Porkster

Thank you all for your comments. They are most helpful. The tip of my iron was the point type which I have now changed to a tip with a small flat area. This seems to have made a huge difference. The solder I use is 37/63 (ex China) with no markings to say whether it is lead free or not. It is however now flowing as many of you have described. The iron is 48w fully adjustable but I do have to have it on its max setting at 450 deg C.

I have a Duratech soldering iron and station however it is not performing. It gets hot and will melt solder but will not solder when applied to the work being done. I have stripped it down and cleaned the tip numerous times but it doesn’t seem to help. I want to solder things like point motors etc but I would also like to solder feeders to rails and points. I would be interested in some advice as to which iron I should purchase

I notice Peco have a Streamline SL-90 100 Double Slip. Is this the same thing?

Thanks for all the comments. I am building my second large layout using code 100 Hornby track. I was considering installing a Walthers code 83 #6 double crossover. The simplicity of installation appealed to me, however the complication of conversion from 100 to 83 and back probably negates any other advantages.

Can anyone advise me on whether I can join a code 83 crossover to my code 100 Hornby track.

I live in NZ and wouldn’t have a clue what the Eurostar sounds like. Can anyone lead me toward the higher spec sound decoder that has a sound something similar to the prototype?

Is it possible to fit a sound decoder in the new Beatles Eurostar loco? If so, which decoder would you recommend and how would I go about it? ie which unit would you put it into?

I have been experimenting with kitty litter and think it's going to work very well. The product we can obtain is cream to white in colour and sieves down to the perfect size though a standard kitchen sieve. I have coloured it with a watered down acrylic and that t works well too. I will use it on my layout. cheers Porkster

I have been experimenting with kitty litter and think it's going to work very well. The product we can obtain is cream to white in colour and sieves down to the perfect size though a standard kitchen sieve. I have coloured it with a watered down acrylic and that t works well too. I will use it on my layout. cheers Porkster