Presumably the TPE DTs will have a standard PCB and decoder socket. It does feel a bit daft that a full rake needs 31 tail lights to be turned off each time you start off. I can see these lingering hugely in the shops. £57.50 each stings somewhat.

according to Aus Post mine are due to arrive today, so yesterday I cleaned all the track and got some class 60's out.
Plan of attack is to start with a couple of coaches on each 60 and run them round for an hour or so, then build from there.
Someone mentioned letting them run for 24hrs which I assume was a joke but given the weather front we have coming it may be an option to put them on the track and just leave them to run.

Yes that does seem rather excessive. I did try lightly reaming the bushes on one bogie and it didnt seem to make a huge difference, but was a load of effort that I wasn't not prepared to replicate on all the others. If that becomes the official solution I'll get Revolution to do it!

The weight and drag also means they uncouple comparatively easily. A couple of times when I've left them running I've returned to the loco in the middle of the rake! I wouldn't want to leave them entirely unattended.

You should get a 60 moving 5-6 out of the box and 8 should be fairly doable.

I have a few class 60's sitting waiting their turn on duty for the running in.
I have also managed to add weight to the class 92's and found this improves the tractive effort.

Yeah I must look at the 92s. I'm going to take the sound out of a couple of mine I think, as it's awfully tinny, and add extra weight. Good to know it improves things! It seems highly unlikely you'll ever get one 92 hauling 16 coaches, but it'll look a formidable train regardless!

Hello all,

I just wanted to check in to say that we are still looking at this issue and looking at fixes for those Mk5s with high drag.

We've already put some interim hints and tips on our website - based in part on feedback from some of those contributing to this thread, so thanks for that - but more will follow as we continue to examine this issue.

It is frustrating because all the samples ran very smoothly; we are comparing the samples to the production coaches to see if there are any noticeable differences.

As to the lights; with hindsight maybe operational tail lights on just one coach in each pack would've been preferable.  However, on the prototype the coaches are often switched around and since any vehicle could find itself at the rear of the train, all have tail lights.  So this is how we configured the models.

I can see that having the 'default' setting as 'lights off' could've been preferable but, again, our experience is that a surprising number barely look at the instructions and I can image social media being flooded with complaints that the lights don't work.  Some may not even have realised that the coaches have lights or what their lighting rod is for!

As ever, if anyone is having problems Simon, our customer services manager, is on the end of an email and is best placed to assist.

cheers

Ben A.

thanks @Ben A will post my findings in a few days, once the coaches have had a good run round.
cheers
Graham

Quote from: Ben A on October 02, 2023, 12:50:30 AMHello all,

As to the lights; with hindsight maybe operational tail lights on just one coach in each pack would've been preferable.  However, on the prototype the coaches are often switched around and since any vehicle could find itself at the rear of the train, all have tail lights.  So this is how we configured the models.

I can see that having the 'default' setting as 'lights off' could've been preferable but, again, our experience is that a surprising number barely look at the instructions and I can image social media being flooded with complaints that the lights don't work.  Some may not even have realised that the coaches have lights or what their lighting rod is for!

As ever, if anyone is having problems Simon, our customer services manager, is on the end of an email and is best placed to assist.

cheers

Ben A.

I understand that people don't read the instructions, although there have also been complaints about "no instructions" with some models when people have not fully explored the packaging to find them "hidden" under the model. As it is now with the MkV sleepers, we will be disconnecting the lighting anyway or being adept at aiming the wand a few times at a moving train to turn the tail lights off every time it starts off on DC.

I wonder if a "lights off at start up" configuration was ever an option electronically for N. Seems not to have been an issue with the Accurascale 00 gauge sets.

I always think we should be thankful for lighting at all in N gauge, thanks to the miniaturisation of LEDs. I really don't care if it is prototypical or not. I just like seeing lights of any sort on N gauge models.

Quote from: Bealman on October 02, 2023, 08:10:25 AMI always think we should be thankful for lighting at all in N gauge, thanks to the miniaturisation of LEDs. I really don't care if it is prototypical or not. I just like seeing lights of any sort on N gauge models.

And conversely I absolutely hate it, oversize lamps that are too bright, light that bleeds through buildings. Nope, not for me...

Quote from: Bealman on October 02, 2023, 08:10:25 AMI always think we should be thankful for lighting at all in N gauge, thanks to the miniaturisation of LEDs. I really don't care if it is prototypical or not. I just like seeing lights of any sort on N gauge models.

Really? "Put up and shut up"? If people don't raise frustrations they don't get sorted. I don't want to have to individually turn off 47 sets of lights (31 red, and 16 interior lights which highlight the fact there are no passengers!) every single time I start the train. Given the performance degredation I, like others, will probably remove them. Then I've paid for a feature I neither wanted (and I'll confess I never read was included, but wouldn't likely have influenced my buying choice) or will ever use.

It is unfortunate that these coaches have running issues, Revolution have broken ground with models we wouldn't have otherwise seen, for that I am thankful and still support them with new models where I can, they do seem more proactive on trying to correct problems and learn off mistakes, all input from modelers whether it be good or bad is a positive if they account for it when making the next model.

The Mk5s are beautiful models, most of us may have static models unless we run a short rake, with the issue being a running problem is there a possibility of the bogie being redesigned and released as a replacement part? I know that is extreme and requires designing, but if that's a long term option some of us may choose to hold onto the model instead of selling for a potential loss.

If it comes to that then people will be entitled to return them as not fit for purpose. I hope we're a way off that, mind! I know Simon is looking at solutions, so fingers crossed there's something long term.

Where I think it's a bit iffy is that there's obviously no explicit guarantee that a model loco can pull a representative train. A Dapol
66 can't lift 40 container flats. People accept this. Perhaps it'll just come to pass that the accepted limit for a 92 will be (say) seven mk5s. I'm sure that would leave a lot of disappointed people, and I'm sure it's not what Revolution want. Particularly with how they've been marketed and sold, where there's a very definite formation with dedicated haulage.

Fingers crossed, given what Ben said previously they'll discover what changed between the samples, where I presume a full rake worked, and the production models, and this'll get sorted. 

Although I would like my 2 TPE rakes ASAP, I'd much rather they were held back at the factory until this issue is resolved.

My Dapol CL68 can pull 3 coaches at something like 20mph but no faster!

Regards,

John P

Inside bearing bogies are always going to be a nightmare to run smoothly, especially in N.

Ben showed me the Mk5 bogie at Warley last year and I was impressed at how well it ran.

Is there a solution to getting a virtually drag-free Mk5 bogie with working pick ups? Everything would need to be engineered to the nth degree, which is always going to be a challenge with humans putting it together.

Perhaps a solution would be to have USB-rechargeable battery lighting instead.