A tale of 2 FORNEYS

stevelewis

stevelewis

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The latest edition of LGB's Forney arrived the other day!

Some interesting comparisons with one if its predescessors!

The New one weighs in at 3/4KG LIGHTER than the old one despite additional parts ( leading truck & Plough etc) It has 2 traction tyres as opposed to the other ones 1 tyre.

Whereas the Brown one will haul 5 Bachmann passenger cars up my 1 in 25 gradient into the storage sidings the Black one will just manage 3!

The lighter weight apears to be the internal weights are made from a lighter metal these days no doubt something to do with the fact that lead cannot be used now??
Also the springing of the pony truck no doubts causes a slight lifting of the drivers thus decreasing traction.

However the reduced haulage does not bother me that much as shortish trains are the norm anyway!

The loco was fitted with its decoder yesterday, LGBs literature states that the decoder can be easily fitted, this is very true all you do is plug in an MTS3 into the socket on the PCB, easy job B U T it takes around half a day to actually disassemble and reassemble the loco to actually get at the PCB, fortunately I have done the Forney before, so I knew what to expect, but if anyone is contemplating doing this job, be careful not to tear your hair out:confused:
 
Interesting remarks Steve.

Counry of orgin, I assume Hungary?
 
Nice locos though!

Mick
 
i love the forneys -nice pair there, steve

i too have the DRGW version #251 i believe -chinese made (and 4 others-several german) 


-as you describe-but a different config on the domes-ie one where the bell is- 

fyi-something i might mention is that some of these have pick up plungers on the read truck -and the plungers get caugt behind the lip of the cylinder case-so they dont make contact with the back of the wheel

remedied by disassembly and then while the brush is puched back deep into the cylinder -deburring the the edge-may not be an issue for yours -but i have read of several others of the chinese ilk with the same issue
 
Country of origin CHINA,

Interestingly the usual new type Marklin/LGB Black & White sticker was not attached but instead there was an LGB type GOLD OK sticker indicating date of manufacture late 2009, although these only reached the retailers a few weeks ago and apparently they are now out of stock at factory & wholesaler.
 
stevelewis said:
Country of origin CHINA,

Interestingly the usual new type Marklin/LGB Black & White sticker was not attached but instead there was an LGB type GOLD OK sticker indicating date of manufacture late 2009, although these only reached the retailers a few weeks ago and apparently they are now out of stock at factory & wholesaler.
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Hmmm, interesting that these are being made in PRC. I thought Marklin were only using the PRC for parts mfgr.

2009 -> 2010. Long boat trip?:)
 
my guess is these are NOS

re-numbered

question for steve-does your chinese version need to run at a good clip (if analog) in order to fully light the headlightas well as get the smoke going-?
my germans smoke almost standing 
the chinese not so
 
I only gave it a brief analogue test and did not really notice the Headlghts' brilliance The smoke unit was working OK but I dont use smoke units remebering the warnings of the 80s!!

An anomoly was noted when I fitted the decoder though!!

The instruction book (which is now in a larger format than the LGB type) shows that to install a sound unit, the sound unit power supply plugs into the 2 pins on the PCB marked sound, however these 2 pins are already utilised to supply power to the accessory socket at the rear of the loco, although in practice it would be easy to take a spur from the cable for a SU,

I did note though that some of the soldered joints did look a bit iffy particularly the cable connecting the rear bogie pickups to the push fit pin plugs on the PCB.

AS I said before decoder fittng to these locos is a real nightmare, probably because the design dates back to pre digital days and it has not been revised, it would be so easy to move the PCB so that the digital socket was at the cab end in which case only the cab and the moulding for the lever & dials would have to be be removed thus making the job much simpler, I once said I would never do another Forney!!
 
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Hi Steve, your comments on the Forneys noted, I have these two which were made 2006, although I have made a few changes!! (both have one traction tyre) Alyn :thumbup:
 
Hi Alyn

Now you are tempting me!!!!!! Is it out with the aerosols I wonder!!

We'll see

I must admit they look more 'real' in your pics, very nice.

Incidentally should have mentioned a strange coupling combination on Nr 252 Hook & Loop at the back, LGB Knuckle on the front! However I suspect that although the Hook & Loop type should fit on the front the offset on curves may be too great ( The Knuckle pivots) I will check this out soon
 
I also just got one at York train show. Great engine. I changed mine a little. I shortened the domes, added real coal and some details like metal bell, piping and wood bumpers. I also repainted the dreen color to all black and weathered it some. This one is made in china. Mine also slipped but I found by using a little oil on the contact shoe bottoms and springs stopped the slipping. The shoe puts too much pressure on the rail causing a drag. The oil makes the shoe slide on the rail and helped the spring with the up/down movment.

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I love Forneys, the Yorkshire Engine Co built several for railways in india , they also built loco,s to other railways designs ( G.W.R. Pannier tanks for example ) So maybe I'm thinking they built one for my railway. In fact they could have built anything for anyone . They did Fairlies for a railway in Chile so why not mine? Just send them the drawings ! They also did their own loco's as well which were advertised as being available in any guage. If this is a rule 8 sanction I don't know what is !
 
Steve
I am disappointed - - - a Forney is not on my wish-list..........:bigsmile::bigsmile::rolf:
 
Hi Keith!!!!!!

Know what you are hinting at, Actually I quite like Forneys* if I numbered all those I have owned since they were first launched, these 2 would be numbers 6 & 7!

* dont ask me why but the Forney , the Alco diesel & the Uintah Mallet are prob my favourite LGB Locos.

No accounting for taste is there!!:clown::thinking::rolleyes:
 
stevelewis said:
Hi Keith!!!!!!

Know what you are hinting at, Actually I quite like Forneys* if I numbered all those I have owned since they were first launched, these 2 would be numbers 6 & 7!

* dont ask me why but the Forney , the Alco diesel & the Uintah Mallet are prob my favourite LGB Locos.

No accounting for taste is there!!:clown::thinking::rolleyes:
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Oh well, I can live in hope of something different.......:thumbup: :bigsmile:
 
Zman said:
KeithT said:
Oh well, I can live in hope
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8| I thought you lived in Sale! :laugh:
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Pay attention Pietro check my details under the avatar......:Looser:
 
i love the painted versions-   

but i also like the green with the brown cab

  clever shortening the domes -really does the trick-as do the little rusted jacks and weathered board for the bunker-makes it look great

i might just do the same and add some lighted classification lights  
 
you know i dont feel thethe chinese version are bad at all-
they are slightly lighter but they haul about the same

the biggest disappointment for me is the (over) efficiency of the motor
-the engine must be moving at a high rate before enough voltage reaches the headlight and smoke unit for full lighting and smoking effects

cant beat the price of the chinese versions
 
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