HELJAN UNVEILS ‘OO’ GAUGE 25/3 AND ‘ETHEL’ FOR 2019

[40002]

So got my V2 model today exterior wise not much different fortunately the same color as V1 some cabling picked out in orange on V2 the door handles still not quite right but a little better than V1. V2 is on the left in the photo. Although they have put less pipework on the beam I think you may still have to remove what they have put on for a standard coupling to work properly. The underside air tanks still potentially restrict bogie movement and may have to remove them. Having put in my DCC sound Decoder I can confirm the  lighting can now be individually switched which is the main improvement for me.

Edited February 15 by 40002
factual error

[MikeParkin65]

47 minutes ago, 40002 said:

So got my V2 model today exterior wise not much different fortunately the same color as V1 some cabling picked out in orange on V2 the door handles still not quite right but a little better than V1. V2 is on the right in the photo. Although they have put less pipework on the beam I think you may still have to remove what they have put on for a standard coupling to work properly. The underside air tanks still potentially restrict bogie movement and may have to remove them. Having put in my DCC sound Decoder I can confirm the  lighting can now be individually switched which is the main improvement for me.

Some irony that you have it parked on a piece of Accurascale packaging 🤣

[andyman7]

On 12/02/2024 at 07:35, Paul_sterling said:

(@40002, thank you for reminding me to post this)

 

This thread talked a lot about the front of the Heljan 25, so much so i didn't buy one. This was partly because I preordered an SLW 25. 

 

However I managed to get a second hand Heljan for a very reasonable price, and was impressed by it. The cab curvature is quite good, but even before the SLW arrived, the thing that I was drawn to, that makes the cab front look flat is the grab rail. The Heljan 25 grab rail goes quite straight across the cab, rather than following the contour. 

 

Otherwise it runs beautifully, and is done to a very good standard. It holds its own alongside the SLW, and the paint finish is okay barring the overly pale front end. 

 

Sticking my old Bachmann alongside both wasn't a good idea, and really exposed the shape of the cab roof on the Bachmann. Making me think about devising a print design to try and correct it. 

thanks

Paul. 

 

On 17/11/2023 at 22:27, andyman7 said:

I picked up one of the new batch of Heljan Class 25s today. I've an SLW one on order but what can I say? I like Class 25s. I haven't had the lid off yet so can't comment on the 21 pin interface or revised electrics but the example I bought (25301) already has the boiler grille plates applied (they were supplied loose on all the first batch ones, regardless of whether the modelled version had them fitted). There is also a bit less bufferbeam detail ready fitted, I suspect because on the first batch it was not possible to fit couplings without having to cut off or remove details.
Other than that the first batch and the new batch sit side by side without any obvious jarring difference. And whilst I know the SLW is expected to be the 'gold standard' the Heljan ones are very good. The 'new' one is on the left below

One of the variations between Heljan v1 and Heljan v2 is the attachment of cab front handrail. Those two 'pips' you can see of the v2 (left hand) loco in my own photo of the two side by side represent the centre handrail securing bars on the real loco. On V1 version the handrail hugs these giving the rather flat effect notes by @Paul_sterling but on the V2 the curve is more rounded because for whatever reason the factory assembling these second run models haven't attached the handrail in the same way and it doesn't press hard against the 'pips'.  

[Hal Nail]

I noticed the translucent roof panel is different on the newer batch. Given these don't tend to be that obvious in real life, a quick check didn't really help but I think the newer one is correct?

[Southernman46]

Anyone got a Class 25 box they don't want & be willing to sell ?

[PenrithBeacon]

Has anybody tried converting one of these to P4 using AGW wheels?

[andyman7]

On 12/02/2024 at 07:35, Paul_sterling said:

(@40002, thank you for reminding me to post this)

 

This thread talked a lot about the front of the Heljan 25, so much so i didn't buy one. This was partly because I preordered an SLW 25. 

 

However I managed to get a second hand Heljan for a very reasonable price, and was impressed by it. The cab curvature is quite good, but even before the SLW arrived, the thing that I was drawn to, that makes the cab front look flat is the grab rail. The Heljan 25 grab rail goes quite straight across the cab, rather than following the contour. 

 

Otherwise it runs beautifully, and is done to a very good standard. It holds its own alongside the SLW, and the paint finish is okay barring the overly pale front end. 

 

Sticking my old Bachmann alongside both wasn't a good idea, and really exposed the shape of the cab roof on the Bachmann. Making me think about devising a print design to try and correct it. 

thanks

Paul. 

The front grab rail has more curvature on the 2nd batch of Heljan models for some reason

[Ian Hargrave]

Having picked one up at the NEC Heljan stand at an incredibly advantageous price with Ben’s appreciated assistance I am very impressed with this. The performance on DC analogue is astoundingly good .One of those purchases you weren’t planning on making but despite all preconceived ideas on my part,it’s happily trundling around with a newspaper & parcels train c1980. 

[PMP]

On 18/04/2024 at 14:47, PenrithBeacon said:

Has anybody tried converting one of these to P4 using AGW wheels?

Not tried it but it looks like a drop in swap with extended axles. Brake shoes will probably need moving as they align with OO spacing.

I’m pleased with mine.

[31466]

Sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere but with 54 pages I could easily miss it anyway! I have just bought an Ethel and am generally happy with it although it has a lot of drag which means my Lima 37's will struggle to pull it. I would rather the lights weren't on as they are too bright and shouldn't be on anyway. Given the model is DCC ready am I right in saying that removing the blanking plate (if fitted?) would stop all the lights from working on analogue?

[96701]

Removing the blanking plate will stop the loco from working at all. It connects the pickups to the motor as well as supplying the lights.

 

If you can identify which plugs on the loco  pcb, they can simply be carefully unplugged.

Edited May 22 by 96701
Added unplug suggestion.

[31466]

33 minutes ago, 96701 said:

Removing the blanking plate will stop the loco from working at all. It connects the pickups to the motor as well as supplying the lights.

 

If you can identify which plugs on the loco  pcb, they can simply be carefully unplugged.

As the Ethel is unpowered and has to be dragged this isn't an issue so hopefully that means this would stop the lights working.

[Covkid]

On 22/05/2024 at 19:26, 96701 said:

Removing the blanking plate will stop the loco from working at all. It connects the pickups to the motor as well as supplying the lights.

 

If you can identify which plugs on the loco  pcb, they can simply be carefully unplugged.

 

23 hours ago, 31466 said:

As the Ethel is unpowered and has to be dragged this isn't an issue so hopefully that means this would stop the lights working.

 

The problem with stopping the motor from powering will be the worm drives on top of the gear towers will lock up due to no input from the cardan shafts. Maybe if you stripped the gears and cardan shafts from the bogies it would perform as an unpowered generator van just like the original Ethels did. 

 

Is it really worth it ?  

Edited May 23 by Covkid

[Roy Langridge]

27 minutes ago, Covkid said:

 

 

The problem with stopping the motor from powering will be the worm drives on top of the gear towers will lock up due to no input from the cardan shafts. Maybe if you stripped the gears and cardan shafts from the bogies it would perform as an unpowered generator van just like the original Ethels did. 

 

Is it really worth it ?  

The Heljan ETHEL is already unpowered, what is in the gear towers, if anything, I don’t know. 
 

Roy

[Covkid]

3 hours ago, Roy Langridge said:

The Heljan ETHEL is already unpowered, what is in the gear towers, if anything, I don’t know. 
 

Roy

Apologies Roy. 

I was under the impression that Heljan weren't going to do the Ethels unpowered due to manufacturing costs being more than the savings of not motoring them.  So does your Ethel roll freely with no power applied ?

 

 

[Paul_sterling]

On 14/02/2024 at 23:41, andyman7 said:

 

One of the variations between Heljan v1 and Heljan v2 is the attachment of cab front handrail. Those two 'pips' you can see of the v2 (left hand) loco in my own photo of the two side by side represent the centre handrail securing bars on the real loco. On V1 version the handrail hugs these giving the rather flat effect notes by @Paul_sterling but on the V2 the curve is more rounded because for whatever reason the factory assembling these second run models haven't attached the handrail in the same way and it doesn't press hard against the 'pips'.  

Thanks Andy. 

 

I'm inclined to agree, the pictures of the v2 (as I've not  bought one) Immediately look much more shapely, and I think that is purely down to the grab rail as you also observed. The V1s I have, I've tweaked both, and there is not much in it now profile-wise between these and the SLW engine I have. 

[97406]

Here's examples from both runs. You can see the better handrail on the second version and the increased yellow above the cab windscreens which rectifies the main issues on the first run.

 

 

I extended the yellow above the screens on the first series one and that makes a big improvement.

[31466]

Thanks for the replies. I'll look at taking the blanking plate off when I get a chance and see if the lights turn off and it can still be dragged OK. I'll update when I've done this.

[Albie the plumber]

I've got a series 1 version with a 1O00  headcode and would like to renumber to something more suitable .

Has anyone tried doing this and if so , was it easy ?