Hornby A1 locos

[ColinB]

I have been busy most of the summer building my extension but today I finally got round to testing a loco I got in the TMS sale. I bought the latest A1 with the diecast running plate called Doncaster. What a wonderful loco runs perfectly and has a flickering firebox. The thing that is more galling is I picked this up for half price from TMC, compared to my P2 which I paid a lot more for (about double), that derails all the time on a section of my track. The thing that surprises me, they were half price because they obviously didn't sell well but it is probably one of the Hornby locos that is worth the money, even better at the price I paid. So Hornby can get it right, shame they didn't spend as much effort on the front bogie of the P2 but then the A1/A3/A4 front bogie has been the same for many years.

[ColinB]

It is a Peco double slip followed by a Peco medium radius point, it is where the sidings join the main two tracks, I use a double slip as Peco diamond crossings have too much plastic in the frog area, why I do not know but they have always been like that. I mention it in another post where someone similar was having issues with the P2 bogie. Yes that piece of track is not perfect but out of all the locos I own there are only a couple that have issues with it. In fact I have just been testing 6 of my locos, all negotiated it successfully even at high speed and they were all Hornby. I will do what I did with the Railroad P2 add some weight to the front bogie. It is either that or lack of travel on the front bogie, the latest Members Club Coronation had the same issue (Hornby had shortened the bogie swivel bolt from that fitted previously). Unfortunately the bolt holding the front bogie on a P2 is not M2 like all their other locos so not so easy to fix without retapping the thread and using a longer stepped bolt. I am a bit loathe to do that on £240 loco. I did hear someone else had the issue on perfectly level track but they didn't say what points they were using.

[LTSR_NSE]

It sounds like you are saying that the screw & thread are the issue, (which will probably render this suggestion a non-starter) but could you try the railroad P2 front bogie/truck as a temporary replacement?

Sorry just realised this has nothing to do with thread title - slightly confused, is this thread supposed to be complimenting the A1 or a detailed analysis of the fault with your P2?

[ColinB]

Actually I was complimenting the A1 and what a good loco it is, I just mentioned that Hornby got it very right on that one. The rest is me saying that on others they don't seem to. The thing that did get me was TMC was selling them at half price so they were not that popular but as I say it ticks all the boxes. Funny I was thinking of buying Doncaster at full price because the A3s super detailed locos are usually very good (I have built many from parts along with A4s) so I was even more impressed that I got it for half price that I bought the "Knight of the Thistle" as well. They both run really well.

As a side issue the Railroad front bogie if I remember is totally different to the new P2, I will eventually figure out how to fix it and let you know. Those two wheeled front bogies always seem to be an issue on both Hornby and Bachmann models especially with Peco double slips. I think that they are so light they bounce up and when they bounce back down they embed themselves in the wrong piece of track on the slip.

[SteveM6]

.................Yes that piece of track is not perfect but out of all the locos I own there are only a couple that have issues with it. ....................... I did hear someone else had the issue on perfectly level track but they didn't say what points they were using.

 

 

The ‘problem’ with the P2 is that the long, rigid wheelbase exacerbates the effect of any imperfections in the track. As it ‘rocks’ over unlevel track the front tends to rise up lifting the fine flanges of the front drivers clear of the rails - on a curve the loco will tend to push straight on. Add in the fact that the front bogie has only a small amount of vertical movement and the issues with the track are magnified.

All of this goes away once the track issues have been resolved. Remember it’s a relatively fine scale model compared with some of the old stuff fitted with pizza cutter wheels.

[ColinB]

I know SteveM6 I spent a couple of hours checking to see what was wrong. When I was trying to resolve the issue I loosened the bogie screw off to give move travel and it worked perfectly. Normally I would just replace the screw with a longer one to give more travel but as I said the thread is either a very tight M2 or something just a bit smaller. I am sure I will fix it. Incidentally, virtually all my locos are "new type" Hornby or Bachmann, the old stuff I sold on EBay and those I didn't sell, I put a new chassis on the old body. My Railroad P2 I added a weight but virtually everyone does that, most of my Duchess/City locos have the new front bogie where obviously Hornby realised they had an issue with the old one (the new Princess Royal one fits with an adaption to the mounting bracket).

Either way it is not that relevant to this thread which was highlighting what a good loco the A1 is.

[atom3624]

Hi ColinB. State the obvious, but if you loosen a screw, there may come a day it drops out, if you're not careful - can you locate a suitable shoulder screw (whatever they're called) that can be screwed in, but permits more movement?

Al.

[ColinB]

I know atom3624, I obviously only did it to see if a longer bolt would fix the issue. My other hobby is building classic motorcycles, so I definitely know the importance of having tight bolts, although on a classic bike they aren't for very long. There is a new post with the proper fix.

[atom3624]

I saw that Colin, just now.

Know what you're saying - I had a few years 'playing' with nitro and petrol powered RC trucks! Soon shake free!

Al.

[Deem]

Hello Colin, Just to clarify, I am a big fan of A1/ A2/ A3/ A4 Loco's. Based on your description I just checked the TMC sale section, only A1 they have for sale is, Knight of thistle. It is A1 model and at nearly 50% off, it is a bargain, although this with different name plate, am I to assume same Loco (R3989) as yours Doncastor?

Regards

[ColinB]

Yes Deem I bought the Knight of the Thistle and Doncaster, both the same as far as I can see. Looks like they ran out of Doncaster. I bought the two as they were so cheap, the thing that got me was that they were 10% off full price everywhere else. Before the offer I had thought about buying one at full price, really glad I didn't.

[Deem]

Placed the order, looking forward to get it and test it. Thanks for the tip. Haven't played with trains for quite some time, I have few things to test, HM7000, Hornby Elite (bought second hand from ebay) Class 20 recently received from Hornby which was on preorder in January 23.

Quite excited.