New OO gauge Class 73

[SRman]

On 24/04/2023 at 21:00, Geep7 said:

I've gone ahead and bought myself one of the new-run 73's (72120 in BR Blue) digitally fitted, but on first testing it, i've noticed that the cab light, once F4 is switched on, changes with direction, whereas the headcode panel lights, are switched on individually by F2 and F3. Nothing wrong with the model, and i'm presuming this has been done deliberately by Dapol, but it doesn't fit with everything else I own, where the headlights / headcode panels change with directions. So i'm wondering if this is something hard-wired into the PCB board, or something I could change in the CV's via DecoderPro, so that the headcodes change with direction, and the cab lights by F2 and F3?

See also andyman7's response on how the headcodes may be used in real life, but if you do want to make them directional, you could reprogram them to work only when travelling in one direction, like the cab lights do. If you have JMRI Decoder Pro on a computer you can attach to your programming track that makes it a lot easier using checkboxes to tick or untick for the relevant functions.

[adb968008]

Maybe one for Dapol.. 73119 just emerged from repaint in Dutch livery, currently at Tonbridge.

 

https://twitter.com/simonoffen88/status/1665802461385302022?s=61&t=myvjOdkP5U8pGerflSkmaA
 

 

[meatloaf]

Picked up a DCC fitted 73 136 in intercity in the hattons sale. Thankifully it runs well.

 

Havent had a 73 before, does it have tail lights or is it just the red blind?

[IRC]

1 hour ago, meatloaf said:

Picked up a DCC fitted 73 136 in intercity in the hattons sale. Thankifully it runs well.

 

Havent had a 73 before, does it have tail lights or is it just the red blind?

No, no tail lights. 

[PieGuyRob]

1 hour ago, meatloaf said:

Picked up a DCC fitted 73 136 in intercity in the hattons sale. Thankifully it runs well.

 

Havent had a 73 before, does it have tail lights or is it just the red blind?

Just the red blinds as per Southern Region/Railway operating practices.

[andyman7]

My son has just belatedly acquired an example of the Southern liveried 73 202. On fitting a coupling it shed a windscreen wiper (easily refitted) and the following detail part, the location of which eludes me. Does anyone know where this bit fits?:

[andyman7]

Found it - it's this little part to one side of the battery box. 

[Geep7]

Well, 8 years after I said I was happy with my Lima Class 73's, I now have 3 Dapol JB's (73/1's), 2 in the early Blue with small yellow panel, 1 of which with the grey stripe), and one of the latest batch, 73120 in blue with full yellow ends. To fit with my early 70's scheme i've re-numbered it to E6037, the future (or past depending on your point of view) 73130 City of Portsmouth. I've chosen this one, as I used to live in Portsmouth while studying at the Uni, so seemed appropriate. To backdate it, i've had to remove the data and shed allocation panels, and the electrification warning flashes (which I don't think the 73's received until the mid-70's. I really need to add new data panels, but I don't have any to hand, so need to get some ordered from either Railtec or Fox.

 

 

 

I was hoping to add the 8-pin LokSound v4 sound chip I have in one of my Lima 73's using a 21-pin to 8-pin converter board, but unfortunately in the 2 older Dapol 73's (from first or second batch) there are 2 resistors/diodes blocking the 8-pin socket. Sadly, it won't fit in the newer issue either, due to there just not being enough room to place the decoder and the large speaker. So it looks like i'll have to get a newer 21-Pin decoder with sound for the Dapol 73's, and get the 8-Pin one re-blown. My Heljan Hymek could do with sound, but i'm not sure if that will have enough room.... Maybe sound in one of my EMU's?

[meatloaf]

Fitted a Hornby 21 pin TXS decoder to mine and it runs and sounds really good. With the power bank theres no stuttering at all. Really pleased with it :)

[TRAILRAGE]

Well it would be rude not to when its £99 at Rails! Also bought a Body to fit a Non Powered Lima Chassis for My Little Boy.

 

 

Going to use the Railtech Transfers for these two but want to remove branding without damaging the Paint. Its been said that T-Cut works Best but as there's different types which one should I get to use?

 

Cheers Trailrage.

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by TRAILRAGE

[TRAILRAGE]

Here's a couple of shots of my Boys Dapol/Lima Hybrid. Currently using the Original Lima Cab Mouldings painted up. As and When I can get a Hornby Motor for it I will look at possibly fitting the Dapol Cabs back in.

 

 

 

The Chassis had a slot at each end behind the Can Interior to Clear the Dapol Door Glazing Also still fitted with the  original Lima Couplings until I can get some More Heljan NEM Tension locks to screw to the Bogies or a Modified Kadee Buckeye.

 

 

 

Weighs are self adhesive Car Wheel weights that I've had for years with a Little Lump of Steel on Top.

 

 

Cheers Trailrage

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by TRAILRAGE
Added Text

[33212]

Hello, I've scanned through the 90 pages but just want to check if there is a list of the latest Dapol class 73 releases with the running issues resolved i.e. second batch? I have a first batch loco that stops on every set of points, will get round to fitting a stay alive at some point, just want to add a couple to the fleet but want to avoid poor runners. I have a load of Limby class 73's but these barely pull themselves up my Helix let alone a train of coaches, so looking to upgrade the fleet. 

 

thanks in advance

 

Matt

[letterspider]

Such a list would also be useful for identifying the running numbers which suffered from livery issues

[andythenorth]

1 hour ago, 33212 said:

Hello, I've scanned through the 90 pages but just want to check if there is a list of the latest Dapol class 73 releases with the running issues resolved i.e. second batch?

I don't have a list, but I have 2 of the latest ones per (at time of writing) https://www.Dapol.co.uk/collections/br-class-73

• 73 120 BR Blue
• 73 136 Intercity Executive

Both worked perfectly out of the box. 

 

I had (and no longer have) a first batch Civil Engineers Dutch one which had the known issues (stuttering, stalling, sluggish performance), and didn't improve with running in or cleaning away excess grease.  It also had the 'Dapol Lemon Yellow' issue with the paint.

 

Both of the second batch ones are excellent in my view, at a good price. 

 

Wish-listing is bad, but I'm hoping they do a further batch with Intercity Swallow, NSE, and a more accurately coloured Dutch livery.  Or plain grey.

[NickL2008]

On 27/09/2023 at 22:48, TRAILRAGE said:

Well it would be rude not to when its £99 at Rails! Also bought a Body to fit a Non Powered Lima Chassis for My Little Boy.

 

 

Going to use the Railtech Transfers for these two but want to remove branding without damaging the Paint. Its been said that T-Cut works Best but as there's different types which one should I get to use?

 

Cheers Trailrage.

 

I use the red bottle T-cut to remove anything, as long as you dont rub too long, anything comes off fine off the Dapol model. I used T-cut on my NSE 73 to remove the overscale nameplates, and it worked a treat. Resisting the urge to get a 73202 at the moment as my 73109 needs a chassis!

 

NL

[SouthernMafia]

On 30/09/2023 at 11:01, 33212 said:

Hello, I've scanned through the 90 pages but just want to check if there is a list of the latest Dapol class 73 releases with the running issues resolved i.e. second batch? I have a first batch loco that stops on every set of points, will get round to fitting a stay alive at some point, just want to add a couple to the fleet but want to avoid poor runners. I have a load of Limby class 73's but these barely pull themselves up my Helix let alone a train of coaches, so looking to upgrade the fleet. 

 

thanks in advance

 

Matt

 

The poor running of the first batch has been well documented and is a result of a poor pickup method. If you're willing to do a bit of modelling, an excellent solution by Temeraire is available which solves this problem. I have carried out this 20 minute mod to all my early batch 73s and they all run superbly without the need for a stay alive.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/121752-Dapol-class-73-pick-up-modification/

[33212]

thanks all, have a new 73120 on the way and will try the repair method on the dodgy one, thank for your help,

 

Matt

[Denny]

On 27/09/2023 at 22:48, TRAILRAGE said:

Well it would be rude not to when its £99 at Rails! Also bought a Body to fit a Non Powered Lima Chassis for My Little Boy.

 

 

Going to use the Railtech Transfers for these two but want to remove branding without damaging the Paint. Its been said that T-Cut works Best but as there's different types which one should I get to use?

 

Cheers Trailrage.

 

 

I bought a 202 with the same intentions. I found that the numbers and Southern logo come off with just a cocktail stick followed by a quick wipe with IPA to remove any smudging. The Gatwick Express logo is a lot tougher and needs a quick dab with IPA to soften it. Don't go too heavy with the IPA, as soon as the tip of the cotton bud shows a hint of pink - you're good to go with the cocktail stick. 

 

Lovely model. I was tempted to buy two so I could create an unpowered GBRf sister loco. Hopefully a chassis pops up on eBay at some point. 

 

[PieGuyRob]

I'm wondering why they haven't done a second release of Network Southeast?

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, PieGuyRob said:

I'm wondering why they haven't done a second release of Network Southeast?

The bodies are generally available.. dcc supplies and peters spares.

 

https://www.petersspares.com/p/Dapol-115537-class-73-oo-gauge-body-73109

 

 

[RFS]

I've recently purchased a green E6002 via the recent Rails offer. Works very well but I'm having a problem with the lights. I've fitted a Lenz 21-pin decoder, and although the lights do work correctly they only do so intermittently. If I find the loco without its lights on, I've found just lightly pressing down on the loco turns them on. Sometimes they stay on and more often not.

 

At the same time I also purchased a blue E6012 from Hatton's and this does not have this problem.

 

Anyone else experienced this?

[Iskra]

Is there any explanation as to why we haven’t had a Caledonian Sleeper 73/9 yet? Seems a fairly obvious one now teal Mk3’s and Mk5’s exist?

[adb968008]

22 hours ago, Iskra said:

Is there any explanation as to why we haven’t had a Caledonian Sleeper 73/9 yet? Seems a fairly obvious one now teal Mk3’s and Mk5’s exist?

Mexican stand off is my guess.
 

But there is very little a 73/1 tooling can give to a 73/9, so its open season to whomever bags it..

 

 

There has been an EOI that stalled a few years ago.

 

last update was…Jan 2022 from kms..

 

Quote

We were hoping we could "let the cat out the bag" with a little more detail! However, while, as Fran says, the 73/9 is not going ahead with Accurascale, this is due to the number of projects on their horizon and not due to lack of interest in this model. 

 

Our aim is to give more details on our stand at Model Rail Scotland at the end of February (however this will now be a bit less of a surprise!). 

I have asked KMS a couple of times and was told “warley 2022”, then “MR Scotland 2023”, then “summer 2023”…

 

Ive never been told its off, indeed I got a good hint who the replacement is (kind of obvious if you join the dots).

 

However speculating maybe Covid has caused issues which could be behind any delay ? I was planning to ask again at Warley.

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by adb968008

[Phil Mc]

On 14/10/2023 at 16:31, RFS said:

I've recently purchased a green E6002 via the recent Rails offer. Works very well but I'm having a problem with the lights. I've fitted a Lenz 21-pin decoder, and although the lights do work correctly they only do so intermittently. If I find the loco without its lights on, I've found just lightly pressing down on the loco turns them on. Sometimes they stay on and more often not.

 

At the same time I also purchased a blue E6012 from Hatton's and this does not have this problem.

 

Anyone else experienced this?

IIRC, the power for the lights is transferred to the body from the chassis via 'plungers'.

Make sure the contact area of each part is clean.

 

Cheers,

Phil.

[RFS]

22 minutes ago, Phil Mc said:

IIRC, the power for the lights is transferred to the body from the chassis via 'plungers'.

Make sure the contact area of each part is clean.

 

Cheers,

Phil.

 

Have thoroughly checked that and all 4 plungers seem to be fine. When the problem occurs, all the lights - front/rear headocdes and cab lights - go on and off together so it looks like some sort of feed issue.  Will be talking to Rails in the morning. 

Edited October 15, 2023 by RFS