Lyd 85B

Very sad to hear this news. Chris was a wonderful, helpful, knowledgeable resource for the forum, as well as being a thoroughly decent chap. Condolences to his family.

I went through a similar exercise this time last year. Although I had previously sold a number of locomotives on eBay, with no trouble, I couldn't face the hassle of preparing thirty-plus listings and, especially, the packing, posting and admin necessary. I already had a detailed spreadsheet and emailed it to the two model shops mentioned in the previous post, as well as fourteen buyers who advertised in Railway Modeller magazine, of which only seven replied (make of that what you will!). Offers from the latter varied only slightly, but were all between fifty and sixty per-cent more than Hattons and Rails (who were almost identical). I accepted the offer of the highest bidder, who came to my home to collect them personally, paid in cash and was very honest in his assessment, bearing in mind that he also had to make a margin.

Only when bought over the counter, which for me entails a fifty mile round trip to my nearest model shop, adding yet more cost to an already-inflated and undiscounted RRP. The only practical alternative is mail-order, where I'm in the hands of the retailer for testing (or not).

Where responsibility should lie for QC seems to be debatable. Some say it's the factory, others that, given an extended global supply chain, where goods may occupy containers for weeks or months with extreme temperature and humidity changes, and with violent sea conditions, the domestic supplier should do it. As with used cars, where teething problems have been sorted, I often buy on eBay and have never needed to return anything. None of the models I've bought in the last ten years has been in a sealed box, so it seems that retail staff who spend their working lives handling models, should be able to check them without damage to box or contents. My local model shop, now closed through retirement, always ran newly-purchased locos on a test track, whether shop-purchased or mail-order.

In the last few weeks I have purchased, by mail order, three new steam locos (each from a different manufacturer and smaller retailer). The first was electrically dead and was replaced by another on which the underside detail had not been properly fitted, requiring dismantling, removal of the glue, and refitting; the second ran like a drunken duck, with incorrectly quartered drive wheels; the last would not run because a piston rod was corroded onto the slide rails. All could have been found before despatch, if properly inspected. I can already hear the cries of anguish from the trade, but the time, cost and hassle for buyer and seller, in emails, telephone calls, re-packing and re-postage, could largely be avoided. The only winners are Royal Mail and the other carriers.

I need to replace the left-hand piston assembly on a Class 42XX steam loco (same part as Class 52XX and Class 72XX). It is shown on service sheet HSS 390, next to the cylinder block, but without a part number, and is not included in the cylinder block or coupling rod packs. I've asked Hornby for help, but does anyone on here know where I might find one, please?

I'm surprised that doubts have been raised about the availability of Humbrol enamels. I've tried acrylics, but always go back to enamels; some of mine are thirty years old and still usable. There are many online suppliers, including Humbrol themselves, but they are best bought in batches to make economic use of p&p.

My Peco TT has a Locomotech non-indexing drive, but using a standard decoder allows such slow and fine control that I can easily align the TT with entry/exit tracks just by eye (and my eyes are pretty old!). F3 on the Digitrax controller allows click-on and click-off operation while the alternative F2 just has to be depressed and held then let go, to stop the rotation. It is also a cost-effective solution and more enjoyable to construct rather than just plug-and-play, and mirrors full-size practice, where over-running sometimes occurred.

As Rog says, ask the right questions about DCC when you buy any loco. More modern ones may be described as DCC Ready (it is fitted with a socket that can take a decoder), DCC On Board (it has a factory-fitted decoder - usually non-sound), or TTS (Hornby's own factory-fitted sound system). Older locos may be DCC Compatible but with no on-board socket (the decoder, or a socket, needs to be soldered into the loco), and Non-DCC Compatible, which usually applies to older split chassis models. The latter are capable of conversion, but it's a bit of a faff and not for the beginner. Learning about DCC has been very rewarding for me and I have done many conversions, but I'm always learning more.

Having now also spoken to the Bachmann Service Dept, they suggested raising the value of CV2, Start Voltage, the default value for which is set extremely low, and that solved the problem. I'll know next time!

I have used Model Fixings with good effect. If they don't have what you want, they can often find a source for it. www.modelfixings.co.uk

I recently purchased a new Bachmann 35-027 94XX Class loco and a Gaugemaster Next 18 Omni decoder, to go in it. In DC the loco runs perfectly, but as soon as I fit the decoder it runs in fits and starts and the firebox glow flashes on and off. Gaugemaster advised me to turn off DC running, back EMF and Railcom, but I am struggling to find the way to do that, and to understand why it should be necessary. I am using a Digitrax Zephyr controller and, despite having a wide variety of decoders, have never come across this problem before.

Like Bulleidboy, I have a Peco t/t powered by a Locomotech motor, controlled via a standard decoder. This enables the speed of rotation to be even more finely controlled via F2 and F3 buttons on my Digitrax Zephyr, and the whole thing is almost silent in operation. It has been in situ in a garden shed for at least five years, requires no maintenance and has always worked faultlessly. It adds a huge amount of authenticity and interest to the layout.

After a recent clear out, I decided to sell a collection of more than thirty assorted steam model locos. Previously, I've used a well-known online auction site for selling individual items but couldn't face the hassle for so many and sent a detailed list to sixteen trade advertisers, of which just seven replied. Why do the other nine pay for advertising, just to ignore responses? Interesting, too, that the best offer was fifty per cent higher than those from the two major 'box shifters'.

I had the Triang EM2 Elektra in the early 'sixties, and remember it as a powerful and robust model. I also bought one in kit form, which Hornby produced in the early 'seventies but, despite diligently assembling it, it wasn't a good runner. Happily, in those days, and for no extra charge, you could send it to Margate for adjustment and it was returned to me in perfect working order. Wish I still had them both.

I fitted the R8110 TTS decoder to my R3118 'Penrice Castle' without difficulty but, assuming that 'Caerphilly Castle' has a similar tender configuration to that shown in Service Sheet HSS 346C, you will need to detach the black plastic surround from the speaker to get it to fit in the tender housing, under the metal weight. The speaker needs to be fitted with the wiring uppermost and there is enough room for the decoder to fit above it.

There is so much to choose from where steam is concerned that you need to decide on a few parameters to narrow the field. For example, what era of steam? British Railways or one of the pre-nationalisation companies (GWR, LNER, LMSR, Southern Railway)? Do you have an interest in a particular area of the country (or World), is there a mainline or branchline or preserved railway that floats your boat? Do you want to go DCC, maybe with sound? If you can define your range of interest, you can begin to decide what to buy. Of course, you can just buy what you like the look of, which may lead you down a particular path, or buy an eclectic mix and 'play trains' with it. Buying used can be very rewarding, but do so from a reputable retailer in the first instance, so that you can see it run on his test track and avoid potential frustration. Once you have some experience, you can cast your net wider. You can also buy new, with the 'comfort' of a guarantee, but there is no one-size-fits-all choice of steam loco.

I've fabricated similar items using sprue and unused parts from plastic kits, but my best results have come from styrene section, such as Evergreen or Plastruct, using a solvent like Plastic Weld. Once spray-painted they are a very close match to the original.

Thanks for the clarification, Chrissaf.

Have you checked the back-to-back wheel measurements, and that the pony truck and trailing bogie move freely? There should also be a little sideways movement in the driving wheels. Not sure what you mean by 'express' points.

It is possible, with varying degrees of difficulty, but there is no one-size fits all method. You need to search online, where there is a plethora of information on converting particular individual or groups of models. This will need sifting through to find what you want, or you can ask for information on specific locos here. Much depends on the motor type and the route taken by current from the track to the motor. So-called split-frame, or split-chassis, locos are usually reckoned to be most problematic, but they can be done without too much trouble (though best avoided as a first attempt at conversion).

As a rank amateur and unskilled hobbyist I struggled to get consistent results with soldering, until I was introduced to solder paste. It made what I had thought of as a black art into something much easier, and I always use it now.

I agree that the sparsity of detail about products can be very frustrating. I wanted to purchase a Warley special edition of the GWR 14XX, but nowhere could I find any detail on its DCC status. I had to ask Hornby, in the end. Similarly, I wanted to buy the Hornby double brick tunnel portals, but no dimensions were given on the website, at that time. The bigger retailers often publish more information than Hornby, presumably on their own initiative. A more detailed specification tab would be helpful, and could be ignored by those who don't want it.

I've always found a cotton bud and T-Cut, with gently sustained rubbing, is more than adequate for Hornby numbers.

I fitted thirteen points with Peco solenoid point motors and switches, using a separate Gaugemaster power supply and CDU. Aligning them can be a pain, but there are several helpful videos on YouTube to help you develop the knack, and I only had to fiddle with one to get it to work smoothly. Biggest problem I found was crawling underneath the baseboard, first for fitting the motors, then to do the wiring.