Rails announce NER electric autocar in OO

[Michael Hodgson]

Glad it runs quietly without its silencer !  It shouldn't be too difficult to cobble that up from a few bits.

Radiators would be more of a fiddle though.  They don't exactly improve the looks of an otherwise attractive vehicle though.

[amdaley]

There shouldn't be any need to cobble together anything. I saw the matter of the exhaust mentioned quite some time ago & there was plenty of time for the manufacturer to get it sorted. 

If you charge a premium price you need to provide a premium product. 

[Michael Hodgson]

Mine (NER version) has also now arrived.  Also minus its magic wand.

[micklner]

I have had a reply  from Rails.

 

There is no Magic Wand, it is a printing error I have been told.

 

I am seriously thinking of returning mine , Rails have kindly offered for me to do so if not happy with the model, it is simply not good enough with the errors for a advertised Premium model.

[PhilJ W]

Do you need a magic wand on a powered model?

[Bishdurham]

1 minute ago, PhilJ W said:

Do you need a magic wand on a powered model?

To turn the lights on and off yes!  Any magnet should work, but most put a wand in the pack.  Even the Hornby Lighted Generics come with something!

[PhilJ W]

9 minutes ago, Bishdurham said:

To turn the lights on and off yes!  Any magnet should work, but most put a wand in the pack.  Even the Hornby Lighted Generics come with something!

There's plenty of Hornby magic wands about. Some have purchased rakes of Hornby generic coaches with lights and each coach has its own magic wand. Has anyone checked to see if the Hornby one works on the railcar?

Edited May 4, 2022 by PhilJ W

[micklner]

I dont think the Lighting is  designed to turn off . As already said I tried a Rapido Wand which done nothing. Lights simply work with the motor running only.

 

I am liasing with NIU Models to see if it is viable for a 3D exhaust/radiator system to be printed for the LNER version.

 

Has anyone got a photo of the nearside/other side  of the LNER Version. Were there additional Radiators on that side of the vehicle as well ??.

Edited May 4, 2022 by micklner

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, micklner said:

I have had a reply  from Rails.

 

There is no Magic Wand, it is a printing error I have been told.

 

I am seriously thinking of returning mine , Rails have kindly offered for me to do so if not happy with the model, it is simply not good enough with the errors for a advertised Premium model.

They've also replied to me "There has been a misprint on the instructions and the model does not actually come with a wand, the lighting will turn on when power is applied."

 

Not an issue I can get excited about though.  Likewise, the literature when I ordered it said it is fitted with a 21-pin socket, but the paperwork with the model says its Next 18.   I haven't yet looked to see.

[Colin_McLeod]

2 hours ago, micklner said:

I have had a reply  from Rails.

 

There is no Magic Wand, it is a printing error I have been told.

 

That's some "printing error"!

[amdaley]

48 minutes ago, micklner said:

I dont think the Lighting is  designed to turn off . As already said I tried a Rapido Wand which done nothing. Lights simply work with the motor running only.

 

I am liasing with NIU Models to see if it is viable for a 3D exhaust/radiator system to be printed for the LNER version.

 

Has anyone got a photo of the nearside/other side  of the LNER Version. Were there additional Radiators on that side of the vehicle as well ??.

I presume the loco lamps don't light ?

[amdaley]

2 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

That's some "printing error"!

 

Why would they put down that it contains a wand if it doesn't ?

That doesn't sound like a printing error to me 🤔

[PhilJ W]

Mine arrived this morning. Initial inspection everything looks OK. Will be able to test it next week.

[mckinneyc]

Mine arrived today too. Looks wonderful. Is there meant to be any instruction sheets because I've nothing in the box to show me how to fit a dcc chip?

[PaulAB]

Question for those that have ran their models. Does anyone else find that the driven bogie is far too stiff to allow it to rotate freely?

Wasn't able to fully run it in as it noticeably slowed down and struggled on radius 4 curves and almost stalled on some/did stall momentarily on one section of radius 3 curves.

[micklner]

My LNER version is on its way back to Sheffield for a refund , simply wrong for the period portrayed.  A great shame Rails ignored the faults when pointed out about 2 years ago.

[Johan DC]

2 hours ago, micklner said:

My LNER version is on its way back to Sheffield for a refund , simply wrong for the period portrayed.  A great shame Rails ignored the faults when pointed out about 2 years ago.

Sorry to hear. I ordered both 'Era 3' versions, more because they look nice than for a specific period or area, all pre-war LNER is fine for me. But I followed the discussion with great interest, and indeed, the issue was raised a long time ago, without action or communication (as far as I know!) from the producers or sellers side. On the other hand, I don't know how easy or difficult it is to alter a design halfway the development or production phase. Possibly they were aware of the faults, but not able to adress them?

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

10 hours ago, PaulAB said:

Question for those that have ran their models. Does anyone else find that the driven bogie is far too stiff to allow it to rotate freely?

Wasn't able to fully run it in as it noticeably slowed down and struggled on radius 4 curves and almost stalled on some/did stall momentarily on one section of radius 3 curves.

Mine is still in the box but will be tested next week on an oval track. In fact there will be four tracks I can test it on, one inside the other so if I can test mine on different curves I'll report back.

[Worsdell forever]

The rest of the passengers have arrived, just waiting for the train now. 

 

Few more flat caps in this lot... 

 

[Ian Hargrave]

NER red/cream version just arrived and is running smoothly round my tabletop .The interior lighting is particularly effective and all it needs is a set of period persons. I am relieved that the glazing doesn’t show the prismatic effect that some recent Heljan models demonstrate. All in all,a delightful curiosity. Well done Rails for commissioning this.

[micklner]

On 06/05/2022 at 11:12, Johan DC said:

Sorry to hear. I ordered both 'Era 3' versions, more because they look nice than for a specific period or area, all pre-war LNER is fine for me. But I followed the discussion with great interest, and indeed, the issue was raised a long time ago, without action or communication (as far as I know!) from the producers or sellers side. On the other hand, I don't know how easy or difficult it is to alter a design halfway the development or production phase. Possibly they were aware of the faults, but not able to adress them?

 

 

 

I did try, and tell them via emails and on here when the first samples were shown that the LNER version was wrong.

If you look at page 1 on this thread, Rails posted a original B&W photo of the LNER version in the announcement ,so they must have known what the version should have looked like prior to November 2018. 

I noticed every pre production photo shown on here and elsewhere, was always showing the other side of the Autocar on the LNER version .  I never recived any response at anytime from Rails to emails and comments re the roof layout shown on this thread. I also asked for my £30 deposit to be refunded from November 2018, again via email after seeing the photos, again that was also ignored.

It has now cost me £9.00 to send the model back to them. It will not happen again to me , I will never pre order anything else from any company in the future.

 

A very sad end result.

 

Update 26.05.2022.

 

Refund recieved this week , good service and comms  from Rails.

Edited May 26, 2022 by micklner

[PhilJ W]

Just a thought. I have the LNER version numbered 3170 which as stated has several inaccuracies. But its sister railcar 3171 was pretty much the same as the model not having received the more powerful Napier engine. With that in mind I am merely going to renumber it 3171.

[thetalkinlens]

41 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Just a thought. I have the LNER version numbered 3170 which as stated has several inaccuracies. But its sister railcar 3171 was pretty much the same as the model not having received the more powerful Napier engine. With that in mind I am merely going to renumber it 3171.

I think 3171 was in the red/creme until it was withdrawn. The brown only correct for 3170.

[amdaley]

57 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Just a thought. I have the LNER version numbered 3170 which as stated has several inaccuracies. But its sister railcar 3171 was pretty much the same as the model not having received the more powerful Napier engine. With that in mind I am merely going to renumber it 3171.

 

So is 3171 the only model which is accurate ?

[The White Rabbit]

47 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Just a thought. I have the LNER version numbered 3170 which as stated has several inaccuracies. But its sister railcar 3171 was pretty much the same as the model not having received the more powerful Napier engine. With that in mind I am merely going to renumber it 3171.

 

Rule one... the whole story of the autocars is riddled with ifs and buts. I have very little evidence to support this suggestion but I suspect 3170 received the third engine as an experiment, rather than a class wide (OK, of two...) replacement of motive power. Again, evidence and information is lacking but there is some uncorroborated information suggesting 3171 was out of service for quite a while (years?) before the official withdrawal date. If that hadn't happened, sooner or later the LNER would probably have repainted 3171 into their new livery, so I really don't have to try very hard to accept Phil's thought as perfectly reasonable. 

 

6 minutes ago, amdaley said:

So is 3171 the only model which is accurate ?

 

As far as I can work out - but please bear in mind I have not received/examined closely all three models and have not been actively involved in this project over the last two years due to serious illness - 3170 and 3171 in NER livery are fine, though 3170 in LNER brown lacks the roof exhaust Mick mentions. It should have a different engine/generator moulding in the engine room but after the assorted posts on the subject, I am unsure whether this has been modelled. 

 

I am sorry to hear of some people's disappointment with certain aspects of the model. Not knowing the full story and having been out of the loop for a while makes me reluctant to comment - all I'll say is yes, one part of me wants to push for 100% historical accuracy - but another part knows (only too well!) the compromises sometimes necessary to bring a model to market. All of these points have been debated before in other threads and I've no wish to add to Andy Y's blood pressure. All I can suggest is that if you have concerns, you should approach Rails. The Autocar Trust and members have worked with them to the best of our ability but the project and commercial decisions are theirs. Sometimes we need to compromise. Whether that's acceptable to individuals at the relevant purchase price is, inevitably, an individual choice.