Tsugawa CDK DeKi 3

[Nick_Burman]

Hi all,

 

One of my favorite Japanese railways is the Choshi Dendetsu. Having said that, I became interested in the Tsugawa DeKi 3 electric loco, however in another post I noticed that one member reported that the loco is a poor runner. Could somene comment more on this loco? Is it worth purchasing (at US$60.00+ it's expensive for its size!)

 

Cheers NB

[andreas]

Hi Nick

 

I got this little engine, it looks great, but it does not run well. Obviously contact is a problem with only 4 axles and so close together, stalling happens frequently. Also if you have not laid your track perfectly smooth, it tends to jump easily off the track at moderate speed, because it is very light. I have not run it in yet, so cannot say much about the details of running it, but slow speed "out of the box" is nearly impossible, once it starts moving it speeds off, guess with more than its actual top speed. This might however improve once I run it in.

 

All this sounds negative now, but: I like this little thing and have no regrets. It looks great and even if just sitting in a siding is a looker.

 

Andreas

[Kabutoni]

Huch! I noticed this topic just now!

 

I was probably the one saying it was a poor runner, as I've read these things on a few blogs. It's a pity, but what would you expect from such a model... Small, short-wheelbase and light. I wanted to buy one or two as switchers, but as it seems, this model isn't even suited for some continuous running, let alone switching action. Besides that, it looks really great, but that's just about it.

 

Toni

[David]

Huch! I noticed this topic just now!

 

I was probably the one saying it was a poor runner, as I've read these things on a few blogs. It's a pity, but what would you expect from such a model... Small, short-wheelbase and light. I wanted to buy one or two as switchers, but as it seems, this model isn't even suited for some continuous running, let alone switching action. Besides that, it looks really great, but that's just about it.

 

Toni

 

I was also let down by this one, I had hoped to buy it along with the overprice 2 axel passenger cars from the same company (buy the black one to pull freight, and get the red one and matching pair of passenger cars for a passenger service on a tiny branch line).

 

The Bachmann MDT Plymouth, also sold as the Kawai Type C (in a pack with 2 Japanese freight cars) is a great little switcher, especially for the price. You can buy the Bachmann version (4 paint jobs, 2 are generic) for about $20 from MBK. It can't crawl like an Atlas but it can go slow, and it now comes with both knuckle and rapido couplers. It also has the right, if not more pulling power for a prototype of its size (it's mostly metal, you need a milling machine or a lot of patience with a metal saw if you want to install a z scale decoder). It needs to be run in, but once it is the pickup is great, even through most switches. Just don't take it apart - the 3 axel design seems to be borrowed from an N steam engine, and getting it back together right can be difficult, resulting in poor pickup from the misaligned wheels.

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks all for the replies. World Kougei did the same loco in brass some time ago, it was a g.e.m. but I wonder how it ran?

 

I have a B'mann Plymouth, it is indeed a very good lokey for its price. Mine is in yellow...and will stay like that for the forseeable future, I rather buy the Kawai set and get a "nipponified" loco without having to resort to the airbrush... since I want a electric dinkey, I'll take the new Kato Pocket Line loco, I know it is a good runner (I had one of the old ones), and for the price of one Tsugawa DeKi you can get three Katos...

 

 

Cheers NB