Hornby Q1

"John Sullivan"

Or even incorrectly?

-- Cheers Roger T.

of the Great Eastern Railway.

Hi John, knowing how you like to run long rakes in the Garden, have you looked inside the Q1 to see if there is scope for adding much weight as the loco is very light and will probably struggle with big loads as it is?

In message , piemanlarger writes

No. But I don't need the Q1 for that, those lovely 56xx's will pull 11 Bachmann Mk.1s or 45 wagons, and I couldn't be bothered to put more than

22 coaches behind a Heljan 47 the other day, so I've got enough locos already for the long trains. I'm a bit disappointed with the pulling power of the 45xx and 4575 2-6-2s, though.

Incidentally, the OO works C class is rather light, but that will pull quite a lot.

In message , piemanlarger writes

I've just done a haulage test with the Q1, and in the almost freezing cold (1 degree C), with rail that is trying to stay wet in spite of my efforts to dry it, it managed to start 8 "weightless" Bachmann Mark 1s on my 1 in 78 incline. It will pull a lot more on the level.

Note: Bachmann Mark 1s weigh 160 g., or 125 g. if the weight is removed (referred to as "weightless", above).

In message , John Sullivan writes

Tried it again three hours later when the layout had dried out and the temperature was a bit warmer (3 degrees C), and it will now take 11 coaches up the hill, although there is a bit of slipping here and there.

That is quite satisfactory from my point of view, especially considering the loco only weighs 220 grams.

How did you resolve the NEM coupler pocket height for your Kadee's John ?

In message , Richie writes

Aha! I cheated.

I coupled the loco to a Bachmann Mark 1 coach using the semi-permanent link that looks like a couple of air-pipes.

I either have a duff q1 or my rake of 5 bullied+ 1 Dapol CCt have huge drag factor. My Q1 slipped very easily when starting this modest load, on flat rail with nothing sharper than 2nd radius.

In message , piemanlarger writes

Have you run yours in adequately? I have run mine for nigh on 2 miles so far (equivalent to about 150 scale miles). Maybe it runs better after everything has settled down.