NHY 581

Of which, I'm quite surprised at the price of the M7, 30244. £193+ ? And the time it's taken to get new versions of the H class to market ? In one case 5 years ! Rob

Aren't they always ?

Potentially post of the month !

Morning Steve, I think the P will be taken up. It's a good model and one for which demand remains high. It is therefore an attractive product to acquire and I'm sure that if not already ongoing, conversations will be had. In the same category are the Genesis coaches. We just need to be patient and see how it all pans out. In the meantime, we will undoubtedly see prices spiral. P classes in the Wainwright livery are currently on ebay for £170 and four packs of Genesis coaches are easily exceeding £200-£250. With no attempt at smugness, I'm glad I bought mine when I did but I do currently have pre- orders in on several P class and a number of Genesis coaches, mainly a few GER to theoretically accompany the Accurascale S22 0.6.0Ts on order. It's rather pointless speculating about if or when these items will appear. They either will or won't and frankly, I've got more than enough to be going on with. On the subject of on going things, I have some track to lay............. Rob.

Well, you were lucky then as I am aware of a number of people for whom their 14xx were simply dogs. At least one simply binned the chassis on theirs and replaced with an etched alternative to obtain the running they required. Hattons supplied me with six in an attempt to provide two that were good enough to put in front of the paying public as part of an exhibition layout. By mutual agreement, we gave up but not before someone from Hattons informed me it was my layout rather than their products, a layout where every other loco ran perfectly well. It is in effect the world's first disposable locomotive. The motor is within a mazak weight in the body. Both weight and motor remain in the body when the chassis is removed. Once the motor goes, bin. Add in the unnecessary gears between the axles with the accompanying ridiculous amount of slop in the coupling rods ( which means that the rods rarely if ever sit parallel when the loco halts) and you have a very ill conceived chassis. Oh, and the ash pan is completely missing from the locomotive. This was a loco that could have been churned out for years in various guises, a real money spinner. Hattons did one batch. When it came to announcing further batches of their in house locos in 2023 (for 2024 release ) they chose the P and the Andrew Barclay. Why, because they worked. If the 14xx was okay, we could have seen 1401 being released last year to coincide with the Titfield releases from Rapido. 500 of those would have flown out. We didn't. There's your confirmation. The locos are flawed and not fit for purpose and not fit for further production until the chassis is relaced or extensively modified. Rob.

The difference is that the P class needs nothing doing. The design is sound. The 14xx on the other hand needs a new chassis. It's rubbish so a new owner needs to take that into account.

If I remember correctly, these weren't due until April/June'24. Therein may lie the answer. Rob

I'm currently tinkering with 37001. It's fitted with an ESU decoder ( non-sound) supplied by Accurascale and all the slide switches are as per specification for when loco is fitted with ESU decoder. I cannot get the lights to work, markerlights, headcodes, cab lights etc. Decoder seems okay. Swapping to a Dapol Imperium decoder and marker lights and headcodes will both illuminate in the direction of travel but no marker lights are showing to the rear. Anyone had these or similar issues ? I've trawled through but see nothing matching this on the thread. Rob

Morning Ian, Exactly the case for methough we have some very accomplished track builders frequenting this thread. All I would say is that the PECO Streamline track on my layouts has been mistaken on a few occasions by "knowledgeable types" for EM gauge. Carefully painting and ballasting is key to this subterfuge. Time spent on what is my least favourite aspect ( ballasting) really does pay dividends.......and worth the time spent if only to annoy the nasal toned, hair shirt wearing, narrow minded "finescale experts" who look down their pipes at 00. Fortunately, I rarely come into contact with these intolerant sorts. Rob

Morning all. Plan is to pick up the plain track today to get things going this evening. Hopefully I can at least get the track cut to length and laid out by tomorrow evening. I need to look into the fiddle yard side of things. This is all about keeping things small, simple and as cost effective as possible so I'll be using as many "in stock" items as I can........ Rob

Hi Don. All noted but the 'point' ( no pun intended) of this latest build is to encourage and to demonstrate to fellow members that a layout that will provide fun and entertainment can be built from readily available components and arguably finished in a very short time. I'll go so far as to say that this layout will be pretty much finished to an acceptable standard by the end of January. Rob.

Hi Paul, Jersey did indeed go oop North. From The B4 Dock Tanks by Peter Cooper. Rob

Afternoon Ian, Yes, I'm not very good at planning, designing etc. I cope better in 3D using the actual components. I have a thought, source the bits and then throw them about until it looks about right. Not quite there with this just yet but pretty happy with the track layout. I'll know for sure in a day or so when I should have the plain track and it's cut to length, possibly wired up as well.

I had those earlier. I put it down to yesterday's bean stew.

Indeed. This little side project is really a generic shunty, non company specific, predominantly pre-grouping plank thing. The B4s do look at home and currently, I don't have a layout on which they look comfortable........and engines like to look comfortable. Rob

Morning all, A touch of frustration this morning as I want to get on with the quick build that currently isn't thanks to my own ineptitude... Remember, this is nothing fancy. As per Sheep Lane, it will be able to be popped on a table and played with. It's just a layout to be enjoyed and proof that it doesn't have to be a grandiose scheme to provide fun and relaxation.........and the build doesn't have to drag on. Stay tuned. Rob

Morning Nick et al. Here are a couple more buffer stop images from Mutton that I couldn't find before. Rob.

Here you go........loose straight track dropped about the place ( I forget to pick up some matching flexi track ). When I come to lay the track ( if I'd remembered said yard lengths, I'd have done it tomorrow......curses ! ) it won't all be straight. Rob

Evening all, Steve, tgere are no Y points on the plan. The two long points are two medium radius points I had knocking about. I've now obtained replacement small radius points so all points are small radius L or R. Photo follow. Rob.

Given to whom you're responding to John, that's a harsh response. Tim, as well you know, is an accomplished modeller. Rob

I’m looking forward to playing with one these when they arrive. Thanks to @St Enodoc‘s earlier post regarding cab heights etc, I have an idea now of how small a hole these will fit through. However, can’t beat a mock up using the actual loco and said hole. It comes to something when the potential constraints placed upon dimensions are dictated by the corners of a five plank wagon as opposed to the loco itself ! The pluggy buffer beam thing is an inevitable compromise and one which I can live with. Dapol have the same issue with their Hawthorn 0.4.0ST. Rob

Great minds, Old Boy. The Devil seems to have found work for at least two pairs of idle hands........

Morning John. Sorry, I’ve no idea what that is. If I have created one of those it’s a coincidence. I’ve simply reworked my own Sheep Lane as seen here under construction back in 2016.... I’ve added a point, changed a couple from right to left hand and altered the point of entry. Rob

As it happens........a diversionary side project is being mused upon this evening.......Take one surplus LACK shelf.......a return to Sheep Lane ? Rob

I have two layouts. One DC and the other, most recently built one, DCC. The latter was built initially as DC but after helping to operate a DCC layout at a show, I wanted to give it a go and bought a NCE power cab. Basic but did everything I wanted. I then converted the new layout to DCC. When I say converted, I simply installed the DCC panel and attached the same wires previously coming from the DC controller. Ten minutes tops. I’m about to start a new layout. It will be DCC from the outset. DCC is as complicated as you want to make it. I keep it simple and still benefit from using sound equipped locos and obtaining the degree of slow running that I want. The more tekkie types can indulge themselves in infinite DCC rabbit holes. Leave them to it and don’t, as it appears you have been, be influenced or put off by it all. The fun you get from locos such as a noisy Accurascale Class 37 just cannot be had from a DC set up. My noisy D6703 is intended for a bigger East Anglian project than I can currently accomodate. This will eventually be built using DCC and I’ll be adding sound to all the locos. I repeat, DCC is as complicated as you want to make it. At a basic level, there is no more effort involved in using it than DC and even at this level, it opens up a whole new world to playing with trains. Rob