LNER Dynamometer car - run 2!

[MikeTrice]

Its last use was 12th Oct 1951 according to the log book.

[Pre Grouping fan]

Received my BR Dynamometer Car yesterday. Opened it and something fell out the plastic wrapping, fortunately its nothing major and will glue back on. One of the long footboard was also bent but easily put right. 

 

Seeing the lined version in person at Uckfield did make me want the earlier version but I've bought the later version to run/display with the leader when it is released. 

[Coldgunner]

I did a little view review on mine, all came in good condition. Took a little bit of a knack to get the wand to work but its all good.

 

 

[MikeTrice]

When the original Rails version was released I was very critical of various aspects of the model. This release is predominently a repaint into the correct lined appearance and the opportunity has been taken to correct the incorrect lettering of the preserved vehicle. There are however two physical changes that have been made to this release (and I apologise to Rapido if there are others) firstly the wheels have been upgraded to better represent a disc wheel and secondly the vehicle does not have the duckets stuck on which makes it possible to run your model for the period 1928 to 1936. All in all a BIG improvement and well done to Rapido for revisiting them.

 

For reference this is what I believe to be the full timeline for the vehicle.

 

6th March 1906: First test - R Class 2109. Vehicle is in NER Crimson Lake livery which means both the sides and the ends are in Crimson Lake, and the various panels on the side and ends are lined. Running number 3591.

18th Oct 1923: Last test in NER livery - C11 no 878

9th June 1924: Repainted in imitation grained teak and given a slightly modified form of the NER lining to sides only. Relettered and rebranded "LNER" with running number 3591Y.

26th June 1924: First test run in LNER guise - GN Section 4419

3rd April 1928 - 25th Aug 1928: Gresley type bogies fitted and corridor connections added with end grill protector hinge positions swapped. Number changed from 3591Y to 23591. Still imitation teak with lining present.

26th Sept 1936 - 19th April 1937: Duckets fitted. H M Lane's photo would suggest that the ducket protection grills were in place at this point, however they were not visible at Mallard's speed run.

4th July 1938 - 29th May 1946: In storage. Probably renumbered 902502 with grill protectors added to protect the ducket windows before re-entering service. Once again only the number panel appears to have been altered, the rest of the vehicle is still lined.

30th May 1946: Test runs with locos 484 and 1766 listed as practice runs and for staff training.

26th and 27th Feb 1948: Dynamometer Car sent to Derby to be re-calibrated along with the GWR and LMS cars

8th Apr 1948 - 3rd Sept 1948: Locomotive Interchange Trials. These were the first tests to be reported direct to British Rail. On 29th July 1948 the interior temperature of the vehicle was recorded at 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

4 Sept 1948 - 11 Nov 1948: Given full repaint in imitation teak but without lining. Branded as British Railways E902502

12th Oct 1951: Last test - Hunslet 500HP Diesel.

Latter half of 1963: Sent to Darlington for preparation for display in Clapham. Likely to have only involved regraining the panels containing lettering. LNER lettering restored. The "Dynamometer Car" lettering is not quite in the same place, it being incorrect on both sides.

[atom3624]

Just received mine, off Rails, today.

All I can say is WOW!!  What a fantastic-looking model.

VERY free-rolling as well.

Al.

[Helmdon]

BR Maroon version just came through my front door - very happy purchaser here. I know it's a flight of fancy, but it looks wonderful. And the fancy hasn't had to fly very far really....

[rapidoandy]

Well, our week just gets better...

 

Rapido Trains UK is conducting a precautionary product recall of our LNER dynamometer cars.

 

Affected SKU numbers are 935001, 935002, 935003, 935004.

 

Unfortunately, it has been discovered that the third-party electrical components installed in the production models do not meet our standards and are, in some cases, causing lighting circuits to overheat and burn out. In rare and extreme cases this is causing damage to the roofs of the models.

 

We are asking that all owners of these models ensure that power is not applied to their models and that they contact us to arrange for your model to be returned to us for repair. We are currently speaking with our factory to arrange the construction of new electrical components and hope these can be completed in a relatively short space of time.

 

To arrange for your model to be returned please visit www.rapidotrains.co.uk/recall

 

If you do not have online access, please call on 0330 4609496

 

We have not taken this decision lightly but feel that this is the best option at the present time.

 

If you have any questions, please contact us via email only at customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk

 

Many thanks,

 

The Rapido Trains UK Team

[Coldgunner]

I'm not keen on having to send things back forth atm, is this a user changable component that could be sent out at all?

[Matabiau]

1 hour ago, rapidoandy said:

Well, our week just gets better...

 

Rapido Trains UK is conducting a precautionary product recall of our LNER dynamometer cars.

 

Affected SKU numbers are 935001, 935002, 935003, 935004.

 

Unfortunately, it has been discovered that the third-party electrical components installed in the production models do not meet our standards and are, in some cases, causing lighting circuits to overheat and burn out. In rare and extreme cases this is causing damage to the roofs of the models.

 

We are asking that all owners of these models ensure that power is not applied to their models and that they contact us to arrange for your model to be returned to us for repair. We are currently speaking with our factory to arrange the construction of new electrical components and hope these can be completed in a relatively short space of time.

 

To arrange for your model to be returned please visit www.rapidotrains.co.uk/recall

 

If you do not have online access, please call on 0330 4609496

 

We have not taken this decision lightly but feel that this is the best option at the present time.

 

If you have any questions, please contact us via email only at customerservice@rapidotrains.co.uk

 

Many thanks,

 

The Rapido Trains UK Team

Hopefully there is a solution for non-UK residents!

 

I have seny mt details to the email address in the message quoted.

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Matabiau
spelling

[stewartingram]

I'm assuming these potential faults are on the latest releases? I have one of the original releases, and don't have the box so can't quote the SKU.

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by stewartingram
typos

[Edge]

31 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

I'm assuming these potential faults are on the latest releases? I have one of the origal releases, and don't have the bos so can't quote the SKU.

 

it would appear that it is only the new ones yes.

 

I’ll admit that it’s highly annoying to have to send back such a wonderful model (the past five models I have bought have all had to be sent back which has got nothing to do with Rapido, but is rather depressing) but cudos to Rapido for getting the information out there quickly. Can’t have been an easy choice for them

Edited November 2, 2022 by Edge

[Paul Cram]

2 hours ago, stewartingram said:

I'm assuming these potential faults are on the latest releases? I have one of the origal releases, and don't have the bos so can't quote the SKU.

 

I presume so as I can't find an SKU number on my box.

[E100]

The Rapido guys have my sympathy and certainly the lesser of two evils so thanks for making the difficult decision promptly.

 

Feel free to apply to be a politician with the levels of transparency you could teach them a thing or two but so could a brick wall seemingly!

[Edge]

Just received my recall details email. Pre-paid postage and a reference slip with an expected turnaround time of 8-10 weeks for the fitting of the new lighting.

 

As I said before, irritating that it’s necessary, but Rapido is making the best of a bad situation and they are going about fixing it in the right way

Edited November 3, 2022 by Edge

[Dominion]

I am sad for The Rapido team that this will lead to unnecessary expense. However I have every confidence that things will be resolved in a reasonable and practical manner, and I am still very much looking forward to receiving the model. I have a lot of Rapido Canadian models and their attitude to fixing occasional issues is really excellent and earns my brand loyalty every time. 

[Helmdon]

14 hours ago, Dominion said:

I am sad for The Rapido team that this will lead to unnecessary expense. However I have every confidence that things will be resolved in a reasonable and practical manner, and I am still very much looking forward to receiving the model. I have a lot of Rapido Canadian models and their attitude to fixing occasional issues is really excellent and earns my brand loyalty every time. 

 

Yes, bloody annoying but not their fault and they're doing something about it quickly. Mine is all boxed back up again and waiting for the next trip to the post office (8 miles away).

[Corbs]

On 02/11/2022 at 18:32, Coldgunner said:

I'm not keen on having to send things back forth atm, is this a user changable component that could be sent out at all?

I think it would be best to send it back, mate. Sorry I know it's a pain but it is the best way to ensure it gets fixed.

[E100]

Had to take mine out of the box before doing the form and returning it. A really beautiful model. The two foot boards were a fair bit bent but some light but firm pressure seems to have straightened them out nicely. 

 

The way Rapido are handling this gives me confidence going forward, which is a good thing as they are making a lot of models I like right now and have ordered (W&U Trainpack / OOA's / Jones Goods).

[Ollie K]

Anyone who’s done the Rapido return form online, how long did your response / return label take to arrive in your inbox? Been a couple of days since I submitted mine and not heard everything, it hasn’t gone into spam or anything like that. I don’t want to inundate the poor Rapido admin with another load of repeated requests though, as I’ve only one model to return. 
 

Thanks.

[5Dublo2]

30 minutes ago, OliverBytham said:

Anyone who’s done the Rapido return form online, how long did your response / return label take to arrive in your inbox? Been a couple of days since I submitted mine and not heard everything, it hasn’t gone into spam or anything like that. I don’t want to inundate the poor Rapido admin with another load of repeated requests though, as I’ve only one model to return. 
 

Thanks.

 

I filled in the form on Wednesday and received my info by e-mail on Thursday. My model is already heading back to them
( I luckily still had the box and packing material it was mailed to me in, so didn't take me long to prep for sending back )

 

[Matabiau]

I can confirm that the online form has been modified to accept overseas addresses. Thank you

[rapidoandy]

2 hours ago, OliverBytham said:

Anyone who’s done the Rapido return form online, how long did your response / return label take to arrive in your inbox? Been a couple of days since I submitted mine and not heard everything, it hasn’t gone into spam or anything like that. I don’t want to inundate the poor Rapido admin with another load of repeated requests though, as I’ve only one model to return. 
 

Thanks.

We have to manually reply to each with your returns number. As you can imagine we have a number to get through so please bare with us. If you have not had a response by half way through the week drop me a message and let me know.

 

Andy

[Ollie K]

10 minutes ago, rapidoandy said:

We have to manually reply to each with your returns number. As you can imagine we have a number to get through so please bare with us. If you have not had a response by half way through the week drop me a message and let me know.

 

Andy

I thought it might be being done personally rather than an automated response. Another case of Rapido showing up the rest with customer service the way it should be. Thanks again, all the best with the recall process.

[Colin_McLeod]

Deleted

Edited November 5, 2022 by Colin_McLeod

[Coldgunner]

@rapidoandy I've yet to send mine off, is there a deadline for sending it back or can I hang on until the parts are in stock for a quick turnaround?