ColinB

The only time I have had that was surprisingly in the new Rails class 812 with factory fitted sound. It worked out that the 18 pin dcc header wasn't in properly, but the black 5 has a normal 8 pin DCC socket so it is not that. It sounds to me like there is a short on the DCC connector but not on the usual pins otherwise the decoder would blow up. You need to check resistance between adjacent pins, the only one you should get a reading on is between pins 1 and 5. Then if you find a short take the dcc socket off and inspect the underside as 96RAF suggests. Of course it could be that TTS decoder just doesn't like the motor in the black 5, that is a possibility. On my Duchess of Gloucester it never would work with a TTS decoder properly (I tried about 3), losing sound. In the end I paid out on a Zimo Sound decoder and now it works perfectly

I suppose they didn't make enough money, but I do wonder why.

Hattons needed to highlight them to sell them. I don't know if they got the stock off Hornby or the open market. Perhaps at the end of the year when Hornby have difficulty shifting their now really expensive stock, we may see some action. Hornby will always sell out of the specials. It will be the ones everyone has got or the not most popular that will be hard to shift at the new prices especially as many of them aren't that much different to the same model second hand.

I know, I said the same, but I succumbed to the class 60.

I am hoping you put the screwed the pony truck on properly, it isn't in the second photo. The connector to the tender is being used as the pivot and the pivot is being used as the drawbar. That would definitely explain poor running.

@flyingfox4475 I have no issue with the rebuilt one, you may have perfectly level track which is why you don't see an issue with the unrebuilt one. My unrebuilt one works perfectly ok if you run it at a reasonable speed it is if you run it really slow, which as I have DCC, I can easily do. The way to check it is to push the front bogie so the spring is fully compressed and see where the back wheel of the front bogie wheel is in relation to the front driving wheel. I did it on my ones, the rebuilt ones is above the front front wheel, on the unrebuilt one it is level, so the spring if anything is lifting the front wheel off the track. Other than that fault, which is probably on all of them the unrebuilt one, runs ok.

A lot of companies are doing that, it is better than putting the price up to meet the new prices, which some model shops do. Jenny Kirk was doing a video that was highlighting Hereford Models as a place to get old stock at its original price, I buy alot of stuff from them. Perhaps some Retailers think that with the new prices they won't be selling so much, so they need to make a profit while they can.

When you take it apart, if it has black coloured driving pinions/gears it is a 3 pole, if they are grey it is a 5 pole. That is the easy way to know. If it is the same as A4s, you can only tell by the model number which one Hornby used. I assume the really late ones used the 5 pole. The wheels on this will probably be different to the early ringfield motor types even if it is a 3 pole.

I sent Hornby Technical asking the question. Let us see what they say.

@atom3624 I see what you mean the "British Enterprise" is definitely bouncing around on the outer track and it did look like at times it was slowing down on a particular bend. Trouble is they are going so fast it is hard to tell.

@atom3624 I see what you mean the "British Enterprise" is definitely bouncing around on the outer track and it did look like at times it was slowing down on a particular bend. Trouble is they are going so fast it is hard to tell.

I thought "British Enterprise" was the later version, but that is exactly what I have got. I got carried away with the preorders last year so I have one, "British Enterprise" and the rebuilt ones in LNER Blue and BR Green. So it sound like they corrected it on JJ's later one and on my rebuilt ones. I am wondering if those that got sent back got a replacement chassis, once they realised their mistake. I will look at JJ's video though.

@Anglia998 probably did, they also used to sell Thomas the Tank, I even have Thomas, Diesel and Percy but things move on and the licensing goes to someone else. So you don't go making products when some else has the rights, whether or not you made it in the past. The new Triumph motorcycle company stopped all the old BSA/Triumph Suppliers from using their name.

@thirdline, I think you are getting mixed up with LokSound decoders.

That sounds a really good deal for the Black 5 then. Mod note - agreed the Black 5 seems to be the best of the bunch to me.

Has anyone seen these, if you have an issue getting a pantograph. They look like they are made of metal. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353468573974?hash=item524c5e6916:g:RFIAAOSwpzhggv-a Mod note. The two pages of URL text have been truncated to something shorter that still hits the same page.

The thing I find quite amazing was that Hornby announced it. We have all seen the adverts from the other business asking for preorders, so did Hornby not see them. There are plenty of models Hornby could focus on, rather than steal somebody else's product. Was it that Hornby saw this as a product where they could make a killing seeing as most of their existing customers already have their existing range of locos. Perhaps they could make a version of the "ugly" loco, I don't think anyone sells that at the moment.

@jj you are comparing the wrong two, your's are effectively the same model. I doubt you have one, but you have to compare one of yours with the rebuilt version (the one that looks like a stretched Mallard).

@Sir John entirely agree, in my case it was A4s and Jubilees that I converted to DCC and sure enough soon as you split the chassis bits of the plastic spaces fall out. Bachmann supplied full replacements. The thing I find quite amusing, for a lot of spares on the Service Sheet Hornby don't even provide a part number, things like weights and on some, even the pickups, so you couldn't buy them even if Hornby did carry spares. Then there are things that are spares that would very rarely break. I bought a replacement Britannia tender, the new type that has space for the loud speaker, except the plastic bit at the front that holds the drawbar on, they don't supply as a spare and it doesn't come with one. So you very carefully have to try and unglue the one off the old one. Fortunately, they do still supply the whole tender bottom with everything for not much more, it is dumb marketing.

I hate to say it but Bachmann seem to bother, I don't know whether they run it at a loss but generally they have spares for most models and they are fast and efficient. I have managed to get spares off them for old split chassis models and quite a lot for new models. When the Pantograph broke on one of my models I mailed them. Although I had to buy the whole Pantograph rather than the bit and if I didn't want to fit it I could have bought a whole body with it already fitted. I don't know if Peter's Spares are having issues, whenever I enquire about a part I get a pretty grumpy response and they seem to have run out of a lot of things. AC Spares and Lendons are my most popular sources they seem to have a lot of things that Peter's Spare have run out of and they are generally cheaper and more pleasant. As to Hornby they just want you to buy new locos, just remember "it is all about the detail", shame a lot of it falls off.

There is one additional thing to check though, for my solution to work. I forgot some of the Railroad models use the upgraded Ringfield motor tender with the motor missing, if you have this option of tender my solution will not work. The newer models use the one screw tender, where the screw is under the coupling.

I don't want to split hairs but actually if you want to add sound my solution is far simpler. These are the reasons: The new tender base comes with everything except the tender top, so you don't have to buy a socket and more importantly find space in the loco to mount one. To put in a socket in the loco you are going to have to rewire the pickups and motor wires to wire into the socket (assuming you have found a place to put it). Wiring to the normal DCC socket is fiddly unless it is the new type as they don't solder that easily and very easy to short out tracks. With the new tender base option the socket is already wired. Finally if you can afford it, the new tender base offers best value for money, you get the sound decoder even on discount the cheapest is £35 + P & P, DCC socket at £4.00, tender bottom at £6.00, wheels at £6.00, tender wheels keeper plate £3.00. So overall it is the cheapest and simplest option, the only issue is getting the X6113 wires right, but you would have to do that with the socket in the loco. I must admit if I can, I fit the DCC socket in the tender on all my locos there is less to damage. Trying to squeeze wires into a confined space is not a good idea, I was fixing a loco for a friend and I found the act of squeezing the wires into a Britannia had actually split it inside the insulation where it got crushed in the assembly process.

Ok, if it is not DCC ready I would suggest you convert it so that the DCC socket is in the tender. Having the DCC socket in the loco does not easily allow you to have sound as there is very little room. I am currently building an R2617 A3 Ladas and there is barely enough room for the DCC decoder. If you want to add sound the easiest solution is buy one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304237776774?hash=item46d5fc0f86:g:8QYAAOSw1lZhniBq This includes the tender bottom which will fit your existing tender top plus you will need a X6113 4 way cable which the two outer wires connect to the loco pickups (you will have to test which way round) and the inner two connect to the loco motor.

I would say then that the motor worm is not engaging properly with the gear. I don't know if they changed the motor mounting when they went to the fixed pony truck, but I have never noticed an issue with the earlier Duchess/Princess Coronation loco but I have three of the "new" type where I noticed this issue. All three I bought as basket cases, which is probably why they were sold so cheap. It is a shame these are really good locos when they are running. I assume you bought it new, so it is definitely a return job.

Sorry I thought it was a Ringfield, so what is the issue? According to the web it is DC ready so you just take the loco body off and fit a decoder into the socket. The decoder if it is a Hornby fits in front of the loco weight.