What battery locos you have got?

EvilBay, they are all pretty cr*p, and I am embarrassed to admit what they are, or put pictures up!
 
I have two of the Bachmann Big haulers (R/C) - did have a third but bashed it - plus a toy-like Zillertabahn (is that spelt correctly?) on R/C.

Also two railbuses and a tram loco I scratchbuilt.

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I've two steam-outline Playmobil R/C locos and two of their 4018 battery powered modern electric passenger trains. Bought from eBay and prices varied. One of the 4018s was most expensive at £75, but that came with full set of track and original box and in very good to mint condition.

Best buy, however, was a track-powered steam outline loco with two coaches, circle of track plus extra straights and one set of points, controller and original box (in poor condition) for £41. Runs like a dream for hours on end.
 
GRS Manning Wardle Exe. Built from kit. Lightlines panels and lining job. Brian Jones supplied Spectrum R/C RX, Mac 5 controller, 14v Srikealight 12xAA battery pack. Total cost £860. Coaches also built from GRS kits.
Max
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All of my locos started life as track powered. They are a mix of LGB, Bachmann and Aristocraft. None have the battery or R/C components housed within. Instead, I use trailing cars for that. I've removed any type of contact the motors once had with the rails. All of my locos are of the four wheel type, Stainz, Schoema, Kof, Davenport, Poerter, L'il Critter, etc.
 
Madman said:
All of my locos started life as track powered. They are a mix of LGB, Bachmann and Aristocraft. None have the battery or R/C components housed within. Instead, I use trailing cars for that. I've removed any type of contact the motors once had with the rails. All of my locos are of the four wheel type, Stainz, Schoema, Kof, Davenport, Poerter, L'il Critter, etc.
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This one is the same, the batteries and (Cliff Barker) receiver are in the first van (GRS Kerr Stuart body on an LGB Otto chassis).

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Disadvantages - Difficult to run round unless you have a turning triangle or resort to "hand from the sky" shunting.
Advantages - Once you've bought and installed the battery kit, converting future locos just takes a little time and fitting a suitable lead to plug into the van - current cost on ebay, 50P. :bigsmile:
 
It seems there is no reasonably priced of-the-shelf battery loco available!

I wonder whether manufacturers are not seeing this as a gap in the market and releasing such model to fulfill the gap.

Or they are worried that such battery loco will cannibalize their track power loco sales?
 
Mobi said:
It seems there is no reasonably priced of-the-shelf battery loco available!
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These guys do a couple and Kent Garden Railways have just re-issued their "Danny" diesel for £225 (manual control). Saw a Danny working last week and it's excellent for the money. I was going to buy one, but it doesn't come with insulated wheels.

http://andelmodels.co.uk/
 
I have a NQD 2-6-2 Harz steam loco which was brought for me as a present. When these were in the shops they were around £109.

The loco has a basic R/C control, a standard 7.2 volt battery pack, sound (which can be annoying and easily turned off) and lights.

Okay for a quick run when I haven't time to clean the track.

I also have a 0-4-0 LGB steam loco, a basic version of the 'Kleine Dicke' which I picked up cheap on Ebay. This has a simple forwards/stop/backwards switch under the right hand tank. It runs with 2 D cells and came with plastic track which I gave to a forum member and 2 short yellow wagons which I've painted brown and dumped in the PW yard with some HLW tipplers.

I used to run 'Dicke' whilst driving a track powered train in the opposite direction when I had single track and passing loops;
good fun!

Neither loco sees much use these days....
 
Double post; Mods please delete....
 
Mobi said:
But my point is that Playmobil is more like children's toys.
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They are indeed a toy rather than a scale model and this is reflected in the price.

(However, it is good basis for a bash or even a simple repaint as some on the forum here have done.)

A scale model of a 4 wheel shunting loco would be in the region of £300-400 from LGB or Piko.

G scale isn't a cheap hobby. I've mainly brought second hand in recent years for that very reason....
 
Mobi said:
But my point is that Playmobil is more like children's toys. It is unusual why proper model railway manufacturers are not bringing out such loco. If Playmobil can do it, surely it can't be that difficult?
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I think that many of the mass producers are of the opinion that battery power is still a bit of a niche market. you have to bear in mind that many garden railwayers like all the bells and whistles (and authentic sound, station announcements, smoke, working lights, working couplers etc., etc.) and that, while some of this is achievable with battery power, it's a lot easier and more convenient with track power (especially DCC).

I only started out in this hobby in 2006, but there was much less battery power then. The recent poll on this forum suggests that it's getting more popular all the time and with the advances being made in battery technology, maybe one of the big manufacturers might take the plunge at some time in the future? But they've probably invested too much time and money in other systems to do so right at this moment.
 
Given that nearly every new loco issued comes with a plug for a digital decoder I wonder if they may in future make provision for battery operation and make the locos switchable from track to battery as required. Okay, it is an added cost and not something everyone wants or needs but the technology and ability is there. Perhaps the manufacturers should look at the recent poll taken on this forum, and indeed read threads such as this, to see what the customer wants.
 
pugwash said:
Given that nearly every new loco issued comes with a plug for a digital decoder I wonder if they may in future make provision for battery operation and make the locos switchable from track to battery as required. Okay, it is an added cost and not something everyone wants or needs but the technology and ability is there. Perhaps the manufacturers should look at the recent poll taken on this forum, and indeed read threads such as this, to see what the customer wants.
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I seem to remember that that option is available with Accucraft's (USA) latest control system Pugs. Can't remember what it's called though? :confused::confused:
 
Gizzy said:
I have a NQD 2-6-2 Harz steam loco which was brought for me as a present. When these were in the shops they were around £109.

The loco has a basic R/C control, a standard 7.2 volt battery pack, sound (which can be annoying and easily turned off) and lights.

Okay for a quick run when I haven't time to clean the track.
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Yep, got one of those also. Bought one of the complete Christmas sets with loco two coaches and plastic track late last year from ebay (G Scale Online seller) for about £130. Just wanted the loco and coaches as something to run when I can't be bothered to clean the track. It's reasonably controllable as long as the transmitter batteries are fresh. I replaced the blue LED lights with warm white, and I've fitted a switch in the speaker wiring so I can leave the loco running in unattended mode (no transmitter required) without the rather annoying sound.

Seen a couple of the NQD locos on their own on ebay for around £150 over recent months, but I think that's more than they're worth.
 
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