ACCURASCALE CLASS 37 ISSUES at Chadwick Model Railway | 212.

I have spent thousands with accurascale. Five locos and 100 wagons and coaches. The detail and look of them are without a doubt the best out here. But the quality control and drivability is appalling. One of my 37 dcc chips didn’t even work and took 3 months for a replacement. Both 37s come off the track like yours. All three 55’s sit unused due to being too fragile and not able to negotiate anything but perfect track(all 50 of my non accurascale locos are fine). You’re correct the back to back of the wheels they have been all over the shop. I had a whole batch of wagons that were all way out, Accurascale told me it was bad batch. I really hope they pay attention and sort these quality issues out, we don’t buy these just to look at, we need to run these on our layouts too!

I'm pleased to report that Accurascale have immediately volunteered to replace Lance's decoder Free of Charge. Thanks guys.

Hi Charlie glad the problems are being sorted. From my days of running a retail business I would say that Hattons were legally obliged to fix the class 37, but as the loco had been modified they would not be required to give a refund. Your friend Lance asked for a refund, what Hattons should have replied was 'sorry no, but we will fix it for you...' I think. Looking at the bigger picture it appears that Accurascale should do a recall and sort out the issues with a decoder's if it is proved that their design is at fault. Personally I'm glad I run mainly Lima, no problems, dead cheap, no detail bits to break all the time and you can fix them simply all day long... (lol)

My 37 also derailed due to a rocking bogie. However, I inserted two 1cm x 1cm 2mm thick foam squares at the rear of each bogie (one behind the other), and the problem was solved. The foam (bought from a local craft and hobby shop) has a sticky backing which enabled me to fix it to the underside of the main body. It provides a cushioned surface which allows the bogie to move over any undulations in the track, while considerably reducing the rocking motion. I ran the loco with a couple of coaches at full power round a simple oval on Peco Code 100 track with 2nd radius curves and it performed beautifully.

This is where a channel like yours earns its money. These are expensive toys and should have no issues at least for the first 3 years. It should be not needed to put pressure on the manufacturer to replace the parts that malfunction . Quality service is what makes a brand great.

Well done, Charlie! It is sometimes necessary for one to stand up and call out manufacturers/vendors which do not take care of their customers. We spend precious specie for these items, and ofttimes the product is substandard. Your video will help them remember where their bread is buttered. Thanks for your courage and candor!

Hello Charlie! I have never commented on your page here before, although I have been an ardent follower for sometime now, watching with fascination your work on getting the 2 helix set ups going, doing your wiring, the DCC bits and bobs and so on. I must commend you on your delivery style, so easy and fun to watch and listen to! I am in Canada, so taking a decision to obtain one of the newly released locos for OO for my layout, which is DCC, involves taking the chance that should something not work, the process of sending it back for repairs or replacement is daunting to say the least! While I would still promote using a local dealer here that stocks this kit, some of the new stuff does not arrive on these shores soon enough to satisfy some of us British Railway modelers! I was sincerely considering putting my good money down and getting one of these Class 37s from Accurascale, but now will wait to see what happens. I am also very fond of the Class 37 and have quite a few on my layout, incl one from Bachmann with a Loksound V5 decoder, and very nice it is, runs superbly! Thanks for your videos and information, this is what makes this hobby so much more interesting! Happy New Year to you!

Very enjoyable Charlie. Thank you for all your efforts in getting newbies like myself into the hobby.

Hi Charlie Happy New Year to you and your family , glad your problem has been resolved

I''m currently building my sons layout and will keep this in mind as he was very lucky to be able to get a Accurascale Class 37 for Christmas. I hope Lance gets his fixed or figure out a way to compensate him for something that isnt his fault or in his control. Thank you for your great videos. Edit: Ive just seen Lance has been offered a solution! Great news!

Thanks for highlighting this issue Charlie and Lance and what was needed to fix it. Great to hear Accurascale stepped up to the mark. Your analysis of symptoms helps us all if we have problems. Not sure Hattons come out of this looking top notch, which is a shame

Great informative video, as a newbie to the hobby it helps us to see future problems that may occur.

Hi Charlie, Happy New Year🍾. It’s a lovely looking model , glad you seem to have got to the bottom of the various problems you and Lance have been experiencing. I’ve got an old Lima 37 in green and although it lacks the fine detail of the more modern class 37’s it’s absolutely bomb proof.

Something to keep in mind for interest and useful to know., since I have never seen it mentioned in railway modelling. In a longbase wheelset of more than two axles the back to back should not be the same. Prototype railways or railroads worked this out in the 1870s as locomotives got bigger. In general the inner axles should have a smaller back to back distance. It is easy to see why by drawing an arc of two rails and drawing a rectangle over it at various points. American Steam Locomotives: Design and Development, 1880-1960 mentions the topic.

Awesome, Charlie. I'm happy to hear that accurascale are stepping up to the footplate and sorting out Lance Class 37. WELL DONE ACCURASCALE, that's 1st class customer service. Big shout goes out to all involved. Hattons are a complete letdown in this case Charlie, and if I remember correctly, this is the 2nd loco you have done in your videos about a Hattons locomotive purchase.

Great video Chas yet again , I'll look forward to the result of the case of Accurascale and the faulty engine

Very clearly explained Charlie!! Thanks for the effort! Cheers Onno.

Happy New Year, Charlie. An extremely useful and salutary video. My two Accurascale 37s are both non-sound DC versions. While I’ve not run them in yet, thanks to other issues with my layout at present, I fear some of my track work might suffer from the vertical curve misalignment issue. So, very many thanks for explaining that as something to watch out for. These technical ‘root cause troubleshooting’ videos are extremely useful for all of us, I’m sure.

Hi Charlie. I have suffered problems with my Accurascale class 37 as well. Problems with going round bends and derailing and motor issues, it has been back for repair 3 times at Accurascale. I have had enough and got a refund. Replaced it with a Bachmann model with no problems at all. My model was a DCC ready version.

Thank you so much for this video, Charlie, you probably summed up all the issues with this loco! I returned my Class 37 'Loch Lomond' to AS twice and am now a happy Bachmann version owner (heavily reduced below AS) with no issues at all... Had an annoying two months with the 37 (and the 55 before, so I cancelled the 50). First I thought the 'tentakles' (sanding pipes) were causing derailments on your loco, but the slomo showed it wasn't. CV adjustment were necessary on the Class 55 to get it work properly, wonder why they deviate from the standard dettings so much. Anyway, happy new year and thanks for this video (and your patience) again.