Hornby Adams Tank - is there a common quality problem?

[Traincliff]

About  a month ago I ordered an Adams Tank from a very good model shop at a discounted price. He didn't have stock but within 2 weeks he had it in from Hornby and sent it on. It was well packed and outside of package and Hornby packaging undamaged on arrival. I unpacked and the front buffer beam was broken. A careful repair might have been possible but this was a new item so sent back with agreement from shop owner for replacement which he would get from Hornby. 

I heard nothing for quite a while so phoned him up last week and he explained a reacement had arrived from Hornby but he had had to send it back as no good. He had just received another and he sent it off to me and it arrived last Thursday. It was again undamaged in post. I removed the loco from its packaging today and carefully placed it on my Hornby rolling road to test run on DC before fitting a chip. The wheels did not complete one revolution before the cylinder block and motion disintegrated before my eyes. The cylinder block was broken and other parts fell off.

I am very disappointed to say the least. I now have to go through the whole process again to return and either have it replaced or just get a refund. I know the shop owner has some personal problems of his own just now and he himself loses out with each return. I am wondering whether to take it up with Hornby Customer Services instead -at end of the day it is they who are sending out an unfit for purpose product after all. My contract is with the retailer I know but end of the day what I want is a good Adams Tank if one exists.

If you have read this far, thank you and what do you think?

Cliff

[JJ73]

Ring Hornby & see what happen & see what they say - after all you don't want by the sounds of it, for your Local shop to lose out!!!

[VESPA]

Cliff, you could try the Oxford Rail version. It has a very minor fault of not showing the daylight under the front of the boiler but it is not noticable. I have noticed the Radial Tank locos are nearly all going well under retail price now with up to 40% in some retailers.

[Bulleidboy]

There have been a few threads about this loco. Some earlier models had the decoder socket incorrectly wired. Also trying to get a decoder into the loco is a nightmare - I've given up on mine, it's now back in in its box at the back of the cupboard. It runs beautifully with the body off, but with the body on it's a waste of time.

[geejbee]

Mine was fine when I received it but found it impossible to fit a decoder without cutting the body about. This was something I wasn't prepared to do. Thankfully, the retailler recognised the problem and was kind enough to accept it back again. Such a shame, because to my mind its like the Spitfire (plane), it just looks right. Despite all the known problems, I would still really like to have a working model.

[ColinB]

I have two of them both purchased recently in the last two months As far as I can tell nothing wrong with them. Having read this, I will have another look. As to the DCC decoder, what you do is buy a wired 6 pin decoder, in my case a Zimo MX617, buy an 8 pin header. Cut the lead as short as possible of the wired 6 pin decoder just so it will be possible to wrap the decoder so about 2.5 to 5 cm of wire. Then wire the cut 6 pin decoder to the 8 pin header. There is just enough room for it to fit perfectly with the decoder sitting on top of the DCC socket with a little bit of space for cooling. If you shortened the wire on a Hornby decoder it would probably fit, but the MX617 will probably be better and it is a better decoder for approximately the same price.

[Traincliff]

Thank you for your comments which are all helpful to me. I have in fact today attempted to contact customer services and the operator connected me to a queue which I expected ready to patiently hang on but over a 20 minute period I went from 7 to 5 to 4 to 3 (all getting keyed up nicely - good system so I thought - wrongly) then back to 4 then 5 then 7 then I hung up. I tried to call back but I could not get through for some reason. I have reverted to the online form instead. 

[Traincliff]

I had already noted that the space for a decoder was limited so purchased a DCC Concepts Nano decoder as recommended in Hornby Magazine's review.

[Traincliff]

Vespa - good to see you are still around on here. I was really attracted by the 35% discounted price from the model shop for the Hornby version plus I had seen reasonable reviews on YouTube and not so good about the Oxford version. The shop I used only shows availability in East Kent or Southern livery and I really prefer BR. 

[Traincliff]

Interestingly I have tonight watched again Sam's Trains recent review of the Adams Radial which he thought was pretty good compared to the Oxford one. What I noticed was that the piston rod assembly was different to mine in that the crosshead was running on slide bars top and bottom whereas mine only has a bar at the top on each side. Clearly Sam's is more robust then. The service sheet shows an assembly like mine but when you look the part up on Peters spares it shows sliders top and bottom. Could it be that mine is old stock hence the hefty discount and a modification done in the light of experience? I will wait and see what customer services have to say if they come back to me.

[sir john]

I have both models the hornby needed rewiring because it was shorting so I hard wired it with a tcs mini decoder it now runs beautifully As for the oxford version I did the same using the same type of decoder this one also runs perfectly 

Regards John 

[Traincliff]

I have been a bit impatient awaiting a response from HCC so have ordered a new "cylinder block" which appears to be a complete assembly including  piston rods, crossheads etc. When it comes I will carefully fit and if satisfactory will draw a line under the event. I will of course let them know.what I have done and update you fellas.

[Traincliff]

Just thought I would give an update on this. I now have a a model that runs reasonably and I am satisfied with but it was "hard work". I was able to dismantle and fit the new cylinder block, piston rods etc. after fettling the new block to fit. I think the casting of the chassis may have been a little oversize as the new block would have broken if I had pressed it home just like the original one. In all the dismantling and reassembly one of the bogie wires had come off. This proved  pain to solve but I got there eventually. 

I had no difficulty with fitting decoder as I used the Zen Nano as suggested by Hornby Magazine. What I did find was an unacceptable amount of wheel slippage and stalling mainly overcome by filing surfaces of the trailing pony to increase movement. The model has highlighted several areas of uneven track which the Adams Tank will not tolerate so the P-Way gang will have to get to work.

So in essence I am now happy with the model and put it right myself as did not want to send another one back via the shop or have it repaired by Hornby at further delay. Hornby have offered to repair but not replace it other than through the dealer.

A challenging experience!

[Bulleidboy]

Well done - glad you got there in the end. I might have another go at mine! BB