Dapol's new Class 68 locomotives

[Alan Oliver]

Nice of them to put a deadline on fixing the error they caused, what happens if you buy one that’s been sat on a shelf at a retailers or did retailers send them back to be corrected.

[atom3624]

I purchased off Rails, receiving on 10th September.

It was at quite a 'bargain price', which I wasn't that curious about - they do sell at a discount and Rails are frequently one of the most competitive, so I wasn't too aware of opening a can of worms.

 

Link to handrails: https://www.dccsupplies.com/shop/class-68-oo-handrails-cab-front-2-pairs/

 

As said, I'm prepared to receive the rails and fit myself - sounds like a good option in view of some questionable fitting services!!

Al.

Edited September 22, 2022 by atom3624

[Gilbert]

23 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

As said, I'm prepared to receive the rails and fit myself - sounds like a good option in view of some questionable fitting services!!

Al.

Mine came back from Dapol very well fitted FWIW

Chris H

[atom3624]

Hi Chris, glad it did.

I'll be happy just with the handrails, and I'll fit them myself.

I'm open to reading what they say.

On Rails' site for Splendid, the photo indicates the locomotive without the handrails and there's no mention of a reduced price in view of ... anything.

 

If not one, the other has an obligation to help as far as I'm concerned ... 

Before any serious considerations, I'm staying positive.

 

Al.

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

They have done them after that as there a recent post of a guy having them done as he waited at Dapol.

[Colin_McLeod]

On 22/09/2022 at 20:22, atom3624 said:

Link to handrails: https://www.dccsupplies.com/shop/class-68-oo-handrails-cab-front-2-pairs/

That link is not clear on what they mean by "two pairs".  Will I have to buy one or buy two sets of "two pairs" to acquire the four missing handrails?

Edited September 25, 2022 by Colin_McLeod
typos

[atom3624]

Agreed.

It appears to be one end - 4 handles.

2 packets seem to be required.

Al.

[norfolkchinaclay]

10 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Agreed.

It appears to be one end - 4 handles.

2 packets seem to be required.

Al.

Yes two packs are required - I’ve just checked the pack that I had ordered not realising that the second pair of handrails inside it were the lower ones, so two packs are required to do the missing cab front window handrails at both ends.

Edited September 25, 2022 by norfolkchinaclay
Update text

[Colin_McLeod]

Two packs ordered.  Cheaper than return postage to Dapol and possible customs/VAT issues to and from Brexitistan and avoids the risk of getting a different or damaged loco back.

[atom3624]

Well I've had several replies, fortunately.

One stated that the return the model for fitting is still ongoing.

The same one offered the option to send out handrails for me to fit - this is what I requested.

I'm not certain if it's a result of this, or the separate email I sent, but I received another from DCC Supplies saying they'll send out the handrails today for me.

 

Whichever happened, I'm not bothered provided I receive the handrails, and will then fit them!!

 

Al.

[newbryford]

10 hours ago, atom3624 said:

Well I've had several replies, fortunately.

One stated that the return the model for fitting is still ongoing.

The same one offered the option to send out handrails for me to fit - this is what I requested.

I'm not certain if it's a result of this, or the separate email I sent, but I received another from DCC Supplies saying they'll send out the handrails today for me.

 

Whichever happened, I'm not bothered provided I receive the handrails, and will then fit them!!

 

Al.

 

DCC Supplies are the Dapol spares/service agents.

Which would explain why they (DCCS) are sending them out.

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

On 25/09/2022 at 15:56, Colin_McLeod said:

Cheaper than return postage to Dapol

Its post free to return them,just print the label and stick it on the package or packages if theres more than one body,cost me nothing for my pair.

[Colin_McLeod]

25 minutes ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Its post free to return them,just print the label and stick it on the package or packages if theres more than one body,cost me nothing for my pair.

Not so simple when you don't live in the UK, have already paid Irish VAT and fees upon import and may have to do so again or face lots of paperwork. My handrails have now arrived hassle free.

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

Just been running in stuff on the rollers last few days to try out stuff from last few months to make sure alls well and they work until i get layout up and running and the sound fitted ones of these.....is it just me as its nothing like a 68 which is a shame as these sound great in real life,sound more like a steam train and all three are same.......bit of expecting Nat King Cole and getting the coal mans voice.......

[Jack374]

11 hours ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Just been running in stuff on the rollers last few days to try out stuff from last few months to make sure alls well and they work until i get layout up and running and the sound fitted ones of these.....is it just me as its nothing like a 68 which is a shame as these sound great in real life,sound more like a steam train and all three are same.......bit of expecting Nat King Cole and getting the coal mans voice.......

It entirely depends on your setup. The 68 has a bassy throb, hence why some sound files/speakers make it sound like a kettle if they don’t have enough bass. I’ve found the best combination to be Legomanbiffo's file and an EM2 speaker. The sound file definitely has the throb of the bass, although it can be slow to rev up, so I usually use the 'drive lock' function and whack speed up all the way so the sound revs up to a prototypical level. Of course, an EM2 is the biggest speaker you can fit in 00 and needs major mods and chassis milling. Companies such as Roads and Rails can do these mods for you.

 

At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice and you have to weigh up the effort/cost of a bespoke setup which sounds the best (IMO), or settle for a speaker which fits in the space provided.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

[Sweetling Park]

I am in the process of documenting what decoders are fitted to my rolling stock, so that I know what is already fitted by the factory and what I will have to attend to myself.  I have a couple of DCC sound factory fitted Class 68s from the recent (2021/22) batch and understand from the literature that a 21 pin MTC decoder is fitted, but haven't been able to determine what decoder is actually fitted, e.g. ESU LokSound v5.  Therefore, I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise me, please?

[McC]

Sounds like you need a higher output power controller ?

[adb968008]

23 minutes ago, scumcat said:

I am not lazy honest but this thread is 115 pages long, I’ve done a search with no answers revealed. So  Here is my issue. I am having to send back my new accurascale class 92. I noticed that when I was running it on my layout all of the other locos were slowing down significantly and the power pack in the loco has stopped working again. It seems it is drawing all the power. So that got me to thinking if any other of my locos suffered the same. Well one of my Dapol 68’s does. Running really slowly and causing all the others significant slow downs. Has anyone else seen this? Is it a known problem. I swapped over the decoder, same issue. I suspect the motor but I want to investigate before spending on a new motor. Thanks in advance.

Are you able to check the amp draw ?

 

Mine run around 0.22 at full power, so in theory on a typical 1a (DC) controller you should be able to run 4.

 

 

 

[TomScrut]

11 hours ago, scumcat said:

Well one of my Dapol 68’s does.

 

Does it have a stay alive fitted?

 

Relating to the only two locos I have with them fitted (AS 55 and 92) they both "short" my LokProgrammer when I first put them on the track, I presume because they draw a lot of current to fill the pack. After a few start/stops, not an issue. Note my Z21 I run my layout with doesn't have the issue at all.

 

Also what decoders are you putting into your 68 (I presume it was a sound 92?), and do you have back EMF activated?

[TomScrut]

3 minutes ago, scumcat said:

Dapol dcc fitted loco so I presume it was an imperium

 

I'd turn back EMF off and see how it performs. If it runs like a dogs dinner then it could be the motor, or some resistance in the drive.

 

Back EMF, if activated, will be trying to fight the resistance by giving the motor more juice and therefore creating the high current draw. If you switch it off the decoder will just give the motor a voltage and let the current draw what it wants so on low speed steps it will just refuse to move if there's a problem.

[Roy Langridge]

How many track feeds do you have? I am assuming that you don’t just have a couple of feeds to the tracks?

 

Roy

[adb968008]

Have you tried the loco on DC ?

 

that would separate a DCC issue from a motor issue ?

 

if you can, remove the dcc chip with a blank chip, and put a 9v battery on the wheels.

 It should amble along nicely.

 

[DanielP]

I had a very problematic 68018. The speed was inconsistent and it would often refuse to move after changing direction. Same problem on DC and DCC. It was replaced by the retailer and now works as expected.

[nightstar.train]

Can anyone help with the factory fitted DCC versions? I've been testing mine on the rolling road and it's not operating according to the instructions. F0 puts both end lights on as usual. F1 puts the lights on at just one end, white or red depending on direction, and F2 does the same at the other end. F3 does just the bottom white lights at the forward end, I'm assuming these are the Halo lights. Is this how other peoples' 68s are? It's not according to the instructions, but I'm happy with it. Having said that the instructions are rather poor, certainly not on a par with some other manufacturers. 

[adb968008]

9 hours ago, scumcat said:

Just for interest sake. I bought a new motor wired it in now back to its old self I’m much happier. Only problem it’s running backwards I must have got the wires the wrong way around on the motor. Easy fixable.

Now your safe, youve nothing to lose on the old motor.

 

Why not open the can and take a look inside, ive found several models where motor speed was variable, or stopped was due to the brushes losing contact with the commutator. Tweaking the brushes back in has fixed all mine in the past.

 

note how the brushes arent reaching over the armature shaft hole

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by adb968008