I have two on order. Should arrive on Monday. They are a bit more expensive than my average purchase. I was hesitant to pull the pin but did in the end.
Saw a bunch at my local train shop today........they looked nice, but didn't see any run. They were just unpacking them.....also a bunch of FVM transfer cabooses. I already had almost $200 in stuff waiting to be picked up so couldn't indulge.
The timing of the arrival for the Arnold/Hornby U25C was at a time where many of us are tapped-out of cash... or maxed-out on credit. After indulging in the FEF with the UP consist buffet... the 20-30% higher cost of an non-decoder equipped diesel may put-off a few purchases until February. There might be some consternation if they are short run and sold out before then. Ummm... how much are blood banks paying for a pint of blood??? Don't think I have enough in me to be fully drained to afford even ONE of them.
I held off until the last moment and ordered two from BLW, my other source for n-scale products was sold out before I even knew they had them!
Received one Arnold/Hornby GE U25C today. Installed a Digitrax DZ126IN DCC decoder, pretty simple install, unplug, plug in. Removing the shell requires one to remove the couplers, the couplers screws hold the shell onto the frame. Slow speed (1 on my digitrax throttle), was 4 smph without any adjustments, forward and reverse speeds were almost perfect. Great light board, separate leds for the headlight and number boards, the number boards are lighted all the time. Ran great with very little noise right out of the box. The only thing I didn't like was the traction ring, if I can purchase separate wheel sets they will be history.
I bought one CB&Q unit and liked it so much I ordered the second unit. I am over all very please with them. Detailed like an Intermountain model, runs like IM, Kato or Atals. I am hoping this is th e first of many offerings!
The number boards lights are on all the time and DCC just controls the headlight. Would be a cool project to modify the number board lights to turn on and off with DCC, one would need a DCC decoder with a extra function.
I received my two Conrail locos from BLW......WOW very nice detail and smooth operation. All in all I'm very pleased.....
Does anyone have any insider knowledge as to why Hornby elected to release their new U25C model under the "Arnold" label? Said model doesn't really have anything to do with the old Arnold-Rapido / Arnold-Rivarossi brands (acquired by Hornby circa 2004), but maybe they're banking on the fact that we N scalers are simply more familiar with the Arnold name than we are Hornby? Thanks, -Mark
I see that Hornby is selling their North American HO scale models under the "Rivarossi" brand, so maybe that's just how they're differentiating the two scales? (IE Rivarossi=HO and Arnold=N?) Cheers, -Mark
That's what I understand, Mark. Hornby International is using Rivarossi, Jouef, and Electrotren as the brands for HO, and Arnold as the brand for TT and N. Hornby is using Arnold (or Hornby Arnold) as the brand for its UK-N (1:148) 5-BEL Pullman set for the UK market. Adrian.
Got my L&N locomotives today. Running DC mode on DCC demonstrates that they do move but little else. I have two double crossovers and both locomotives short out going through one of them. They pass through the other without a problem. I looked at the wheel gauge and several of the axles were on the tight side. I spread them gently but that did not fix the issue. I will need to look more into this. Overall I like the level of detail. The MU hose connections and hand railing are quite fine. The L&N gray is very pale; sort of like sun bleached.
