20 minutes ago, Ian J. said:

They did have small lights on the body just above the buffers that were hardly visible at night, let alone during the day.

 

 

Looking at my own photos they don't appear to have relied on them. So kept, and used, the lamp irons. https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brcwclass33/e347b9354

 

Paul

[Modelu Chris]

We have one to put a crew into, has anybody any advice for getting into the cab? We have taken the body shell off but struggling a little

[Kaput]

IIRC the cab interiors just unclip once you break the glue.

[JSpencer]

Rails are showing some -  but not all - 33/2s as being "Sound ready".

 

I know about the LED and 21 pin upgrades, but did the most recent batch also include a pre-fitted speaker?

[meatloaf]

46 minutes ago, JSpencer said:

Rails are showing some -  but not all - 33/2s as being "Sound ready".

 

I know about the LED and 21 pin upgrades, but did the most recent batch also include a pre-fitted speaker?

I got the green full yellow end one last week from rails. Its 21 pin but no speaker fitted.

[Kaput]

The 33's are all "sound ready" in so much as theres space for one without modifications.

 

The 21pin ones might come with the plug/socket on the board for a speaker.

[SRman]

On 15/02/2023 at 02:50, JSpencer said:

 

I believe they are the same except all my nine 33s run better than my one 27. Not sure why that would be. They all hmm a little but fair quieter than the Lima growls we used to have.

 

I have eight of the Heljan 33s of various ages and variations (33/0, 33/1, 33/2), and only one has a slight gear whine, the rest are dead silent, so all that one hears (with sound off) is the clicking of the wheels on rail joints. Replacing the early brass wheels works wonders for the electrical pickup on those early releases.

On DCC I found that Zimo decoders introduced their own hum/buzz, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with ESU or Lenz. Several have sound fitted, with various sound decoders - ESU v3.5, v4 and v5, and Zimo.

I also have one class 26 (hiding in the middle of the 33s in the photo!), and the same comments apply to that. 

All of these run beautifully.

 

 

 

Edited February 17 by SRman
Photo added

[Southernman46]

There is a thread devoted to the Heljan brass wheels which were fitted to the early releases of the Classes 26 / 27 /33 / 35 / 47 & 52

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/18693-Heljan-replacement-loco-wheels/#comment-180170

Edited February 18 by Southernman46

[Carver Bridge TMD]

Forgive me if this has been covered in the previous 29 pages but does anyone have a problem with frequent derailing over pointwork? Is the detail fouling the bogey? Is there a well known workaround for this problem? Thanks

[JSpencer]

On 12/04/2024 at 11:06, Carver Bridge TMD said:

Forgive me if this has been covered in the previous 29 pages but does anyone have a problem with frequent derailing over pointwork? Is the detail fouling the bogey? Is there a well known workaround for this problem? Thanks

 

In general no. But sometimes when new, the screw link coupling can block a bogie from turning by fowling the NEM pocket. It can be folded up onto the hook or loosened up by moving it a bit so that it is no longer stiff.