Bachmann announce all new Class 37

[andyman7]

19 hours ago, meatloaf said:

Haha hope thats not model railways direct. I got banned for daring to return a faulty class 37......

In the interests of balance I did fairly recently have to return an EFE Pacer to MRD that was incorrectly wired (lights showing at wrong ends). The return and replacement was straightforward

[meatloaf]

1 hour ago, andyman7 said:

In the interests of balance I did fairly recently have to return an EFE Pacer to MRD that was incorrectly wired (lights showing at wrong ends). The return and replacement was straightforward

Thats the diffrerence, i opted for the refund.

 

I was told "Returns have a huge cost implication for us, which inevitably are passed on to the customers"

 

Thats the exact wording from the email. Despite the fact that i returned the item at my own cost.

 

For context - out of 5 orders, 2 were returned. one the faulty 37 and the other a farish 31 which was ordered in error.

 

For that they banned my account basically implying i was costing them too much money. 

 

After an official complaint to the director they did unban my account but i wont be using them again.

[Kaput]

Wouldn't be the first (or the last) retailer to find actually complying with the law to be inconvenient.

[97406]

Regarding the sockets on the nose end PCBs, on mine, the plugs get levered out gently using a pair of thin-nosed pliers rocked in the recess between the plug and socket, followed by a fillet of epoxy applied around the base of the socket and the PCB with a cocktail stick before the plug goes back in. I avoid putting any epoxy over the soldered connections between the socket and PCB just in case. Hope that makes sense.

[NickL2008]

18 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

I guess in that case I had better email them with some feedback tomorrow I think.  Seeing as I need to ask about getting a new part to replace the broken lighting socket, I will do it at the same time...

 

Was that the plug for the lighting? I removed mine without any issue from mine, though I can see why you have to be careful, its easy to forget these are there and lift the body up without much thought. I wont say anything else for fear of jinxing further work needed!

 

That said, I also held the sides with tweezers and carefully wriggled the plug out and that seemed to work? likewise for the cab light plugs also

 

NL

[The Fatadder]

39 minutes ago, NickL2008 said:

 

Was that the plug for the lighting? I removed mine without any issue from mine, though I can see why you have to be careful, its easy to forget these are there and lift the body up without much thought. I wont say anything else for fear of jinxing further work needed!

 

That said, I also held the sides with tweezers and carefully wriggled the plug out and that seemed to work? likewise for the cab light plugs also

 

NL

One end was fine, the other I think had a manufacturing defect in either the socket or the plug as it was so much harder to remove than any other socket on the loco (having connected and disconnected all of them multiple times while investigating the issues with the loco).  

[newbryford]

20 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

One end was fine, the other I think had a manufacturing defect in either the socket or the plug as it was so much harder to remove than any other socket on the loco (having connected and disconnected all of them multiple times while investigating the issues with the loco).  

 

JST plugs/sockets aren't designed to be regularly unplugged/plugged.

It's not particularly difficult to bend a pin inside the socket when plugging in - especially if inserted at an odd angle.

(I've repaired a few bent pin JST sockets before now)

[adb968008]

7 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

JST plugs/sockets aren't designed to be regularly unplugged/plugged.

It's not particularly difficult to bend a pin inside the socket when plugging in - especially if inserted at an odd angle.

(I've repaired a few bent pin JST sockets before now)

Yes but if you want the body off the new 37 youve not got a lot of choice really.

 

it should be pliable enough to support chip fitting etc.

 

if the jst isnt suitable, then other solutions (previously implemented in earlier versions) are available.

 

 

Edited January 3 by adb968008

[NickL2008]

Ironically, as previously mentioned the JST plugs havnt been the issue for me. Sadly famous last words, one of the screws that holds the roof fan enclosure and fan in, refuses to come out, seems that the screw just turns around inside the head, annoying as ive got a Shawplan order on the way, im hoping wont have to remove the pillar along wit hthe screw to remove it out of the way

 

NL

 

 

[Daddyman]

3 minutes ago, NickL2008 said:

Ironically, as previously mentioned the JST plugs havnt been the issue for me. Sadly famous last words, one of the screws that holds the roof fan enclosure and fan in, refuses to come out, seems that the screw just turns around inside the head, annoying as ive got a Shawplan order on the way, im hoping wont have to remove the pillar along wit hthe screw to remove it out of the way

 

NL

 

 

It won't do any harm to remove one pillar - all mine are held in with one screw (and bodies held on with one screw too - 8 is excessive!). 

[The Fatadder]

1 hour ago, Daddyman said:

It won't do any harm to remove one pillar - all mine are held in with one screw (and bodies held on with one screw too - 8 is excessive!). 

At least the body is held on, 2 of my hybrids are not held on at all…

 

 

[97406]

Most of mine have all 8 screws (wibble!). 😄

[NickL2008]

4 hours ago, 97406 said:

Most of mine have all 8 screws (wibble!). 😄

 

So you don't have a screw loose? .. (fetches coat)

 

NL

[NickL2008]

Managed to carefully cut the stubborn pillar at an angle with the track cutter, so now the rest of the fan base just rests on it with the other two screws so should be fine, the screw itself is quite tight so probably wont touch it. 

 

Must say the Roof grill on first glance looks ok, but the plastic "mesh ring" does break easily and did so when removed, so on with its Shawplan replacement which arrived very timely thanks to Brian

 

The glazing has popped out faily easily ready for the laserglaze. But still need to replace that cast bogie frame to model 191

 

NL

[Jim76]

7 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Does anyone else's Bachmann 37 derail easily on second radius points and curve? I thought they were supposed to handle these?

Yes mine occasionally derails on curved points and slows down on second radius curves. It also makes a loud electrical (transformer-like) noise when running on DC.

[rob D2]

Is it like the 66 , in so much as overtightened bogie top screw limiting turn radius ?

Edited January 18 by rob D2

[MikeParkin65]

2 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Morning all, have done some investigating and the loco runs fine through some complex second radius pointwork on my temp layout on a table. I went through each second radius section bit by bit and in every place the loco derailed, there was a slight gap in between the two sections of track (thought set track was supposed to click together perfectly???), ironing these issues out has fixed the running issues and the loco can now navigate second radius. If anyone else has such issues, do what i did and check for even the slightest gap between fish plates. Many thanks all. 

I've yet to have buy a new model where a supposed fault isnt in fact just the higher standards (and tighter tolerances) of the new purchase highlighting an issue with my layouts infrastructure be that track laying or power supply. I appreciate that this might only come with experience but its harsh on the manufacturer to suggest an issue with their product on a public forum before ruling out layout based issues first. 

[MikeParkin65]

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

As i'm sure you'll appreciate, if you flip this around it is difficult for a less experienced modeller to necessarily be in a position to identify whether the issue is loco or track. The gaps were tiny, barely noticeable, but enough, and when other locomotives run absolutely fine, the process of elimination sways you towards assuming the fault lies with the locomotive. 
 

In my case, a Bachmann 9F, Bachmann V2, and other long wheel base locomotives all had zero issues, but the 37 did. Many modellers would therefore come to the same initial conclusion as myself. 

Agree - just need to be careful that 'initial conclusions' don't become 'facts' with no supporting evidence. It was interesting to note who initially agreed with the notion that these models 'have a problem' with 2nd radius especially in relation to the thread on the other Class 37 where all sorts of insinuations have been made and again not always backed by evidence and science and the manufacturer is forced into constant rebuttals. 

 

For my money there are two excellent models of the 37 on the market, both very much to scale and pushing the compatibility with trainset conventions to the limit with consequent tight clearances between body and bogies and both therefore likely to  find fault in trackwork where other models dont. The last model to do this for me was the Dapol Western, another model that raised standards when it was released  - my tracklaying has improved massively as a result of what I learnt from running experiences with that:)

[APT Fan]

Noticeable difference between the cab lighting on 37 034 and 37 305, I think I prefer the 'dimmer' cab of 37 034 but happy with both. In fact the lighting representation on all my Bachmanns seems pretty accurate to me. Initially I didn't mind the inaccurate white LEDs on my Hornby 56 and 87 but now it is starting to bug me when running along side the Bachmanns.

 

 

[GordonC]

18 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

Noticeable difference between the cab lighting on 37 034 and 37 305, I think I prefer the 'dimmer' cab of 37 034 but happy with both. In fact the lighting representation on all my Bachmanns seems pretty accurate to me. Initially I didn't mind the inaccurate white LEDs on my Hornby 56 and 87 but now it is starting to bug me when running along side the Bachmanns.

 

 

 

The dimmer cab light definitely looks better! Lights didn't used to be as bright as they are now

[andyman7]

I also agree that earlier generation superdetail diesels with 'cold' white LEDs now bug me compared to the realistic warm white tones achieved on modern models.

[The Fatadder]

For me it is the tail lights I find particularly annoying on older stock vs the latest models where you can turn them off at the press of a button.   All of my Bachmann / Heljan / Vitrains stuff has been rewired now to get rid of it, but the Hornby 60s remain a frustration thanks to Hornby's stupid wiring...

 

 

[APT Fan]

5 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

For me it is the tail lights I find particularly annoying on older stock vs the latest models where you can turn them off at the press of a button.   All of my Bachmann / Heljan / Vitrains stuff has been rewired now to get rid of it, but the Hornby 60s remain a frustration thanks to Hornby's stupid wiring...

 

 

On that very subject, I had the two 37s hauling loads the other day but being driven from cab no.2 end. The purpose was to give the locos some running in the reverse direction. Anyway there doesn't seem to be the capability to turn off the tail lights whilst having the head lights lit, unless I'm missing something?

[Great Waterton]

17 hours ago, andyman7 said:

I also agree that earlier generation superdetail diesels with 'cold' white LEDs now bug me compared to the realistic warm white tones achieved on modern models.

 

This bugs me too. I find a small dab of Tamiya Acrylic X-26 "Clear Orange" on either the bulb/lighting board (or lens if you don't want to take the body off) dulls them down to a nice dull yellowy glow. And if you put too much on or not enough on, it's not an issue because it's acrylic and so you can put more on or take some off easily until your heart is content. 

 

Here's my Hornby 153 that's had the same treatment.

 

Edited January 25 by Great Waterton

[The Fatadder]

finished another respray (this started as 401). Somewhat more involved than this which also started as 401) 

 

Just 3 more locos left to upgrade now, though I think 8 is plenty enough to run a Wheal Imogen for a weekend with spares for failures)