SRman

Apologies if I am hijacking discussions again; I have recorded more of my Accurascale class 37s. This time all three have the Accurathrash speaker fitted, but all have different variations on the sound files. D6704 has the factory-fitted Accurascale sound for a 37/0, 37 026 has legomanbiffo West Highland 37/0 sound, and 37 602 has legomanbiffo WH 37/4 sound. There were a few anomalies during the recording, because I hadn't reallocated various functions on all of them to align them as I had done with the earlier three. Somehow I lost the inertia and momentum settings on 37 602, which were easy enough to restore, but a nuisance while I was recording and juggling the phone camera and Power Pro controller. I may possibly have accidentally hit the very annoying NCE 'Momentum' button that reprograms decoder CVs 3 and 4. I know a few NCE users actually put a bit of tape under that button to prevent just such accidents occurring. 🙄 Another irritant was the leading Bachmann nuclear flask FNA-C wagon suddenly decided it had to derail its leading bogie several times as it went around. Fortunately it rerailed itself each time. Incidentally, I noted 37 026 started to surge a bit, as reported by a few other people. I used the ESU auto-tune feature on CV54 to retune it, and that seems to have cured it for the moment. I will have to keep an eye on it, though. Anyway, I hope the video is satisfactory.

That's exactly how I have created a few lamp irons and the like in OO scale. It works, albeit, it can be a little tedious to do.

Beware comparing the later batches of HAPs to the 2 EPBs. As mentioned above, the earliest batch had the roof conduits, later ones did not. The Bachmann body shells are complete, including the correct roof details for the unit numbers they represent. As an aside, I have a nearly completed conversion of 2 x 2 EPBs to a 4 EPB, which does require me to remove almost all of the roof detail from all coaches.

I'm not sure on that one. I'll be interested in the answer as well.

Any suitable 21-pin ESU LokSound or LokPilot can be set up to work with the lighting functions on the Accurascale 37s and 92s (pantograph servos as well). I have one class 92 with just a LokPilot (no sound) and Accurascale's Patrick kindly sent me a file with all the CV settings that I could load into the LokPilot, saving me a lot of separate programming. Sound files are proprietary, though, so they might be able to send the lighting settings to a third party one, but not the sounds. Having said that, as I showed before, I have Legomanbiffo and Jamie Goodman sounds in some, and even the generic ESU Hi-Fi sounds and all of these work all of the the lighting functions. They haven't standardised which function keys do what, though, so I have spent a considerable amount of time remapping functions, using the LokProgrammer, to bring them into line with each other, particularly with double heading (in consists). Examples include setting tail lights off on F20, drive hold on F8, cab lights on F21 ... and so on.

I haven't noticed any difference in the gutter lines.

That's fine, because you were absolutely correct. 😊 I have watched various YouTube clips of cold starts on all sorts of locomotives, and some of them go for a lot longer than the models start up. I do like the compromise that Jamie Goodman adopted, though. It seems a good balance between absolute realism, and being tedious while waiting to be able to drive the model. Thanks for the compliment, too. 👍

My slightly early birthday present from Mrs SRman arrived today from Rails. She bought me the Deluxe Titfield Thunderbolt pack. I haven't added the figures to it yet, preferring to run it in a bit first. There is a tight spot in the running, which has freed up a bit but it needs some more running yet. It is still a smooth and powerful beast, in spite of its size. I did fit the folded chimney to the coach, though. It is a lovely model and a good bit of fun.

It can be done. The underframe details are slightly different due to the toilets on the HAP, but that's barely noticeable. If you number the HAP in the earlier series, the bogies will be correct (later ones had Commonwealth bogies). The lighting arrangement on the models is exactly the same. Depending on the livery, they may or may not match exactly. I did a blue and grey one and an NSE one using spare bodies from Bachmann, but the NSE blue is the light version on the EPB I used and the later dark version on the HAP body, so I'll have to repaint the blue one or the other. The blue and grey versions match fine, but I haven't tried a green one. Only one of the blue/grey units in the photo was bought as a 2 HAP, the others are converted as suggested. I didn't even change the seat units as one can barely see inside anyway, thanks to the small windows. I may add walls for the toilet compartments later, but I'm in no hurry to do that.

If it is a green or plain blue version, then not having corridor connections is more accurate, they were only fitted to the whole unit in their later lives. For the power bogie derailing problem, firstly check the wheel back to back measurements to make sure they are within the correct gauge (14.2 to 14.3 mm would be ideal). Also, check the free movement of the bogie to turn. The Lima bogies often get a bit stiff and jam in either the straight ahead or the turned positions. Finally (for me, anyway), check the traction tyres: if they are missing, the wheels will have a groove in the tread which can jam on the rail head, causing derailments. If they are missing, replace with equivalent spares, or use Bullfrog Snot, or simply fill the groove with something to level the wheel tread.

For those of us overseas who cannot get any paints sent from the UK, are there any suggestions for matching the colours available in the standard ranges, please?

The sugar cube is still in - the impedance is still the same with the ESU speaker. I think the Goodman sound file is very, very good, and didn't need the extra bass in the Accurathrash speaker, so, in my opinion, the ESU speaker suits it better. It matches the sound project. I have legomanbiffo sound as well and Accurascale's own sound with an Accurathrash speaker. Was the Accurathrash sound also from bif anyway? I will try to do a second video with these other sound and speaker combinations in due course. There's 37 602 and 37 026 , both with legomanbiffo sounds and Accurathrash speaker (the sound projects are different for original and refurbished 37s), and D6704 with Accurascale sounds and Accurathrash speaker. I will be changing at least one of the speakers to try it out.

True, with a few curious exceptions. Up until the 1970s/80s, Queensland Railways used vertical rails and flat wheel tread profiles making the wheels a cylinder with flanges rather than part of a cone with flanges. Riding the long distance trains in the 1970s was a very rough affair, especially where the track was not maintained well. I believe there were one or two other railways in the world like that as well. Why? I don't know but it seems rather odd in view of the rest of the world using the angled/canted rails and coned treads, and in light of their experiences over many decades. 🙄

The VEPs have two Mark 6 motor bogies under the Motor Brake Second in the middle of the train, with no third rail shoe gear. These are of a heavier construction and appearance than the B5(S) bogies under the rest of the coaches. The driving trailers have B5(S) bogies with collector gear on the outer bogies under the driving cabs. You'll find some information and photos on these two sites, but I couldn't see any photos of the bogies on either: https://sremg.org.uk/emu/class423.shtml and https://www.bloodandcustard.com/BR-4VEP.html . Edit: these articles may have some useful images and information: http://extra.southernelectric.org.uk/modelling/reviews/mod4rev_hornvep2.html and

A pussy cat greets a potential hotel guest. The hotel staff really need to sweep those steps!

The model is absolutely stunning. Your attention to detail is second to none. It is nice to see that you are human, too, seeing as your under-board wiring is almost as messy as mine! 😉

It can be too quiet!! I recorded this one at Doncaster in 1999. I have yet to find a sound project that includes this racket. 🤣🤣

That's great information and very informative. The middle one (37 609) does have a function to bypass the cold start (F15), but I rather like this one. Yes, it was probably recorded on a very cold day, but then I really should have dense clouds of exhaust smoke and the odd flash coming from the exhaust ports. 🤣 A lot of model timings have to be shortened. I was almost going to edit the video to skip some of the cold start, because too much of it would be boring for those watching the video.

Many of these Heljan diesels have drooping coupling mounts, even though they appear to be set at only slightly above the correct height to start with (ignoring the droop). This means that even without the droop, they didn't need the stepped couplings. I always replace the couplings with Bachmann straight versions (Hornby would do as well, but I prefer the Bachmann ones). The one class 33/1 that I have that doesn't have drooped couplings was the one I wanted for push-pull work with a Kernow 4 TC set. I had to bend the coupling mount down a bit to allow the Kadee couplings I fitted to meet up properly. That was the one instance where the droop would have been useful.

This video on YouTube was posted 6 hours ago (as at the time of posting this).

I decided to take some video footage comparing three of the sound and speaker combinations I have in Accurascale class 37s. Personally, I would rate the Jamie Goodman one as my favourite, but the others are good. All have their own different features and characteristics. I edited out the bit where I didn't have 37 608 on the track properly so it derailed as soon as it hit the points. I posted this link in my own layout thread and in the Accurascale Class 37 topic, so please pass on by if you've seen this already.

I decided to take some video footage comparing three of the sound and speaker combinations I have in Accurascale class 37s. Personally, I would rate the Jamie Goodman one as my favourite, but the others are good. All have their own different features and characteristics. I edited out the bit where I didn't have 37 608 on the track properly so it derailed as soon as it hit the points. I posted this link in my own layout thread as well, and will post it in the DCC sound video topic I started years ago, if I can find it again.

I decided to take some video footage comparing three of the sound and speaker combinations I have in Accurascale class 37s. Personally, I would rate the Jamie Goodman one as my favourite, but the others are good. All have their own different features and characteristics. I edited out the bit where I didn't have 37 608 on the track properly so it derailed as soon as it hit the points. This also means I edited out the swearing! 😁🤪

He's just big-boned!! 😉😉 😅

A couple of things from my workbench that are complete, or very nearly so. These Parkside wagons were started some time ago, and sat on the layout awaiting transfers. I added transfers last night, although I haven't put the tare weights on, matt varnished them today, and they now await some weathering. Eagle-eyed people might notice the missing buffer, which can be seen on the cutting mat nearby: I dropped it while varnishing it! Fortunately, the varnish dried very quickly, and nothing from the carpet stuck to it. Also on the workbench, but fairly quick job, are some 3D printed cats from West Hill Wagon Works. One lost most of its tail in transit, so I drilled a hole in its backside and stuck some brass wire into that. Suitable shaped, once painted you'd never know. I have done a black cat with a little white, a black and grey tabby cat, a ginger cat, and my favourite, a tortoiseshell and white female (or calico, as the Americans call it). Anyway, these are now ready to be cut from the trellis supports and planted on the layout. The reason 98% of torties and torty & white cats are female is the gene for black or ginger is on the X chromosome, so females can get both colours, males (XY) can only get one or the other. We own a tri-coloured male, so in theory he can't exist, but in reality, it means he's probably XXY. Additional info on tortie males: they occur as 1 in 3000, according to one source. I also found that with the tabby-like markings, cats like Sykes can be referred to as tortie-tabbies.