Thanks Tom for giving me some more choices for the setup.
Maybe better. Will try later.
Nev

Nev:

I got an e-mail that mine shipped today, so it looks like they still have a few. I ordered the one with the skirts as I thought that it looked cool. I know little about the BR01, what would be appropriate cars for it?

r/mark

Nev:

For once it is good to be in the US. Less than 7USD for shipping! Unfortunately I will be back in Europe when it arrives and will have to wait until I get back to give it a test run. Looks like these get shipped directly form PCM in Florida.

r/mark

Just found the Invoice $60 US Postage from Factory Direct Trains. Gets posted in Miami and delivery about 5-6 days.
Nev

Larry:

Sorry to hear about your problems. I ordered via their website and had no problems. Hopefully they will sort it out for you on Monday.

r/mark

Me too, no problems ordering from the web site (apart from my error mentioned above).

For both locos, the total price broke down as follows:
Authorized Amount: $312.00 USD
Shipping: $76.25 USD

I am happy
Have still to play [:p] [:p]

Macca

Larry. Looks like you have been unlucky but I was not sure whether to order this item or not and as any firm is only as good as their worst emlpoyee I will give them a miss.

Glad everybody else is OK though.

david

I arrived home from Europe to find that my BR01 had arrived. Unfortunately, it looks like the decoder is fried. I am unable to read anything from it with my Lokprogrammer and it does not respond to commands from ECoS. I am waiting on a call back as to how to get a replacement. Now I feel the pain of all others with defective ESU decoders.

r/mark

What IS the era of the loco?
Looks like III to me. I might buy one, at least the price is right.
Will it work in pure analog AC? (no sounds, I suppose)

Hendrik:

With a LS3.5 you can run it in analog mode. You can also program the decoder to have the lights and basic sounds operate in analog mode.

r/mark

Adrian,
A previous post by Nev along with an email from him:
Sleuth 11 for smoke generator.

Cheers
Tony

Thanks for the information Tony and Nev.. Now I need to go see Noel on Monday to check if he has one in stock..

Just ordered mine; Hope I have not waited too long. They do a beautiful job at BLI/Precision. I am sure you guys will help if I have trouble setting it up with my CS! Dave R

My replacement BR01 just arrived. It was sent with no expense to me (including return shipping), so I have to give these guys high marks for customer service. I did an initial test to make sure that the decoder was ok and will do more extensive testing tonight!

r/mark

Precision Craft Models. Mostly metal with plastic detail parts. The decoder is a LS3.5.

r/mark

Steven:

I can't do better than the 360 degree photos on the Factory Direct Trains website, so I won't try.

Of course I was disappointed that the first BR01 had a bad decoder, but that it really an ESU problem. This is a great model for $156. It runs smooth, looks good, and the sound is good. I have an ECoS, so I tested it in the DCC mode so that all twelve functions were available. The sound was too load out of the box, so I used my Lokprogrammer to reduce the volume as well as change the address to '01'.

For the price, I don't see how you can beat this model!

r/mark

SO What. Still Nice.....................

And it never will be, but it is definitely a nice engine for the $$$

Hello!

So far I only sent M* locomotives back to the factory. [:(]
Being not M* can have positive aspects, too.
(I admit: I'd be in trouble if I had to send my BR 01 back to the factory.)

The majority of my locos is M*, therefore my personal statistics aren't representive.
Many problems are decoder problems - and nowadays you get ESU if you buy M*, Roco, GFN, Mehano, Brawa, PCM, ...


Yeah, and you can hear that! The sounds are better and the motor is less noisy ... [}:)]

Hello,
I am brand new to this forum and new to this hobby. I purchased this loco after reading this forum. Thanks for all the information.
I received the loco promptly and followed instructions posted here. I programmed my MS with loco #39103 from the database. The loco works fine but the symbols are incorrect.
Light symbol = long whistle
Smoke symbol = sound on/off
Sound symbol = smoke (I think). I am unable to turn off the smoke generator. It seems always on. I have installed a seuthe 11. I am thinking the sound symbol is for the smoke generator but I am not sure (all other functions work fine although with interchanged symbols). I sent a message to Factory Direct Trains today.

I had a lot of trouble installing the generator. Even though there was voltage coming to the contacts, the smoke generator would not work. When I looked into the smoke stack, I could see a black wire obstructing the bottom contact. Finally, I pried open the bottom contact on the seuthe so that it is pointing downwards instead of sideways. Now it works but will not turn off. Any thoughts on this?

Here is my review on the loco
Pros:
1. Awesome detail
2. Great sound (too loud though. Unfortunately I cannot adjust the volume with my MS). I wish I could increase the duration of the brake squeal.
3. Quiet and smooth motor. Runs beautifully

Now the cons

1. Very flimsy. I am afraid to pick up the loco 'cos some of the detailed tubing comes off.
2. Very hard to open - I tried to open the loco to get the black wire out of the way of the smoke contact. It was a near impossible task and a lot of the detail came off (I was able to put them back with some difficulty)
3. Lights are not very realistic
4. It does not do well climbing up slopes. The articulation between the loco and tender (up/down motion) is nil. When the loco approaches an up slope, it just stops there with the wheels spinning. My other BR01.10 has no problems with this slope.
Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what is the solution?

Thanks. And thanks for all the great posts throughout this forum. I learnt a lot about this awesome hobby.

I agree with this comment... I need to play around with it to see what can be done.. I suspect that the pivoted platform between the loco and the tender may be the key..

Hmmmm, because I have several inclines on my layout, this may be a sticking point against me buying one of these locos. No point having one if it won't go over the bridge...

BTW, Welcome to the forum gachar001

I rechecked the coupling between the tender and loco. It seems to have sufficient up/down motion. The fact that the pick up shoe is installed on the bottom of the loco may be causing the poor performance climbing up hill. Not sure.