Stevelewis

Have you tried any remedial action? If not try removing body and ensuring that the vertical contact strips have a good contact with the horizontal ones, if nescessary bend the horisontal ones . Also press the lighting strip against the inside of the roof, it can tend to bend and this sometimes causes the very tiny LEDs to lose contact

I have now fitted the Lenz decoder mentioned above, it was a simple enough task, the body removes fairly easily the 4 clear plastic retaining clips can be a bit tight initially but they soon slip out of the retaining position. Decoder space is a bit tight at the rear of the car where the 8 pin socket is located, so I mounted it in the 'roof space' by cuttng a small slot in 3 of the compartment partitions for the cables to slot into and then removing about 2 mm across the whole width of partition 4 so the decoder could sit on top, none of this is visible when the body is replaced. The poor slow speed running I reported earlier on analogue did not go away after about 45 mins running in, but as soon as the' decoder was fitted it did!! The Unit will now crawl very slowly in either direction, at normal running speeds it does sound very nice with a low hum, and a good 'EMUEY' Clickety click!! The only minus point for me is its lack of any lighting! Now I know lighting costs and no doubt it would have been a lot more expensive with lights, but when it is seen next to the Bachmann EMUs this lack is apparent. It has to be said though that Bachmann have had a lighting 'Set-up' in place for their DMUs & EMUs for some years now so including lighting in their new models isnt a s much a cost factor. As far as I am aware Hornby have never produced any coaches with lighting, by this I mean ceiling lights not table lights (which are a fibre optic application in the Pullman Cars , which is probably why they are fitted in the 5 BEL) So all in all its a nice model thoroughly recommended, bound to bring Hornby some added profit. Be intersting to see what the opposition comes up with ...err March 10th isnt it!!

I am using LENZ 10231-1 Standard in the Bels they give superb slow running qualities, so I stick one in the 2 BIL & see what happens should be OK. I find that the best way to improve things with this type of mechanism is to clip off the capicitor. luckily there is only one. I recently digitised a Bachmann Large scale Heisler logging loco that had 10 capcitors in 3 different locations , but it certainly runs well now!!

My first 2 Bil arrived this morning, this was not a pre-order it was ordered on line on Sunday and delvered today (Tuesday) by FREE next day delivery. I ordered this as a contingency in case my pre ordered 2 dont make it in the first batch.! I have given it an initial analogue test and I am not all that impressed at the running qualities so far, medium and higher speeds are OK , but it is not too good at lower speeds and in reverse direction it runs hesitatingly with a start / stop effect.. I have not experienced this with any of the 5 Bels which performed reasonably well out of the box and did improve when digitised and run in. My intention now is to give this 1 a running in turn for a while then fit a decoder and see what happens I will post my results later .

Well then I am glad to be of assistance, I think you will agree now you have seen them that the soldered joints are very fragile! When I say the bogie is the same as the 5Bel I refer to the actual construction and design of it , the fact that the Bel doesnt have a NEM socket is really just a cosmetic thing. There are not many who have the facility to run a 10 BEL although one of my friends does...., the coupling was easily achieved with the use of Kadees which are easily fitted to the BEL . HINT if any one does thing of running a 10BEL best performance is achieved with the 2 power cars coupled nose to nose in the centre of the 10 car trains... but we digress here!!!

Refer to my previous post #726 about poor soldered joints that could be the reason for your problem, but if the power bogie mounting is the same as the 5 BEL then be careful when you unclip it as it can drop down suddenly and more joints may break. FYI on the Bel the power bogie is attached by a plastic swallow tail spigot the ends are accessable thro a small hole in the top of the chassis, use long nosed pliers to compress the 'tail' of the spigot. lookin at pics of the BIL in the RM the interior arrangement looks the same as the 5BEL But of course theproblem could bethat the pickups are not contacting the wheel backs correctly!

There have been problems that I am aware of with soldered cable joints THE POWER BOGIE on the Brighton Belle, I have 'fixed' 3 up to now 1 of my own when they were first released and 2 belonging to friends, the problem was caused by wires becoming unsoldered on the powered bogie, the soldered joints are tiny and the wires are very thin, so there may be a possibility that the joints fail due to the movement of the bogie within the chassis . Obviously I cannot say if this is the same set up with the 2 BIL as I havne seen one yet!

I think that from readng the reprts in mags the motor bogie in the 2BIL is the same as in the 5 BEL,.....received a further 5 BEL yesterday and I am sorry to say its running qualities are quite poor Slow speed running is very 'notchy' and really slow running is hard to achieve, At Higher speeds it is extremely noisy, this is by comparison with the other 2 BELs we have. The other 2 5 BELs run reasonably well, but not as good as any of our Bachmann EMUs which seem to benefit from the Flyheel + Chassis mounted motor driving powered bogie thro' cardan shaft. The new BEL will probably be returned to the retailer. The point of this post being that not all similar drive units perform equally!

Well its the same power bogie (apparently) as the 5 BEL which easily moves a 5 car set so it should be OK Just as a matter of interest the Bachmann MLV will easily move 6 Bachmann mark 1 coaches up a 1 in 25 gradient on a 36" radius curve!

When I spoke with Kernow earlier this week I was advised that mine should be with me next month, I am looking forward to getting my hands on it, bit dubious about the sound will give my verdict when i get it!

I havent noticed any Problems with hattons website today, I have had several emails back and to with them, I was requesting info about a large scale item which they replied to almost instantly despite saying it could be 72Hrs before they replied! After that they also sent 3 or 4 supplementary emails with further info on the item. This morning I checked Royal Mail website to see if a signed for item had been delivered to them ( A Faulty N Gauge item which I returned to them) they received it at 10-20 and by 11-10 I received an email from them confirming a credit card refund had been processed. If that is not service I dont know what is!!

I dont think you would actually get double reds at the front! The indicator panel illumination is going to be directional according to the write up ( the same set up as the MLV) so red will show only at the trailing end

October MODEL RAIL has a 2 page article which shows the latest Engineering Prototype in close up, Noted in the write up is the fact that like the MLVs the headcode blinds will be directional white/red illuminated. Article states due date JAN/FEB 2013

One of the issues with smoke units a few years ago was the Health Risk, it was publshed in a magazine in a letter from a model railway enthusiast,member of the medical profession that the smoke which was emitted from smoke units was many times more hazardous than cigarette smoke and should be avoided and not used in domestic locations particularly when children were present., some exhibition managers banned the use of smoke units for a time. Many of my large scale locos were smoke unit fitted but I rarely used them as droplets of smoke oil would sometimes fall on the loco and following train which caused staining of the paint work.

Rails are offering the BLUE DCC READY version for £99.95 now!

The Belle has its problems though, I have already had to 'attend' to 2 of them due to failures in use, I have reported these earlier but to re-cap the fault occurs in the wiring to the power bogie, there are 4 very thin wires each of which is soldered to connectors on the power bogie, the joints are tiny , the problems occured due to failure of these joints! It is also worth remembering that if the nescessity arises to 'drop' the power bogie from the chassis for example to remove the capacitor, be careful as the bogie can drop and strain the above mentioned soldered joints. When working on the Belle it is interesting to compare the difference between the techniques used in manufacture of the 2 main EMU manufacturers ( I know to whom I would put my money on!!)

During the short time I had a 4-VEP in my possesion (it was returned as not fit for purpose!) I found that it was incapable of moving its 4 cars up a 1 in 25 on a 36" radius incline it would just about manage 3 cars!. My Bachmann 4 CEPs will ascend the gradient with very little slowing and when tested would haul an additional 2 Mk1 coaches up the incline as well.

The LL Proto configuration is the same as the Bachmann 4-CEP, 2 EPB and the soon to be available MLV and also the Bachmann Diesel multiple units., These units will also haul much more than the 'normal, train.

I agree! If the price were to drop substantially it would perhaps be an option to re power the 4 VEP. A friend of mine is considering checking out the Bachmann MLV chassis when it becomes available and if suitable using that chassis in the 4 VEP and then using the redundant VEP chassis in the MLV . I am not so sure about this but I will report if anything materialises!!

I don't think that the 4 VEP if used to haul an unpowered 33 would actually be powerful enough! During the brief time I had a 4 VEP in my possession, it seemed underpowered ( mainly I think because of the DRAG imposed on the trailer cars due to the strange way the axles are mounted) It certainly had difficulty negotiating a 1 in 60 gradiant on a 30" radius curve

The same newsletter from Rails also listed 2 Hornby sound locos a class 31 & an 08, both at reduced further prices, but both of those appear now to be sold out, the 4 VEP was still available earlier this evening.

Rails Sheffield have reduced the price of the BLUE DCC on Board 4 VEP to £114.95! ANY TAKERS??!!

I wonder if the RRP will have increased by then?

It does not always follow that because a 'new' product initially sells well, subsequent production does likewise, it is not that easy to judge how ongoing sales will in the current financial climate. It could be that most of the demand is already satisfied. Also I would imagine that given the limited production facilities which seems to be available at the factory it might not be that simple to produce a further batch quickly.

I am not sure if this is correctly called a rumour! For so many retailers including the BIG ones, to have been giving the same ' no more stock' message at virtually the same time, it is clear to me someone 'in the know' must have given them the information. Apparently the inter retailer telephone lines were hot with shops attempting to buy up any unsold stock