dandrews2000

QC Doesn't make me wonder, it make me think that I cannot be the only who has issue with QC and Hornby or other manufacturers for that matter. It annoys me more that these issues are present for the simple reason I only purchase normally two loco's a year One for birthday and one for Christmas so when these are faulty I get a little annoyed. Currently my entire fleet consist of twelve loco's and that's it and so each time a faulty one comes through I do get annoyed but very rarely voice my annoyance. But after this latest issue with two of Hornby's new H Class i'm more than annoyed i'm pretty pi**ed off which I feel is my right as the consumer who has paid for items that are not fit for purpose. The fact that someone else has been more fortunate with the models they have purchased is of little comfort to me or to anyone else for that matter who has a model with QC issues! You Tw&t

QC issues Here are mine so far this year: Oxford Rail Dean goods noticeable limp whilst in reverse returned for refund Hattons 14xx fist one kept stalling, replacement did not sit level so only three drivers in contact with rail both returned and refunded Hornby D16/3 Claud Hamilton this was my third attempt at getting a good one but oh no binding issue on wheelset returned for refund Hornby H Class x 2 (forgot I pre-ordered at two shops) First one sounds like a coffee grinder in reverse and boiler gets warm after ten minutes of running obviously something catching on the flywheel getting ready to return for refund. Second one has noticeable wobble and after twenty minutes running in reverse at a moderate speed started to smell of burning plastic, so just about to be packed up and sent for return/exchange Now currently have a lovely Dapol railcar doing the loop thought was all good however have noticed loco surges at slow speed. I will keep gently running this model in and if no improvement of back she goes. Out of all the issues this one will annoy me the most as had on pre-order from the moment it was Delete repeated word Normally I cant be bothered to voice my complaints or issues with my loco's as I normally don't see the point until I get really annoyed like the last time I posted on this site with regards to QC. However I do wonder out of how many people with faulty locos actually do voice complaints on here, I cant imagine that many, yes of course you will always have a select view and why not its their money. I would imagine more people try to fix the problems and here in lies the problem. I will be the first to admit i'm ham fisted when it comes to model making so that route is not viable, only other option is buy to RTR. But I refuse to believe that I am that unlucky and that all the lemons find there way to my house. The only loco purchased this year that has not had running problems has been my Hornby Castle Earl St Germans (best we forget about the stem pipe being all bent). I think my complaints are pretty genuine

Good evening Can I ask where you got the hogwarts express transfers from? And where they exspensive. Currently sprucing up my olton hall and the only thing left to do is change the tender insignia. Thanks David

I do agree about the quality of these motors, very cheap to say the least. Having inspected both motors side by side I still cannot fathom why the K1 is under £6 whilst the D16 motor is above £15. For a start the k1 motor has and extra lump of brass yet is cheaper? From one of the photos you can also see a Railroad Hall with similar motor yet smooth as silk and also 64xx with another 3 pole motor again smooth as silk. But I will add the 64xx motor feels of better quality in build and feel. The 3 pole vs 5 pole debate is well covered elsewhere and some of my other locos do indeed have 5 pole motors fitted yet no noticable difference in performance on dcc. But I do think the general build quality of Hornby's new 3 pole is like something you would have found in a early 80's market stall battery powered trainset, and certainly no where near the quality seen in the past ie Black cans. Whilst I do appreciate trying to keep costs down and also installing cheaper motors in Railroad products, i still feel the main range should have a quality motor. I actually did expect my D16 to have a similar motor to my J15, so i was more than suprised when opening her up to find a cheaper alternative seeing as they both cost near enough the same.

Happy New Year to all I'm glad to say my D16 woes are finally over. Loco was returned to place of purchase for a second time with a letter explaining the issue and dcc chip installed. Received a call from shop saying they had tested another loco and this also exhibited the same behaviour and therefore is a charachteritsic of this loco?? Now while off over christmas I had been trawling the forums to see if this was a common problem, could find no further evidence of this being the case. Now this did start me to think did the shop really exchange the first one for a different model? As both models exhibit the same problem! I started to look into alternative motors as I was convinced this was a motor problem, After trawling various forums and also seeing images of both the D16 motor and the Hornby K1 motor i came to the conclusion they looked about the same. Now I hear you ask why the K1? well the D16 has space for a flywheel and the K1 motor comes with a flywheel fitted, BUT most importantly the K1 motor is a third of the price of the D16 motor?? Received my D16 back today and proceeded to fit the new motor, and I am pleased to report this motor fits perfectly and the loco runs superbly both on DC and DCC, no stuttering or kangarooing. Below are some images to show clearances and if you go onto Hornby's own youtube site the pre-production D16 is shown with a flywheel fitted this was removed for production (cost cutting) I know the benefits of a flywheel on dcc are not as great as dc but I thought this info might be of help for anyone looking to replace a worn or duff motor, maybe search K1 motor first (The motors were both price compared from the same part supplier!) Happy modelling Folks

Good afternoon all Well my d16/3 woes continue. After receiving a replacement loco i thought all would be sorted however the new loco exhibits the same strange traits as the previous medel but to a lesser degree. Having not been able to fully test the new loco on dcc until i was off over christmas im slighlty bemused as to what is wrong with this new loco. Having run in on dc the loco again was smooth and quiet so all good there. But again on installing a dcc chip the same problems arose as on the previous loco namely very jerky running even so far as kangarooing. I wipped out the chip and this time snipped the cappacitors out resoldered the wires and re-chipped, but alas no improvement. As before the only setting thats makes a difference is turning off bemf! Having received another 2 new locos for christmas one with a 3 pole also from Hornby none of tje other locos have shown these issue. Ive tried esu, tcs and Hornby own decoder.

I think might it be the capacitor as you suspect. Whilst testing various decoders I changed various settings to see if I could acheive smooth and consistant running. The only setting that made a difference across the board was turning off BEMF. While turning off BEMF resulted in a very smooth speed curve once the loco was moving, the initial start required more movement on the controller resulting in the loco sprinting off before I could reduce speed steps. No amount of CV 2 setting changed this. Have contacted the retailer who have asked me to send the loco back and they will send a replacement tested on both DC & DCC. Regards

Well well Hornby 4 Hornby locos brought and 4 Hornby locos with problems. 1) Hornby 08 with sound replaced by Hornby and replacement still lurches. (XMAS PRESENT) 2) Hornby caerphilly castle blew decoder upon installation as tender wired wrong (shop refund) (BIRTHDAY PRESENT) 3) NRM LSWR M7 body weights glued as opposed to screwed in, pipes from chasis glued to body so had to break to gain access to chip. Oh and noisy motor, would have have got a refund as not fit for purpose had i not had it sitting in a display cabinet for 14 months. (XMAS PRESENT) 4) And finally D16/3 Claud Hamilton which runs fine on dc but is an absolute dog on dcc. Have tried esu lokpilot, gaugemaster dcc26 x 2 and Hornby's own decoder to no avail (BIRTHDAY PRESENT) Refund or replacement?

Well well Hornby 4 Hornby locos brought and 4 Hornby locos with problems. 1) Hornby 08 with sound replaced by Hornby and replacement still lurches. (XMAS PRESENT) 2) Hornby caerphilly castle blew decoder upon installation as tender wired wrong (shop refund) (BIRTHDAY PRESENT) 3) NRM LSWR M7 body weights glued as opposed to screwed in, pipes from chasis glued to body so had to break to gain access to chip. Oh and noisy motor, would have have got a refund as not fit for purpose had i not had it sitting in a display cabinet for 14 months. (XMAS PRESENT) 4) And finally D16/3 Claud Hamilton which runs fine on dc but is an absolute dog on dcc. Have tried esu lokpilot, gaugemaster dcc26 x 2 and Hornby's own decoder to no avail (BIRTHDAY PRESENT) Refund or replacement?

Good evening all Well thats me near enough finished my little take on phil's layout. First I would like to say thank you to phil for giving me the inspiration to attempt something bigger than my little 4ft shunting plank. As mentioned before I have a soft spot for the SVR with my previous shunting layout called Little Highley also. My original Little Highley quickly became very restrictive on what i could run, could have had something to do with me purchasing more and more models . After a big clear out i'm left with a sensible about of stock to give me variation in operation which for my purposes are fine. My first layout was okay but it always left me wanting a little bit more or even just changing some of the static grass colours as they were far to vibrant. I also obtained skills which I wish I had known in the begining. If anyone would like to see my original little highley just type in little highley in your favourite search engine. I may one day do some form of weathering to the station area, but I really like the well maintained and almost pristine look of my little heritage line. Once again thanks all and happy modelling. Kind Regards David (Ps sorry for terrible grammar, typing on a mobile phone is not for the faint hearted)

Good evening all Well a little more progress as you can see from the photo, still unsure about the placement of the water tower at present. Still lots of fencing to do and now the layout has a name, Little Highley.

Thanks phil, The buildings are the Bachmann Highley station set, even purchased them at highley. Have always had a soft spot for the svr as i was taken there as a young lad to see gordon the big blue engine back in the late 70's early 80's. Having moved to scotland its a bit far to go as often as id like. Thanks David

Good evening all. Well its been a good few months since I reported any progress, so the following photos show where i am up to at present. I decided to not put in the engine shed prefering to use the space for a visitor car park, also on my layout you face the station as opposed to viewing from behind. As this little layout is meant to represent a Heritage line with a GWR slant i'm able to run all sorts. Normally the GWR autotrain operates from the platform the class 52 is stabled at, this platform being long enough also to accommodate a 2 car demu. Still a ton to do but still really enjoying the scenic side. No signals at present, any tips on location and requirements would be welcome. Kind Regards David

Good evening all I wonder if anyone can help with this one. A few years ago I remember hearing about a model club layout that used a raspberry pi for the loco sounds instead of dedicated dcc chips. I have a few sound locos and while they are okay they lack oomph in the sound department, especially the steam locos. Can anyone point me in the right direction of the club or anyone who has experience of doing sound this way. Thanks in advance

Good evening all A little progress report. The layout is all wired for DCC operation now using Hornby accessory decoders all operated by a Dynamis handset. I am still undecided on whether to use Kadee under baseboard uncouplers or the between rail type, I have both at present. Decided to try Delux materials ballast magic, not that impressed so back to diluted PVA. I am experimenting with different Static grasses at present also. I have found Noch grasses to toy like and i'm currently experimenting with green scene summer and lush green colours, which are shown in the photo. I think with the right mixture of these two I will be able to achieve the colour i'm looking for. If anyone has any recomendations for static grass please feel free to comment. Thats all for now, with the weather taking a turn for the worse i will probably have more time to dedicate to the layout. Thanks for reading