Photogreycat Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 While I have several N gauge models from Dapol which run well and provide all the service intended by the manufacturers I have a diesel multiple unit which has become so unreliable that it is not fit for purpose. This has occurred after about 18 months due to the springs used for picking up track power becoming fatigued. I have urged the Company to come up with an improved engineering solution. The recent launch by Hornby of the diesel N gauge Brighton Bell multiple unit manufactured by Arnold who are renowned for their engineering solutions should encourage our British manufacturers to improve their products. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmay2002 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Arnold don't manufacture anything. It's just brand. Like the rest of Hornby it's all made in China these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted March 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 22, 2015 If you feel so strongly that it is not fit for purpose then return it under your statuary rights. Just remember however that all models from all manufactures can develop faults with use, no matter how good they were to start with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
branchie Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Do we really need the multiple threads? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I have urged the Company to come up with an improved engineering solution. This does rather come across as being rather pompous. Could you please explain, at least for my benefit, why it's an engineering (design?) issue rather than say a component quality failure. And just how did Dapol respond to your urging? G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted March 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 23, 2015 While I have several N gauge models from Dapol which run well and provide all the service intended by the manufacturers I have a diesel multiple unit which has become so unreliable that it is not fit for purpose. This has occurred after about 18 months due to the springs used for picking up track power becoming fatigued. I have urged the Company to come up with an improved engineering solution. The recent launch by Hornby of the diesel N gauge Brighton Bell multiple unit manufactured by Arnold who are renowned for their engineering solutions should encourage our British manufacturers to improve their products. Hi there, I am intrigued to know what it is that you think is so wrongly engineered? I have several DMU's (CL156's?) that all perform at least as well as another manufacturers DMU (CL150's?) Yes - they can be more tempremental at times - but a good care and maintenance program takes care of that. As Graham says... What makes this an engineering or design issue? Is there a component failure? What have Dapol said about the situation? How does your usage affect the situation? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Interestingly on the thread you started under Bachmann you identify the culprit as a Farish 108 with tangled pickup strips! Have you others as well? I have locos and DMUs by both Farish and Dapol on my UK outline layouts. I also have railcars and multiple units on my German layout by Arnold, Brawa and Hobbytrain, together with trams by Arnold, Tomix, Modemo and Linea8. Other makes have also come and gone over the years, mostly replaced by more appropriate stock but sometimes for reliability. Some of the problem children have been- A Farish 101 where the window glue had spread to hold the chassis to the body making removal of the latter for DCC fitting very difficult. A Hobbytrain 4-wheel railbus that won't pull itself along the track because its wheels are too shiny and smooth- cured by taking a file to the wheel treads. An early Dapol Voyager which had a dry soldered joint inside- needing a new blob of solder to turn it into a superb runner. A number of Arnold and Fleischmann locos where the wipers between bogie and main chassis have become flattened with use and age- cure is the same for each (carefully remove bogie, carefully bend back again and carefully refix bogie) Another Hobbytrain railcar that picks up on 5 axles but drives on one, and slips rather than moving along the track - this is the accumulator railcar with two back-to-back units each of which has the battery compartment sticking out in front. An Arnold tram (Hornby Arnold) with one bogie that rotates far enough to run on railway track but not enough to run on tramways- no apparent reason and not enough available plastic to shave some away to improve it. The list just goes on and demonstrates to me that the Continentals aren't as superior as we imagine. To finish- the new Bachmann 64xx pannier in OO has a DCC interface based on their N-gauge one (6-pin) but which is so fragile that it bends under the weight of a decoder! All the very best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm not a fan of Dapol products as I'm yet to have one without issue One went back to retailer and exchanged for another manufacturer's product, One went back and Dapol refused to do anything about it as 'it must be returned through the retailer you purchased it from' the retailer in question was being stripped of its Dapol stockist status... Others were given a clean up and checked they ran ok before selling on at a loss having informed buyers of running issues. Dapol's Q&A on here some months back I asked what they had / were planning to do to reduce and resolve quality issues and increase reliability in their products (leaving out any mention of my experience) My question was ignored in favour of answering questions on launch dates for products in production. I'd love a Dapol A4, but once bitten, twice shy and all that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveb860 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I would like the OP to clarify if he is having problems with a Farish 108 as per his other thread, or if he has a problem with a Dapol product as per this thread or a problem with both manufacturers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeharvey22 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 This has occurred after about 18 months due to the springs used for picking up track power becoming fatigued. I have urged the Company to come up with an improved engineering solution. s. I am intrigued by the diagnosis of "fatigue" for both this and your Farish dmu pickups. Sounds like it might be a layout or local environment issue. In normal usage I have not experienced such problems though I do confess to causing some damage to components by my own hamfistedness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted March 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 23, 2015 I am intrigued by the diagnosis of "fatigue" for both this and your Farish dmu pickups. Sounds like it might be a layout or local environment issue. In normal usage I have not experienced such problems though I do confess to causing some damage to components by my own hamfistedness. Hi Mike, The pick up arrangement on the Dapol 156 can prove vulnerable to this situation with the springs that exert pressure to keep the pickup's doing their job. I ended up replacing them with some old Lima N gauge bruh springs and had no further problems (touch wood) since. I passed comment on this back to Dapol with no repsonse. My conclusinn was that the springs as supplied were not up to the current demand of the motor and lost their spring as a result. The Lima springs being designed as motor brush springs appear to be coping with the power demands without difficulty. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stuart A Posted March 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 24, 2015 I'd love a Dapol A4, but once bitten, twice shy and all that. Should it not be once Bittern?....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 My conclusinn was that the springs as supplied were not up to the current demand of the motor and lost their spring as a result. I would agree with this, even though the current demand is of the order 150mA - I've replaced them on one of my units with shortened Farish brush springs (so similar idea to you). Design wise there isn't anything wrong with using springs - just seems that some of them are manufactured from sub-standard material that can stay compressed. I've had no subsequent problems with the replacements, and the units are very nice runners. Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oreamnos Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Do we really need the multiple threads? Agree. This has been covered many times before. I regret I was one of those people who started a thread with a similar title many years ago. Since I note the poster seems to be a new member with 3 posts to his or her credit, some free advice (so you know what is worth!) might be that the topic could be made more useful if the tack taken had been, "I have a model of X from Y manufacturer which as developed fault Z. How do I fix it?" Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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