A recurring complaint on this forum is how unreliable and fragile modern N gauge locos are.  So where are all these broken models?  I'd love to get my hands on a few, I have lots of projects in mind that would use damaged or non-running Farish / Dapol steam locos as a starting point, but all that ever seem to turn up for sale "spares or repair" are Farish diesels with split gears, and 1970s plastic-chassis Pannier tanks.  Not a rant, just puzzled and a bit frustrated by the lack of raw material for my particular kind of butchery.

Richard

Ask Dr AL ! 

Mine all ended up stripped for usable spares and the rest binned.

Quote from: belstone on June 16, 2019, 09:47:11 PM
A recurring complaint on this forum is how unreliable and fragile modern N gauge locos are.  So where are all these broken models?

Reality... 99 of every 100 aren't broken and the satisfied owners don't feel the need to comment. You only ever hear about the 1%, so they are much rarer than the impression you get from reading any forum... 

I can account for three of them unfortunately--one that fell off my test track onto carpet, one Dapol unvalanced A4 with repeat offending valve gear, and a GF loco that ran sweetly until it suddenly refused to go.

I have a Hymek that sounds like the proverbial bag of spanners, but I'm hoping it just needs some running in - which on an end-to-end layout is not easy. I'll throw it your way if I get so frustrated with it I want to toss it. I also have a dummy with a YouChoos chip which I run double-headed (when it runs), so I'm invested enough not to bin the damn thing. Most days.

Yes, running in on end to end layouts is a problem. I have the same, even though strictly speaking my planned layout wasn't supposed to be. The only bit working is the branch!

I should set up a running in track with Kato, but other stuff keeps getting in the way!

DCC Supplies have (or had, I couldn't locate it at a quick check) a section on their website where they sell Dapol returns, graded according to degree of brokenness.

I have acquired a few diesel/electric locos sold as "non-runners" from various sources, all of which have been repairable, usually split gears (Farish) or electrickery issues (Dapol). I'm pretty sure I've see a few kettles marked as "non-runners" on the Hattons website, but I steer clear of those as repairing kettles is a rabbit hole I don't wish to jump down.

Quote from: Bealman on June 17, 2019, 05:11:35 AM
Yes, running in on end to end layouts is a problem. I have the same, even though strictly speaking my planned layout wasn't supposed to be. The only bit working is the branch!

I was glad that Coniston, despite being a branch terminus,  had a spur up to the Copper House beyond the north end of the station and that, rather than just have a small fiddle yard for the spur and the main one for the rest, I chose to combine the two. Result, a roundy roundy which is handy for both track, etc. testing and for running in. Unplanned, I have to admit, but extremely handy.

When I have the automatic uncoupling sorted (and the means of seeing over/around things to do it) the plan is to operate the layout properly with trains arriving and the locos running round and departing from the same end. Large tender locos will go to the fiddle yard first for turning on the wye - which is what happened on the real line, they had to go down to Foxfield and around to Millom for turning on the big turntable there before coming back for the train waiting at Coniston.
I can send the occasional train of empty open wagons up the other end to the Copper House with the loco returning and, later on, send a loco up to bring the wagons back loaded.

Quote from: LASteve on June 17, 2019, 04:59:20 AM
I have a Hymek that sounds like the proverbial bag of spanners, but I'm hoping it just needs some running in - which on an end-to-end layout is not easy. I'll throw it your way if I get so frustrated with it I want to toss it. I also have a dummy with a YouChoos chip which I run double-headed (when it runs), so I'm invested enough not to bin the damn thing. Most days.

Mine was like that, it turned out the little gear at the top of one of the gear towers was not put in correctly, an easy fix as the wheel sets just pop out in one pease on these and no stripping is needed to get to the top gear.

Have a look you might be lucky.

Paul

I can account for two.  Not, strictly speaking, non-runners, but really poor runners.  One is an Ixion Manor' and the other is a Dapol 'B17'.  The 'B17' was the last straw for my attempt at British 'N' gauge about 12 years ago.  Feeling a bit fed up, I got a KATO Union Pacific 'F' unit and that was me away for 10 years' trouble-free running in 'N' scale.  I also explored the world of '00' gauge.

Then I saw a review in Railway Modeller for a Union Mills locomotive.  That led to a major change in direction!  And I'm particularly glad it did.

In my more optimistic moments, I think about running the 'B17' and 'Manor' with Union Mills tenders.  It ought to be possible, although the locomotives will need a repaint as they are both in poor representations of their liveries.

John

My tally is just one.
A Dapol 41xxx 2-6-2T where the motion simply sprang off one day. I guess it's easily repairable but beyond my capabilities so it has become a static on shed resident.
I replaced it with another, because I really like them as a class, which has performed admirably for at least 3 years.
For me, the Dapol steam engines just seem too fragile, maybe in an attempt at fine detail at the expense of reliability.
Just my thoughts.

Quote from: Train Waiting on June 17, 2019, 09:18:00 AM
I can account for two.  Not, strictly speaking, non-runners, but really poor runners.  One is an Ixion Manor' and the other is a Dapol 'B17'.  The 'B17' was the last straw for my attempt at British 'N' gauge about 12 years ago.  Feeling a bit fed up, I got a KATO Union Pacific 'F' unit and that was me away for 10 years' trouble-free running in 'N' scale.  I also explored the world of '00' gauge.

Then I saw a review in Railway Modeller for a Union Mills locomotive.  That led to a major change in direction!  And I'm particularly glad it did.

In my more optimistic moments, I think about running the 'B17' and 'Manor' with Union Mills tenders.  It ought to be possible, although the locomotives will need a repaint as they are both in poor representations of their liveries.

John

I have that same Ixion Manor John and, indeed, the livery is somewhat "unusual". However, mine runs well despite the annoying cardon shaft which falls out on a regular basis if I'm a bit clumsy picking it up!

Martin

I've several in a drawer that even less runnable than when I first bought them.

Always looking out for outside cylinder 0-4-0/0-6-0s, I've bought most of the small US locos as spares/repairs from eBay, but some very strange things have happened to most of them over time, plastic bodies warping, plastic chasses melting and even one metal chassis that has actually crumbled.

I suppose I think the bits will eventually be useful, but that day might be a long way off.

Mike

I've just realised that all of my broken locos are the older Poole Farish ones most of which have split gears.

All of my Chinese Farish locos run well as do most of my Dapol locos with the exception of one pannier tank that is very noisy.

I think I've been very lucky but then again I've always been very careful with my locos.