LNER J27 Review - Oxford Rail 00 Gauge
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- A review of the new LNER J27 from Oxford Rail in 00 Gauge.
It's been out a few months now but technically this is still a relatively new release, today I'm taking a close up look at the brand new J27 0-6-0 tender engine from Oxford Rail in the LNER plain black livery.
This charming little engine comes with a refreshing price tag that makes it one of the cheapest locos I've reviewed this year but does that mean corners have been cut or will I be pleasantly surprised? Watch to the end to find out...
Timestamps:
00:00 - Overview & Close-Ups
04:10 - Test Run
06:26 - Running Session
Thanks for watching!
Great to have you back with your reviews! Hope you enjoyed having a bit of a break!
Thanks Harry! I certainly did but also got a few more videos in the bank too so hopefully uploads should be fairly regular for the next few months. Thanks for watching 😃
Nice review mate for 86 pounds 50 that is not a bad model at all. I would go as far as to say that it is a bargin considering the RRP is 109 pounds 95 your getting a good model. Great loco and a nice review too.- Nicholas.
Thanks Nicholas, yeah I agree. It's not perfect but considering the price you can get it from the retailers for, I definitely think it's easier to overlook the shortcomings and focus on the good things instead - of which there are plenty! Thanks for watching 😃
You and I are both a sucker for 0-6-0 tender. I'm wanting it with red lining. Just need to find a good place to get it in Australia.
It and my Bachmann j39 would look amazing together.
As always love what you do and love seeing the channel grow.
You have excellent taste then Gerard! 😉 The lined example does look gorgeous so I do hope you managed to get hold of one. Glad you're enjoying the videos and yes it's been really exciting to see the channel continue to grow even while I've been away. Thanks for watching 👍
Great review, although inexcusable that it didn't work out of the box. I love Oxford Rail's N7, and their newest batch of the dean goods has been pretty good. If you don't already, I highly recommend getting a N7.
Thanks William. I should make clear that it did run out of the box, but only the tender was picking up so it stalled quite frequently. Still not great though. Yeah I've heard good things about the N7's too, I might have to look into getting one! Thanks for watching 😃
Great review, and pretty spot on with what I though about the model. I got my BR early crest J27 a couple of weeks ago. No issues with the pickups on the loco, but ironically to the problems many seem to be having, I had to ease off the tender pickups away from the wheels, as they were so tight the wheels were binding. The tender is very light, so I'm hoping weighting it and adding some real coal on top will sort that, allowing the pickups to be given a more solid contact again.
Thanks Ian. Yeah with the tender being so light the pickups can cause the wheels to stick. I didn't notice it at the time but you can see it on my model when I'm running it towards the end. I agree that some extra weight in the tender hidden by some more realistic coal sounds like a good course of action. Thanks for watching 😃
As I'm modelling a Northumbrian coalfield branch, this will be an essential loco for my layout.
Awesome, it's always nice when a manufacturer makes a loco that's perfect for your layout! Thanks for watching 😃
Thanks for this review. My loco works without problems on the rolling road, but is hopeless on the tracks around the motive power depot (I use these as test tracks; other locos are fine). I will follow-up using your info about the pickups.
Oh no, sorry to hear that Simon! Hope you're able to get it running properly soon. Thanks for watching 😃
Its real a good loco one of the people at the railway club I go to got one and was showing me and I'm honestly really interested, I do hope these prices stay as, being a young modeller I cannot afford the majority of models out there
Hey Charlie, I'm absolutely with you there! I think it's a real stepping stone from those moving on from more basic/cheaper models to providing something more finely detailed but at a competitive price. It's more likely to keep younger modellers interested if they don't feel like they've been priced out of the market - which it's good for the hobby as a whole in my opinion. Thanks for watching 😃
Great Video of a lovely loco let's hope now Oxford Rail are owned by Hornby the QC doesn't drop. Many thanks
H
Thanks Harry. I certainly hope it doesn't drop anymore seeing as they're already having problems with QC! Thanks for watching 😃
Hi mate
These are great models ok the tender pick up need looking at some don't touch the wheels.
But well well worth the money
Looking forward to the j26 this year.
Keep safe arp
Hi Adi! Thankfully I didn't need adjust the tender pickups on mine, although I may add some extra weight to the tender in the future. But like you say, certainly a good model considering the price. Yes, the J26 will be another really interesting release, I'm curious to see how well it does. Thanks for watching 😃
Another good and honest review, since I don't really mind the J27 locomotives.
But hearing about the sloppy quality control and the manufacturers deliberately making it difficult to get a replacement has put me off from getting a J27 myself. Come to think of it, I've never had an Oxford Rail model, and what I've heard about their Adams Radial Tanks doesn't help matters. Plus OR are owned by Hornby now, which has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Yeah it's a shame really as Oxford are producing some great locos at really good prices - if they sort out the silly QC issues they really could give the hobby a good kick up the bum. I would be hesitant to boycott them completely though just because they're owned by Hornby now though. Thanks for watching 😃
I got the same one as this recently and I agree for the price (even though I could only find it for around 94/5) it's a cracking locomotive. Didn't have any issues with the pickups or wiring out of the box, just that a couple bits of the detailing had been knocked out/made loose from it being posted.
Personally, while I'm still not a fan of coreless motors and think a good 5-pole with a flywheel would be a lot better, it does run well so I'm happy with it.
Oh no, that's real shame that some of the detailing had come off yours. Oxford Rail do seem to make good models for decent prices but it's little things like this that let them down really.
I think coreless motors tend to be a lot better these days and the J27 does have a nice flywheel too which contributes to that nice running. Time will tell but the signs seem to be good so far. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy It is a shame, but I've had it happen with all manufacturers. There's not a lot that can be done when modern models have such fine and intricate bits of detailing and they're getting shipped through ships and vans, etc. Some models are bound to suffer worse than others with the knocks. So long as it's an easy fix, I'm not too bothered.
I do agree it does run really nicely, it's more with me prefering to use the old feedback controllers and having to buy non-feedback controllers to run them so I don't damage the motors in them.
Cheers
Recieved the DCC sound version a week ago. Like yourself I had to part dismantle the loco and tender to sort out the pick ups, one of which (on the loco) was bent up into loco, with a concern it may snap when re-aligning (but luckily didn't). A couple on the tender were not in contact with the wheels and had to be 'bent' accordingly to do so. Once re aligned the pick ups worked fine, but with one DDC related problem remaining. The sound works but is very quiet, will try and resolve on the settings, but more frustrating is that when changing direction, it glides perfectly to a stand but won't move in the new direction without an encouraging nudge. Once moving again it runs very smoothly. I'm hoping it is a running in issue. Lovely model in all other respects, once these disappointing issues are sorted out.
Hey Rob, that's a shame about the pickups - luckily I managed to escape bending any back into place on my example as it was the internal wiring that was the problem for me. The DCC issues sound weird though, maybe resetting the decoder would work but that might cause further unexpected problems. Hope you get it sorted soon and thanks for watching 😃
Great review mate and a lovely looking loco. My black lined L&NER version arrived this week. It looks fantastic and runs well - my only concern is how its coreless motor will continue to run with my feedback controller. I admire Oxford Rail for their quality and prices but have had mixed running experiences - Dean Goods - runs okay but a bit noisy, N7 - superb runner and lots of diecast, Adams radial - problems with the wheels contacting the rails (eventually solved) - so I'm hoping this one continues to run well. All of them are superbly detailed for the price though as are their wagons. Regarding your running problems that sounds like sharp practice by them and they should have just offered to replace their faulty product.
Ooh, fantastic. The lined ones do look good, if I didn't already have a J36 in that livery I think I might have gone for one of those too 😁 Yes the coreless motors of the past were a bit dodgy so it'll be interesting to see how these hold up overtime. My initial impression though is that these seem to perform much better, helped by the flywheel of course. Thanks for watching 👍
Great review, Oxford rail locos are good locos at the price, a bit annoying you had to do some maintenance on it, but overall a good loco
Thanks Adam, yeah I agree. It's a good price but having to practically dismantle the thing from new wasn't ideal. I was more annoyed by the way Oxford Rail handled the situation though which puts a little bit of a taint on what is generally a good model. Thanks for watching 😃
I got the LNER lined black and had similar issues with the pickups, thankfully running well now. I also went with the sound fitted version, unfortunately, the speaker they've used is horrendous, so I think an upgrade will be on the cards before long.
The lined black version does look great - I was almost tempted to get that to run alongside my Hornby J36! Good to know about the speaker though, it's a shame considering a decent one doesn't cost much at all but at least it should be fairly easy to swap out. Thanks for watching 😃
Might get one of these for myself. Hopefully mine won’t be broken out of the box
Awesome! Haha, yeah fingers crossed, it does seem to be a bit of a lottery! Thanks for watching 😃
Slow speed running on my model improved when I fitted a DCC chip
Interesting, they say fitting decoders shouldn't make a difference to how a loco runs but like you I've definitely found the same thing with some of my locos too! Thanks for watching 😃
Nice work there, That Model Railway Guy. Looks like a cracking model at the price. I've had a loco or two that failed out of the box, too, but it seems like you've come out of it well. One question I have is why such a small coal load? Period images I've seen usually show the coal overflowing up to the rails. I have the Digital Traction Fowler 4f which has the same issue, barely enough coal to get a fire started, let alone actually go somewhere. I've heard of a product for darkening metal parts, but can't remember what it is. Ordinary paint may just flake off.
I imagine the coal load is a bit of a compromise. It's not removable but as some people like to add more realistic coal themselves, the small moulded load means theres plenty of room to still do that.
Yes I think using paint on the wheels would be problematic in case it stopped the wheel picking up power. I believe there is a chemical that can be used to blacken metal but it's a bit beyond me so I'll probably just live with it. Thanks for watching 😃
Oxford produce some decent stuff, however now controlled by Hornby are we about to see big price increases for future releases ? Good review !
Yeah that's basically what I was touching on at the end of the video Michael. Hornby have said that they intend to keep the two brands separate but I imagine if Oxford are working on something that hasn't been announced that Hornby like the look of, they'll take it for their own range and set prices accordingly. Thanks for watching 😃
As an Spanish modeller I just can't help feeling envy of those prices :(
Yeah I can definitely appreciate that. The J27 is very much a outlier here in how cheap it is, but we do often complain about the price of our models (and the hobby in general) while forgetting that they don't come close to European and American prices. Thanks for watching 😃
I'm of the mind that Hornby will edge the prices of the Oxford line up just a bit so as to be a sort of mid-range option between Hornby Railroad and more upscale Hornby items. The bigger disappointment in my mind is the near certainty that we'll see more of the shifty business practices you experienced trying to get your model replaced. Sigh. Whatever the case, this was an excellent review. :)
Hey Phoebe, yeah I think you're probably right with that one, as much as I hate to admit it. Hornby certainly haven't made many friends with their recent antics and if that filters through to Oxford I can't really see there being any winners. Glad you enjoyed the video though, thanks for watching 😃
Aren’t Oxford now owned by Hornby? This might be the logic in them asking you to get a refund and purchase direct. So you will pay full RRP.
Hi Stewart, yeah as I mentioned in the video Hornby do indeed now own Oxford Rail. This all happened a month or two before that was announced though so I doubt things would have changed that quickly.
I suspect had I pushed them they would have sent a replacement to the retailer eventually, they just weren't making it easy 😂 Thanks for watching 👍
hi . looks good at first glance but i can see problems with the motors down the line [pun intended]. but for the price fair enough. perhaps hornby may use oxford as a bargain detail brand. cheers for the video tom.
Hi Tom, yes Oxford Rail do seem to have a bit of a reputation for dodgy motors but I have to say the one in the J27 seems to be a big improvement. Hopefully this is the start of a new chapter for them but who knows what will happen with Hornby taking over. Thanks for watching 😃
Hope it lasts longer then my two Deans goods . After a year now both are non runners. It would be nice if someone could do a video on how to find and replace the motors on these locos. The whole range from Oxford Rail suffers from poor motors and failures.
Hi Colin, the motor in the J27 does seem to be a lot better but only time will tell. I know there were lots of problems with the Dean Goods and Adams Radial but I didn't hear much about the N7 having motor issues. Hopefully Oxford Rail have learnt from their past mistakes and are improving things.
If I ever come across a non-working Dean Goods though I'll definitely look into making that video. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I agree the N7 is a excellent model. I have the grey version and even though it is very noisy it’s pulling power out strips every other model I have. However as cheap as they are I’m not prepared to buy anymore until a solution has been found . I have contacted Oxford rail asking if they can sell me replacement motors,but I’ve never received any answer. Who ever discovers an aliexpress supplier is going to make killing.
I've bought 2 J27's from 2 different retailers, in the L&NER livery, and they BOTH instantly short out my Hornby DCC controller if I put them on the track with the blanking plug in place - does anyone know why?
Hmm that's an interesting one. Running a DC loco on a DCC layout is a bit dodgy at the best of times (in my opinion) but I'm not sure why it would cause a short. Have you tried the locos on a DC layout to test that they work as they're intended - or additionally fitting a decoder instead of the blanking plug to confirm they work properly on DCC? Sorry I'm not able to offer more help but thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Yes - well they used to recommend a quick try on the analogue - channel 0 on the Hornby Select - just to see if there's any movement, before installing a decoder - that way, if it doesn't work, it's a decoder problem.
However, I've run analogue locos on DCC without any problem, even though not recommended.
My only thought was there's a capacitor soldered onto the blanking plug, which I assume is some sort of stay-alive - whatever, it could be making a difference - other than that I'm baffled.
I'll try it on someone else's DC layout if I can, and let you know what happens.
Thanks for the advice!s on DCC without any problem, even though it's not recommended.
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Just thought you might like to know the mystery has been solved - no thanks to Hornby or Oxford Rail!
It seems the capacitor soldered directly to the blanking plug is actually a suppressor, which, despite being somewhat superfluous, is wired in such a way that it will cause a short if even placed onto a DCC track - how were we supposed to know that?
She is beautiful I'm getting one soon
Hey Jack, that awesome. It's definitely a great looking model for the price! Thanks for watching 😃
I do wonder if Hornby will drop the Railroad range and use Oxford for those models instead, though Hornby is well known for its beginner train sets that use Railroad!? Only time will tell but if Oxford continue to produce stuff like this it'll surely be hard for Hornby to get rid of the brand.
Hey Michael, it's an interesting one and I could literally do a whole video talking about Hornby Railroad as it's a massive missed opportunity in my opinion 😂 For now they've said they intend to keep Oxford as a separate brand but who knows how that will end up further down the line.
I suspect what will happen is anything Oxford Rail is working on that hasn't been announced yet will move over to Hornby who will release it as part of their main range with a price tag to match. That's all speculation of course... I hope I'm wrong! Thanks for watching 😃