Ixion Manor v Dapol Hall

[Dr Al]

I found the wheels dropped into frogs too and was one of the disadvantages I listed in my original post. I have filled in some of my frogs with a little wood glue which is filed down when dry to stop this happening.

With the loco wheels though - the whole loco pitches slightly with the front drivers in particular dropping a lot.

In this respect the Dapol model is better balanced with more of the weight over the central point above the drivers - the Manor may have a little too much at the smokebox end.

Cheers,
Alan

[Elvinley]

Haven't noticed this on mine Al, will see if the new one does this later tonight.

[Newportnobby]

Oh the fun we have. Got the aforesaid Manor home and very carefully eased it out of the packaging. Very good looking loco. As per the instructions I lubed the gears/motion and gently prised the plastic block out that fits twixt tender and loco as part of the transport packing. Placed loco on test track only to find I had dislodged the drive shaft. Having figured out how it fitted back in, I spent 10 minutes slotting it back into the loco. I'm still not sure it's fully home but my Manor goes and has been run in, although it is noisier in reverse. Whilst putting the front bogie back on the track (it does seem to jump off fairly regularly) the front coupler fell off but that was soon remedied.

I guess I shouldn't be allowed to have fiddly things

[Elvinley]

Sadly my new Manor is rubbish. It runs with an awful wobble and obviously has a tight spot in the mechanism. My other Manor was my second after a wobbly replacement. I despair.

[Karhedron]

Sadly my new Manor is rubbish. It runs with an awful wobble and obviously has a tight spot in the mechanism. My other Manor was my second after a wobbly replacement. I despair.

It sounds like it might be the quartering that is out. However as it is a new loco I think that returning it to the shop for replacement is the simplest option.

[Elvinley]

That is indeed the only option. I wish it wasn't such a gamble buying steam locos in N.

[Dr Al]

Don't be too put off - the Manor is still a decent model despite a few things that can be improved.

I have now painted the wheel rims on mine, and thinned down the crossheads significantly which completely transforms the look of the valve gear I think. I've done this on my Hall too. I did notice when doing this that on both these were quite stiff sliding on their slide bars, so may benefit from some freeing up and/or lubrication.

Best Regards,
Alan

[Elvinley]

My other Manor is fine. It is a case of getting a decent one through trial and error though.

I just contacted Kernow and they were extremely helpful.