RMweb Gold toboldlygo Posted September 1, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 1, 2014 I counted 27 bogies. Very impressive. And after finding a lone buffer on the track the other day (it caused the P2 to derail) I've now got to sort through 27 coaches and vans to see which one is missing a buffer!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold kingmender Posted September 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 2, 2014 Ran mine on the club layout for the firsttime last week. 70 open wagons ran with ease up the helix (almost a complete turn). Will try for 100 today............. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold kingmender Posted September 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2014 100 wagons was too much for the helix - slipped to a stand, combination of incline and drag against the curve! Stunning effort though. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmcg Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Hattons have now run out of all fixed-bunker versions and also pristine 47967 'British Railways' on tank-sides, lightly-weathered 47995 plain tank-sides, and pristine 47972 LMS cab-sides and BR block-style numbers. Only 6 versions left; pristine LMS 4994, 7983, BR 47975, 47992, 'heavily'-weathered 47981, 47996. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Further to my post ( #1524 ) I have to report another serious fault with 266209/47975, this model was returned to Hattons less than a month ago and a replacement model was tested in the shop, the fault was a 'Locked up' front motor. Since then it has over been running flawlessly for over 20 hours, off and on, indeed it was running absolutely fine this morning until late this afternoon after a break of a few hours when, after turning the power on, it suffered a 'Locked up' motor, but this time it is the rear motor that has 'Locked up' I really do not know why this is occurring and I'm very frustrated with this fault, this surely shouldn't be happening, I'm not taken it apart as I really do not know anything about this sort of thing, I will be contacting Hattons tomorrow morning, I just do not understand how the model is working fine one minute and then suffers this serious fault the next. Has anybody else suffered from this kind of fault ? and apart from returning it to Hattons is their anything that can be done to cure it, apart from taking it apart for major surgery ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 The most likely cause of a motor not turning is that it is not getting power. That the other motor is running tells you clearly that pick up is adequate, thus if the fault is no power to motor then it must be between the last point that the pick ups are commoned - presumably at the decoder socket, and the stopped motor. A 'dry' soldered joint in one of the stopped motor leads would be my top pick as the likely cause of such an 'infant mortality' type failure. The joint looked OK but after some hours of vibration from running the wire detached. Other significant possibilities include any push fit connectors in the circuit to the motor, damaged wire, possibly 'nicked' in assembly so that the cores have no broken, or a duff lot of wire with weaknesses concealed under the insulation, then a failed brush spring. No substitute for systematic fault finding on these type of problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold trw1089 Posted September 11, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 11, 2014 It may also be the cardan shaft between the motor and the gearbox. If you remove the rear bunker by undoing the screw under the filler cap you should be able to see if it has lifted up and jammed. It happened on a friends one and it was a very easy fix, so it might be worth trying that to see if it might save the hassle of sending it back to Hattons. Cheers Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 While we are edging toward the subject of how it is constructed, I noticed on a friend's model that the return crank has 'no visible fixing', but has the four hex bolt heads present in reality neatly represented on the return crank casting. Do Heljan simply push fit crankpins? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Many thanks for the reply's 34theletterbetweenB&D and Tony, most helpful, the latest news on the loco is, late last night I stood over it holding a sledge hammer, power was turned on and.............it ran !!!!! It ran superbly just like it did before, I gave it around 45 mins of trouble free running, stopped it for 20 mins, power back on......... 'Locked up' rear motor again.......... B******s ! I gave it a little bit of power and kept putting it in forward and reverse and gently pushed down on the rear end and off the went on her merry way again, this morning escapades has seen the loco running normally again, I'm running the loco as much as possible today as I would like to take it to Olivias tomorrow for sound fitting, anymore running problems and i'll have to take a different BG instead, personally I'm looking forward to two Garratts with sound pounding around my layout on heavy freights sometime tomorrow night, I believe the fault is not so servere as I first thought and i'll get a good friend of mine to have a look at it later if the 'Locking up' persists. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Brian, That makes an intermittent electrical connection to the motor that stopped the most likely cause. A mechanical fault like disengagement of a drive shaft rarely 'self corrects', although intermittent slipping of a push fit joint on a motor shaft is one of those things that can occur. Can you run the end with the motor that locks up with the cover off, to see whether the motor continues turning when the lock up occurs? You may need a mark on the flywheel or shaft to be sure. If the motor stops in the 'lock up' condition then it is probably electrical. You can check for that in DC operation (no decoder fitted) with flying leads from the controller that is powering the track, if both motor terminals are accessible. If the locked up motor immediately runs when the correct rail supply connection is made on the motor brush terminal, your connection fault is in the wiring that side. I might not even diagnose further, a model this size should be roomy enough to simply solder in a new wire from the correct decoder socket motor 'out' to motor terminal, bypassing the dodgy connection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Yep sounds like an electrical fault. Could even be within the motor itself, like as if one pole is not quite active. IMHO you should not fit DCC sound until these are sorted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 No further problems have occurred with 47975 so far today although I am taking the advise of JSpencer and DCC sound will not be fitted to 47975 until this fault is rectified properly, I've decided to take 47992 to Sheffield tomorrow instead, thank you to those of you that have responded to this very frustrating problem. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free At Last Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 When my first one packed in I had it on rollers and starting on a low setting it appeared to be free running but I noticed the front end was running faster than the rear. As I was turning up the power the speed increased then got to a point where it slowed down then picked up again. I could repeat this. After doing this a few times it stopped dead with the controller (ECM Compspeed) showing an overload. I turned it off and looked to see if the motion had jammed up but all looked ok. On turning the controller back on only the rear end was running. I didn't investigate any further, I took it back for a replacement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Hi Free At Last, this is the second time that I have suffered this fault with this particular model, the first time the front motor 'locked up' and remained so, I returned the model in person to Hattons and a replacement was tried and tested in the shop whilst I waited, the rear motor 'Locked up' yesterday as I have stated in post # 1581, the fault seems, at the moment to have settled down (fingers crossed) it obviously needs the fault to be investigated further though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 (edited) Hopefully not shades of the class 17.... Edited September 11, 2014 by JSpencer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I have two Heljan class 17's and never had any problem at all with them, I believe they were from the second batch that were released, the first release were the problematic models. I have decided to return 47975 to Hattons for a replacement next week as the rear motor 'locked up' again this afternoon and has stayed 'locked up' very, very, frustrating ,i really don't want to investigate the problem myself by stripping the model down and why should I when the model retails at £199, I would warn all of you who own a BG to beware of this fault as it seems to occur even after long hours of running in when everything seems fine with the model. 47992 is boxed up ready for its day out to Sheffield in the morning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Sat in a pub in Sheffield enjoying copious amounts of Carlsberg after having visited Olivia's to have sound fitted to 26612 47992 including cab lighting which Olivia's have recently added to their function range for the Garratt, to relieve the boredom of the train journey, i purchased the latest Hornby magazine at St Pancras, interesting to see on page 76 & 77 a review on the the latest BG releases, but why oh why did they have to review 47975 !!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free At Last Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I have 266204 7983 but the label on the box end says 266204 4973. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 It's a printing error according to Hattons, I have the same. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250BOB Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 to relieve the boredom of the train journey, !!!!! Seems like an odd statement from someone who loves railways...??????? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Hi 250BOB, I have over 35 years railway service in, having joined good old British Rail in April 1979, I'm sorry to say that train travel today is not, as far as I'm concerned, enjoyable, plastic trains and overcrowding is not my cup of tea Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250BOB Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 You are right Brian, it's not what if used to be. I still love it though. I normal manage a train trip with a group of like minded guys about once a month....so the trip becomes a social outing too. Enjoy the Garratt. Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Even the cup of tea these days is plastic; at least in BR days it was in a chipped china cup! I had a K's BG many years ago, that never ran properly either. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hawkins Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Well, earlier today for the first time I had two Heljan Beyer Garratts fitted with Olivia's sound running on my layout, LMS 4970 and BR 47992, fantastic is the only word to describe it, ok, a lot of expence involved but well worth it to be honest, still have take 47975 back to Hattons sometime next week and also 47992 will be taken to Warrington in a couple of weeks for Steve Johnson to do his dirty deeds on it, all in all I'm a very happy chappy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinjamesporter Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 My garratt arrived yesterday while i was at work. I started to run it in on rolling roads and after ten minutes the rear motor stopped working so its on its way back to Hattons. Congratulations to Hattons on their customer service as they replied within half an hour with a parcel label to send it back. Looking forward to the replacement arriving. Outof interest has anyone fitted a howes sound chip.? Ive seen the olivia trains offering and wondered if anyone had compared them. Best wishes Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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