Large Scale Central

Yes, sometimes there are surprises

General Discussion
#1

Hi all, One of the RhB Forum members is repairing one of the LGB Porters. The motor apparently has a dead spot (broken commutator wires??), anyway he disassembled the Porter (it is only a year or so old). Much to his surprise he found that the motor is “Made in China” and not by Bühler, but by Mabuchi. Which must have been a disappointment considering how LGB always emphasizes that they use Bühler motors. :wink: :slight_smile: But it gets more interesting, since EPL/LGB/LGBoA like to toot their own horn in a big way I went looking for some indication of what they profess are their motors. And this is in their PDF which explains their “superior” technology in great detail

I added the copyright notice, wouldn’t want to create any misconceptions. I guess some of their advertising material is in need of updating. :wink: :slight_smile: Interestingly I can’t find the companion to this “morsel” in English, but that could have a lot to do with the stricter advertising requirements on this side of the Atlantic. BTW LGB refer to other mfgs motors by comparing them to lawn motor engines, whereas their own motors are compared to fuel-injected, high-powered engines. :wink: :slight_smile: Ahhh, but read for yourself, I found the English language “cousin” :wink:

Of course the copyright is the same as the other excerpt.

#2
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
One of the RhB Forum members is repairing one of the LGB Porters. The motor apparently has a dead spot (broken commutator wires??), anyway he disassembled the Porter (it is only a year or so old). Much to his surprise he found that the motor is "Made in China" and not by Bühler, but by Mabuchi. Which must have been a disappointment considering how LGB always emphasizes that they use Bühler motors. ;) :)
Maybe they mean Mabuchiler motors? 8) I seem to remember that Mabuchi wasn't/isn't a bad name, but perhaps it was in comparison with the Triang iron from my long-departed yout'.
#3

Having been inside of many locos in large scale, I am struggling to recall any with 3-pole motors.

Maybe Lionel?

Not Bachmann.
Not Aristo.
Not USA.

That’s akin to saying “RCS uses radio waves to control the trains, unlike others that use smoke signals”.

Or semaphores.

Or yelling.

Wonder who came up with that?

#4
TOC said:
Wonder who came up with that?
I don't know, but I have my suspicions. ;) :)

The last paragraph in the German text is quite different, looks like the BS (Big Stories) department worked on the English text.

I guess the unsuspecting consumer needs to inquire “What is really inside this engine??”! Of course one was well advised to do that already in regards to the multitude of decoders. What it says on the box hasn’t always proven to be correct. :wink:

#5
Chris Vernell said:
Maybe they mean Mabuchiler motors? 8) I seem to remember that Mabuchi wasn't/isn't a bad name, but perhaps it was in comparison with the Triang iron from my long-departed yout'.
Chris,

Mabuchi motors are OK, the surprise is that LGB tries to instill the believe that they use Bühler motors on LGB engines. Which obviously isn’t always the case.

BTW I checked the Bühler website to see what range they have in the different sizes and from what I read there, I’m reasonably sure that a suitable Bühler motor was/is within that range. To me it looks like one more corner being cut, with the consumer being none the wiser.

#6

Hans,
Is the LGB Porter you refer to actually the little 0-4-0 Saddle tanker from the Lehmann Toy Train line?
If so it has never had a Bühler motor since it was first made in Korea by the parent company of Hi-Tec.

#7

Tony,

Well, apparently it has a proper LGB number (22771) and it has a MTS decoder and all that other “good stuff”.

http://products.lgb.de/produkt.nsf/WebSucheIE/B0F7451D5D9F2584C1256AEF00543845?OpenDocument

Of course since they discontinued the ToyTrain line it is even harder to distinguish which is supposed to be what. I’ll find out from my friend what it says on the chassis. :wink: :slight_smile:

BTW from what I remember the ToyTrain line was produced at the plant in the Czech republic.

#8

The First Porters under the Lehmann Label were made in Korea

#9

Small print at the bottom…
“…products, specs, etc, can change without notice…”
I guess products would include motors.
jb

#10

I may be mistaken, but I believe that USAT and Aristo are using the Mabuchi motor. And I’ve never heard of one of the motors failing. Everything else seems to fall apart first.

As I stated above, LGB has to compete against USAT and Aristo in the US market. If they can obtain a motor for half the price and the quality is equal that helps bring them in line with their competitors.

Personally I like having more choices for my railroad.

Warren

#11
John Bouck said:
Small print at the bottom.. "...products, specs, etc, can change without notice...." I guess products would include motors. jb
John,

I read all that, too.

As a matter of fact on one of the German fora someone asked the question: Would you be able to advertise/promote that you use x-product in your goods and refer to the standard “disclaimer” in order to avoid complications when you really don’t use x-product.

Very good question!

I guess the old “caveat emptor” applies in every case ! :wink: :wink:

#12

Update:

The Porter in question has the following markings on the chassis:

92577 (that’s one of the ToyTrain part numbers)

Made in Germany

#13

…it will be a breakthrough when someone harnesses Squirrel power…or for narrow gauge, maybe Chipmunk power…

 In fact maybe going back to good old rubber bands might just be the answer.

Mike should know some people over on his island that are verey happy with good old wind up locos…they even operate with them…way ahead of us by years.

#14

Mike should know some people over on his island that are verey happy with good old wind up locos…they even operate with them…way ahead of us by years.

Yes, but the real breakthough came at the end…governors.

#15
Curmudgeon said:
Fr.Fred said:
Mike should know some people over on his island that are verey happy with good old wind up locos.....they even operate with them........way ahead of us by years.
Yes, but the real breakthough came at the end....governors.
Hi guys,

You know, it’s a long time since I had a wind up train, but the bit with the governors sounds interesting.
I can just see it; R/C operating an adjustable governor and the forward and reverse lever, only worry about the receiver battery. What a hoot!

One just would have to be careful that “things” aren’t wound too tight and the governor or the “governor” pops a screw or spring. :wink: :slight_smile:

OK guys, if you ever change to this scheme, you probably could claim the “the world’s most tightly wound operating session” title. :wink: :wink: :smiley:

#16

…a good supply of a fine Single Malt Whisky would solve most problems, no-mater what you use to propel the ruddy loco down the track…in fact I was involved in a bit of fun with a hand car just lately…enough bheer and a well lubricated hand car can create a nice operation…it helps if they let you put it on the track somewhere…we never did locate any track, so the operation was short and sweet…Mike would have approved…!!!

The next experiment is to mount an old pancake VW motor on a speeder trailer, with a bit of a prop on it’s output shaft…I guess you see where I’m going…we still need to find a better bheer supply, or at least a mile of track…!!!