Dapol's B1

Collected my first replacement B1 from Wendy's yesterday. This is a Dapol one, very few dealers having a Farish one to compare it with yet. I ran it in today, and then tried a haulage test. As you can see I ran out of track, but there are 29 coaches behind the B1 without enough track left to add any more. Not a hint of any slipping.

A close-up of the B1. The lining is a little wide, but the loco itself looks good from this angle. This one is due for a renumber and weathering, which will tone down the lining a lot. Either 61018 Gnu or 61005 Bongo- the second B1 will take the other identity. These were the running numbers of the two Langley B1s i sold on.


Oddly enough the Union Mills D20 we tested on Moorcock Junction only took 28.

Time for a quick rant

This one is directed at my fellow modellers. It also includes a rant at myself. I belong to the N-gauge e-group. Every so often we get a thread on Quality control with posts along the lines of "I bought this model and had to do this, this and this to it before it would run" or "I had to glue this list of parts back" etc. They then go on about how poor the manufacturers' quality control is.

Of course it is poor- why should they get things right when idiots like us correct their mistakes and repair their duds for them without complaining in the first place. Modellers- we are our own worst enemies.

If it is wrong SEND IT BACK. Complain loudly and bitterly- preferably at a display stand in a public place. That way the manufacturer has some incentive to get the next one better.