Dapol A3/A4-very poorly made and designed

[Bob Tidbury]

I noticed in one of the posts someone said the valve gear gets broken because the owner puts the loco in the box on its side ..ALL the Locos come in a box from the manufacturer on their sides and are displayed on trade stands on their sides  so I don't think that's the answer, but they are sometimes very difficult to remove from the box when new perhaps that's when they get damaged,even diesels are very tight and you have to resist the temptation to pull them out by the buffers or risk a broken one  . I always take the foam out of the box to get my Locos out.
Bob

[Dr Al]

Steady, folks said that about pickups, not valve gear I think.

I'm not sure if it's true for pickups either.

Cheers,
Alan

[PLD]

Actually Al, I did say it about valve gear, but I wasn't thinking about the original boxes which are designed to protect the loco as much as possible. I was thinking more of some of the home made storage/transport solutions employed which don't offer that protection...

One former club member complained regularly about "the valve gear on the right hand sides of locos getting damaged" On examining his locos they all had green coloured fluff in the RH valve gear... We then noticed he brought his stick to the club in trays lined with green baize type material.. and he always packed them neatly laid on their sides, all facing to the left...

[zwilnik]

I can independently verify that the failure rate figures quoted are about right. A couple of years ago I contacted one of the major box shifters to enquire about their return rate for faulty locos. Both Darish and Dapol had a return rate of about 5% which is right in the middle of the range Alistair quotes.

Whilst this is undoubtedly true, and one fo the best sources of statistics on this, the failure rate will be a lot higher - it doen't consider those locos that are never run, or those that are not repaired, or those that are repaired independently by their owners.

I wonder what the fail rate for similarly made products on other lines is (not cars, or consumer electronics as those are made by machines in huge volumes; model railways are not).

Cheers,
Alan

Very true. One of the factors I mentioned to the Dapol rep at TINGS was that because their locos tend to have small production runs, that sell out quickly, a lot of us are hesitant to do the proper procedure of sending a dud loco back to the retailer for a replacement because we know there's a good chance there aren't any replacements available. Add in a few more percent for those of us who have no faith in the next one being any better and the failure rate goes up quite a bit.

Not that a 5% failure rate is any good in itself.

[Karhedron]

Not that a 5% failure rate is any good in itself.

True, by most industry standards that would be pretty dismal. However the recent spate of car recalls by Toyota show that even big players in a massive industry do not always get it right. At least a faulty miniature loco is not going to risk anyone's life.

However the real key is not the failure rate but whether customers can get a decent runner. This comes back to running in a loco thoroughly when first purchased and returning any duds for repair or replacement.

I respect anyone with the technical skills to get these locos working again but I think the rest of us need make it standard practice to test our purchases as soon as possible and return them early if we are not satisfied. I have a loop of Peco set track that I put on the table for this purpose.

[Dr Al]

I respect anyone with the technical skills to get these locos working again but I think the rest of us need make it standard practice to test our purchases as soon as possible and return them early if we are not satisfied. I have a loop of Peco set track that I put on the table for this purpose.

I think this is a fair comment. I personally am happy to attack most problems myself, and it's an area of the hobby I enjoy a lot; though even then then there have been a couple that haven't been fixable, which required replacement.

Cheers,
Alan

[daveg]

An interesting read - thanks for that.

Apologies for going off topic a bit but there has been several mentions of poor storage methods causing problems.

Currently, all my locos (kettles & diesels) and rolling stock bar a few kits, are packed in their original inserts and boxes. Hopefully they'll be OK until they get to their new location but I'm a little worried that not all locos are stored upright which is suggested as the best method.

Perhaps there should be a new topic of best storage and handling practice for those new to the hobby?

I certainly wouldn't mind some advice on bringing my kit out of long-term (12 month +) storage.

Dave G

[Dr Al]

I'm a little worried that not all locos are stored upright which is suggested as the best method.

All my locos that are boxed are stored in their original boxes and inserts lying flat, and have been in some cases for a decade (ok, they are in and out for a run at times too :-) :-) but spend more time stored than running). Unboxed stuff is stored upright in trays.

Neither has given me problems.

Cheers,
Alan

[EtchedPixels]

I certainly wouldn't mind some advice on bringing my kit out of long-term (12 month +) storage.

Inspect them for any damage, fluff etc before running them, and then run them in as if they were new. If need be add a *tiny* amount of oil.

If it's Farish listen for clicks, and also check it isn't showing any tendency to jam changing directioin that might indicate split gears.

I wouldn't overdo it beyond basically running them in carefully and attended. You are more likely to do harm doing excess servicing IMHO.

[portland-docks]

Well for those hwho dont know, i spoke to joel and explained the situation, he told me to return the a3 to him and he will sort it out as he didnt sound too happy at how complicated swapping a traction tyre is.

So im about to try put her back together, dig her box out and pack her in.

Shame but hopefully it will get sorted and repaired without any cost apart from postage.

Paul

[Dr Al]

Good that they are willing to sort this all out for you...fingers crossed you get a reliable runner back!

Cheers Alan