Butler Henderson Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Seem to more widely available now although Rails really ought to have read Pecos blurb before doing a copy and paste "Sold to the trade in singles and packed in our attractive see-through plastic hanging packs, stock up now and catch the sales in the lead up to Christmas!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MikeB Posted December 26, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2021 I now have one of these. My first thoughts are that they are a solid design, as expected from Peco, and will do the job. However, the concept of having an item that works for N through to EM seems to me to be mistaken and the end result is a poor compromise. The basic unit is very short (15 cm length overall, 13 cm with shutters down) so only suitable for very small items in the larger scales. The previous locolift was a foot long, so a new double unit is comparable to the old one. Of course, having a double unit means that there is a lot more complexity and duplication compared to having a single long unit. The unit has to be tall enough for a 1/76 loco, but that means it's too high to fit under the catenary on my HOm layout so, although it could never be lifted vertically, it can't even be positioned from the side under the wires. Also, there is an error in the plastic moulding for the end shutters where the cut lines for HOm/TT and HOn3 are juxtaposed. Fortunately, the instructions include information on how to make replacement slides if any 12mm modellers follow the markings and cut off too much. (I didn't, so not a moan but a warning) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold zr2498 Posted January 9, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2022 For info 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Maybe if they are glued as well the flexing would not occur. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold zr2498 Posted January 9, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2022 55 minutes ago, Butler Henderson said: Maybe if they are glued as well the flexing would not occur. The flexing happens because of lack of stiffness in the plastic walls. More importantly there is a gap between the edges of the rails unlike the old lifts which had a contoured platform over the width. The DCC concepts design has the gap but they use aluminium angle which is much stiffer. Maybe we need a petition to bring back the old ones! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted January 9, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2022 10 minutes ago, zr2498 said: Maybe we need a petition to bring back the old ones! The old ones felt flimsy because of the foam sides so you could only pick up by the ends. I replaced the foam with 4mm wood on mine due to that. These actually allow you to grip the sides and that naturally secured the bottom as it squeezes the sides into the end plates. The flex without the end plates in might pop the loco up a bit if you squeeze it hard and narrow the gauge. The flex he showed in the video was more twist in the frame as there aren’t any stiffeners to prevent the sides moving parallel to each other but if you lift it your hand wouldn’t twist it like that! It looks like you could add small triangular stiffeners from plastic if it worries you at the top of the frame above the loco. It would be interesting to see if you could make up a clip to hold the end plates on with the outer sockets designed for holding two units together making the cradle that bit longer to fit a pacific or bigger tank. These are designed to just lift on and off the layout not really carry locos around on their own so it will be interesting to see what they feel like in person. The DCCconcepts ones felt more substantial than the old Peco ones but were quite a lot more to buy too and neither of them came with end stops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Pondering using three for a Bachmann crane.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold deepfat Posted January 11, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 11, 2022 I am so disappointed a failure of good design. the old one was genius because the brass strip was thin enough to sit across the track with no gap. So I think they could have retained that idea and made it modular. The length issue is bizarre and there seems to be a lot of plastic compared to the old one so not a great eco story either. The DCC concepts ones are pretty expensive so there is a gap in the market here - I reckon the expertise in this forum could easily come up with a better solution crowd fund it and all get the benefit 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted January 11, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) 19 minutes ago, deepfat said: the old one was genius because the brass strip was thin enough to sit across the track with no gap. Two things, he calls it brass in the review but I’m pretty sure it’s phosphor bronze from the colour of my old ones and the pics in the video of the new version. The gap is there to make it multi gauge rather than having multiple base plates which use more metal. 19 minutes ago, deepfat said: So I think they could have retained that idea and made it modular. They could but it would have required much more plastic on the end to brace it as the old design is only attached at the base and it would snap if two were linked. Those two uprights flex and are fine to lift by, or stack, but they won’t support another lift as they are. 19 minutes ago, deepfat said: The length issue is bizarre Slightly but the old lift didn’t have ends at all, neither does the DCCconcepts version, so there was never anything in the design to retain them I modified my Peco sl-43’s with solid sides and drop in ends and they are very good but so far I’m not seeing the new one as worse in design. Edited January 11, 2022 by PaulRhB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Three arrived today, instructions are a bit weird IMO telling you to fasten the two screws at each end that hold it to the desired gauge before putting in the end slides which obviously set the gauge themselves. Also cannot fathom our why when joining two together one screw in each joined piece has to be removed other than to cause the flexibility noted above. The use of end slides reduces the overall length by 24mm making a single one 126mm, a double 276mm and a treble 426mm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) It transpired the three locked together had less flexing than as individual units. The Bachmann Ransomes & Rapier 45T crane does need a bit of packing to stop it rolling back and forth with the potential to "derail". A Bachmann PO wagon without any coupling takes up most of the slack. Edited January 17, 2022 by Butler Henderson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted March 18, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2022 I'm tempted to use 4 of these units to hold a 2-car EMU for use on my small shunting layout. I was going to use the older style ones, but only owning 2 means i'd be stuck with just one lift unit, and if the POC works with the new ones, i'll probably want 2 or 3 of these lifts for the EMU's. One thing that is puzzling me though, is what is the width of these units for OO, compared to the old ones? They look like they are slightly wider...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium stephennicholson Posted March 18, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 18, 2022 1 hour ago, Geep7 said: I'm tempted to use 4 of these units to hold a 2-car EMU for use on my small shunting layout. I was going to use the older style ones, but only owning 2 means i'd be stuck with just one lift unit, and if the POC works with the new ones, i'll probably want 2 or 3 of these lifts for the EMU's. One thing that is puzzling me though, is what is the width of these units for OO, compared to the old ones? They look like they are slightly wider...... The new ones are slightly narrower by a about 2.5 mm (comparing the base). They dont widen at the top, like the old version either. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium stephennicholson Posted March 18, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 18, 2022 5 minutes ago, stephennicholson said: The new ones are slightly narrower by a about 2.5 mm (comparing the base). They dont widen at the top, like the old version either. actually, on re checking, they are the same width at the base. Mine is set to the correct gauge, but pinches a bit 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted March 18, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2022 6 minutes ago, stephennicholson said: The new ones are slightly narrower by a about 2.5 mm (comparing the base). They dont widen at the top, like the old version either. That's actually better news than I was expecting. I was assuming they were wider. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold zr2498 Posted October 16, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 16, 2022 On 18/03/2022 at 13:10, stephennicholson said: actually, on re checking, they are the same width at the base. Mine is set to the correct gauge, but pinches a bit Just wondering what the height of the new storage unit is? Need it to fit onto shelving which needs some clearance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium stephennicholson Posted October 17, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 17, 2022 8.2 cms Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold deepfat Posted October 31, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 31, 2022 I have bought a few of these and to be honest I don't think they are fit for purpose as the flex across the width of the copper ails mean that fragile locos tip over in the cradle which just can't happen with the older design. So I'll be resigned to cutting my losses and selling my units as they are cheaper to swap out and damaging my locos 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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