Heljan class 17

[bluex5]

Anyone had replacement chassis from Hattons on a "fit yourself" basis? I had the email asking me which way I wanted to go and responded saying I was happy to do it myself, but no chassis as yet.

[Durranhill]

I seem to be in the same boat as many of you ,

still waiting for for my email from Hattons :icon_mutter: & no word yet from Modelfair regarding a replacement chassis :icon_frustrated: or the NEW Class 17 i have on order :icon_cry: , have now contacted Heljan uk direct to see if they can help get me a new chassis :icon_mad: .

 

Stewart .

[Lokomotivfuhrer]

What's the story with purchasing one of these Mail Order at the moment? Should I ask the proprietor if the one that's getting shipped to me is one of the 2nd batch?

 

I deliberately didn't buy one after hearing some of the reports about the motors/chasses etc, and decided to wait for the 2nd batch.

 

After attending 4 Scottish Exhbitions where Traders were selling them, (between August and November), they all told me that the ones they were selling were from the 1st batch.

 

In my case it's the BR Blue version I'm after. (possibly a factory weathered version though I believe they are Limited Editions from one of the big suppliers).

 

All advice given is as always very welcome.

[rossoblade]

Having been to match local model shop to see whether the chassis had turned up I discovered how to light the blue touch paper. They have yet to recieve any chassis or new class 17. They are obviously not happy from the discussion I had. Anyway hopefully it will all sort itself out in the near future and there will be some more happy people with nicely running locos.

[stock_2007]

Hi I did have 3 class 17's 2 were sent back to a full refund without any problem the 3rd was a problem as I had lost the paper work for it I e-mailed the retailer without a reply BUT last week I had a e-mail from MODELFAIR asking me to send the loco back to them so they could replace the faulty parts today the POSTPERSON dropped my loco off and it run's as sweet as a nut MODELFAIR even replaced the missing buffer springs with the loco was a latter of apology

for the delay I'm sure all will not agree but I think it is great that a retailer can take all this trouble

['CHARD]

Apologies if I have missed it, but does anyone know what Rails of Sheffield's policy is regarding re-chassising ( ? ) of the first batch? Talking to Heljan at the Warley show they advised that all retailers were expected to carry out (or arange) the chassis swap, and sufficient quantities of replacement chassis have been/ are being made available. My early quartet are runners, but barely when compared with new arrivals 8507 and 8606. Heljan's view was explicit - these should and will be changed, but I haven't seen Rails' commitment yet. There doesn't appear to be anything on their website either. The last conversation was, to be polite, inconclusive. I'm about ready to hop on a train with a large box of Type 1s to plonk on their counter....

[bluex5]

I now have my new chassis. Correct colour too! Not swopped it over yet but test running reveals that while still not particularly quick, the smoothness and low speed response is without equal. Very pleased.

[Guest Max Stafford]

Glad to hear it. As for the low speed, 17s weren't known for rocket like performance anyway! :-)

 

Dave.

[kiwitrains]

I have had two Class 17`s at Rails since they came out and no progress on the chassis replacement in fact one email was replied to and I was asked if I had one reserved!! no reply yet to second email.

[Russ (mines a pint)]

The choice is yours. You could do the Ultrascale thing or you could pull the factory wheels out on their axles to the same effect. I can't imagine an extra .75 mm each side will cause any more mechanical shennanigans than we have already!

 

Dave.

The profile on the original Heljan wheels is a bit naff though. Bacchy or Maygib wheels are good for EM conversions on Heljan 26/7, an ideal place to use those Bacchy Mk1 wheels?

[Trevor H]

The profile on the original Heljan wheels is a bit naff though. Bacchy or Maygib wheels are good for EM conversions on Heljan 26/7, an ideal place to use those Bacchy Mk1 wheels?

 

Remember the Clayton wheels are 3' 3" which are 13mm, does anybody know anyone who does 13mm disc wheels, I've used some 12mm (not sure who's) which were 12.5mm in my previous models and look perfectly ok. May try Ultrascales which are 13mm when i do my Heljan models, but they are a lot more expensive.

[Russ (mines a pint)]

not yet got a Clayton so all my Heljan wheel expereience is based on the 26/7 experience,

 

-have they used the correct size wheel for the Clayton? if so it may be a new/different wheel from the usual, and possibly therefore of better profile & push-out able? - be interesting to know?

[davknigh]

Gibson "Warship" wheels at 3' 2" are quite close. I've used them on my P4 conversion and the buffers present at a suitable height.

 

HTH

 

David

['CHARD]

I have had two Class 17`s at Rails since they came out and no progress on the chassis replacement in fact one email was replied to and I was asked if I had one reserved!! no reply yet to second email.

That's very useful - thanks Kiwi, I have some days free next week so my foursome and I will hop on the real thing (well, not exactly, I doubt a Clayton will be on the 1003 B'ham - Edinburgh, no matter what Haymarket kicks out) and confront the Rails supremos. If needs be, I'll bring four new chassis back and do them myself.

[Trevor H]

not yet got a Clayton so all my Heljan wheel expereience is based on the 26/7 experience,

 

-have they used the correct size wheel for the Clayton? if so it may be a new/different wheel from the usual, and possibly therefore of better profile & push-out able? - be interesting to know?

 

 

Hadn't actually checked my Heljan ones myself, its was just experience from previous Clayton's done. Anyhow just measured them for you and myself and they are 13mm.

 

Pushing manufacturers wheels out seems to suit some people but not others, i think it comes down to the tolerances on the layout, i know i have done it before and loco will happilly run through some points but not others, whilst you try it on someone elses layout and it dont want to know.

[Trevor H]

Gibson "Warship" wheels at 3' 2" are quite close. I've used them on my P4 conversion and the buffers present at a suitable height.

 

HTH

 

David

 

Cheers David,

 

I have a set of Gibson's doing nothing, will dig them out and give them a try.

 

Trevor.

[polybear]

After receiving a replacement chassis I thought I'd check it out using a rolling road. And I'm pretty impressed that the motor starts turning at a little over 0.7 volts almost immediately, though it does need around 1.6 volts to ensure reliable running without stalling (I'm sure that will drop even lower with more running in). And it's got to be one of the slowest running locos I've seen. Impressed.

 

Now then, what's the options for using the old chassis (after suitable corrective surgery)?

 

Brian

[Trevor H]

Now then, what's the options for using the old chassis (after suitable corrective surgery)?

 

Brian

 

The Clayton bogie wheelbase is 8'6" which would suit class 15, 16, 17, 20, 21/29, 22, 23, 24, 25, half a co-bo, or a dmu, class 73's were 8'9" so only 1mm out.

 

Meanwhile the bogie centres on the Clayton are 28'0 which would only suit class 17, 24 and 25, so could remoter a Hornby/Silverfox cl24/25.

 

Otherwise the class 21/29 is 28'6" and i think this could be a popular choice. I'll probably go this route, i had put some Bachmann cl 24/25's aside for this but will now use the spare Heljan chassis's instead.

 

The class 71/74 has 27'0" bogie centres but would require 10'6" bogies like those fitted to Hymek.

 

Hope this helps.

[Russ (mines a pint)]

You better have the right number of spokes on the NBL's LMAO

[paulbb]

Just got a 17 from Modelfair- Heljan 1701 with replacement chassis (no. 8561).

 

Its a little noisier than the Hymeks and Birmingham Sulzers by Heljan but you can reduce the noise by taking

out the piece of beige plastic- the cab interior- and putting crew figures in to disguise the mechanism. After

using an R8249 chip the beastie runs quite well, although not fast, but quietish.

The prototypes were not that fast- you could use an older chassis

and remove gears and motor and run as a dummy. Seen quite a few photos of them in pairs-especially on passenger trains- summer only and usually excursions

[rossoblade]

Recently it seemed that the saga was finally coming to an end, but having visited my local model shop yesterday in search of the replacement chassis a few issues came to light.

Upon asking about the replacement chassis it became clear that the replacement chassis that were recently supplied numbered only 500 and were the green(?) version which has prompted a return of 300+ of them. The other chassis' are nowhere near a delivery date. (The shop had not recieved any of the new batch of locos either).

This has caused some disquiet from several shops, including some major players in the field. This I'm led to believe includes the UK agents for the Danish company. The disgruntled shops are at the point of no longer selling Heljan products which may be a worry to many of us.

Now, one would assume that the issue had been resolved as the Clayton thread has gone really quiet but this looks as there are many who are still waiting.

I myself am keeping hold of my engine, but feel that the points above are important enough to be raised on the board.

I have no interest in starting a 'Have a go at Heljan' thread which I believe would be incredibly negative, although I feel that the issue needs discussing.

Prior to posting this I contacted the Mods as I felt quite reluctant 'going into print' on such a contentious issue having seen what happened upon release.

[Guest Max Stafford]

It does seem as if chassis are being distributed in an inconsistent fashion. I have received replacements for my Cheltenham and Hattons purchases, as well as those locally bought, but another three from another supplier are still outstanding. I have spoken with that supplier about two weeks ago, they advised me that they had still not received any. I shall need to enquire again, but this has been an unfortunate episode for all concerned. Beyond that, I feel further comment is superfluous at the moment.

 

Dave.

['CHARD]

It does seem as if chassis are being distributed in an inconsistent fashion. I have received replacements for my Cheltenham and Hattons purchases, as well as those locally bought, but another three from another supplier are still outstanding. I have spoken with that supplier about two weeks ago, they advised me that they had still not received any. I shall need to enquire again, but this has been an unfortunate episode for all concerned. Beyond that, I feel further comment is superfluous at the moment.

 

Dave.

This week I'm taking the bull by the horns (in the shape of four Claytons by the straps of a holdall) and visiting a Mr Rails of Sheffield, to mention one purveyor of model railway T&RS*, to physically present the scale of my 'issues' which I had hoped would be sorted by Xhristmas. I've personally no problem carrying out the work, the problem I have is radio silence.

 

*other shopkeepers are available

[Guest Max Stafford]

If you get lucky, see if you can talk them out of another three...

 

Going to Wigan tomorrow?

 

Dave.

[Trevor H]

Don't know if it helps but Heljan asked their retailers early in the year, how many replacement chassis's they would require and they had a quantity produced to cover these requests and probabaly a few extra.

 

If by chance shops only asked for a certain quantity or not responded at all (which some retailers didn't) this may possibly explain why they havn't got any.