Intercity125

I am one of the fortunate ones who have managed to get a replacement, or rather a model as close to the original green class 31 that my wife purchased for me back in 2005.

At first I received a letter from Hornby offering me a £100 discount voucher against any item on their online shop.  I asked if they could just send me a replacement (the nearest being R3144A at £155).  At first they said they were unable to do this.  I then suggested that they return my old model with the £100 voucher.  This time I heard nothing for two weeks and contacted them again.  Hornby rang me back within the hour and confirmed that they would send me R3144A in lieu of the voucher and that it would be delivered the following day.  Hornby were as good as their word and at lunchtime the following day R3144A arrived (BR Green D5829 with SYP and head code box).

I have been lucky, but I put this down to being patient, polite and persistent.  I would have been happy with the £100 voucher plus my old broken model back.

Thank you Hornby.

Paul

In the Hornby shop they have green 31 headcode box version, but not released yet. So your in the same position as me 

Thanks Rich.  I'll take a quick look now and suggest it to them.  I'm prepared to wait if necessary as I'm sure my other 90 locos and DMUs can deal with the branch line's current workload LOL.

Just side-tracking for a minute, my Branor Cam Truck arrived today and I look forward to trying it out this weekend to see what the results are like.  I'll make a posting in the appropriate section on that one...............

Hi Paul,

 

When they get back to you, If you tell them nicely that you always wanted a class 31, they might do as they did with several of us and send you a 31 instead of a voucher (which is for less).

 

You'll loose nothing by asking.

 

Luke

Thanks Luke for that piece of advice.  I would prefer a replacement 31 and I'm prepared to take a Green headcode version if they have one.  It's about to go in the post so I'll amend my accompanying letter to ask if they can accommodate this.

Paul

I noticed that my Class 31, D5512 Green livery, is suffering from the dreaded chassis cracking/body splitting issue.  I phoned Margate and a very nice lady advised me this afternoon to return it to them so they can repair/replace it.  From reading the comments here, it appears that there's a good possibility of them keeping it and giving me a £100 voucher instead.  it's a shame if they do that as I'm fond of the Class 31.

I'll let the forum know how I got on in due course.

Regards,

Paul

Absolutely fantastic!!! I've really enjoyed following this thread and wanted to say that not only was the challenge of building the micro layout for under £100 worth following, but so was the end result.

A layout to be proud of in my opinion, and it's been an inspiration for me (and countless others). Your scenic methods have encouraged me to experiement more with techniques and household materials. I look forward to following your next challenge.................

Best wishes,

Paul

Just wanted to say how much i enjoyed viewing your layout. It's fantastic. Love the detail and weathering too. I shall be following this one with interest.

Regards,

Paul (aka Intercity125)

Glad to hear that your replacement is OK. My replacement had further faults - glue deposits on the body,

poor running and the two body halves would not fit together properly. I have had enough and requested a refund. I do not have the time or patience to sort out Heljan's erratic quality issues.

I can understand how your feel. I have a Heljan Class 35 Hymek which runs erratically despite clean wheels, pick ups, track, etc. In fact I've passed by the recent releases from Heljan as I don't think the quality, smooth mechanism or detail is there. I find the best manufacturer for smooth running to be Bachmann.

I was amazed at the number of screws underneath the chassis let alone anywhere else. Why do Heljan seem determined to make the body difficult to remove? It's a shame as this is an attractive little model. I'm having to return mine to a mail order company in Liverpool that begins with an 'H' as I'm having to apply 50% power just to make it move and then it does so very jerkilly. 80% power still means it is running very slowly. I suspect this is not right somehow, even taking into account the low gearing.

 

Let's hope the replacement will be a smooth runner.

 

Paul

Well the replacement arrived today (Friday) and I have to say that it runs much smoother and I'm now happy with this lovely little model. I must thank Hattons for their prompt service and for despatching the replacement so quickly. I only returned the faulty railbus to them on Monday.

I hope other forum members haven't experienced too many problems with theirs. I never thought I would see a railbus produced by a mass manufacturer, so it's good to know that we have other railbus types to look forward to. Can't wait for the Park Royal version!!!!

What type of controller are you using?

 

I originally test run mine with a Hornby train set controller and it needed a lot of welly to get moving but when I swopped to an old H & M unit it started as soon as I turned the control knob and ran smoothly. Top speed on the railbus doesn't seem to be high but then the real things didn't hurtle around.

I'm using a convetional DC Gaugemaster model 100M controller. I think I've been unlucky and received a dud. It's jerky and seems to struggle, whereas other Heljan models work fine with no problems.

Appreciate you highlighting the issue of the controller, but as the gears and pick up are ok, I suspect there is an issue with the motor.

Do Heljan have a policy of making their models as difficult as possible to fit a DCC decoder? Remove the airhorns? Prise out the doors? Not for me unfortunately. I'm not averse to some disassembly but Heljan seem to go out of their way to increase the risk of damage/loss of small parts for decoder fitting. Shame.

 

C.

I was amazed at the number of screws underneath the chassis let alone anywhere else. Why do Heljan seem determined to make the body difficult to remove? It's a shame as this is an attractive little model. I'm having to return mine to a mail order company in Liverpool that begins with an 'H' as I'm having to apply 50% power just to make it move and then it does so very jerkilly. 80% power still means it is running very slowly. I suspect this is not right somehow, even taking into account the low gearing.

Let's hope the replacement will be a smooth runner.

Paul

I removed the gearbox covers and both axles/gears were already well factory lubricated, so I'm not sure why my model is running slow and jerky.

It's a shame as it's a well detailed model, and short of knowing what to do next, I fear that I might have to return it to a well known mail order company in the Liverpool area.

Glum,

Paul

http://bawdsey.wordp...nenbau-railbus/

Three screws allow access to final drive train, mine was well lubricated, (as will I be later), worth checking though.

Thanks PMP.

Hope you don't over-lubricate yourself, otherwise it may affect your running qualities tomorrow LOL.

Appreciate the link to your website with the clear instructions and pictures, showing the removal of the gearbox cover. I shall check and see if lubrication is required on my model, and if so, whether it improves the performance.

Regards,

Paul

Conclusions?

 

Excellent packaging, nothing amiss on arrival

Delicate to get into like most today, any damage was caused by me

Good runner straight from the box, but close examination of the mechanism showed dry gears & bearings. Lubrication definately was needed, as always sparingly & with care.

 

Stewart

I've just received my Heljan Railbus model and would echo Stewart's summary. The only fault with my model is that it seems to run slow in both directions. I have tried running it in on my continuous circuit using conventional DC control (Gaugemaster Model D) and have had to apply 50% power to get it moving and 75% to run it in. Even then it is moving relatively slowly. It is quiet, but despite the wheels/track being spotlessly clean, I feel it could do with light lubrication.

Is there an easier method to lubricate the gears/axle rather than take the roof off, etc? I notice that there are three screws underneath each axle on the underside. Is it safe to remove these and add a little lubrication?

Appreciate any advice on this.

Thanks,

Paul