SteveM6

Thanks for the tip. Regrettably I post infrequently on here as I find the forum is not really user friendly and an inability to post a quick and (hopefully) helpful reply is somewhat frustrating.

It seems my pictures didn’t pass the censor. Sorry @RDS you’ll have to use your imagination (although they are on another, less restrictive forum).

Digitrax DZ126 hardwired into the trailer and covered by a tarp. Sounds good Steve, do you have any pictures Awaiting approval.

I did it before they did. Digitrax DZ126 hardwired into the trailer and covered by a tarp.

eBay pride themselves on their ‘buyer protection’ scheme but they also have a ‘seller protection’ policy - admittedly the seller has to comply with various restrictions but they are not particularly onerous ie decent photos, signed for postage etc. Some months ago I sold a loco and the American buyer proved to be ‘awkward’ claiming faults that didn’t exist when I listed the item. I agreed to a refund but keeping it inline with eBay policies, I requested the seller to get a price for return postage (which I was prepared to pay up front) and agree s to the refund once the loco was back in my hands. The buyer wouldn’t agree the postage so I spoke to the eBay helpdesk. They agreed that I was not being unreasonable and told the buyer to go along with the proposed plan - he didn’t. Eventually, they agreed to refund him under the buyer protection scheme but at no cost to me as I was protected under the seller protection scheme. The moral of the story is to follow all the rules, keep good records and enter into dialogue with eBay at an early stage - then they will prove to be fair to all parties.

A loco manufacturer stating that their product should not be used with a particular controller is not, to use your phrase Colin, bad-mouthing that particular controller. Your ‘attack’ on Oxford Rail is unnecessary, unjustified and unwanted on this forum.

“YouTube says, so it must be gospel” I despair sometimes. Yes it’s always best to do a stall test and TTS may not cope with older locos of any manufacturer but with the current crop of locos there isn’t going to be an issue. I have fitted TTS to a number of Bachmann and Dapol locos and the only issue is the height of the DCC socket when combined with an 8:21 adapter which is fairly easy to solve.

Couldn’t agree more Eric. I have had a couple of recent adventures with tank locos where you can’t even fit a simple direct plug in decoder In the space provided - ended up converting an N gauge 6 pin decoder to fit an 8 pin socket. I have mentioned it before but along with more thought on where the decoder is sited, I’d like to see further miniaturization of decoders, particularly TTS so that sound in tank locos becomes a reality without having to sell a kidney to invest in other sound decoders. But I’m not convinced the manufacturers are listening.

Kick a man while he’s down, why don’t you? As for Hornby producing the King in N, highly unlikely...........your plea would be better directed to Farish or Dapol, surely?

Fitting decoders to tank locos is becoming increasingly difficult when it comes to finding space. And sound is virtually impossible unless you spend more on a decoder than you spent on the loco itself! Hornby have made a big investment in TTS (I know they are not perfect, but they are affordable and more than adequate for many users) but surely the time has come for them to miniaturise them for expansion into smaller locos - and supply them without the speakers. And manufacturers really do need to ensure that their DCC ready locos really do allow sufficient space to fit a decoder.

Probably already has. Jimmy, the top lamp bracket is the bracket shaped piece of plastic at top dead centre of the smoke box.

I approach this with an enormous amount of skepticism. The seller describes this as a ‘one-off’ yet when I searched eBay when this thread started (curiosity only, no intention to buy) there were a number of ‘chrome-plated’ locos offered and all at the same ridiculouslay extortionate price. In my opinion this is someone with a rattle can of paint and a get rich quick scheme to scam gullible buyers. And yes, they look awful.

I fully appreciate that Jacob. I was referring to the previous seven pages of this thread and many, many others across the forum. Do you ever look at your total posts figure and wonder why it is so high? No need to respond.

Please give it a rest Jacob and try not replying to every post that is made on here. You really don't have to publish your opinion on all topics raised, it really is becoming quite tedious.

Yes HB, that's correct. And you are also right in saying I didn't make it clear - I promise to try harder in future.

There have been many comments regarding troublesome TTS decoders recently. However, like many of us, I have been waiting for them to be released so I can start upgrading my locos. I bought three last week and fitted the first one yesterday. But it didn't go well. I couldn't change the loco address. I use a Prodigy Express with a separate programming track so I made sure all the track was clean before I started. I wanted a 'long' address so I tried changing CV29 and eventually cv17/18 as well but I couldn't get any success. But it would happily reset to defaults and run on address 0003. I fully expected a 'difficult' conversation with Hornby this morning. Now there is a chance that my controller may have needed an upgrade of some sort so I thought I'd contact Gaugemaster to check. Their reply this morning: "Try setting CV1 to a simple 3 digit address of 127 or less. Sound decoders are often difficult to read. If it needs more power try it on the main track" I actually went straight to trying a long address and found that it worked first time! Maybe, just maybe, this is the answer to some of the other issues that have been noted as well. Give it a try.

Presuming you are contemplating fitting Kadees to NEM pockets, I found that the medium sized 'number 18' worked well. If I find that size is inappropriate, I have a spare pair of the short and long versions to try before ordering the quantity I need.

What is the point in criticising Hornby for a decision taken 50 years ago? 'Hornby bashing' sinks to a new low.

And your layout looks very similar (IMHO a bit too similar) to a very good forum that is already running successfully and has been for many years.

Are those semaphores RTR or hand built Steve. Regardless in N gauge they are a work of art. Far beyond the reacjh of my tired eyes and stiff old fingers. The signals are by Ratio (plastic kit) or P&D Marsh (white metal) but I did add handrails made from very thin wire, very thin track pins and some etched brass. And also added etched brass ladders as they are much finer than the white metal ones supplied. And I too have tired eyes and stiff old fingers but I see that as part of the challenge in N gauge! lol

that wall to the right (which is the long incline to the top level) is made from embossed plastic sheets but I did use the latest Metcalfe walls and their builder sheets elsewhere.

/media/tinymce_upload/image98.jpg View of the station area on my N gauge layout, 'Shaddeholme and West Orton'.

But you'd have to factor in frozen pipes, no model shops for miles and delivery charges for anything you needed. Bet you wouldn't swap it for the world though, John. Thought about moving yes into the shed ;-) it's nearly bigger than the house. I had a very big battle with the council for this one Still working inside mine to make it comfortable Progress is however very slow to non egsistant due to recent eye troubles pipes don't freeze in our tempritures air conditioning will be esential it was insulated when it was errected. this is my small shed. I still need a spell checker regards John Oops, wrong John. That was meant for Burgundy John.

But you'd have to factor in frozen pipes, no model shops for miles and delivery charges for anything you needed. Bet you wouldn't swap it for the world though, John.

There's a picture of mine waiting to be 'moderated'.