petrox

Thanks for the info - I'm always nervous attacking a brand new item of stock!

My set 373 in BR green arrived today. They look exquisite models to me - I don't have enough knowledge of the real things to quibble about certain details. A little judicious weathering and some passengers installed if I can get at the interior without any problems is the next task. At last some companion stock for the O2 and M7! Petrox

Decided not to wait for the email from Kernow - phoned this morning to supply card details - so £30 saved. It will be just about 6 years from placing the order to receiving the models but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Just to add a different experience, my Dapol/Hornby 14xx runs perfectly happily with the original grooved driving wheels without traction traction tyres - no problems on points (Peco large radius / Electrofrog), and push/pulls 2 autocoaches even up a slight gradient on a curve. I would suggest a trial run without traction tyres.

I had the same issue with both of my 93xx/43xx models - as well as adding lead as you have, I have fitted a U-shaped length of wire from the pony mounting point to reduce the amount of sideways play of the pony truck - afraid I can't illustrate with a photo but if you experiment a bit I'm sure you will find a similar solution - anyway it works on my models, no derailing now. Hope this helps.

Further & final update - managed to get the leading driving wheels nearer to 14.5mm back-to-back - this has improved the running on curves significantly, although still some very slight hesitation in one or two spots - will get a gauge & check all wheels (& some other locos as well!). A pity that the QC procedures in China didn't spot the problem, but anyway the loco can now be weathered, crew & headcodes added, ready for service on the St. Petrox branch - just need the Gate Stock now!

Looks as though at least some of my problem may be down to the age-old issue of the back-to-back being incorrect - a rough measure indicates the leading driving wheels are at least 15mm - I've always understood that for standard OO gauge (not finescale) that 14.5mm was the norm. I will now obtain a back-to-back gauge. Has anyone come across the same problem yet on an O2, and if so how easy is it to adjust? Or should I return the loco to Kernow for treatment? Any advice appreciated.

I think I will persevere with more running-in - so far the loco has had about an hour but maybe it simply needs more time - I will report back when some more hours of running have been achieved. Finally let me say that my comments about the model are not intended as a complaint or gripe - I sincerely hope that the performance can be improved to match the visual aspects of the model, which I think is superb - however at the end of the day the loco has to perform reliably.

As more of these models are delivered and run on layouts, I will be interested to see if any other problems are experienced. I have just taken delivery of K2103 / 30182 loco, and the loco runs erratically around curves - it's fine on the straight bits, and over Peco electrofrog points (track is Peco code 100, minimum radius 24"), and also better in reverse (when the bogie wheels are leading). My thoughts are that, because a) the driving wheels appear to have a lot of lateral play and b) the inevitable tight clearances, that the driving wheels are binding against the coupling rods and/or the brake gear - however it's a theory only at the moment. Loco also is quite noisy. Inevitably other locos operating on this section of the layout (Hornby M7, Hornby 14xx, Bachmann 64xx), run without any problems, so even my mediocre track laying doesn't appear to be the culprit. I guess it's possible that I have a slight case of "rogue" loco, and no doubt I could approach Kernow to see if an exchange could be made. However I'm reluctant to do this if this loco can be sorted - I have to say that, having waited 5 years for the model, visually it is superb - also I have the Gate stock set on order, and the O2 is clearly the ideal motive power for this. I'll be interested to hear others experience of the O2. Petrox