On the right - my latest acquisition for the new layout, this will run on the shuttle loop in the smaller platform. Sadly HD never made any single car units but this Hornby version will be used as a demonstration that modern stock can be made to work. Current pickup is via a Marklin skate that just about fits underneath and current return is via all eight wheels.
And on the left - After almost two years, the VEP is repaired!
My previous attempts to repair ended up causing more problems than were resolved. In the end I snapped off the top of the motor housing and lost both power pickups from the motor bogie. Spares for these appear to be hard to source at the moment so when a scrap motor chassis appeared on the internet, I snapped it up. Thankfully the parts remaining on the scrap chassis were all the bits I needed to finally resurrect this thing!
Current draw initially was just under half an amp, quite high for modern stock. This settled down to about 0.3amps but still doesn't run anywhere near as nicely as the Bachmann multiple units. Quite a bit of rolling resistance is notable on the unpowered carriages and the rubber tyres make the motor bogie rise up when starting from standstill. I also had to remove the front and rear couplings to stop it from derailing on corners, I gather from some internet research that this has been a problem for other users. I'd love to run this in multiple with the CEP but I'll need a way to couple it and then I'll need to find a way to slow down the CEP to avoid wheel slippage.
Nice to finally see it in action, just needs a good clean up, it's covered in dust!
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