Bulleidboy

Rather like ellocoloco I have 100+ loco's and have never experienced "the rot". My loco's are all stored in their boxes and indoors - so warm and dry. However as has been said "if you've got it you've it" - and some of my loco's bought in the early 2000's have never seen light of day - other than the day they were purchased/arrived.

I tend to push my Sharge by hand. Having an end to end layout, it is easier and quicker by hand - with the exception of the tunnel. The only hassle is the point motor rods catching on the material on the rubbing block.

Although a different model, I lengthened the speaker wires and placed the speaker in the smokebox on my Blue Coronation - a very simple job to do. The power bank then went into the tender with the decoder. One problems with the speaker being in the tender, it is very obvious that the sound is coming from the back (tender) of the loco rather than the front.

I am pretty much the same as Brew Man, except my IPA is 99.9% pure and I use it undiluted in my Sharge track cleaner. I likewise use track rubbers (various makes) when a loco stops for no reason. I have never noticed a "film" or any other residue left on the rails - I also use it to clean loco wheels - loco on rolling road and cotton bud dipped in IPA held against the revolving wheels.

Yes - BR Class 2 MT (very recent release).

Prize is a Hornby Bundle (Loco, coaches, wagons etc) - closing date is 30th November 2023.

I bought a box at a train show sometime ago, and although it was sturdy and well made, the loco with tender was a tight fit in the box - and it was the largest box available. There was very little room for sponge padding. I have bought a number of Hornby Merchant Navy boxes on ebay - I try to get the box where the interior will suit the different tender shapes - they have to be in mint condition.

Not a thread I normally read, but I use Chrome and I have been logged-in for weeks - in fact I never log out. As has been suggested it must be different browsers reacting in different ways.

Have you tried "roughing" up the underside of the rail with either a fibre glass tipped pen or a fine piece of sandpaper before adding the solder? If you tin the rail and the wire you should only need to touch the iron on the join when holding the wire against the rail. I did this conversion on all of my electrofrog points.

Just to add to what has already been said, especially with regard to point operation. My layout is DCC and I use the Hornby Elite (v.1.45). My points are Peco electrofrog and are operated by DCC Concepts Cobalt iP Digital point motors, that are wired for both DCC operation via the Elite, but also toggle switch operation. The toggle switch (sprung to centre On-Off-On) is by far the quickest method. I set them up for DCC operation just to see whether I could - and I did!. To keep costs down, you could just set-up the points furthest from you when running your layout.

I agree with GS - I don't think there is anything currently available on HM7000 that is anywhere close to sounding like a Class 205. I bought a Class 205 from Kernows some years ago with sound fitted, and it is very realistic - I used to see them every day running into Basingstoke from Reading.

How will they record the sound of an original Merchant Navy Class - they were all rebuiltthinking_face

Thanks GS - Roger will probably give me one hundred lines "I must scroll down the threads before commenting".

I posted about the picture Roger - it has disappearedthinking_face - I was the only reply at the time. Gremlins?????? Original post: Superb picture - best of luck.

Best of luck - superb picture.

I'm pretty certain that West Hill Wagon Works do a range of Tracksetta gauges for TT120.

I've used Tamiya Clear Orange to change the brilliance of the interior lights/LED's in my carriages. This would make the lamps on the loco too yellow, it would need a clear lacquer with just a hint of colour to dull/reduce the brilliance on the lamps.

Sorry, I was not aware that some factory fitted loco's came with four pin decoders.

Hi As this is DCC Fitted, I would assume it would have been fitted with either the R8215 or the R8249 decoder which was the replacement for the R8215. The R8215 was the first decoder Hornby introduced, and until very recently was the decoder I had fitted into my Class 08 - it ran well. I am not sure if the R8215 was NMRA compliant - the R8249 was.

If you telephone BM you get a reply in about two minutes.

I expect a lot of people started their railway modelling days with a Flying Scotsman set - probably bought as a gift at Christmas. Is this current loco DCC Ready? I bought mine (R1039) back in 2003 - it was the set with four coaches, the R8011 Trackmat and Track Packs A & B - it cost £129.00 and came from a Christmas offer in the Sunday Express Colour Supplement. I bought all the other Track Packs (C,D and E), and they are all still sitting in the cupboard twenty years later unopened. I expect the range on sale to be expanded upon as we get nearer to Black Friday (November 24th).

Thanks Rob - was looking for a short cutthinking_face

Pleased to have been of some assistance. I have already looked on ebay at the lights you have used - if you have a 12v supply it would save inserting a resistor into the circuit. I have got some carriage LED's that I saw used on Dean Park Model Railway youtube (he was fitting carriage lighting) awhile ago, I think they came from Germany, but had a resistor and dimmer built in - I bought ten but have yet to fit them.

Just out of interest are you fitting a decoder(s) to coaches so that you can turn the lights off and on? I have Maglights fitted to a rake of 4/6 wheeled coaches - the lights operate via a magnet placed just inside a tunnel portal leading from the fiddle yard - train leaves fiddle yard lights come on and they go off when train returns. Most of my coaches with self-fitted lights take there power from the track - I have used DCC Concepts contacts, very similar to your picture, and the same companies axle springs. It usually requires a resistor between track power and LED's and a "blob" or clear Tamiya orange paint on each LED to give the right affect. I have two new Bachmann Bulleid coaches which come with "power" connections installed from new, so just needs wire/resistor soldered to the contacts which protrude into the interior of the coach - it's on the to-do listthinking_face The other thing to be wary of, is light bleed through the carriage sides - I have had to paint some coach interiors to block the light.

Hi I am guessing that this coach is similar to most in that there are usually four plastic lugs, one in each corner, and very often part of the glazing, therefore clear plastic, so easily identifiable - there are very rarely screws holding the body to the chassis. You can usually slide an old credit card or something of similar thickness along the sides between the body and the chassis, at the same time prising the lugs inwards - work on one end first. At all times care must be taken, the lugs a very fragile - I have broken many. Having done this the body can be removed. Again, usually, the interior will be a separate moulding that can be removed - it just sits in place - the glazing is normally glued in place and does not need to be removed. Having removed the body, you can fit your lights. There are many options, one quick and simple way, would be to fit the Hornby Maglight (Mk3 coach type R7305) - the Mk3 version has a longer LED strip than those fitted to the four/six wheel coaches. The LED strip is self-adhesive and can be stuck, centrally along the inside of the roof. There is a very small PSB in the wiring, this could also be stuck/black tacked to the roof underside. You may have to cut a slot in any interior partitions to allow the LED to fit perfectly - some later model coaches do have this slot already in place. With this particular coach I think you would find room in the kitchen for the battery and its holder - the Maglight comes pre-wired. According to Hornby the battery is supposed to last for 200 hours!!!!!!!!. Having got your lights secured, replace the body carefully, and by waving the magnet (it is supplied) over the coach roof the lights will come on or go off. I hope this is of some help - the main thing is to do everything carefully. I would add that there are other lighting options - you may wish to power your lights from the track - simple, but get the body off first and let us know how you get on.