roco RTR 009

[invercloy]

yes I'd buy a RTR Lew/Exe/Taw/Yeo/Lyd

Me too, i always thought the L&B was the prime candidate for an RTR loco in 009... Have a rethink Roco  ;)

[Chris Veitch]

Yes, an L&B locomotive would be an attractive subject and I'm sure many 009ers would buy one. But remember that there aren't THAT many 009ers and I still think that a large proportion of their sales of the planned Fairlie would have been "trophy" models, i.e. to people who'd seen or travelled behind one and wanted a model for the mantlepiece.

As far as I'm aware all of Roco's current non-freelance lineup is composed of locomotives which currently exist on operating railways and could therefore benefit from such trade - OK, you could argue that 'Lyd" will give them this opportunity and I suppose that may yet happen. But we have to accept that the UK 009 market is - and always will be - very small, probably too small to support anything much in the way of RTR. It's always been this way, even back to the rabbit layout heyday of the 70s. Who now remembers Liliput announcing their W&LLR Beyer Peacock 0-6-0T and then cancelling it? About 1972, I think.

Regards,

Chris

[Isle of Stoner]

Hello

John Wooden here doing my first ever post. I am the shops manager at the FR and was delighted to get wind of the ROCO plans but they never actually contacted us directly. We have an account with Fleischmann and therefore ROCO and so I made it clear that we would sell many units of the alleged model and would be very happy to help with plans/pictures, trains to launch the model etc. But they never seemed very interested so how they think they know what the demand would be I can't imagine. That said however, I suspect that as everyone has said they would need to sell many units more than we could sell to make it worth their while. Shame though as they even mentioned the idea of rolling stock to suit if it sold well... RTR bow siders anyone? I will continue to pester them just in case but I think not holding the breath would be sensible.

[rhydddu009]

Hi John and welcome...  please do pester them...I have been by email too.  It seems very odd indeed that they announce this model and then don't follow through without proper market testing/research.  Colin

[pilotfriend]

Roco just does not seem to get their act right. One would have thought that approaching the FR would have been the first port of call with probably an enormous potential for sales. Rather than go to the 'horse's mouth' (beg your pardon John) they seem to have gone to the horse's backside!
JdF

[Isle of Stoner]

I don't think that they were ever serious. We were all set to become ROCO dealers so that we could get a good price which meant we would promise to take a large quantity from them but interest from them was minimal.

Never mind. I wanted one...


John

[petersmith1942]

This topic has gone dead but I have only just perused the contributions; cant understand why anybody would want to waste hundreds of pounds on Roco anyway. Although the Engerths look great are they worth the money. Only the little 0-6-0 ever interested me but have honestly never found one that runs as well as a Bachmann MDT Plymouth especially when it has been fettled properly
Peter Smith

[B.Meldon]

Hi Peter

The latest Roco 0-6-0 steam loco has been fitted with the Roco BR80 N gauge chassis for the last couple of years now that uses the coupling rods to drive the outer wheels and has additional valve gear. Although the locos could do with more weight these are very good chassis, they run smoothly at slow speed and in my experience they do not ware out. I have used my BR80 N gauge chassis extensively over the past 15 years, so much so I have worn the motor brushes out on two of them, with new brushes they still run like new.

Here is a photo of the Roco BR80 N gauge chassis: (The latest ones have anodised wheels and rods.)



The previous Roco chassis in the HOe steam loco and the one still used in the diesel has a simala spring dampened drive system, 5 pole motor and reduction gearing however it has gears down one side of the chassis. These also run very well when new but unfortunately as a result of the gearing down one side the axel slots ware after a while in the chassis block causing the wheel sets to twist causing poor running. These locos also need extra weight.

Here is a photo of the older 1980 to 2007 Roco steam loco chassis:(later models had anodised wheels and rods)



The five pole motors were introduced in about 1990 prior to that they were only three pole. The spring drive chassis started production in about 1980 and prior to that an Atlas chassis was used that are of poor quality and ware out quickly.

Although I have thinned out my fleet of Roco steam locos recently I still have several in use with both the 1980

[Cambridge Paul]

Re-reading this thread and seeing references to "the Earl" my thoughts turned to the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway, and the Earl and Countess, now both restored, would make a much better sales target for Roco for the following reasons:-
1) Perfect scale:gauge combo for HOe and they are big locos by UK standards;
2) Already running with Zillertal stock;
3) Simple outside frame 0-6-0 chassis; and
4) Can be run with other locos of european origin.

You could even re-visit Calthrop's concept and use modern transporters as the loading gauge is big enough.
Paul

[B.Meldon]

Hi Paul
It may surprise you to know that Liliput gave serious consideration to producing an r-t-r version of the Welshpool locos back in the 1970

[petersmith1942]

Brian
your piece on Roco locos is really interesting and most welcome
I have not tried the steam locos yet but will now think about it with your comments in mind
The thing that irritates me most about the little diesels-I have had new and second-hand is the tendency to move fractionally on starting in either direction and then stop. The slightest prod gets them going again. This indicates to me electrical pick-up is ok but gear mesh is suspect. Is that a symptom of the design aspect you were talking about?
I keep my track very clean and the wheels although clean track keeps the wheels ok for some time and lay track carefully. I also gently file frog rails as I find Peco 009 point clearances a bit tight
I like quiet smooth running and find Farish old and new pretty poor. I tend to use US N scale chassis and find these a good bet especially Atlas
As my experience grows I hope to share it with other members
Blackstone Models of US narrow gauge prototypes in HOn3 are showing what can be achieved at Roco prices but US ng is by and large such a well-trodden path of Rio Grande and "friends" I want if possible to plough a different furrow
Thanks again for your response
Peter Smith

[B.Meldon]

Hi Peter

The situation with the worn Roco 1980 onwards chassis is that when the power is first applied and the slack is taken up in the drive train and if the ware is significant the centre wheels can actually lift the outside ones off the track and as there are no pickups on the centre wheels the loco stops. Giving it a push will allow the rear wheels to lift slightly and re-make contact with the rail.
You should only find this fault with a worn loco, new chassis are ok for some time.

There is a work round I that the keeper plate on the underside can be filled down so as it pushes the axels further in to the chassis block and therefore reduces the movement. However as the ware on the axel slots is never the same for each axel or the intermediate gears this can be a very delicate and time consuming task.

Brian Meldon

[davanvalley]

I have just started to model in 009 and am still on a steep learning curve. However, I enjoy operating and require locos that will perform well out of the box, as it were. I have no luck if I try to 'fettle' loco chassis. In view of that I have bought two of the Roco HOe 0-6-0 Tender Tank locos and, to be fair, they are performing faultlessy on my newly laid track.

No problems, so far, and hopefully they will continue to run as well as they currently are doing and, with my limited knowledge of Roco products, I feel sure they will.

I am modelling a fictitous railway in North Yorkshire and will live happily with the fact that the locos are 'foreign'

[davanvalley]

Sorry about that, I must have hit the send button before I had finished. I can alter the history of my line to cover their purchase, after all, it's my railway etc:-)

Regards,
Dave

[MickT]

Welcome Dave, I hope you have a long and enjoyable hobby with 009, now that you have jumped into the pool!

The Roco locos that you have purchased have had some mixed reviews, some members who are on this forum reporting issues regarding reliability and longevity of the running gear, whilst some others have reported that they have found them satisfying. It seems that they are fine for "normal" usage but tend to show design faults if subjected to continuous hard work on exhibition layouts. I'm sure some of those who have experienced both the good and bad points may contribute their views.

In the meantime, if you are feeling brave, having shelled out quite a lot I expect to get 2 of these locos, they can relatively simply be "anglicised" and upgraded from 3