Metro-Vick Type 2 Co-Bo - N Gauge

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, Corbs said:

The real things ran badly and were very unreliable.

When they were working properly they ran quite well and could give quite a spirited performance on a good day.  But bad days were probably as frequent as good days although in a week or so of travelling behind them in their Barrow days I was never delayed by a failure (but I was massively delayed one day by a failed EE Type 4 - well now for their reliability apparently).  The Co-Bos  could at times produce a smokescreen the average RN warship would have been proud of - incredible amount of smoke.

[Mike Harvey]

4 hours ago, meatloaf said:

Picked mine up today along with a farish 31.

 

£186 for the 28 compared to £237 for the 31.

 

Very pleased with the 28. Only run up and down a few lengths of flexi so far but seems ok. For £186 with sound its a steal.

 

Do we know if its a zimo or an ESU decoder as the instructions dont say ( unless ive missed it )

 

 

The instructions refer to it as an ESU decoder.

[woodenhead]

To coin a phrase from a well known chainsmoking alient "Sing my beauty".  Seems I inadvertently learnt how to lock the engine and rev it up rather than drive it towards the camera.

 

 

[4firstimes]

Without doubt there seems to be pleasing level of satisfaction those of us who have received their versions of the Rapido Models Class 28 , both in the high level of design and performance. Although after 20mins of running in mine has developed a sound fault , and I am wondering if there are any similar. I noticed that the model I have was very difficult to programmed with the short address set as 3 , but the long address set to 57xx , resetting to 3 produces no sound just a clicking sound when f1 is pressed on the NCE powercab. To re programme to the correct  address for the running number suggested an error with the sound chip. I have contacted both the Retailer and Rapido Trains Uk  direct for their advice . Feeling rather disappointed as this was a early Xmas present , and was wondering if there is an emerging problem

[rogerzilla]

D5713 has just turned up! Am I missing a traction tyre from the Bo end?

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by rogerzilla

[TomE]

Looks like you are, yes. 

I'm sure if you ping Rapido a quick message they'll be able to sort you out with a spare. 
 

Tom.  

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by TomE

[rogerzilla]

How easy are they to fit, on a scale of "five minute job" Hornby tender drive to "it'll never work again" Hornby Schools class?!

 

(Update: Rails are going to send me a couple of tyres)

Edited December 20, 2022 by rogerzilla

[petee19]

Did the CONDOR operate with a Brake Van or had these been discontinued.

[rogerzilla]

1 hour ago, petee19 said:

Did the CONDOR operate with a Brake Van or had these been discontinued.

Yes, although it had continuous brakes.  The guard needed somewhere to sit before he was allowed to sit in the rear cab (from 1968, by which time the Co-Bos had been demoted or withdrawn).  http://igg.org.uk/rail/7-fops/fo-vbcont.htm

Edited December 21, 2022 by rogerzilla

[Crepello]

It ran with Stove Rs, Stanier and BR BGs.  Not the goods type vans as it ran at 75mph in some locations.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Crepello

[woodenhead]

I've been attempting to put the discs onto the front of the loco today.

 

I did three Farish locos yesterday, whilst difficult they did all go on.

 

With the 28 - I've lost at least on closed and one open disc when they flew off into the ether.

 

Getting them on is a PITA, getting them to stay on is like rounding up kittens.  Some of them are good and stay in place, others are loose in the hole and fall out first chance they get, the white discs are the worst for this.  So they will need to be fixed in place glue or varnish I imagine.  For the time being they are back in the bag until I have the patience and something to hold them with.

 

They do look nice once on though.

 

Already having cold sweats about doing this on a class 44 in 12 months or so.

[Corbs]

11 hours ago, woodenhead said:

I've been attempting to put the discs onto the front of the loco today.

 

I did three Farish locos yesterday, whilst difficult they did all go on.

 

With the 28 - I've lost at least on closed and one open disc when they flew off into the ether.

 

Getting them on is a PITA, getting them to stay on is like rounding up kittens.  Some of them are good and stay in place, others are loose in the hole and fall out first chance they get, the white discs are the worst for this.  So they will need to be fixed in place glue or varnish I imagine.  For the time being they are back in the bag until I have the patience and something to hold them with.

 

They do look nice once on though.

 

Already having cold sweats about doing this on a class 44 in 12 months or so.

 

Would a little dab of black tack or similar on the nub help to secure it in place while keeping it removable?

[bluedepot]

I actually found the discs relatively easy to fit once I got the knack. usually i am not good at this kind of task. I did add a v tiny of glue though. I fitted the coupling hook and two pipes as well at one end.

 

what cv will dim the lights? i don't really feel like reading a decoder manual so if anyone knows that would be appreciated!

 

cheers

 

tim

[Crepello]

I fitted my 3 Co-Bos with all 4 discs each at one end only while I wait for the pva to dry. Each was placed into a Peco or similar cradle and secured with a rubber band. I used my strongest glasses and held the cradle under a bright light while dipping the disc in a blob of glue in a saucer and fixing with tweezers. Not a job to lose any sleep over!

[woodenhead]

10 hours ago, Corbs said:

 

Would a little dab of black tack or similar on the nub help to secure it in place while keeping it removable?

Lol - I was using black tack to hold them to my finger or screwdriver - too much of it probably, got all over one of the closed discs.

 

Will try something again tomorrow.

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

 

I used Mig Ammo Ultra Glue to secure my discs. I also painted two of the closed ones with Phoenix Precision BR Loco Green post 54 which seems to be a good match to the Rapido green.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[rogerzilla]

Traction tyres arrived today.  Looking at videos of other (North American) Rapido N gauge stuff, the plastic axle retainer/bogie framing just pops off with a suitable prying tool, then the axles can be lifted out.  Can anyone confirm this?

 

Update: I decided to just go for it.  It's fiddly but you don't need tools.  It's also NOT like described above, because the axles run on pinpoint bearings in the side frames.  The curved shroud above the gears can be popped up and clear once the bogie is pulled out of the loco.  This gives access to the axle, which is freed by pulling the side frames apart as you would do for a wagon or coach.  The tyre is easy enough to fit once the axle is out.  Putting it back together is a bit easier but getting the axle pinpoints into the holes in the side frames is tricky as they're so small.

Edited December 29, 2022 by rogerzilla

[Crepello]

I’ve cut off the small piping ‘tail’ at the Bo end of my 28s and all seems well. They negotiate code 55 crossovers and small radius points with no problem, hauling 11 of the de-weighted (1 weight only) wagons.

[RapidoCorbs]

A statement on the Class 28s and Conflats.

 

Link to the warranty form:

 

https://rapidotrains.co.uk/warranty-form/

 

[TomE]

What refreshing honesty from a manufacturer. Bravo Rapido! 

I'd like to add that I now have two Class 28s and outside of the minor issues highlighted in the NGN review I haven't experienced any serious issues and both locos run like a dream. 

Tom.  

[Sc59401]

That's good news about the quality control monitoring.  My Co-Bo arrived in mid-December and while it is a beautifully-detailed and smooth-running model (and a nice companion for the Hornby Dublo 3-rail Co-Bo I got for Christmas 1964!) there were some build quality issues, all of which are now resolved.  The following might help others encountering the same issues:

 

One of the buffers was fitted at 90 degrees to the correct orientation, but fortunately they are not glued in and I was able to pull it out with mini pliers and re-fit it to match the others.

 

Initially the tail lamps did not illuminate at all despite frantic waving of the "magic wand", the Co bogie wasn't picking up on one side and it was also missing a traction tyre.  While removing the body to investigate, one of the battery boxes fell off as it had hardly any glue on one mounting and none on the other.  Once the body was off I discovered that the PCB at the Co end (which I think fits into the same socket as the DCC decoder; I'm a DCC Luddite) wasn't seated correctly and one of the pick-up strips on the chassis was bent upwards so it wasn't making contact with the vertical strip from the bogie.

 

Rapido Trains sent me two spare tyres promptly and I have now fitted one to replace the missing tyre on the Co bogie.  The tail lamps now work but if they are switched off and the loco is brought to a halt, they come on again as soon as power is applied.  If this is the wand working as designed it's nothing more than a silly gimmick and a switch on the underside would have been so much better.  I can't see myself waving the wand over the loco when our club N gauge layout is at an exhibition!

[Steven B]

1 hour ago, Sc59401 said:

The tail lamps now work but if they are switched off and the loco is brought to a halt, they come on again as soon as power is applied.  If this is the wand working as designed it's nothing more than a silly gimmick and a switch on the underside would have been so much better.

 

It's how the functionality is described in the manual (and how mine works). It's a nice idea but as you say not without its faults. Switches aren't ideal either - remove the loco from the train and you'd have to lift the loco from the track (or take the lid off) to turn the tail lights back on.

 

If the magnetic switch had memory that retained its state after power is removed Rapido would be inundated with calls saying that the lights aren't working because the user has forgotten they've switched them off with the wand.

 

The only practical solution is DCC (or only run multiple units on DC!).

 

Steven B.

[D9020 Nimbus]

Of the two class 28s I purchased — one direct from Rapido and the other from Rails — the one purchased direct has the issue and is on its way back. The other is absolutely fine (so far at least). There does seem to have been a faulty batch of decoders. It's unlikely to be any other problem given it was faulty on arrival.

 

Interestingly I note that Hattons were selling faulty examples as secondhand on their website. Three had the same fault as mine, and they were all the same running number as mine (D5713).

 

I'm wondering if this is something to do with component shortages affecting decoder production.

[Marke]

Very pleased with my BR blue Class 28 (with a dab of value weathering by TMC).  Mine is a non sound version with with Zimo Next 18 DCC chip fitted. Runs smoothly with a lovely low volume ‘chug’ from the mechanism. In my view a superb first N gauge model from Rapido and good value too. 

[rogerzilla]

On 24/12/2022 at 21:27, PaulCheffus said:

Hi

 

I used Mig Ammo Ultra Glue to secure my discs. I also painted two of the closed ones with Phoenix Precision BR Loco Green post 54 which seems to be a good match to the Rapido green.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Two of the ones in the pack are already green, I think.  Or are they supplying the same pack for all-green locos as for SYP?