Since starting again (long storey ) with a new layout being built, I found that a lot of my old Poole and early Chinese locos lacking.
I started buying new ones (newer) such as ex display, unwanted gifts or unused collection items.
My experience of them has been variable.
1. Proto Deltic , superb, detailed, smooth heavy and powerful.
2. Dapol 45xx be tank, terrible, rocket speed or off, sheds bits for fun, unusable.
3. Fairburn tank good runner, average weight and power, highly detailed, front pony fragile and temperamental.
The latest, a GF Ivatt 2mt. Jury's still out..
I bought it as I always liked the mini trix ivatt, but I couldn't find a decent one. First impression lovely, very detailed, then, a couple of bits had fallen off, nothing serious, soon fixed, also noticed that it makes a grape feel heavy with a scale weight of an N gauge bag of coal and, as seems to be happening more often, it has a sort of "plasticy" look to it, more like you'd expect on a toy than a model. Plus it didn't run, the dcc board in the tender blocked dc. A quick go with the soldering iron and dcc removed and hard wired, it now runs.
Is this what the future will bring, plastic ever thing plastic?
My latest Oxford vehicles have gone that way, they should now be called Cinese injection moulding rather than Oxford diecast.
While the detail on modern models is excellent, I find them almost impossible to handle. I damaged my Blue Pullman and Deltic just getting them out of the packaging!
This topic comes up regularly.
Your three loco experiences do need to be put in context. The Dapol Prairie tank is an old model and yes, it's much too fast with poor low speed control. Two of their other older designs are 'misses' rather than 'hits' too -- the LMS 2-6-2T is too fast, and the SR 0-4-4 has poor haulage. But their newer tank engines are much better, with good haulage and nice smooth running at slow speeds. So while 'duds' surely exist, the Pannier tank and the Terrier are both good value.
The two new Farish designs of which you speak probably sum their recent offerings up very well. The newer Farish steam locomotives work well and are beautifully detailed, but the level of detail lifts them out of the child's toy market, and they have to be handled accordingly. The option of choosing older Farish designs remains, and there's also Union Mills, who make really solid, old school locomotives with superb running qualities but relatively limited detailing.
On the other hand the Farish diesels are consistently good, so long as you get a good one -- so keep the receipt. Dapol are even worse in this regard, and I've started to assume that Dapol locomotives will lose their headlights after a year or two!
I can't really see any point to complaining about the level of detail on modern locomotives; it's what modellers expect now. Older stuff is out there if you want it, and there's Union Mills plugging away with their solid-but-basic models if you prefer.
Cheers, NeMo
Sadly I don't think you're going to find many detailed but weighty locos coming out of the manufacturers nowadays. The Pendolino from RevolutioN Trains has quite heavy power cars. An expert on the forum built me a Standard class 4 on a modern chassis but using a Langley whitemetal body and that is a lovely model.
I have all of the models you mention and they are all 'lightweights' but I consider the pulling power of each adequate to the length of train hauled by the prototype.
As folks have been (and still are) demanding of more detail, we have long moved away from 'toys' to finely detailed models and, as such, they require much more care in handling.
The dcc board having to be removed to use on dc is a bit alarming. I don't thing it is far beyond manufacturer ability to fit a dcc/dc switch on the underside.
Quote from: Stenba1968 on August 19, 2018, 11:37:37 AM
The dcc board having to be removed to use on dc is a bit alarming. I don't thing it is far beyond manufacturer ability to fit a dcc/dc switch on the underside.
Couldn't agree more. The assumption we're all using DCC is alarming, especially when the manufacturers continue to make non-DCC ready locomotives (Farish 03, 04, 08 and 14 for a start!).
Cheers, NeMo
Quote from: Stenba1968 on August 19, 2018, 11:37:37 AM
The dcc board having to be removed to use on dc is a bit alarming. I don't thing it is far beyond manufacturer ability to fit a dcc/dc switch on the underside.
But generally you don't have to remove anything. If a loco comes with a DCC decoder fitted, the overwhelming majority of decoders will work on smooth DC unless that ability has been turned off by programming (there are a few very basic/cheap decoders which omit the ability to run on DC). The running characteristics may be a little different (eg. it requires a few volts before the decoder "wakes up" and recognises it's being fed DC). If the DC controller is a pulse/PWM type, not all decoders handle that so well.
If it's a plug-in decoder, removing the decoder and replacing with a DC "blanking plug" is a better option as it restores the running characteristics to those of a standard DC loco.
I wouldn't know where to begin with that
Quote from: Stenba1968 on August 19, 2018, 02:59:06 PM
I wouldn't know where to begin with that
Yeah but you say you had to get a soldering iron out to remove the DCC decoder? I don't know the particular loco but it shouldn't have been necessary at all as the 2MT has a 6 pin socket according to what I've read. If the decoder didn't want to respond to DC then just needed a blanking plate plugging in instead of the decoder. No need for "a DCC/DC switch on the underside".
Quote from: Stenba1968 on August 19, 2018, 03:57:42 AMit didn't run, the dcc board in the tender blocked dc. A quick go with the soldering iron and dcc removed and hard wired, it now runs.
Almost certainly either there was no Blanking Plug in the DCC socket or it had worked loose.
Removal of the PCB and rewiring is a very drastic solution to a very minor issue... :hmmm:
Quote from: Stenba1968 on August 19, 2018, 02:59:06 PM
I wouldn't know where to begin with that
yet you do know what to do to remove the socket, so must have a reasonable level of knowledge of what the PCB does... ???
I looked all I could find on dcc, basically it's remote radio controlled trains on a constantly energised track, it is something I invented in my head 40 years ago when I thought it would be great to have shutting in the siding, both tracks running with one headed or banked. Unfortunately for me I grew up to be many things but not a micro electrition, comp tech etc.
So, I'm poor and can't afford dcc. I did find out what a blanking plate is and got 5 in a pack, connected up the board again and turned the power on full and it shot off backwards, so I changed the wires round on the pick ups and success, it runs perfectly on DC.
That, I've been told, makes it an extra bargain as the little blue chip I pulled out must be a dcc chip.