Heljan 128

[tetsudofan]

.... may have been in the 10000 thread.....if I remember, in my clumsy way, I clipped off two pins rather than one and sent the loco back to Hattons for exchange....which they did.

 

Keith

[thunderer08]

Hi all, the 128 looks a winner! Would anyone know which was the last 128 to run with headcode boxes and gangways and when it ran in that condition till?

I believe it to be 55991 or 55992 and around 1983 before it was called to works.

Thanks in advance, Mick

[DIRTY DIESEL]

Normally I would have treated the exhaust end as the number 2 end as it is usually the trailing end of most DMU single-ended vehicles in service. However, when I fitted the decoder, the default forward direction has the exhaust end leading, so that is what I have settled on for now.

 

Thanks SRman, was thinking the same.

 

Stu

[sb67]

Appologies if this has been covered earlier in the thread but I was wondering which coaches or vans could I run with my green with yellow gangways 128. I was thinking a Bachmann mk1 full brake in maroon or maybe a Hornby CCT?

Steve

[SRman]

Those would certainly suit it, Steve. Mine is the pretty well contemporary early blue liveried version and I currently have a maroon BG and a green PMV behind it - see post #328 for the photos I posted.

[Gwiwer]

GUV, BG, "Company" brakes still in traffic, even the occasional passenger coach such as a BSK plus of course the ability to run in multiple with most other DMU cars.  My green one tows a pair of maroon Hawksworth vans, sometimes with a Gresley one added, sometimes with a GUV or two and has also appeared towing just a BG.  It's one of the delights of this release that it "works" so well with such a variety of quite short trains.  

[Paul W]

Stewart.  This unit is W55992 as I have almost exactly the same photo in my archive taken by J Chalcroft, albeit from a fuller side on angle, he must have been standing next to you I guess, although for some reason it is captioned as a 130 Gloucester RCW motor parcels van. No date though.

07_00_0003_Paddington.jpg

 

Can't id this one, I didn't record it when I took it!

 

Stewart

[dibber25]

The next Model Rail (which includes our review of the Heljan 128) also has a brief feature that I've done based around the kind of things which ran with or were hauled by 128s in the London area (ie W55991/2). It includes a list of suitable rtr vans etc. The most notable item which is not readily available is a suitable DMU car - a converted Lima is about as near as I can get. (They might - on rare occasions - have run with a 121 (Hornby or Lima model) - but I could find no photographic evidence, and 121s tended to be in short supply because they were used as stand-in power cars in three-car units when not needed for Thames valley branch lines.

CHRIS LEIGH 

[muddys-blues]

The next Model Rail (which includes our review of the Heljan 128) also has a brief feature that I've done based around the kind of things which ran with or were hauled by 128s in the London area (ie W55991/2). It includes a list of suitable rtr vans etc. The most notable item which is not readily available is a suitable DMU car - a converted Lima is about as near as I can get. (They might - on rare occasions - have run with a 121 (Hornby or Lima model) - but I could find no photographic evidence, and 121s tended to be in short supply because they were used as stand-in power cars in three-car units when not needed for Thames valley branch lines.

CHRIS LEIGH 

Hi Chris, I posted a reply to a post earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that Model Rail announced on twitter "i don't do twitter" they will be producing one of the two tone Blue with Red & White Stripe liveried 128's, which is brilliant news, my question is do you know which running number it will be, as 55593 & 55594 both wore it, but with subtle differences on buffers and such.

 

Best regards

Craig.

[bernie w]

Hello everybody this is my first attempt at a blog I am amazed at the knowledge of all the members i have a Heljan 128 in blue FYE brill model only problem is that on dcc one of the cab lights only works if you hold the button on the controller down any suggestions would be much appreciated

 

sorry im so long winded

[dmustu]

Is it the number 2 function button your having to hold down? If so, F2 button on some controllers is not latched, this is because F2 is usually for the horn sound on sound fitted models, not having this button latched means that the horn only sounds while it is pressed and stops automatically when released. It may be possible to change this, but it depends on which type of controller you are using.

[bernie w]

Is it the number 2 function button your having to hold down? If so, F2 button on some controllers is not latched, this is because F2 is usually for the horn sound on sound fitted models, not having this button latched means that the horn only sounds while it is pressed and stops automatically when released. It may be possible to change this, but it depends on which type of controller you are using.

Thank you for your information and yes it is the F2 button on my gaugemaster prodigy unit, again thank you i am a novice so appreciate the help

[Phil Bullock]

Hoped to run ours this weekend but there appears to be a lack of power to the motor.

Has been run in on both DC and DCC so will have to investigate further and report back

 

Phil
 

[SRman]

Depending on the decoder used, it may also be possible to remap the function so that you can avoid using button #2, if that cannot be set to latching.

[Gwiwer]

Hoped to run ours this weekend but there appears to be a lack of power to the motor.

 

Has been run in on both DC and DCC so will have to investigate further and report back

 

Phil

 

 

Has a driveshaft become dislodged?  That is one of the first things I check when a shaft-drive item appears to have no power.  It could come unseated from either end but more often it's out at the bogie end.

[bernie w]

Depending on the decoder used, it may also be possible to remap the function so that you can avoid using button #2, if that cannot be set to latching.

many thanks SRman i am contacting gauge master today, loco is fitted with a new Bachmann 21 pin decoder

 

many thanks to dmustu and SRman

[dibber25]

Hi Chris, I posted a reply to a post earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that Model Rail announced on twitter "i don't do twitter" they will be producing one of the two tone Blue with Red & White Stripe liveried 128's, which is brilliant news, my question is do you know which running number it will be, as 55593 & 55594 both wore it, but with subtle differences on buffers and such.

 

Best regards

Craig.

I do know, but as we're still working on it, I'm not at liberty to give any details yet.

CHRIS LEIGH

[Ian Hargrave]

Can anyone give me a time-frame for the Early BR blue version,please.....? Thanks , Ian.

[muddys-blues]

I do know, but as we're still working on it, I'm not at liberty to give any details yet.

CHRIS LEIGH

Hi Chris, I fully understand your stance on the matter, many thanks for taking the time too reply.

 

est regards

Craig.

[bernie w]

Has anyone experienced any trouble with these and running with Bachmann 21 pin dcc decoders? I have just fitted one of the new decoders to my 128 and although it runs fine, including lighting control, on its default setting of 3 it refuses to accept a change in loco number. I have managed to reprogram other locos with identical chips, just not this one. For info I am using a Hornby Elite to program on a separate section of track. The lights flash on an off as one would expect when programming, it just doesn't seem to accept the new number.

the problem is you need to go into the cv29 and alter the settings but proberly best to speak to backmann first and they will tell you bit settings hope this helps i  have changed the direction on mine thougt  the no 1 end was by the speedo cable ???????      

 

good luck bernie w

[johnd]

the problem is you need to go into the cv29 and alter the settings but proberly best to speak to backmann first and they will tell you bit settings hope this helps i  have changed the direction on mine thougt  the no 1 end was by the speedo cable ???????      

 

good luck bernie w

Thats all very well but if you can't change CV29 then what ?  I am waiting for Bachmann to come back to me on this one.

[David Mills]

I have installed a Bachmann 21 pin four function decoder in this model. It all works fine, but whereas Function 1 latches and puts the lights on in one cab, Function 2 acts as a trigger and only flashes the cab light in the other cab.

Please, how do I make this latch?

David Mills.

[Oldddudders]

I have installed a Bachmann 21 pin four function decoder in this model. It all works fine, but whereas Function 1 latches and puts the lights on in one cab, Function 2 acts as a trigger and only flashes the cab light in the other cab.

Please, how do I make this latch?

David Mills.

The latching/non latching feature is built into your DCC command station. On some systems it can be altered, some not. Check on the support pages for your system.

[dibber25]

W55993.JPG

 

 

A direct comparison.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Apparently font issues on this and other Heljan models have been due to 'translation' (I can't think of the proper term for it) between the computers in England/Denmark and those in China. I know, when we did the the livery diagrams back in the early days of Model Rail, the lettering would often change to a default font between us and the repro house, so the proofs would come out all wrong. You could then correct it on the proofs, only to find that it had changed again between repro house and printing plate! Gill Sans seems to be particularly badly afflicted by this.

CHRIS LEIGH

[SRman]

Yes. Most such things require the font to be installed on both computers. I have this problem sometimes with the school newsletter in MS Publisher, where the system it was originally composed on has a font and my own one does not. With Publisher it is possible to embed fonts if you know how ... unfortunately, the lady who composes the newsletter hasn't quite got the hang of it, even though I have shown her how on a few occasions.