Hornby Class 423 4-VEP

[Matloughe]

Good Evening Ken,

 

Have you considered these? I have got some in the post for my next project for a 'bus line' from trailer car pick ups to motor carriages for my next Tube Stock project. There was also another type on that website which was a 'fixed bar' style but passed the power leads through but I can't find that at the moment. Alternatively you can use that coupling as designed and just have it for through lighting control.

 

Hope that Helps.

~ Gary

Edited October 26, 2011 by Matloughe

[zarniwhoop]

Thanks for that, Gary. I haven't seen these before, and at near enough another £30 per EMU I'm not going to rush in, but definitely something for me to think about. Can't seem to find any user-experiences of these : for coupling, I prefer kadees because there is less to go wrong (and hence, I would prefer separate cables), but I'll look and think about it.

 

Cheers.

ĸen

[metadyneman]

Those conductive couplers look most interesting, would they not be a bit difficult to fit though seeing as the intermediate cars on the VEP don't have NEM pockets?

[zarniwhoop]

My initial positive experiences with Replica bogies on one of my DTCs are now in my 'bodging' blog. It's a good thing I'm regarding this as a "scratch aid" unit ;-)

 

For the couplings, yes, the lack of NEM pockets is a problem for any alternative.

[S.A.C Martin]

I had a chance yesterday to view a friend's Replica Railways chassis (still haven't got around to ordering mine!) and my first thought was that, if I were to disassemble the power car, I would be able to keep the lighting throughout the train by simply relocating the plugs at fore and aft and wiring the couplings into the RR chassis. The seats would have to go, or I would have to find a way of adding the tops/racks to give the impression of a carriage.

 

I have ordered the MJT components and am waiting on them before I do any more disassembly of the model.

 

To date, no response to my letters but that may be more indicative of the Royal Mail or the fact it's an extremely busy month for both the magazines and Hornby.

[pauln]

 

To date, no response to my letters but that may be more indicative of the Royal Mail or the fact it's an extremely busy month for both the magazines and Hornby.

 

I had an email acknowledgement from Mr Kohler just a couple of days after sending my letter asking for a bit more info and saying he was off to Peterborough and would investigate further the following week. That was two weeks ago so I would hope to see something back in the next week otherwise I will chase.

[S.A.C Martin]

 

I had an email acknowledgement from Mr Kohler just a couple of days after sending my letter asking for a bit more info and saying he was off to Peterborough and would investigate further the following week. That was two weeks ago so I would hope to see something back in the next week otherwise I will chase.

 

Fair enough Paul. If I haven't heard by this time next week I will consider doing the same.

[phil gollin]

 

I had an email acknowledgement from Mr Kohler just a couple of days after sending my letter asking for a bit more info and saying he was off to Peterborough and would investigate further the following week. That was two weeks ago so I would hope to see something back in the next week otherwise I will chase.

 

 

I do hope that that was just a standard e-mail/letter as other wise Hornby would seem to be ill-advised over what SEEMS to be a well spread problem which has involved several retailers.

 

Rather worrying.

 

.

[pauln]

 

 

I do hope that that was just a standard e-mail/letter as other wise Hornby would seem to be ill-advised over what SEEMS to be a well spread problem which has involved several retailers.

 

Rather worrying.

 

 

 

He asked which retailer I had purchased from (hattons - who I can't fault in this in terms of willingness to exchange / refund) and to confirm whether I was running on DC or DCC (tried both).

[darren01]

 

He asked which retailer I had purchased from (hattons - who I can't fault in this in terms of willingness to exchange / refund) and to confirm whether I was running on DC or DCC (tried both).

 

 

 

HI

I don’t get this bit about are you running it on DC or DCC ,dose running it on DCC make it stay on the track better , run better round curves ?.

And now look at all the work some of you are doing to this model just to get it to look right and run better should you really have to do this to a £168.00 RRP, model this should not be happening.

[Pennine MC]

Hornby will want to know which models are affected, to determine whether its particular production batches, be they liveries or DC/DCC or a combination. That will potentially help them resolve which models have specific or multiple problems, as opposed to assuming every single model is faulty.

 

The reported instances of some models being incorrectly boxed (DCC instead of DC, and vice versa) might not help that particular endeavour... then again, they might be trying to get a handle on that issue as well.

[pauln]

 

 

 

HI

I don’t get this bit about are you running it on DC or DCC ,dose running it on DCC make it stay on the track better , run better round curves ?.

And now look at all the work some of you are doing to this model just to get it to look right and run better should you really have to do this to a £168.00 RRP, model this should not be happening.

 

I think you might be confusing different contributions to this thread. If you look back on this thread you will see that my complaint was about the noisy or slipping motors (see the youtube videos) so in that case maybe DC or DCC might be thought to matter.

 

Likewise I haven't made any changes to my models - they have been sent back for a refund and I won't be buying any more until I can be assured that it will run properly and quietly

[phil gollin]

 

He asked which retailer I had purchased from (hattons - who I can't fault in this in terms of willingness to exchange / refund) and to confirm whether I was running on DC or DCC (tried both).

 

 

That would imply that he knows nothing, or very little, of the 4-VEP issue.

 

AND, more importantly, that he takes little of no interest in the Model Railway Internet forums, not even THIS one (!)

 

Strange

Edited October 30, 2011 by phil gollin

[RJS1977]

Just out of interest, what type of motor bogie does the Javelin use? Could this have been/be used in the VEP?

[spamcan61]

Just out of interest, what type of motor bogie does the Javelin use? Could this have been/be used in the VEP?

 

Looking at the service sheet:-

 

http://www.Hornby.com/search/?q=hss+345

 

It has a similar traction tyred 'power' bogie.

[S.A.C Martin]

Just out of interest, what type of motor bogie does the Javelin use? Could this have been/be used in the VEP?

 

It is almost identical as a complete power unit, however, crucially, it uses point to point bearings in all of its bogies.

[gillinghamgus]

Well my money is staying in my pocket... shame too as this had some potential, lets hope Bachmann step in and do a CIG and then shame them.

[S.A.C Martin]

I am wondering at what point I should chase up a response to my letter. Tomorrow will be three weeks since they were sent first class recorded post to their respective locations; they must have arrived by now, surely?

 

I only asked for receipt of the letter and a "we're looking into it", after all.

[metadyneman]

Give it another week I'd say then perhaps give them a call

[Trevellan]

I am wondering at what point I should chase up a response to my letter. Tomorrow will be three weeks since they were sent first class recorded post to their respective locations; they must have arrived by now, surely?

 

I only asked for receipt of the letter and a "we're looking into it", after all.

28 days would seem a reasonable limit. Any commercial organisation worth its PR salt should respond within that time.

[winterbournecm]

A mate mentioned he was having a few problems with his Hornby VEP - dont worry I said, I expect RM Web has a mention somewhere.

[Matabiau]

I see that a certain retailer in Sheffield is offering the DCC fitted blue VEP at a discount price already. Would this suggest they have not been flying off the shelves, I ask myself?

[Oldddudders]

I see that a certain retailer in Sheffield is offering the DCC fitted blue VEP at a discount price already. Would this suggest they have not been flying off the shelves, I ask myself?

Living in France clearly adds a particular perspective. You might want to check message# 930 dated 22nd October......

[royaloak]

I see that a certain retailer in Sheffield is offering the DCC fitted blue VEP at a discount price already. Would this suggest they have not been flying off the shelves, I ask myself?

I think the VEP models are the homing pigeon of the modelling world, they flew off the shelves but all came back to roost.

Edited November 3, 2011 by royaloak

[metadyneman]

A mate mentioned he was having a few problems with his Hornby VEP - dont worry I said, I expect RM Web has a mention somewhere.

Priceless... made me laugh out loud that!

 

Update on my VEP... still running round without further fault, I've now weathered the front ends and the jumper cable recesses and it doesn't look too bad now. My initial disappointment has subsided a bit but I'm still rather annoyed that we have got a second rate "somewhere between super detail and railroad" model when we were all expecting much better! I haven't cancelled my Brighton Belle as i feel it would be foolish to assume what it will look like or run like until it arrives. I hope Hornby do make some improvements to the VEP but in all honesty having waited so many decades for a ready to run EMU I'll settle for my VEP as it is now.