That's strange though because I bent a piece of track to less than R1 and both of mine managed to negotiate it, which suggests a fault rather than a design flaw?
@@FlyingScott Thanks. What would Radiius 1, 3 to four be? Being from NA its a different way if describing it, and cannot find a list for what these are.
@@gilbertporter4992 typically they follow more or less along the different radii of non-flex track. 1st radius is close to 15" 2nd is close to 18" 3rd is close to 21" 4th is about 24" Hattons also conveniently has a page breaking that down. Idk if youtube allows links, but searching "hattons oo gauge track guide" should give you the page within the top handful of results
For the Dapol Hunslet, I slowed down my video to 1/4 speed to verify something. It is not the middle wheel's fault, it is the leading wheels. They have already jumped the track before the middle pair hit the frog. It might help to see the other side, and see if the flange is striking the guard rail. If that is the case, your back-to-back gauge might be too tight. You can check to make sure it is 14.4 mm.
I recently received my Thompson A2/3. The tender wheels were gauged to 13.8mm on average. She had trouble staying on the track on the straight. I had to regauge the wheels of a brand new model. The tender was easy, I am too afraid to try the front bogie, but that only gives me problems at high speed, which I don't go anyway. I suspect Hornby had both the design and manufacture A teams working on other projects. I still love the loco.
From what i find, the more recent hornby starter 0-4-0s (such as the the churchward 101) aren't pocket rockets anymore and can do much lower speeds, nothing amazing but they might work for realistic shunting. Plus theres a dozen 3d prints body shell replacements if you find they look too outdated.
So, my advice when working with short-wheelbase engines is to use turnouts with live frogs, not insulated ones. The only advantage to insulated frogs is that you can run trains through them when they're set against the train without causing a short, which isn't a realistic practice anyway since a full-sized train would just derail if ran through a set of points set against it. Live frogs vastly improve the performance and reliability of small engines. I haven't had any issues with my MRC/Model Power Baldwin Modern 4-4-0 and Graham Farish BR Class 04 on turnouts on either my home layout or the club layout I run at, although by BR 04 doesn't like the code 55 Peco turnouts used by the club due to its wheel flanges being a bit too big.
My only shunters, running under Zero One DCC, that don't have issues with Peco Streamline point dead spots (frogs) are: Triang R.152 Armstrong-Whitworth 0-6-0 diesel electric, because I rewheeled it with Jackson scale wheels and even the centre axle has flanged wheels, so all the wheels now pick up power from the track. Hornby Dublo R1 0-6-0T. Hornby J52 with SSSP sprung rear axle. Hornby Jinty with SSSP sprung rear axle. Jouef for Playcraft NBL 0-4-0 diesel mechanical, mainly because it coasts for 1cm. when it loses power and clears the dead spot. Kit built J69 because all 6 wheels pick up power from the track. Welso 0-4-0T (1960's Welso-Brimtoy clockwork body on a Lima American Porter loco chassis). Packed with extra lead to improve running & traction. Triang R.660 clockwork body on a Lima American Porter 0-4-0T chassis. Packed full of extra lead to improve running & traction. All my old Triang 0-4-0 locos. Weight seems to help locos clearing point frog dead spots. On 0-6-0 locos, having pickups on the centre wheels prevents stalling.
Talking out my ass a bit here: But I've never really had issues with my 0-6-0's, I think it boils down to manufacture most of the time, Especially on switchs/points.
Hello Scott, The barrier wagon is used in real life, sometimes to make track circuit systems. A shunters 'chariot' might be more visual, but needs converting to accepting pickups. Points? Try looking at live frog points to overcome the dead spots. After a while, the toe of the point blade needs tweaking to maintain electrical continuity. Finally, try a random number generator, to mix up your rolling stock. have fun!
The more you do something the less fiddly it gets. No one is born with fantastic manual dexterity and fine motor skills that's why my daughter currently slaps things but will one day he able to crack an egg and not break the yolk. I'll gladly put our presenters locos under my lawnmower if he's genuinely done with his shunters 😅 always willing to scrap them to save him the drama. We can all be entertained by some destructions.
Poor electrical continuity over points has always been an issue with small locos like these. Despite all the advances over the last 20-odd years the problem persists, even with supposedly bespoke new releases. I tend to keep 'real' shunting to a minimum with many of them and use instead on continuous running short goods trains. The following locos are the most reliable over points in my experience: Bachmann 03 Bachmann 08 Hornby J94 Hornby (ex-Dapol) Terrier Wrenn 08 (but cannot crawl as well as a modern loco) Ironically the crude Hornby Railroad 0-4-0s with a metal chassis (Pug, 06 and Bagnall) are actually not that bad because the generic chassis is oversized, so they have quite a long wheelbase. Not capable of a realistic crawl of course but perform reasonably well for basic and cheap(ish) locos, particularly if you add some extra weight.
For n scale tomix points have electrical pickups that run on the flangeways by the frog, hence there is always a continuous electrical pickup, and too add the small kato 4 wheel locos have a pivot in the middle, so adding a simple but effective compensated suspension which works. to be really simple Zeuke and bttb tt for decades couldn't be bothered with all this high faluting isolated point frogs, they just made them out of metal, joined them to the switch point rails, isolated them at the other end and ended up with live frogs with no elaborate frog polarity switches or careful isolation, you just use them exactly the same as a normal point, but with no dead spot.
The recommendation of Tomix/KATO track is actually good for HO and OO as well, KATO makes an HO scale version of Unitrak that's more or less identical to their N scale Unitrak line.
Electro-frog points might work (such as the Peco small radius ones for their flexi-track). However, if you want a continuous layout on a baseboard such as an 8' by 4' (2 metres 400 mm by 1 metre 200 mm) you are probably stuck with sectional track such as Hornby, or Peco Set-Track. Must admit that if I wanted to do an industrial layout with small shunters I would have a look at O gauge to see whether it was worth serious investigation.
Nice little video Scott, loved the new intro btw. Two things, 1. That Hunslet shunter & the points hurts just my brain. & 2. If you did a TGL episode on anothor Dutch loco, what one would you do?
If you are comfortable with a little bit of soldering, adding DCC and a Stay Alive to the J72 would solve the problem. That Model Railway Guy was having a similar issue with his and did a how too It's an 18 pin decoder socket and Bachmann provided solder pads on the PCB for a stay alive so installing it is about as easy as it gets.
So I'm a massive fan of the hornby shunters but admit I have the exact same issues with them as you! I've resorted to stay alive fitting all of them which is actually easier than it may seem, especially for the Ruston (video on my channel). But once stay alive is fitted you'll want to build shunting layouts all the time. If you don't want to add stay alive may I suggest electrofrog points and rigorous cleaning for the pickups/wheels/track. Reliable running is hard to get and super frustrating though. The rapido hunslet is a bit disappointing on the points by the looks of it. Have you tried it on other point work? What about some right radius trackwork? Checked the back to backs on the wheels? Just some suggestions. If you're in the market for an exceptional shunter I'd recommend the bachmann 08 which have a pretty beefy flywheel fitted. Good luck :)
All my short wheelbase locos are fitted with DCC Concepts Zen black Decoders because they have a "plug and play" stay alive for them with thankfully gets rid of the electrical wiring problem.
Personally, I have a small shunting yard on my layout with 3 shunters, a Planet Industrials 'Victory', Bachmann Jinty and a Hornby Peckett aswell as a Hornby Terrier that helps round the yard often. While the Peckett also has those issues (similarly only getting those when dcc fitted) and the Jinty doesn't have the best crawl, the Jinty, Terrier and Victory never have any points issues whatsoever and work flawlessly over every point on my layout. Theres even a siding modified to be even tighter then normal and all 4 take it with ease. Highly recommend giving one of the 0-6-0s a shot, specially the Victory with its flawless running. Edit: Also occasionally use a Bachmann Small Prarie when the others are on the shelf. Perhaps a longer tank engine is the solution?
Tbh my solution is a J15. One of hornby's greatest ever models, and an extremely short tender loco. It is really reliable therefore when it comes to shunting
Ohh mate, mate, get yourself one of Dapol’s B4’s, they are perfect shunting engines. It’s a bigger, longer wheelbase 0-4-0, the front axle rocks to go over uneven track and it runs so slowly and smoothly
@@FlyingScott If you check out @budgetmodelrailways1397 you can see how much Hornby fixed the gearing (or motor winding) on them, just that Hornby never really told anyone that they'd fixed they 0-4-0s.
Something funny I've found, recently I got a cheap-ass Hornby DCC controller, and I had a pair of decoders so I figured why not try it out, and for some reason over points(Peco setrack) they ran so much worse(randomly stopping on the frog, then continuing like normal) and I fixed that by putting superglue over the bits where there was less than 1mm between the opposite rails, but I never had to do that on DC. Granted, the two engines I was using for these trials were a modern Hornby Stepney and Hornby 4F(the old-ass one with wide tyres because Airfix), I have no idea if the tyres were the issue
I love shunting and small engines. First you MUST have trackwork suitable for undertaking reliable shunting. Quite simply DON'T use insulated frog pointwork, in addition make certain your frog area has polarity switching. Even better if you 'Bond' stock rails to switch rails and isolate by cutting the small wire link on modern Peco Points to separate from the switched frog area. I can run my Ruston all day without a stall, I use Kadees and to get functioning well with small British outline wagons the wagons mustn't roll freely, mine have small sponge axle brakes. The result of this extra drag means the Ruston struggles with anything more than 5 wagons - But then the real thing probably would as well !! I have 1 x Ruston, 2 x 0-4-0 Pecketts, 1 x 0-6-0 Peckett, 1 x 0-4-0 Sentinel, 1 x 0-6-0 Sentinel, they all run very well. Can't say the same about early cheap Hornby 0-4-0's, like the Class 06, Caledonian Pug, but that's all to do with the old chassis design.
I would guess that the rapido Hunslet is made as a fine scale model and therefore does not like 2nd radius curves. You need better points, i.e. ones that are longer and more realistic from peco, not the set track version. I think the problem you've got is the track and not so much the engine. I got the hornby peckett 0-6-0 and haven't had any problems on my set track points (I would imagine the hornby peckett 0-4-0 would get stuck in the dead zone of the points).
Big shunting lads. Have a heavy tank engine like a thompson l1 or a GWR prairie. They could work as shunters and take goods trains in "freetime". At least your stuff loojs good. Im planning to have a german shunter for my layout. Maybe a t18 or br80. Small engines are a pest. I have a pocket rocket and a centurys old 57xx. Both of them are almost completely useless. This means that im down to a disfunctional br52 (german) and a brighton h2. FUN, ISNT IT!? I technically have more engines but they're from Märklin and therefore dont work on my british system. Märklin is so useless.
The idea of a large shunter is not as good at it first seems, as most large tank engines still only have pickups on the driving wheels. Ergo, the Hunslet would have similar pickup range.
I know this is an old video now, but have you tried adjusting the pickups on your J72? Mine also used to cut out a lot but now that I have adjusted the pickups it is fine!
I'm not an expert, but I believe the Ruston shunting engine was too short to be reliability detected by modern trank sensors and the flat wagon was paired with it to ensure detection.
@Flying Scott out of interest what are the back-to-backs on the new Hunslet? It may also be that there is some tightness in the chassis that is not allowing the wheelsets any side play.
Another question; is there any side play in the front wheelset? From your video it looks like it's the leading axle which climbs the frog, rather than being guided by the check rail, but maybe it's not being allowed to move sideways enough?
I don't have a gauge nor a gauging tool but I can tell with the naked eye the back-to-back on the front wheelset alone is over 14.4mm. The side play is on par with the other 0-6-0s I have. What to do, what to do...
Personally, my shunters have been extremely reliable. My S100 tank works great at my harbor, and my Jinty is a reliable runner despite her age (she’s an old 70s Triang model). My terrier and freelance tank also are fine. there’s nothing worse than getting a new $100 model and it being crap. Some shunters just dont live up to their legend it seems.
i think you've gotten the unlucky end of the straw, like ive had pecketts that run fine, j94s that run excellently (if i don't overtighten screws like a silly sausage) and my rustons (with or without the wagon) have been fine, all over hornby points as thats the only track i personally own but peco track at the club has yielded FAR superior results, and from what ive seen of other shunting locos i have they all seem to run fine, whether that be a 1366 pannier or hornby terrier of either version or a hornby or bachmann jinty, i mean heck the bachmann 1F and hornby sentinel run beautifully even under DCC the pattern continues, and i don't use fancy pants decoders, just whatever i can get cheaply, the fanciest is my TTS "Maude" which again ive had no issues with since the replacement (the first one's chip was faulty) so i really don't know what to say for the best. with the hunslet, it sounds like the bearing isn't sitting right potentially, as from what ive seen thus far theres no real issues with them other than the split chassis design, might be worth contacting rapido for advice, failing that try getting a replacement and see if the issue persists, if it does its something rapido needs to fix, which knowing how they operate litterally showing why a shipment of dynamometer cars would be delayed (and subsequently doing a recall to fix dodgy circuitry) i'm sure they'll take the time to hear you out and offer assistance, and should enough people experience these issues, i'm sure they'll do a recall to figure out the issue in house, or its as simple as little britain has said and the back to back gauging of the wheels is off, best to start there
Check your fishplates are nice and tight. Certain locos are better at finding uneven track than others. Did your locos ever cut out before you added the snow?
maybe convert them to remote control battery power? There are a couple videos about doing that... Of course, I have no experience here; my shunter won't even run properly on straight track, except for that one period of time where it inexplicably started working perfectly for a while and then started getting stuck again.
Improve the track... If it really comes to it grab the copper clad and make your own point that works with the model. Frustration is an addictive downer, perseverance and success is an addictive euphoric drug.
Don't blame the locomotives for something that's the fault of the trackwork. If you expect to run short wheelbase models on your layout, you _need_ turnouts with powered frogs.
Thanks for the advice on the Rapido Hunslets. My points are a bit less tight to yours but I think it'd have the same issue to yours. So basically you've saved me 110 quid, cheers for that. Edit help i caved in and got one but dont have the same issue 😂
You could try looking into p4 wheel standards? It'll likely fix all the issues you mentioned. It does involve more work but it's not as hard as you may think. Could be the fix all solution your after, you may hate it it and think I'm a lunatic for suggesting it. Ti's just a thought though eh. Best of luck to ya!
Realistically then Hornby locos should run fine over Hornby track work (as that is the track they use on their own test layout), which is certainly not the case :(
I think I have found the issue with the Hunslet: she does not seem to like 2nd radius curves.
An 0-6-0 unhappy with R2... What a daft design...
In inches and MM what is second radius?
I happen to know it's 438mm but for inches I had to look it up; turns out it's about 17.2"
That's strange though because I bent a piece of track to less than R1 and both of mine managed to negotiate it, which suggests a fault rather than a design flaw?
@@FlyingScott Thanks. What would Radiius 1, 3 to four be? Being from NA its a different way if describing it, and cannot find a list for what these are.
@@gilbertporter4992 typically they follow more or less along the different radii of non-flex track.
1st radius is close to 15"
2nd is close to 18"
3rd is close to 21"
4th is about 24"
Hattons also conveniently has a page breaking that down. Idk if youtube allows links, but searching "hattons oo gauge track guide" should give you the page within the top handful of results
For the Dapol Hunslet, I slowed down my video to 1/4 speed to verify something. It is not the middle wheel's fault, it is the leading wheels. They have already jumped the track before the middle pair hit the frog. It might help to see the other side, and see if the flange is striking the guard rail. If that is the case, your back-to-back gauge might be too tight. You can check to make sure it is 14.4 mm.
I recently received my Thompson A2/3. The tender wheels were gauged to 13.8mm on average. She had trouble staying on the track on the straight. I had to regauge the wheels of a brand new model. The tender was easy, I am too afraid to try the front bogie, but that only gives me problems at high speed, which I don't go anyway. I suspect Hornby had both the design and manufacture A teams working on other projects. I still love the loco.
From what i find, the more recent hornby starter 0-4-0s (such as the the churchward 101) aren't pocket rockets anymore and can do much lower speeds, nothing amazing but they might work for realistic shunting. Plus theres a dozen 3d prints body shell replacements if you find they look too outdated.
So, my advice when working with short-wheelbase engines is to use turnouts with live frogs, not insulated ones. The only advantage to insulated frogs is that you can run trains through them when they're set against the train without causing a short, which isn't a realistic practice anyway since a full-sized train would just derail if ran through a set of points set against it. Live frogs vastly improve the performance and reliability of small engines. I haven't had any issues with my MRC/Model Power Baldwin Modern 4-4-0 and Graham Farish BR Class 04 on turnouts on either my home layout or the club layout I run at, although by BR 04 doesn't like the code 55 Peco turnouts used by the club due to its wheel flanges being a bit too big.
My only shunters, running under Zero One DCC, that don't have issues with Peco Streamline point dead spots (frogs) are:
Triang R.152 Armstrong-Whitworth 0-6-0 diesel electric, because I rewheeled it with Jackson scale wheels and even the centre axle has flanged wheels, so all the wheels now pick up power from the track.
Hornby Dublo R1 0-6-0T.
Hornby J52 with SSSP sprung rear axle.
Hornby Jinty with SSSP sprung rear axle.
Jouef for Playcraft NBL 0-4-0 diesel mechanical, mainly because it coasts for 1cm. when it loses power and clears the dead spot.
Kit built J69 because all 6 wheels pick up power from the track.
Welso 0-4-0T (1960's Welso-Brimtoy clockwork body on a Lima American Porter loco chassis). Packed with extra lead to improve running & traction.
Triang R.660 clockwork body on a Lima American Porter 0-4-0T chassis. Packed full of extra lead to improve running & traction.
All my old Triang 0-4-0 locos.
Weight seems to help locos clearing point frog dead spots. On 0-6-0 locos, having pickups on the centre wheels prevents stalling.
Talking out my ass a bit here: But I've never really had issues with my 0-6-0's, I think it boils down to manufacture most of the time, Especially on switchs/points.
Hello Scott, The barrier wagon is used in real life, sometimes to make track circuit systems. A shunters 'chariot' might be more visual, but needs converting to accepting pickups. Points? Try looking at live frog points to overcome the dead spots. After a while, the toe of the point blade needs tweaking to maintain electrical continuity. Finally, try a random number generator, to mix up your rolling stock.
have fun!
0 gauge, also makes the 3 link couplings far, far less fiddly, superior detail
The more you do something the less fiddly it gets. No one is born with fantastic manual dexterity and fine motor skills that's why my daughter currently slaps things but will one day he able to crack an egg and not break the yolk.
I'll gladly put our presenters locos under my lawnmower if he's genuinely done with his shunters 😅 always willing to scrap them to save him the drama. We can all be entertained by some destructions.
Poor electrical continuity over points has always been an issue with small locos like these. Despite all the advances over the last 20-odd years the problem persists, even with supposedly bespoke new releases. I tend to keep 'real' shunting to a minimum with many of them and use instead on continuous running short goods trains. The following locos are the most reliable over points in my experience:
Bachmann 03
Bachmann 08
Hornby J94
Hornby (ex-Dapol) Terrier
Wrenn 08 (but cannot crawl as well as a modern loco)
Ironically the crude Hornby Railroad 0-4-0s with a metal chassis (Pug, 06 and Bagnall) are actually not that bad because the generic chassis is oversized, so they have quite a long wheelbase. Not capable of a realistic crawl of course but perform reasonably well for basic and cheap(ish) locos, particularly if you add some extra weight.
For n scale tomix points have electrical pickups that run on the flangeways by the frog, hence there is always a continuous electrical pickup, and too add the small kato 4 wheel locos have a pivot in the middle, so adding a simple but effective compensated suspension which works.
to be really simple Zeuke and bttb tt for decades couldn't be bothered with all this high faluting isolated point frogs, they just made them out of metal, joined them to the switch point rails, isolated them at the other end and ended up with live frogs with no elaborate frog polarity switches or careful isolation, you just use them exactly the same as a normal point, but with no dead spot.
The recommendation of Tomix/KATO track is actually good for HO and OO as well, KATO makes an HO scale version of Unitrak that's more or less identical to their N scale Unitrak line.
I transport the wickham Trolley on the back of my Ruston wagon
Electro-frog points might work (such as the Peco small radius ones for their flexi-track). However, if you want a continuous layout on a baseboard such as an 8' by 4' (2 metres 400 mm by 1 metre 200 mm) you are probably stuck with sectional track such as Hornby, or Peco Set-Track.
Must admit that if I wanted to do an industrial layout with small shunters I would have a look at O gauge to see whether it was worth serious investigation.
Nice little video Scott, loved the new intro btw.
Two things, 1. That Hunslet shunter & the points hurts just my brain. & 2. If you did a TGL episode on anothor Dutch loco, what one would you do?
If you are comfortable with a little bit of soldering, adding DCC and a Stay Alive to the J72 would solve the problem. That Model Railway Guy was having a similar issue with his and did a how too It's an 18 pin decoder socket and Bachmann provided solder pads on the PCB for a stay alive so installing it is about as easy as it gets.
So I'm a massive fan of the hornby shunters but admit I have the exact same issues with them as you! I've resorted to stay alive fitting all of them which is actually easier than it may seem, especially for the Ruston (video on my channel). But once stay alive is fitted you'll want to build shunting layouts all the time. If you don't want to add stay alive may I suggest electrofrog points and rigorous cleaning for the pickups/wheels/track. Reliable running is hard to get and super frustrating though.
The rapido hunslet is a bit disappointing on the points by the looks of it. Have you tried it on other point work? What about some right radius trackwork? Checked the back to backs on the wheels? Just some suggestions.
If you're in the market for an exceptional shunter I'd recommend the bachmann 08 which have a pretty beefy flywheel fitted. Good luck :)
can vouch 😉
Bachmann 08, got it!
All my short wheelbase locos are fitted with DCC Concepts Zen black Decoders because they have a "plug and play" stay alive for them with thankfully gets rid of the electrical wiring problem.
Personally, I have a small shunting yard on my layout with 3 shunters, a Planet Industrials 'Victory', Bachmann Jinty and a Hornby Peckett aswell as a Hornby Terrier that helps round the yard often. While the Peckett also has those issues (similarly only getting those when dcc fitted) and the Jinty doesn't have the best crawl, the Jinty, Terrier and Victory never have any points issues whatsoever and work flawlessly over every point on my layout. Theres even a siding modified to be even tighter then normal and all 4 take it with ease. Highly recommend giving one of the 0-6-0s a shot, specially the Victory with its flawless running.
Edit: Also occasionally use a Bachmann Small Prarie when the others are on the shelf. Perhaps a longer tank engine is the solution?
Happy birthday to your neighbour.
It is terror.
She was 82, and someone came to the birthday party dressed as the grim reaper.
It is a whatnow
Tbh my solution is a J15. One of hornby's greatest ever models, and an extremely short tender loco. It is really reliable therefore when it comes to shunting
Ohh mate, mate, get yourself one of Dapol’s B4’s, they are perfect shunting engines. It’s a bigger, longer wheelbase 0-4-0, the front axle rocks to go over uneven track and it runs so slowly and smoothly
I have 5 Hornby 040s and most run well over points,adding some exta wheight can help as they are all very light .and i never paint my rails.
Like, Pocket Rockets? I was thinking about hard-wiring one of them actually!
@@FlyingScott If you check out @budgetmodelrailways1397 you can see how much Hornby fixed the gearing (or motor winding) on them, just that Hornby never really told anyone that they'd fixed they 0-4-0s.
Something funny I've found, recently I got a cheap-ass Hornby DCC controller, and I had a pair of decoders so I figured why not try it out, and for some reason over points(Peco setrack) they ran so much worse(randomly stopping on the frog, then continuing like normal) and I fixed that by putting superglue over the bits where there was less than 1mm between the opposite rails, but I never had to do that on DC. Granted, the two engines I was using for these trials were a modern Hornby Stepney and Hornby 4F(the old-ass one with wide tyres because Airfix), I have no idea if the tyres were the issue
I love shunting and small engines. First you MUST have trackwork suitable for undertaking reliable shunting. Quite simply DON'T use insulated frog pointwork, in addition make certain your frog area has polarity switching. Even better if you 'Bond' stock rails to switch rails and isolate by cutting the small wire link on modern Peco Points to separate from the switched frog area.
I can run my Ruston all day without a stall, I use Kadees and to get functioning well with small British outline wagons the wagons mustn't roll freely, mine have small sponge axle brakes. The result of this extra drag means the Ruston struggles with anything more than 5 wagons - But then the real thing probably would as well !!
I have 1 x Ruston, 2 x 0-4-0 Pecketts, 1 x 0-6-0 Peckett, 1 x 0-4-0 Sentinel, 1 x 0-6-0 Sentinel, they all run very well. Can't say the same about early cheap Hornby 0-4-0's, like the Class 06, Caledonian Pug, but that's all to do with the old chassis design.
I would guess that the rapido Hunslet is made as a fine scale model and therefore does not like 2nd radius curves. You need better points, i.e. ones that are longer and more realistic from peco, not the set track version. I think the problem you've got is the track and not so much the engine.
I got the hornby peckett 0-6-0 and haven't had any problems on my set track points (I would imagine the hornby peckett 0-4-0 would get stuck in the dead zone of the points).
That’s funny, even a German HO 2-6-2T which was meant as a branch line tank engine…….somehow crosses over points with literally no issues
Hey Scott. I from the US and The easiest way to fix the switcher problem is to get a 0-6-2 or any large tank engine.
No it isn't. Because more often than not those tank engines will only have pickups on the driving wheels, which again more often than not is 6.
@@FlyingScott I haven’t think of that, my bad.
Big shunting lads. Have a heavy tank engine like a thompson l1 or a GWR prairie. They could work as shunters and take goods trains in "freetime". At least your stuff loojs good. Im planning to have a german shunter for my layout. Maybe a t18 or br80. Small engines are a pest. I have a pocket rocket and a centurys old 57xx. Both of them are almost completely useless. This means that im down to a disfunctional br52 (german) and a brighton h2. FUN, ISNT IT!?
I technically have more engines but they're from Märklin and therefore dont work on my british system. Märklin is so useless.
The idea of a large shunter is not as good at it first seems, as most large tank engines still only have pickups on the driving wheels. Ergo, the Hunslet would have similar pickup range.
@@FlyingScott KR models is developing a new Big Emma, right? Just meme around and use her in your yard.
@@EmilyChaosDrivr Haha, I do believe Bertha to be too large for the head shunt!
I know this is an old video now, but have you tried adjusting the pickups on your J72? Mine also used to cut out a lot but now that I have adjusted the pickups it is fine!
I'm a sucker for industrial - especially coal - stuff too. I've got a back with yellow strip-livered NCB example on a 2nd batch pre-order 😵💫
I'm not an expert, but I believe the Ruston shunting engine was too short to be reliability detected by modern trank sensors and the flat wagon was paired with it to ensure detection.
I have way more fun doing some shunting in O Gauge then OO Gauge as it's way too fiddly and it gets very annoying in such a small scale
@Flying Scott out of interest what are the back-to-backs on the new Hunslet? It may also be that there is some tightness in the chassis that is not allowing the wheelsets any side play.
Another question; is there any side play in the front wheelset? From your video it looks like it's the leading axle which climbs the frog, rather than being guided by the check rail, but maybe it's not being allowed to move sideways enough?
I don't have a gauge nor a gauging tool but I can tell with the naked eye the back-to-back on the front wheelset alone is over 14.4mm. The side play is on par with the other 0-6-0s I have.
What to do, what to do...
Personally, my shunters have been extremely reliable. My S100 tank works great at my harbor, and my Jinty is a reliable runner despite her age (she’s an old 70s Triang model). My terrier and freelance tank also are fine. there’s nothing worse than getting a new $100 model and it being crap. Some shunters just dont live up to their legend it seems.
i think you've gotten the unlucky end of the straw, like ive had pecketts that run fine, j94s that run excellently (if i don't overtighten screws like a silly sausage) and my rustons (with or without the wagon) have been fine, all over hornby points as thats the only track i personally own but peco track at the club has yielded FAR superior results, and from what ive seen of other shunting locos i have they all seem to run fine, whether that be a 1366 pannier or hornby terrier of either version or a hornby or bachmann jinty, i mean heck the bachmann 1F and hornby sentinel run beautifully
even under DCC the pattern continues, and i don't use fancy pants decoders, just whatever i can get cheaply, the fanciest is my TTS "Maude" which again ive had no issues with since the replacement (the first one's chip was faulty) so i really don't know what to say for the best.
with the hunslet, it sounds like the bearing isn't sitting right potentially, as from what ive seen thus far theres no real issues with them other than the split chassis design, might be worth contacting rapido for advice, failing that try getting a replacement and see if the issue persists, if it does its something rapido needs to fix, which knowing how they operate litterally showing why a shipment of dynamometer cars would be delayed (and subsequently doing a recall to fix dodgy circuitry) i'm sure they'll take the time to hear you out and offer assistance, and should enough people experience these issues, i'm sure they'll do a recall to figure out the issue in house, or its as simple as little britain has said and the back to back gauging of the wheels is off, best to start there
This is funny to watch
Check your fishplates are nice and tight. Certain locos are better at finding uneven track than others. Did your locos ever cut out before you added the snow?
What you could do is get a point with a electric frog (no dead zone)
maybe convert them to remote control battery power? There are a couple videos about doing that... Of course, I have no experience here; my shunter won't even run properly on straight track, except for that one period of time where it inexplicably started working perfectly for a while and then started getting stuck again.
Improve the track...
If it really comes to it grab the copper clad and make your own point that works with the model. Frustration is an addictive downer, perseverance and success is an addictive euphoric drug.
This makes me wonder if buying smaller locos is worth it as someone becoming interested in the British region of the hobby.
Don't blame the locomotives for something that's the fault of the trackwork. If you expect to run short wheelbase models on your layout, you _need_ turnouts with powered frogs.
Shunting loco heresy!
Love your content bruv
Thanks for the advice on the Rapido Hunslets. My points are a bit less tight to yours but I think it'd have the same issue to yours. So basically you've saved me 110 quid, cheers for that.
Edit help i caved in and got one but dont have the same issue 😂
You could try looking into p4 wheel standards? It'll likely fix all the issues you mentioned. It does involve more work but it's not as hard as you may think. Could be the fix all solution your after, you may hate it it and think I'm a lunatic for suggesting it. Ti's just a thought though eh. Best of luck to ya!
Barrie Davis will take care of the problem.....
You should try Smokey joe/ CR264 class I have 7 they are brilliant at everything
Hornby track is the problem NOT the locos...
Realistically then Hornby locos should run fine over Hornby track work (as that is the track they use on their own test layout), which is certainly not the case :(
Nice
Get some sort of jinty.