Lynton & Barnstaple 2-6-2T from Heljan

[Steve Lewis]

Derails   Models  pre  sell  all   spoken  for  now

Some  other  outlets  are  getting  close  to  closing  their  pre sells

[Steve Lewis]

NEW DELIVERY  DATES!!

First  Batch   MID to    END  MAY  followed  by  a  2nd  delivery  END JUNE   Heljan  have  said  they  are producing a  further  batch to be  delivered  end  August  but  the  price  will show   an increase on this  batch.

[Pete Williams]

Members  who  are  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  L&B 2-6-2T  ( and  its  been  a  long 4+ years!) may be interested to  know  that  I have  just  received  an eMail  from  Heljan.dk  advising  me  that  the  loco  will be  arriving on our  shores     Late March  Early  April.

I am currently in  the  process  of  building  a L&B  'based' layout in a  garden  shed,   got  most  of  the  rolling  stock, just  need  the  locos  so  I  can  return  the   Roco H0e locos  to  their  rightful  layout!!

Delivery must be by return working of that first goods train that is taking seventeen days to reach china.
I read on the 'net' that the delivery date has been put back ( yet again), to mid -late may.
What's that song? So tired, tired of waiting, tired of waiting for yoo-oo!

[Steve Lewis]

As  A  result  of  an  email  from  Heljan.dk  I reprted  on  APRIL 5th  the  revised 'provisional' delivery  dates  of  MAY (MID)  and  June  for  the  first  batch  and   a  further  delivery  of  a  second  batch different  versions  (see RM Advert  May 17 full page  Heljan)  at  the  year  end apparently,  the  2nd  batch  will have  4  variants as  noted  in the Railway Modeller May  advert  and  also  showing on  Hattons  web site

The  first  batch  is  completely  sold  out  out  and  many  UK  retailers  have pre sold  their  stock,  so  the  loco  will be  probably  hard  to  actually  purchase  if  not  pre ordered.

The  2nd  batch  will be  at  a  higher  price  ( understandable)  as  it  has  been  over  4  years  since  initial RRP  of  189.99 was  set  and  many  things   have  changed/changing  in  the  financial  world.

in  the  meantime  we  will just  have  to  make  sure   the  axle  boxes  on  our  Peco  L&B rolling  stock  is  well lubricated  in  readiness  for  the  actual  arrival  of  the  2-6-2T  ( And  I  can  sell off my  MINITRAINS 2-6-2 & 0-8-0 locos!!)

[Steve Lewis]

Latest  delivery info  I received  from  Heljan  today:

Part of  the  first  production run  should  arrive  LATE  May/  Early  June  followed  by the  remainder   in June or  July

Hope this  info is  useful

A little more  time  to  save  up  perhaps!! :)

[Steve Lewis]

Heljan  advise  me  the  first  420  locos  are  on  their  way  as  of  today  to  UK  retailers,  but   this  is  only  a  proportion  of  the  production  run  so  apparently  not all orders  will be  fully  fulfilled,  more  stock  will be  sent  in  July  &  August.

( My retailer  advised  me  that as  far  as  he  is  aware  TAW is  not  in  the  first  420)

[Pete Williams]

Invicta appear to have dropped the loco from their webpage, i have just ordered the 9950 version from hattons ( the chip arrived yesterday !?) expected delivery date is now estimated as late June-mid July.

[Steve Lewis]

As  of  today  the  locos  have  started  arriving  in  the  retailers,  my 2 initial ones  should arrive in  the  post  early  next  week  ( TAW is not  yet  delivered to  Heljan that  will be apparently  July)

There  is  a  post on rmweb  forum   in  the  Heljan  section  (L&B Loco)  posted  this  morning of   a loco  getting  its  initial test on a  layout.

The  problem  will be  that  most of  the  retailers have  pre sold  all their  allocation.

I am  aware  of a  retailer  that  'may' have  a  couple  spare  PM me  for  info.

[Steve Lewis]

  2  of  my  L&B  Locos  arrived  today,  to  save  retyping  my  personal initial  review  can  I  refer   members  to www.rmweb.co.uk  forum  Heljan  section.

My findings  so  far  are  not  quite living  up to  expectations  yet!

And now  even  less enthusiastic about .... them   valve  gear  problem,  its  come  apart on 1  side!...  more to follow!

[Jon Baker]

 2  of  my  L&B  Locos  arrived  today,  to  save  retyping  my  personal initial  review  can  I  refer   members  to www.rmweb.co.uk  forum  Heljan  section.
My findings  so  far  are  not  quite living  up to  expectations  yet!

Received Exe yesterday, test running today on simple oval (Peco Setrack). Runs perfectly when turning left (in forward direction) but will not turn right in forward direction (or left in reverse). Issue seems to be with the pony truck (as you have mentioned on the RMweb forum). With pony truck derailed loco runs perfectly well :-)
Disappointing.

[Steve Lewis]

On  Narrow  Gauge Railway  Modelling   forum  today a member  has  reported  valve  gear  problems  and   a  nameplate  fell off!

Its  not  good  news  at  all  ,  I probably  will not   get  my  loco  replaced  for  several  weeks  now  and  if   the  problems mount  up  it  is  likely  that  Heljan  will not  release  further  stock  until   the  problem(s)  are  sorted  out.

Re  the pony  trucks,, I do believe that  the  strange  power collection  method  ( Brass strips springing  down on to  the  tops of  the   wheels)
is  causing  the  pony trucks be  unable  to  swing  freely  to  follow  the  track  curves thus  causing derailment, when  the loco  reaches  a  point it  shorts out or  jams  up  completely  on  the  frog  or  check rail

I removed  the  ponies  and  ran  the  loco as  an 0-6-0  and  all was  well  no problems with power  collection,  the   driving wheel base  is around 4mm longer  than  a Minitrains 0-8-0  and  whereas  the  0-8-0  weighs  74gm  the  L&B  weighs 139gm,   removing  the  brass pickup pieces  may be  on option?
Also be  aware  the  Valve  gear  covers seem to be  just  a  push on  fit  they  tend  to  fall off!

[Jon Baker]

I removed  the  ponies  and  ran  the  loco as  an 0-6-0  and  all was  well  no problems with power  collection,  the   driving wheel base  is around 4mm longer  than  a Minitrains 0-8-0  and  whereas  the  0-8-0  weighs  74gm  the  L&B  weighs 139gm,   removing  the  brass pickup pieces  may be  on option?

On mine one of the pickups on the rear is not flat to the base of the loco like the other one, I suspect the springiness of this individual pickup is at least contributing to the problem (it coincides with the turn direction). Maybe removing these pickups altogether is the answer, but disappointed that the quality is poor necessitating this.

[Ian James]

I received my Yeo today, and so far I am very disappointed after such a long wait. I have been building a layout for it, using Peco 009 track. The loco shorts and derails on the pointwork. The couplings will not connect to Peco coaches or wagons. I also have many loading gauge problems - the cylinders foul the platform edges I had carefully installed using PEco coaches to get the clearances right. Part of the problem with points may be the cylinders fouling the little pips on the tie bar of Peco points. I had understood that Heljan and Peco had been liaising on the development of these models to ensure compatibility. If so, the collaboration seems not to have worked.

[Steve Lewis]

There  have  been  several  posts  made   by purchasers of  this  loco  on  other  websites  also  reporting  problems  ( Rmweb  & Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling)  it  is  all very disappointing  considering  that  many of  us  have  invested   our  time  & money during  the almost 4.5 years  since  the loco was  first announced purchasing  Peco  rolling  stock  in  good  faith  expecting  to  eventually get  motive power  that performs well.

[Ian James]

I have just been reminding myself of the rave review of these locos in the April 2017 Railway Modeller. They extol the consistency with Peco 009 track and points, and say that the couplings are consistent with the Peco rolling stock - the couplings, they say "ensure a perfect match". I can only assume that the reviewer simply looked at the model in the box and did not actually run it on a real layout or attempt to couple it to Peco rolling stock.

My Yeo is a superb static display item in a siding on my layout, but useless to run and haul trains. One would urge the model railway press to be a bit more thorough and penetrating in their reviews, rather than simply providing uncritical advertising for manufacturers of poorly designed products.