Metropolitan Bo-Bo EP sample

[sjgardiner]

Mine arrived Wednesday from Hattons, safe and sound inside the box despite one end of the box looking like it was punted, and the wonderful people at Canada Post leaving the package sitting in the hallway of our apartment building at our door for god knows how long before my wife got home.

 

Thankfully apparently none of our neighbours are so bad as to steal a package, though i really wish they'd just do what they are supposed to do and take them to the post office in the pharmacy at the end of the street for collection.

 

I'll take and post pictures of my LT Diorama on the weekend.  But i am very happy from a first look.  I'll also have to take out the rollers and run it in a bit to make sure everything works.

 

Stephen

[pauln]

My supply of Bachmann 36-557 decoders arrived this afternoon and pleased to advise that once fitted to #1 and Sherlock Holmes both locos performed impeccably.

 

Many thanks guys for your help.

 

Keith

Thanks Keith. And just to close out my report I have installed a Hattons own brand 21 pin decoder and that too works just fine.  So looks like only Hornby Sapphire chips to avoid.

[Bill]

Sherlock Holmes arrived from Hatton's on Thursday - which is a pretty impressive turn of speed for Postes Canada -

(Which sometimes seems to delight in slowing down parcels if and whenever it can...)

It arrived in excellent condition, with no obvious faults.

Right out of the box - It ran smoothly in either chosen direction...

As usual Heljan's Idea of correct coupling height seems to differ from everyone else's, (including their own)

(I suppose they must have some kind of random process in play when they select the height for the couplings in each model!)

But the coupling supplied - although a little on the low side was able to successfully mate with the coupling on a Hornby Gresley Suburban.

It is a superb model and Heljan are at the top of their game with this

 

My only regret? - getting a set of EFE Northern Line 1938 Underground cars - I should have gone for the Bakerloo when they were available.

(For the very young - Before the Jubilee there was the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo which ran in paralell with the Metropolitan Line)

 

 

Now - about crowd funding some Dreadnought coaching stock????

Edited September 12, 2015 by Bill

[Jeff Smith]

£150 buys you 3 Radley kits which have I believe recently been re-designed.

[Roy P]

Photo of the real thing with NSE-livery Mk2s on the RCTS mystery locations page this week:

http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/mysteryphotos/show.htm?serial=13&img=JT-101-15

 

The year would be 1995. When LU bought 3 MK 2b TSOs from NSE. The coaches were in NSE livery at Steam On The Met 1995. I believe they were also used in NSE livery on the Jubliee Line, as part of Stanmore Depot Open day in September that year. They were repainted into Metropolitan Maroon by Steam On The Met 1996.

 

And the mystery location is of course ... Stanmore.

 

RP

[sjgardiner]

Managed to get some pictures and get them posted today.  Still haven't managed to run in Sherlock Holmes, but frankly, my work bench is too messy at the moment to get out the test track and set up the rollers, so that will have to wait for a clean.  Maybe Sunday will bring time to organize the workbench again!

 

Pictures of my LT Station Diorama are below:

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Stephen

[No Decorum]

Very nice indeed. I quite like the Heljan loco too.

[Jeff Smith]

Looking at the Ultrascale web site suggests that some of the drop in geared wheelsets may well fit. The correct scale diameter should be 3'6". Ultrascale produces 13mm and 15mm wheels as well as some described as 3'7". It is a good chance that these will be close enough for slightly higher or lower ride height and that the gears will mesh, assuming that Heljan used existing sized gear-sets.....

Edited September 13, 2015 by Jeff Smith

[SRman]

My Sherlock Holmes arrived today. After a quick check on Dc on the rolling road, I fitted a decoder. I started with a Lenz Standard but, like others have reported, it surged and stopped repeatedly in one direction, and the lights didn't respond at all either.

I then tried a TCS EU621, which works faultlessly with the drive in both directions. However, there is an oddity with the lights: the lower two white lights come on with the direction of travel on function 0, as do the cab lights at the relevant end. Function 1 turns on the upper white light at the leading end and function 2 turns on the upper light at the other end. Now I feel sure that the cab lights should be the switchable ones on functions 1 and 2, so next time I take the 'lid' off, I'll have a look at swapping the connections - Heljan usually use identical two pin plugs for these so it should be straightforward ... [gulp] I hope!

I'm not sure why the Lenz decoders have such a problem with this mechanism, but I think it is probably something to do with the BEMF settings. The TCS one I used boasts that it is self-adjusting for BEMF, and it seems to work, thus justifying that claim.

 

Edit: sorry for the duplicate posting. I thought I had just edited to add the photos but obviously something went slightly haywire!

Edited September 15, 2015 by SRman

[SRman]

My Sherlock Holmes arrived today. After a quick check on DC on the rolling road, I fitted a decoder. I started with a Lenz Silver+ 21 but, like others have reported, it surged and stopped repeatedly in one direction, and the lights didn't respond at all either.

I then tried a TCS EU621, which works faultlessly with the drive in both directions. However, there is an oddity with the lights: the lower two white lights come on with the direction of travel on function 0, as do the cab lights at the relevant end. Function 1 turns on the upper white light at the leading end and function 2 turns on the upper light at the other end. Now I feel sure that the cab lights should be the switchable ones on functions 1 and 2, so next time I take the 'lid' off, I'll have a look at swapping the connections - Heljan usually use identical two pin plugs for these so it should be straightforward ... [gulp] I hope!

I'm not sure why the Lenz decoders have such a problem with this mechanism, but I think it is probably something to do with the BEMF settings. The TCS one I used boasts that it is self-adjusting for BEMF, and it seems to work, thus justifying that claim.

Edited September 15, 2015 by SRman

[Pandora]

"Sherlock" has a grey roof, "John" has  the roof in the body colour, very nice models,  take care not to dislodge and lose for the four small clip-fit shoe fuses when handling the model.

[Pandora]

Mine was missing one of the electrical rectangular box pieces, attached to the chassis above each bogie side. I contacted Howes and they have plastic sprues to send out. They are not showing as spare parts yet, so I'm assuming they have a small quantity for locos like mine, with some missing parts. They are sending me a sprue f.o.c in the post. As mine is John Hampden I will need to paint the front face a matching grey, which is no problem.

those boxes contains the fuse for the traction supply, one per shoebeam, Southern third rail stock has the same arrangement for the traction current supply

Edited September 15, 2015 by Pandora

[No Decorum]

"Sherlock" has a grey roof, "John" has  the roof in the body colour, very nice models,  take care not to dislodge and lose for the four small clip-fit shoe fuses when handling the model.

From what I can see, I think "John" has a roof of a slightly different shade from the body colour.

[locoholic]

Anyone else had a dud one of these? The lights work on 12v DC, but no motion whatsoever? Any suggestions of a quick fix, or is it a case of return to sender?

[Jeff Smith]

From what I can see, I think "John" has a roof of a slightly different shade from the body colour.

It is red oxide.

[Southernman46]

"Sherlock" has a grey roof, "John" has  the roof in the body colour

So THAT's why I preferred No.5 over No.8 - talk about missing the bleedin' obvious - now where's me glasses

[Pandora]

Googled and found images of the preserved  "John" in the Museum,  the roof does appear to a different shade of Red to the body, so Heljan and partners are correct.

This model has stimulated an untapped interest in the LT system, a system with a long history and Victorian origins,even my modest efforts on Google has unearthed  facts of which I was not aware despite the whole system being on my doorstep.

Like many I am slightly bored with the modern transport scene the ubiquitous class 66 everywhere, it is  time to deep read the history and explore the outer regions of Metro-Land

[Jeff Smith]

Pandora - you'll be wanting one of these next - not likely in RTR though.....although isn't that what was said about the Bo-Bo.....

 

[PhilJ W]

Pandora - you'll be wanting one of these next - not likely in RTR though.....although isn't that what was said about the Bo-Bo.....

 

L45_1e.JPG

In fact that would be an excellent subject for R-T-R, many were sold off due to electrification in the early 1900's. Originally they had no cabs and many were withdrawn in that condition and sold on. Several companies purchased these locomotives including the Mersey Railway and the Cambrian some of which ended up with the GWR. Almost identical locomotives were also acquired by the Metropolitan District Railway and finished in their olive green livery.

[Pandora]

Those owners posting and reporting electrical issues, on 12V or DCC,  the symptoms described suggest the circuit board either has  solder bridges or components legs on the underside of the circuit board in unwanted contact with the metalwork of the  chassis 

[Jeff Smith]

In fact that would be an excellent subject for R-T-R, many were sold off due to electrification in the early 1900's. Originally they had no cabs and many were withdrawn in that condition and sold on. Several companies purchased these locomotives including the Mersey Railway and the Cambrian some of which ended up with the GWR. Almost identical locomotives were also acquired by the Metropolitan District Railway and finished in their olive green livery.

As Met No.23 (L45) is actually in the LTM perhaps it has plans to arrange this......RTR would be tricky unless the bogie carried some of the weight and had limited swing.

[SRman]

I have now solved the lighting glitch. It was as simple as flipping over the small lighting boards over the cabs - see the last four images in Dave's (dasatcopthorne's) post #246. The cab lights now come on individually with functions 1 and 2, while all three white end lights turn on (and off) with function 0.

[PaulRhB]

So they'd been plugged in upside down?

 

Anyone heard a whisper as to how close the second batch with the older liveries are? I had an email saying due in soon and about the number change but wondered if anyone had said in shops

Layouts up and waiting and all these nice pics of the LT versions plus the S stock also due it's like being a kid again

[Guest spet0114]

Anyone heard a whisper as to how close the second batch with the older liveries are? I had an email saying due in soon and about the number change but wondered if anyone had said in shops

Layouts up and waiting and all these nice pics of the LT versions plus the S stock also due it's like being a kid again

 

Had the same email (Hattons?). Kernow are quoting 4th quarter (october onwards?). Howes just say '2015'.

[Godfrey Glyn]

Happened to be mooching around the LT Museum yesterday and took some photos of John Hampden which certainly show the difference between the colours applied to the sides and the roof.

 

all the best

Godfrey