SRman

Class 111 - Rolls Royce engined Met-Cam unit, mechanically very similar to the 110 in the foreground.

LBSCR H1 Atlantic 'La France' on a Pullman train. P_20181227_175301_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20181227_175301_vHDR_OnBW by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

True. Bear in mind that what you see on a monitor with digital images (or scanned photos too) depends on the monitor settings as well.

Hi John. I have done this on a rolling road, but ideally it should be done with some rolling resistance so the decoder can get a measure of how the locomotive behaves, therefore on the track is better and more likely to give useful results. It does sometimes take more than one go to get the best results. If you do it on the programming track, you would still do it using Programming on the Main, or if necessary, programmed in programming mode, then switched to normal mode to select F1. This technique works for ESU version 4 and 5 decoders, for both LokPilot and LokSound types.

I finally got around to converting a Fleischmann BR 89 0-6-0T locomotve to DCC. This was the locomotive I originally intended for use with the Christmas train. I used an ESU LokPilot v5 Micro decoder, which has enough power handling for this locomotive and fits neatly into the notch at the top of the pancake motor between the motor housing and the metal plate that houses the rear light bulb. I had replaced the motor front plate with a fully isolated one to make the conversion easier. I have not wired the lights at this stage as I have to be careful with the live chassis, but the front light is still wired directly to the track (through the right-hand pickups and return through the chassis). This means that at present, the front lights are permanently on while the rear ones are not operational at all. I will rewire them eventually, maybe even substituting some 5mm LEDs to reduce the potential power strain on the decoder. I also found a solution for replacing the Fleischmann couplings and setting the replacement Kadees at a perfect height for coupling to adjacent vehicles - those Oxford Diecast self-tapping securing screws are very useful for a lot of things. Eventually I want to put the continental loop type couplers, but don't have any suitable ones at present. Using the Kadees means that the adjacent vehicle has to have an NEM pocket so I can just plug in a Kadee (#20 used here). One final thing regarding the running qualities. The BR 89 ran nicely straight off, but tended to jerk on starting. I used the ESU self-tuning facility to good effect. Programming on the main, set CV 54 to 0, then select function 1. The locomotive takes off rapidly for a couple of feet while the decoder sets its parameters. After that, it runs very smoothly and controllably indeed, with only a little 'cogging' evident at speed step 1 (more a characteristic caused by the motor type and gearing). Also on the workbench is the commencement of ideas on the remaining green coach. I'm not sure if my artistic abilities are up to what I have in mind, but this is a start. There is a little more to do yet. Sorry about the surrounding clutter. P_20200726_095621_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200726_095709_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200726_095512_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who does things like that!

The assumption is that we are talking 12V motors. If you use motors with lower voltage ratings then yes they will need other variations on the wiring. That might include wiring in series, limiting the top voltage supplied by the decoder, or adding resistors, or combinations of those things.

My Hornby Stephenson's Rocket train arrived today from Kernow Model Railway Centre. A quick test on DC showed it to be a bit of a rocket, but it worked fine. Then I set about finding a decoder for it. A DCC Concepts 6-pin wired harness decoder was tried and worked fine, but would not fit into the barrel. A rethink was in order. I had a Bachmann direct plug in 36-568 decoder (actually a rebadged Zimo) and I know these work rather nicely in other installations. This decoder has rather long and soft pins, so having tested it and established it worked nicely in Rocket, I very carefully bent the pins over into a 'U' shape, using a metal ruler and a flat file to keep the pins straight and parallel. This allowed me to plug it so it sat straight over the Hornby socket and pcb, becoming so compact that not only did it all fit back into the barrel, I was able to stow the blanking plug in there too so it doesn't get lost. The first two photos hopefully show this more clearly than my words can. I know the tender is off the rails as I was trying to get a better angle for the decoder view. The third photo shows the whole train in service, after a lot of cursing while trying to couple it all up without accidentally uncoupling the previous vehicle at the same time. Shaky hands didn't help! I have made no attempt to make it a scene from Stephenson's time, with much more modern stuff in view. I hope this may help anyone who has had difficulty with selecting a suitable decoder for their 'Rocket'. It opens up the field a bit. One other observation with mine: the stiff wires between loco and tender have a tendency to lift the leading tender wheels off the track. I'll have to see if I can come up with a reliable fix for that. P_20200722_133733_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200722_133810_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200722_141053_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

My Hornby Stephenson's Rocket train arrived today. A quick test on DC showed it to be a bit of a rocket, but it worked fine. Then I set about finding a decoder for it. A DCC Cncepts 6-pin wired harbness decoder was tried and worked fine, but would not fit into the barrel. A rethink was in order. I had a Bachmann direct plug in 36-568 decoder (actually a rebadged Zimo) and I know these work rather nicely in other installations. This decoder has rather long and soft pins, so having tested it and established it worked nicely in Rocket, I very carefully bent the pins over into a 'U' shape, using a metal ruler and a flat file to keep the pins straight and parallel. This allowed me to plug it so it sat straight over the Hornby socket and pcb, becoming so compact that not only did it all fit back into the barrel, I was able to stow the blanking plug in there too so it doesn't get lost. The first two photos hopefully show this more clearly than my words can. I know the tender is off the rails as I was trying to get a better angle for the decoder view. The third photo shows the whole train in service, after a lot of cursing while trying to couple it all up without accidentally uncoupling the previous vehicle at the same time. Shaky hands didn't help! One other observation with mine: the stiff wires between loco and tender have a tendency to lift the leading tender wheels off the track. I'll have to see if I can come up with a reliable fix for that. P_20200722_133733_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200722_133810_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200722_141053_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I based my R Parker model on a real one in yellow with white roof. Parker cars plus Anbrico bus 03 cropped 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr I also seem to recall there were two different Anglia estate styles, with one being rarer and described as an Italian version. I think the latter still had only two doors (plus tailgate) and single piece rear side windows and a shallower slope to the rear window/tailgate, but my memory could be faulty. I cannot find any photos to back this up though. there was also a Friary estate version, but that was extremely rare and not the one I am thinking of.

Parallel.

I get seasick even on calm days when they cross the heads there.

Some video of a running session this morning, with a bit of a mixture of stock and eras. The upper level ones were all items that have not had much running, so were set running for quite a while continuously, and I thought I may as well do a bit of filming as well. There are four main running lines on Newton Broadway, two lower level (London Underground lines), and two upper level main lines, with storage loops on both levels. I had five trains running reliable on both levels. Usually when I pull the camera out and start videoing, Murphy's Laws kick in and something will come off the rails somewhere or start playing up. None of that occurred here. The Heljan DSB IC3 has had my usual modifications applied as per the other two of these units I have and runs perfectly reliably now through any of the points and reverse curves. The Hornby Peckett B2 has not had a great deal of running apart form an initial running-in session. It was put to work on the 'just for fun' Christmas train consisting of mostly older German vehicles. This train is not exactly light. I tried a Dapol B4 0-4-0T on it and it just sat there spinning its wheels. The Peckett and the Heljan 1366 pannier (not shown here) both romp away with this train. Following behind the Christmas train is a New South Wales Government Railways double deck interurban set, known as a V set. This is an Auscision model and is not quite as sophisticated as its price would suggest. I had replaced half of the longer Kadee couplings with shorter ones to close the inter-car gaps a bit, so each has one long and one short coupling. Two short couplings foul on the tightest curves and crossovers. On the lower level, underground trains from two different eras are seen, with ex-Metropolitan Railways 1920 Bo-Bo electric loco No. 8 'Sherlock Holmes' in 1960s condition on some Farish coaches, and the latest standard 'surface' stock, the S Stock, providing a contrast.

I ordered a 4-car 508 on 15th May that has not yet arrived here in Australia. However, the mails have been all over the place for transit times, so I am not yet worried. Only today I received a model from a Danish retailer ordered in June, but some other items from retailers and eBay sellers from earlier have not arrived yet,

It depends on the types of motors involved. There are quite a few decoders that can take up to 2 amps peak loads, and there is usually a fair amount of room inside these locos to fit physically larger decoders. As an example, I have a twin motored Triang-Hornby Hymek, with the original heavy metal motor bogies. they are wired together and have one TCS T1 decoder hard-wired to both, with no problems to report. In fact, it runs very nicely, very smooth but a bit noisier than Heljans models. These motors are not noted for low power consumption! I have also used TCS T1 decoders in several London Underground trains, two of which are white metal kits with five cars each, and a third train is all resin kits, also of five cars. All of these use two Black Beetle motor bogies wired together with the aforementioned TCS decoders, one decoder per pair of Black Beetles. There are better quality decoders available than the TCS ones, although they are actually quite good anyway, but the likes of Lenz, Zimo and ESU have in-built overload protection, where TCS has their 'goof-proof' warranty (even if you blow up a decoder through your own carelessness or stupidity - the latter was one in my case on another model!). For the lighting, LEDs use a lot less power than incandescant bulbs. Check the power output limit specifications for whatever decoders you favour.

Hi Peter. 1. Llanbourne's scenery and track are superb, whether finished or not. 2. Railway modelling is whatever you want it to be. If it is detailing locomotives then that's part of your enjoyment. 3. Your stock is also superbly detailed and weathered. 4. What's the hurry to finish anything?

Most likely old information. They may originally have been scheduled to use 21-pin interfaces, but PLuX is the newer and more versatile interface, with the 22-pin version having the most options for independent lighting controls (and possibly other functions as well).

I also have a LokProgrammer, and the sound on my ME came straight from the ESU online libraries. The construction of the Hobby Trade ME is very similar to British Heljan locomotives, and initially I had problems with the pickups, with only some contacting the wheels properly. Like all of the Heljan locos I have, a few tweaks to those pickups so all of them were in contact with the wheels at all times greatly assisted running without interruptions to the sound. I posted a video on YouTube a while ago to demonstrate the ME in action. If you are interested, it is here. With apologies if I am hijacking your topic a little.

I wouldn't label the EWS livery as a failure. They did adapt it a bit to suit different loco designs. I do have a criticism, though: it seems to me that there was a bit too much maroon, particularly on upper surfaces (roofs and hood tops) where dirt is known to accumulate and washing plants don't reach. My thoughts would have been to add grey or black roofs/top surfaces, although that would have complicated the painting process a little. Have a look at the unique EWS liveried class 31 and 33 locos, then picture them with (maybe) a dark grey roof treatment.

There was a report that a boatload of Victorian refugees was seen off the coast of Indonesia.

I have only just caught up with your very interesting layout, Neil. I haven't read all of the middle pages yet, but will enjoy filling in the gaps soon. I have only recently (since 2018) been dabbling with a bit of European stuff but running on my British practice layout. I am running a few German, Swiss, Danish and Swedish trains, although I am a bit of a novice with their histories so am probably mixing a few eras/Epochs up a bit. What are the McK locomotives like for quality and running properties? I have pre-ordered an McK DSB IC3 unit, which I am hoping will be a bit more sophisticated than the Heljan offerings, although I have come up with an effective fix for their indifferent abilities to stay on the rails. Other brands I have at present are Piko, Roco, Fleischmann, and Hobby Trade (DSB ME diesel). I'm also interested in the sounds and you have a really good variety there. The majority of mine are British (steam, diesel and electric), but I did lash out and buy a LokSound for the ME diesel and have a DB BR 232 sound decoder on the way (I haven't figured out where the speaker will go yet). Love your work, and sorry I haven't cottoned on to your topic earlier.

As mentioned above, class 20 and also the class 67. I can't think of any other British Lima ones off-hand, but some of their European models also had central can motors.

30 mph was unheard of in its day! A very early HST.

They work with a push button 'push to make' type. The push buttons are included with the signals, but you could substitute other momentary contact switches. WIth DCC, it may be possible to set up a pulse to trigger the signal mechanism, but I have not tried this, nor have I worked out the nuts and bolts of it.

If you are referring to cab interiors, then certain types are available separately, but I'm not sure about the class 30/31 specifically. Class 73 cabs are certainly available and fairly compact so could be made to fit. The Lima 30/31 has a ringfield motor bogie at one end only. Likewise the Hornby RailRoad model based on the Lima one (with 5-pole motor instead).