 Joined: 26/11/2023(UTC) Posts: 32 Location: England, Stafford
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I have just purchased a used BR216/8 which is in good condition .
Mainly cream coloured body,with blue stripe .On the underside,in the middle of the frame is an arrow,moulded in .
I am wondering if this shows the preferred direction to run.Not seen this before on other 216/221 that I have.
Any ideas?
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Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC) Posts: 581 Location: England, Cambridge
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Originally Posted by: spinnerguy  I have just purchased a used BR216/8 which is in good condition .
Mainly cream coloured body,with blue stripe .On the underside,in the middle of the frame is an arrow,moulded in .
I am wondering if this shows the preferred direction to run.Not seen this before on other 216/221 that I have.
Any ideas? The bogies aren't interchangeable and I'm prtetty sure it's just an orientation indciation so you know which one goes where. There's no preferred direction of operation, though it's not uncommon for a loco (even a symettrical one like this) to run better in one diretion than another. Cheers Chris
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 1 user liked this useful post by Poor Skeleton
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 Joined: 04/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 3,555 Location: Paris, France
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Hi
Yes I fully agree with Chris: no preference in directions but swapping the bogies will result in the loco going in the opposite direction of all others (so better remember which one goes where).
Cheers
Jean |
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3 users liked this useful post by JohnjeanB
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 Joined: 26/07/2021(UTC) Posts: 635 Location: Sydney
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I have five 221 locos, all old ones, 3 pole motors. No arrow on the bottom of any of mine, but you do need to put the correct bogie at the right end or it will run in the opposite direction to all your other locos.
You can see a touch of wear from the electrical contact to the main chassis under good lighting. Which indicates the correct bogie at the right end.
But I have occasionally not paid enough attention & put the bogies at the wrong end.
P.S. The 221 is a fantastic loco, my favourite, very easy to add mass for increased pulling performance for longer trains. Get a few fishing lead weights & bash them to size & cut with scissors. A bit of nail varnish, tape etc if there is an electrical contact issue with the lead.
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2 users liked this useful post by Toosmall
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 Joined: 02/10/2013(UTC) Posts: 842 Location: West Texas
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Hello, hope all is well.
I always put my old locomotives on the track with the arrow pointing to the forward direction. Psychologically perhaps, I always believed and still think it is quieter and smoother to operate the locomotive in this direction. I guess it doesn’t hurt anything to continue with this habit. The newer locomotives are missing this arrow but seem to operate in one direction better than the other.
I like the BR 221 also, because they work so well, but I haven’t thought about adding weight. From the factory, the wheels and weight must be in just the right location and are better than a BR 110/111, when I expected them to be the same.
Take good care
Zme
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Joined: 26/03/2023(UTC) Posts: 13 Location: England
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This arrow is only important on electrics. It must point to the right if you want to run it from the pantographs. It's so that the rail common to both controllers connects to the correct side of the locomotive. Get it wrong and there's no circuit.
I always assumed that this arrow on the bottom of a 216 diesel must be there because of some shared tooling in the factory.
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2 users liked this useful post by Wheelflat
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Joined: 02/10/2013(UTC) Posts: 842 Location: West Texas
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Hello everyone, hope you are well.
I believe we are all going to have different opinions about this arrow, each of us thinking ours is the best. That’s okay. Model railroading allows us to create worlds different and as individual as we are. Different opinions are a good thing.
I just turned over my Ludmilla Br 232. Relatively new casting, no pantos, new motor and a unique model. It has a big arrow built up on the bottom. What a surprise. Why go to all that trouble.
Oh well, we might never know the answer to this mystery, but don’t linger on it to much.
Take good care.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Zme
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Joined: 09/10/2015(UTC) Posts: 581 Location: England, Cambridge
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Originally Posted by: Zme Hello everyone, hope you are well.
I just turned over my Ludmilla Br 232. Relatively new casting, no pantos, new motor and a unique model. It has a big arrow built up on the bottom. What a surprise. Why go to all that trouble.
Have a good weekend everyone.
The body and chassis of the Ludmilla aren't symettrical, so maybe something to do with that? Yes! Have a great weekend! Chris
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1 user liked this useful post by Poor Skeleton
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