SRman

Southern Electric contrasts: Late 1960s plain (read 'dull') BR blue adorns 4 CEP unit 7119 as it passes by. It wasn't long before these main line units were painted in BR's blue and grey. This is a Bachmann model, limited edition from TMC, and is fitted with a Lenz Silver+ 21 decoder. P_20190726_213111_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Still in the late 1960s, the same 4 CEP passes the same location, this time with an MLV, 68004, trailing, also in plain BR blue. These units also quickly gained blue and grey. The MLV is also a Bachmann model fitted with a Lenz Silver+ 21 decoder. P_20190726_213521_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Zipping forwards in time, a recent colourful livery on a class 73/2 electro-diesel was this Southern green and white applied to 'Thunderbird' 73 202. This is a recent Dapol model, and has been fitted with one of their own Imperium decoders. The lighting works as it should on this model, unlike previous Dapol 73s. F0 turns the directional high-intensity headlights, F1 and F2 are the headcodes at each end, and F3 and F4 are the cab lights at each end. To get this latter working properly on DCC, I had to move the 3-position switch on the PCB to the centre position. P_20190726_210720_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

These were allocated TOPS class 30 but never lasted long enough with the Mirrlees engines to receive class 30 numbering. All were re-engined with English Electric engines to become class 31 under TOPS. I'll start the ball rolling. The first Triang R357 Brush type 2 appeared in 1962, as D5578 in all-over blue with eggshell coloured cab window surrounds - almost correct for the real D5578 which was in an experimental blue. Triang Blue Brush Type 2 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr In 1963 the green livery appeared, still with the R357 catalogue number, with small yellow ends, grey roof and off-white bands as D5572. The green version continued for several years, occasionally appearing with the number D5578. In 1965, a blue version appeared alongside the green one, with the catalogue numbers R357G (green) and R357B (blue). This blue one was again D5578 but bore no resemblance to the experimental livery this time, with blue replacing the green of the standard livery, still with white stripes and white roof, and small yellow panels. A few hybrid models have been reported with grey roofs and/or D5572 numbers. From this year onwards the brand became Triang/Hornby. Triang Blue Brush Type 2 - 4 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr In 1968 the BR blue with full yellow ends appeared, still with the number D5572, and BR 'arrows of indecision'. This was still under the catalogue number R357. Triang/Hornby continued the model with minor changes for many years, including returning to the lined green livery at times. One other oddity with the moulds was an Australian one pretending to be a New South Wales locomotive. This was catalogue number R307, and carried the number 42202 on its New South Wales Government Railways livery.

Actually my bad ... I should have said from Ashford through Tonbridge and on to Redhill, with the unfortunate deviation at Tonbridge to spoil it! If it wasn't for that deviation, it would have been around 28 miles, I think. But fair's fair, I did get it wrong there - I wasn't paying enough attention to the (in-)accuracy of my thoughts! p.s. I deserved that for taking us off-topic in the first place.

I would disagree with you there, Mike; the radiator slats look to be a distinctly different colour to the locomotive body, but very similar to the buffer beam colour.

I haven't read through every post in this topic, so apologies if I am saying something that has already been covered. Level, to me, means staying the same height above sea level. Curvature of the Earth is irrelevant, because the sea is also curved on its surface (ignoring waves and taking sea level as being properly defined). On a long, flat straight section one would see a 'crest' as the line follows the curvature of the Earth, but this would still be 'level' The train would not be climbing or descending any gradient. Going off-topic, but sort of related: I always think of the longest straight stretch in the U.K. as being from a bit past Ashford to just before Tonbridge. However, this may be straight but it is not level, so doesn't qualify here. It may be of interest though!

That's excellent service from Locomotion. Nice to hear there was a happy result.

Yes, these units have completely different mechanisms with different characteristics; for a start, the Bachmann 150s have quite a low top speed, unlike the Hornby 153s. I haven't matched my 153s to any of the 150s myself. It can be done, but will be fairly laborious, but once the first 153 and 150 are matched, you can save the settings and apply them to the other similar units, then fine-tune each of them after that. As I said, I haven't matched any of my 150s and 153s to each other, but I have done something similar with Hornby 4 VEP units to match Bachmann 4 CEP units. It took a while, with lots of to-ing and fro-ing, but I got there in the end. Once done, it remains set that way, so it is worth doing in the long term. To ease the process, I tend to use JMRI Decoder Pro software on my computer to program the speed curves when dealing with such different motor characteristics. p.s. In the case of multiple units, it is easier to deal with just the motorised vehicles when speed matching. Again, any fine-tuning can be done afterwards when they are loaded with their remaining carriages.

I work in a large high school in IT Support: we have had similar problems with Intel graphics driver support for Lenovo (student) and Acer (staff) laptops. I have found workarounds for the staff ones, but it is still not ideal. With your experience with the Dells, it looks like the computer manufacturers and Intel are not communicating with each other properly. The Acer issues I have date from mid-2018 and are still ongoing.

Parcels stock was categorised as Non-Passenger Carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS). As such, it is not considered to be freight stock at all, but more as passenger stock without passengers. A There is no reason whatsoever that the 4MT tanks could not be allocated to a parcels train, with the possible proviso of the distances involved, with a tank engine obviously having a smaller range than a tender locomotive.

Try unplugging then holding the on/off switch down for around 10 seconds (while still unplugged). Then plug it back in and try the switch normally.

I agree with you about the limited potential of the 74, but as to buying successful locos: Heljan seem to have made a killing selling models of the unsuccessful ones, like the classes 15, 16 and 17. Hatton's did fairly well with the class 14 (commissioned from Heljan), albeit with a few liveries not selling so well. You could also count the prototype diesels as being 'unsuccessful' in one sense, but Hejan once again came to fore with models of Lion, Falcon, Kestrel, and DP2. Arguably, Falcon was successful because BR bought it and soldiered on with it, and DP2 would have been counted as successful if it hadn't been written off in that nasty accident through no fault of its own (or of its crew), For some reason, we modellers seem to like models of the one-off and limited prototypes with small numbers, so much so that there are far more models of these running around than there were actual prototypes. With all that in mind, maybe the class 74 could be viable, maybe not. We are also a fickle lot!

Experimental printed concrete wall texture from Scalescenes on the Underground branch line, to replace the 'temporary' Hornby Skaledale brick walling. The shape of the top of the wall needs trimming, but I think I like the effect overall. At present, the printed paper walling has been stuck to some card and is just leaning in place - the slightest gust of wind will bring it crashing down on the train! P_20190713_210550_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20190713_210619_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I believe the Silver Fox one uses a Hornby class 90 chassis, which has the newer 5-pole motor bogie, no longer a ringfield (pancake) type.

Apologies if I am taking us off-topic here: the 153 vinyls take quite a bit of work to apply simply because of all those external rivets on the models (nothing wrong with ERG's overlays). Adam suggests using a hair dryer to heat the vinyl to get it to sit properly over the rivets and bumps and ridges in the sides, and that worked well for me, having done two of them (the blue and pink ones in the photo). Incidentally, these all have TCS decoders fitted. P_20180827_165000_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Hi: it was the Electra Rail ones. They can be a bit fiddly to apply, and I found that a bit of hand-finishing was also required. they still make the livery change much easier than trying to do the complex liveries oneself. In my case, it was considerably cheaper to buy two class 350/1 units while they were selling at reduced prices (less than £100, and being overseas, minus VAT on top of the reduced prices) than buying the 'proper' Bachmann class 450 when it came out. Then adding the £35 for the overlays still kept the overall price down to between half and two-thirds that of the 450. Going back to the BIL/HAL combinations, I did video some of them running (I also standardised on the Lenz Standard+ decoder for these units). This is actually quite an old vid, having been done 5 years ago. Newton Broadway has progressed considerably since I took this. The jerkiness is in the video, not the trains. or (at risk of boring everyone) this one from 2018: Specially for royaloak, the two class 350/450 conversions, before I had matched them, so there was a small amount of 'fight' between the units. The mismatch between the LokSound v3.5 and v4 was what prompted me to swap them so that both units ended up with v3.5 versions, supporting what I (and others) have suggested about using identical decoders to make the speed and behaviour matching that much easier. For the majority of my multiple units, I use Kadee couplings on the unit ends, which are much more rigid than the old tension-lock types, and actually seem to help with balancing the units' behaviours. I think the tension-locks can accentuate any 'hunting' between units, where the Kadees limit the slack.

I agree with Nigel's advice above. Take the time to sort them all out and match them as closely as possible. Having said that, I seem to have been lucky in that just about all of my similar units run well together without having had to tweak them. That's Hornby's 2 BIL and 2 HAL units, plus a resin 'Tin' HAL using Hornby 2 BIL chassis, 2 x Hornby 5 BEL units, and also Bachmann's 4 CEP and MLV units and 2 EPBs. The ones that have needed tweaking and careful matching have been the Hornby 4 VEP units, but with care I have even been able to mix those with the Bachmann units. Other units I have had no difficulties with matching were two Siemens units, two class 350s with vinyl overlays to make them into 450s both with LokSound v3.5 decoders. There is a third 450 unit but without sound - I have an ESU decoder in it to make matching easier. That's the major trick, using the same decoders wherever possible with units expected to run together. It is much easier to adjust them when they have the same control characteristics. I could also mention the class 150 and 153 units (Bachmann and Hornby, respectively), that can be run very successfully within their classes, but may eed a lot more work if I ever try to run them in mixed formations. I have happily run up to four units together (within the compatible groups) without them fighting each other - five in the case of the BILs and HALs.

The correct pronunciation of Maunsell is MANsell. Having said that, I still tend to say MORNsell, even though I know it is wrong.

Thanks for this, it answers one of my main questions. The original PCB didn't have any switches at all.

It's the opposite of a "leaning" cab light, which Dapol don't seem to have provided!! The nearest I have had to one of those was the upside down cab/marker lights on a Heljan Metropolitan Bo-Bo.

Here's the roof shot: 10201 with the four small circular ports, 10202 with the strips. For the hatches between the sets of exhaust ports, 10201 has 1-piece sections across the roof, while 10202 has them split down the middle. P_20190711_194112_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr I have to find that missing buffer for 10201 too. Probably in one of the storage drawers.

Also, please comment/review the lighting on DC and DCC if you can. Have they turned off the cab lights that were permanently on on the earlier releases? Like wirey33, I don't want to part with my money unless they have fixed the previous issues.

I assumed that's the way they came out originally, so now you have me intrigued. Anyway, here's a photo of the two roofs side by side: 10201 has the four small ports, 10202 has the strips, and also the roof hatches divided down the middle. P_20190711_194112_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Incidentally, I know there was a buffer missing from 10201. I have to check the storage drawers to see if it has ended up on the 'floor' somewhere.

Bulleid 10202 has arrived from Kernow Model Railway Centre at Newton Broadway, and after a suitable running-in spell on DC on the rollers, has had a Zimo MX638D decoder installed. I noted that on analogue DC, it gave a little lurch each time the controller was turned on, before accelerating smoothly from zero again. This occurred in both directions. With the Zimo decoder installed, it behaves perfectly. I programmed my usual settings into CVs 3 and 4 (values of 25 and 18, respectively). I like the differences on the roofs between 10201 and 10202, with the exhaust ports and roof hatches exhibiting the main ones. P_20190711_172027_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

10202 has arrived at Newton Broadway, and after a suitable running-in spell on DC on the rollers, has had a Zimo MX638D decoder installed. I noted that on analogue DC, it gave a little lurch each time the controller was turned on, before accelerating smoothly from zero again. This occurred in both directions. With the Zimo decoder installed, it behaves perfectly. I programmed my usual settings into CVs 3 and 4 (values of 25 and 18, respectively). I like the differences on the roofs between 10201 and 10202, with the exhaust ports and roof hatches exhibiting the main ones. P_20190711_172027_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

It may need a home-mixed colour, as some of the colours Wrenn used were rather suspect. I know a West Country loco I had in BR green was rather anaemic, That one got a complete repaint into a more correct green with finer lining and a rename and renumber (sacrilege, I know, but I still have an untouched Barnstaple).