SRman

I did put a little weight on the front to no effect. There are springs over the rear bogie but they seem to be control springs rather than suspension so aren't pushing the weight forwards. The ccrew is very short but I tried loosening it slightly. Maybe stretching the springs will assist with the weight transfer a bit. Something like that has occurred to me but I haven't had the body off to check, yet. I wonder if the decoder wiring loom is catching. I'll pull the smokebox door off and ease the decoder out a bit and see if that makes a difference. I like that idea of looking in the dark. I remember the old Triang locomotives used to spark all the time - quite spectacular in the dark! I'll be giving that a try this evening. Thanks all for the suggestions. They will keep me going for a while.

I had a look and there is definitely some weight transfer, but that's not the whole story. If the weight is being lifted from the driving wheels, I would expect them to slip and spin. Ths does happen in reverse if I load it up. Forwards, it stutters and chatters but does not spin the wheels, although once I wind up the speed a bit, it will spin the drivers. It seems to be much weaker in the forward direction. I tried a few tweaks in Decoder Pro, particularly the BEMF settings and the dither and amplitude settings. There was no real improvement at all, so I returned it to the default settings. I'm not too worried if it won't pull the load smokebox leading, but knowing it can do it with ease bunker leading means I had to try to sort it. As it is, it will certainly manage two coaches, such as a pull-push set. I may have a good think about this and see what else I can come up with. Possibly the pickups need tweaking, and I will check the back-to-back settings before I let it go.

There have been models in wartime liveries - some even with the window anti-splinter mesh printed on. I'm sure I have seen a diorama or layout set in wartime London, but it was a fair while ago. It was possibly one of the Model Bus Federation member's work, but it is too long ago for me to be sure.

In this case, it is a coincidence as a couple of other locos with similar odd behaviour included a 4-6-0 and a Bo-Bo. As I have around 188 chipped locomotives and units, having three or four not being straightforward fit-it-and-run installations is not too bad a record.

I'll certainly be investigating the weight transfer aspects, especially since three of you have suggested it (with thanks, BTW). I cannot watch what happens in the tunnel but I will try a slightly different test to see if I can recreate the symptoms where I can closely observe it. I have also experienced odd behaviours in just a select few locomotives where they work well in one direction but not in the other. As an example, I have a Hornby M7 (one of three) that worked fine in reverse but proceeded in a series of leaps, jerks and stops in the forward direction. Turning off the BEMF on the TCS decoder fixed the problem. Something in the electrical feedback was upsetting it with one polarity but not the other. The other M7s were fine. There could be momentary shorts but I would expect them in both directions if that was the case.

30182 has been run in on the rolling road and ran perfectly. I fitted the TCS decoder with no problems - pin 1 is clearly marked on the socket, and the TCS diagram leaves no doubt as to which way the decoder is oriented. Address 182 was allocated and CV3 set to 25 and CV4 to 20, which gives nice inertia and momentum effects. I tested the loco around the layout light engine, through the crossovers and around the inner circuit in both forwards and reverse directions. No obvious binding was evident and it had no difficulties with my third and fourth rail. All good so far! I then placed 30182 on the short parcels train the S15 had been hauling - 5 four-wheel vans and a BR mark 1 BG. It was a little hesitant setting off with smokebox leading and eventually came to a halt in the tunnel on a curve. In reverse it had no problems at all bringing the same train out of the tunnel. I tried it bunker first and it romped away with the train. I had something of the same problem with one of my Bachmann E4 0-6-2 tanks not being able to pull the proverbial skin off a rice pudding on the default settings of its CT Elektronik decoder. It looks like I'll have to do a few tweaks to CVs, particularly with reference to BEMF settings (the coreless motor may even benefit from these being turned off completely) and also the pulse width. Methinks a session on Decoder Pro may assist with this,as I'll be able to save settings that work and recall them if necessary. More on this later, after I have had time to tinker.

That would most likely be the Hornby 58' rebuilt ex-LSWR stock, detailed here: http://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/news/the-engine-shed/stop-press-ex-lswr-48-maunsell-rebuilt-58-coaches/ p.s. My 30182 arrived a few minutes ago. I have pulled it out of the packaging and it looks superb. I'll be running it in on the rollers shortly, then, if successful, I'll fit a TCS EUN651 decoder.

In the case of buses, not only did the grey make them less conspicuous, it was also a case of many colours were simply not available; factories and workshops had to make do with what was given to them. London Transport also received many buses painted in various shades of brown. Brown roofs became the order of the day for wartime, rather than the considerably more conspicuous silver that was a part of the livery before the war. Returning to the railways, wartime exigencies meant that even where colours were used, they were sometimes of inferior quality. The Southern found that some batches of green paint very quickly went 'sour' in daily use, with one at least M7 turning an almost khaki colour (it was green, honest guv!), whereas earlier batches could continue to be revarnished and remain serviceable. Of course, during the later part of the war, many locomotives ended up in black, or in the case of the Merchant Navy class, started life in black.

Here's a pair that could never have been seen together in this form in real life! Both are models I have been working on recently (see more in my workbench blog), with a little more work still being required on both. The Maunsell diesel-electric shunter, 15203, still needs the four lifting loops on the top engine cover, plus a little more work on the rear cab stripes and a few more spots to fill and file. I did sit the body down on the chassis more, but it shifted slightly before the photos. Once the work is finished on it, I will do something about fixing the body and chassis more securely. The 08, D3272, was a complete repaint and had sound fitted, plus some replacement bits and now merely requires a handrail to be fixed up and a couple of very minor paint retouches, before some weathering can be applied. I know I didn't quite get the numbers straight on one side of this locomotive, and while this did happen in real life, it doesn't look quite right on my model. I was more careful with the Maunsell numbering and used some masking tape to set a level under the transfers. The two types did work together during the 1950s and early 1960s, but as the three Maunsell shunters were all withdrawn from service in 1964, they would not have been seen with BR blue class 08s - the blue came in at the earliest in 1966. Edit: Ooops! I just spotted the lump of black-tack holding the ladder while the glue set. I forgot to remove it for the photos.

A fresh coat of paint, some numbers and crests from HMRS pressfix transfers, removal of those raised lips on the engine cover (before the paint was applied!), and a further effort to straighten and align the bonnet handrails have resulted in these two pics.

The handrails were given a quick coat of black paint to tone them down. Eventually, all the bonnet-side ones will be in green to match the rest of the paintwork. Close-up shots like this are extremely cruel, but show me what still needs doing, very clearly! Obvious things to do include straightening up those handrails a bit, so they are all in line, filling the keyhole slots in the buffer beams, somehow extending the footplate/running board at the front and widening the buffer beam to match, and fixing up the black and yellow stripes at the cab end, which are still a bit rough. Looking at the photos and comparing them to the real thing, those prominent ridges along the engine top cover also need to be filed down and eliminated - the real ones are almost unnoticeable. Still, overall I am quite pleased with the way it is coming along. Once all the body works have been completed, I can do something about sitting the body down properly on the chassis.

Some considerable time ago, I started work on a Maunsell 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunter, using a Golden Arrow Productions resin body kit and a slightly modified Bachmann class 08 chassis. It has been operational for a while, and painting and glazing is all but complete, apart from a few very minor touch-ups required, although without numbers or BR crests. This will be 15203 with late style crests when done. Today, I have added most of the handrails. A quick check of photos of the real thing showed that I have a couple of small handrails to add on the bonnet top, The door locking handles and the lamp irons are still to be added, but this still marks a good step forward. While drilling holes for the handrails, I decided to use short lengths of the handrail wire to reinforce the joints between the edges of the running boards and the plasticard extensions. These will be hidden with a little filler before repainting the sides. The resin steps have also been added but these are a little weak, so may require the same trick of using handrail wire to reinforce the joints. Eventually, I will have to scratchbuild the front steps out of plasticard.

Hi John. Assuming you mean the girder bridge section I posted with the circular columns, the columns are "placeholders" for if I do use any. If I do use columns at all, only the centre ones will be used as the ends will be supported on buttresses from the bridge piers on either side. At the moment, the centre columns are actually taking all of the weight while the end ones are steadying it to stop it tipping one way or the other. Even the main girders and deck were cobbled together from scrap balsa and leftover plate girder sections just to see if it would look right. As it stands, I don't mind the effect at all. If you were referring to the larger bridge in the S15 photos, I thought it needed the girder columns as a mid support for when looked at from the other side as that side's span is considerably longer than the one visible in the S15 photos. Peco code 100, painted, doesn't look too bad for the Underground tracks. I have not laid the third and fourth rails at this end yet, but from the camera's viewpoint for those photos it hardly shows. Once all that is done, I intend putting in all that lovely trackside cabling that LT liked. That will improve the London Underground atmosphere a bit, but it will also conceal the third and fourth rails from low camera angles anyway - so no one will notice whether I have done it or not!!

Oh well. Once Bittern, twice shy!!

A couple more attempts with the underbridge shots but hopefully without anachronisms this time. First off is the F Stock again, with CO/CP Stock in the platform behind. Now, the S Stock with a few non-Underground types in the background, including SouthWest Trains class 450 units, a First Great Western class 143, and an EWS class 66. Edit: p.s. That same passenger appears to have been waiting around 50 years for the right train!!

Encouraged by the success of that under-bridge photo of the F stock (but with anachronisms!), I have attempted to redo the shots with contemporary stock in each photo. First off is the F Stock again, with CO/CP Stock in the platform behind. Now, the S Stock with a few non-Underground types in the background, including SouthWest Trains class 450 units, a First Great Western class 143, and an EWS class 66.

Hi Doug. I did send the Laboratory coach around in vacuum mode. It picked up a few things but not the nut. I do intend to send a magnet around like I did once before, but if the Hornby nut is brass, that won't do anything! The double-flywheel motor arrangement and heavy traction weight mean that an S15 would probably suit your layout very well. I can just picture a Southern liveried example gliding around your layout ...

Absolutely right! I have just ordered one of the early crest mainland ones for myself. I had been holding off because of so many other things pre-ordered coming in, but I finally succumbed!! Less than an hour after placing the online order, I received several emails saying the order had been received, picked and posted. Them Kernow piskies certainly earn their living.

After testing mine on both inner and outer circuits, I can say that the modified draincocks and steps work well and there were no bogie derailments caused by the steps or pipes. However, after several circuits of a running session, it did derail on the outer circuit. When I picked the locomotive up off the track, the entire bogie dropped off! It had lost the retaining nut somewhere on the track, and since most of that is in tunnel, I don't hold too much hope of finding it again. I went and got a normal 8BA nut from my parts drawers, and, while it worked on the screw thread, it was too large for the recess cast into the bogie chassis. I had to file and grind each face of the nut down a bit until it fitted in the hole. Having got the assembly back together, I added a drop of superglue to make sure this nut doesn't go missing. The locomotive was placed back on the short parcels train it had been pulling and all was well again. I am sure Hornby could have supplied the correct nut if I had asked, but that would have taken weeks to get here, and my bodge has worked well enough to be a permanent fix.

Yes, that is the new S Stock. I should have moved it for the photo, to set the period. However, it now becomes a preservation scene with two historic specials running! Hidden behind the S Stock train is my CO/CP set, which would have been better for this particular setting. I might have to re-pose the photo and try again!

In view of the illustrious company here, I'm not sure if this is quite good enough, but here goes! 1920 London Transport F Stock pauses at Newton Broadway. A green 'Thumper' ticks over as it awaits its next duty on the high level behind.

That is interesting. Pure coincidence as the Dapol/Atlas vehicle is purely practical rather than aesthetic or representative of any real vehicle. The Hattons livery wasn't unattractive but it did stand out as not really belonging when running, whereas my pseudo BR/Derby livery does let it blend in a little better. That APT coach also appears to have yellow (or possibly orange) ends in the photo.

I have posted a couple of pictures of the F Stock in running condition (although still not fully finished) on my layout thread. All four cars are now in the same colour (LT train red). For Melbourne Cup Day, we have a public holiday here in Melbourne, so I have put in a little modelling time this morning, decorating a couple of items of stock. First up is the Hornby class 08 shunter that I repainted into BR blue a little while back. I have not heard any more from PH Designs regarding the etched steps (I transferred the money but nothing seems to have happened at the other end), but in the meantime, I found the plastic steps I had removed from the Bachmann 08 chassis I used under my SR 15203 shunter. With a small amount of trimming and drilling of holes, these are now attached to the Hornby chassis. I am still missing one shunter's handrail at the front but that will be easily replaced with a handrail knob and some wire. I then numbered it as D3272, which (so far) is the only 08 I have found pictures of on the Southern Region that seems to match the configuration of the model, although even now I'm not 100% sure it's right. I also replaced the single 'sugar cube' speaker (the last one I had in stock at the time) in this locomotive with a matched pair in parallel with a double mounting, from DC Kits. The sound from the Zimo decoder (Paul Chetter/Digitrains sounds) is much better now. For quite a while, I have owned a Dapol track cleaning car, which came from Hattons with their own branding on it in grey and white livery. I repainted into blue and grey, and arbitrarily assigned a DCC number to it (1074), which I kept forgetting. I have now given it a fictional Derby test livery with white edging to the grey (wider stripes than standard) and a red band below the waistline. It is now called Laboratory 26 and numbered RDB905090 (5090 for DCC purposes, lthough I could have used the '26' instead). I'm not sure what the real Lab 26 was, or what it was for, and it almost certainly wasn't RDB905090, which probably also exists, but since the whole shebang is fictional anyway, it gives an illusion of legitimacy to it! As this vehicle is sometimes propelled in front of a locomotive, I may add some wasp stripes to the ends at some time in the future. Transfers used were: Replica Railways rub-on type for the 08 cab side numbers, Fox Transfers for the red stripe, and RTC markings and identifications on the track cleaner, and Modelmaster for the white striping. Edit: I trimmed the excess red stripe off at the ends after the photos.

Hi Rick. I meant to call and put in an apology for today (Sunday). I'm still coughing a lot and don't want to spread the germs. Will have to catch up another time.

Putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, here is my attempt at fitting the front steps and draincock pipes. The pipes are cut short and cranked outwards, and the steps are also angled outwards. On an initial test, it just got around my tightest curves (approximately radius 3) without derailing the leading bogie. The cabside number does appear to slope slightly but I have seen such things before on the prototypes (but not very often!).