ColinB

I did send an email to Hornby about 3 to 4 months ago when I was looking for Rebuilt Merchant Navy Valve gear. All I got was an email asking me to enquire in a months time. I assume standard answer, for not knowing when, if ever they were going to supply them. Even if they manage to turn around the company, I suspect it will be another 3 or 4 years before they are back to normal. It really needs one of their big retailers to give them grief over it, because eventually it will hit sales.

According to a post I read yes they did use mazak as did Amal on carburetors for motorcycles. The post I read said that it was prone to cracking. On the Rebuilt Merchant Navy Class the sliders are metal, and on the early ones mazak, I don't know what they use now.

Does anyone have an ear at Hornby, that can find out if they intend supplying spare parts for their newer locos. I read on this site and from experience that it is impossible to get spare parts for a lot of their locos, even their current ones. To make things worse, you seem to be able to get parts for their older models but not the new ones. I have a couple of older Brittanias and I want to add DCC sound, on their newer locos they put it in the tender, so I thought if I could buy a latest level tender bottom, I could do that ( I know I have to change the connector). It saves the risk of breaking the valve gear when trying to squeeze the electronics in the loco. Surprise, surprise, I can buy the old tender bottom as a spare part, but not the new one. It is not just that, you cannot get valve gear for certain models, pony trucks for Schools class. Do what the car industry does, charge a premium for the parts, but at least supply them or long term, you lose business. I know the die hards on this site like the challenge, and yes I have successfully fitted it in the loco, but it makes maintenance a pain when I want to fix anything. If a loco costs £50.00 you fill a bit bad if you have to throw it away, if a loco cost £200.00 you feel robbed if you have to throw it away.

Nop, don't run around with hands in the air when things don't work, just normally get down to fix it. It just annoys me when I see rubbish software, where they seem to make things overly complicated, where they do not need to. My nephew is a plumber and he says the same about bad plumbing installations.

I know the feeling, I tried everywhere to replace mine. In the end I had to buy a second hand set + wheels off EBay. Hornby are a discrace, I recently had to get some spare parts for a 30 year old Bachmann loco which Bachmann supplied without issue. So why is it Hornby cannot supply spare parts, mind you I have not checked to see if Bachmann do spare parts for their current models. I even tried to repair mine with parts from some other scrap valve gear, but it didn't work. On mine it was the piston slider that broke, while trying to fit a DCC chip, it appears they were originally made of marzan (not sure of spelling) which is really brittle. Joke of it is they still produce this model, so why no spares?

If space is tight I use 6 pin Decoders. Zimo do a really small one, although it is expensive. They also do a budjet one which I have used. In an old Replica Terrier I used the super small one as it was the only one that fitted in the available space.

Yes, I have ordered a gaugemaster. Usually height is an issue with this one, but it looks like height is not an issue in this case. Sounds like a gaugemaster will fit.

I did think of that, but there are components near the edge, but never good idea on a PCB could crack a track while you were doing it. The issue is it offset, if they had put the connector in the middle of the board it would be ok. Its alright, it fitted in my Brighton Belle, so I didn't waste my money. I am pretty sure a gaugemaster should fit, if not I will modify it to take a six pin, which are much smaller.

It appears Hattons are wrong it is 0.5 mm too wide on one side. I will try a gaugemaster.

I think we have chinese whispers here, there was no way I was going to use a 400mA decoder. I just asked if anyone knew of a suitable decoder that would drive a ringfield motor. I could go through all the process of measuring stall currents and running currents, but all I wanted to know if someone had some practicle experience of using a particular type and found it worked well. Yes, I know I can measure all the currents, but there is no substitution for information from someone who has done it. What I was saying was when I converted my Mainline locos, I used 6 pin DCC concepts decoders, and managed to fry two of them, replaced with right angle Bachmann ones and they worked perfectly. I read the DCC data that came with the decoder, and I was well within their published specifications for currents, so obviously there is something about a Mainline motor that a DCC concepts decoder doesn't like. When I get round to it I will ask them.

Actually I think startup current is higher, but thank you for info.

Has anyone retro fitted a DCC decoder into a Hornby class 85 loco? I am wondering if I need to go for a high current version or is a normal Hornby decoder good enough? I know I should go and measure the current load, but given by experiences with Mainline locos ( I measured 400 mA, but the start up load must have been higher), I thought it would be easier to see if anyone else has done it.

Because I used to work with computers, and it was always a pain setting things up. Things like the paper is too thick for the printer, getting the margins right, but then I suppose I was always trying to get them to do things they are not meant to do, I used to write Windows programs in c sharp, so yes I am no dummy. I used to spend hours getting excel spreadsheets printing onto one piece of paper and not 4 separate ones, it is no joke when you have a 30 page document that decides to make itself 120 pages. So yes I quite surprised it worked first time, even making them the right size. I suppose by PnP you mean plug and play, see how many times your computer fails to see a USB connection when you plug it in, or better still change the printer on your PC from wireless to USB and then try and delete the old one.

I know, I went on holiday and couldn't remember which ones were converted and which ones had sound (it is mainly the non DCC ready ones I converted). I also found a supplier of sticky backed A4 plain paper. I must admit I didn't think it would be that easy.

I eventually got round to printing my own, and yes you were right it is easy. Made a table in word, coloured each cell in red with white writing and bought some sticky backed paper for the printer. I made them the same size as the blue DCC label on Hornby boxes, so I can put them there. I can now tell instantly, what ones I have left to chip.I also added DCC Sound so I know which ones I added sound to.

Great, thank you. I didn't know Hattons did those. I have ordered one.

Does anyone know a suitable DCC decoder to fit one of these. There does not look to be much room, so will a Hornby one fit?

.Reading all these posts I started looking at converting my old Hornby Ringfield based models. I tried out my green BR Mallard, bought sometime in the eighties, and was amazed how much current it used. According to my multimeter it was drawing up to 0.8 of an amp, now I don't know if this is normal, but given my experience with Mainline models that draw about 0.4 amp, I would suggest that selection of the decoder is critical. On the Mainline model conversion I found some of the decoders could not source the current and subsequently burnt out. I finally got my Mainline models to work with the Bachmann right agle 6 pin device. They definitely did not like the DCC Concepts 6 pin offering.

I must admit mine runs perfectly over all my points, curved and straight They are all Peco Electrofrog, I don't know if that makes a difference.

I found on some of my ringfield motors one of the motor connections was connected to the track via a screw, there is a post on this site about it. In my case I took the screw out tapped it with a m2.0 tap and fitted a nylon bolt. I did it with both brush holders so there was no issue mixing them up. Unfortunately, nylon screws don't seem to come smaller than 2.0 mm thread. I am slowly converting all my old locos and I must admit the only issue I have is finding room for the decoder. I have done 7 Bachmann A4 locos and two Bachmann 0-6-0 locos. What I do is use a 6 pin connector as it is the smallest, and 6 pin decoders, again as they are the smallest. I would have thought a Hornby Diesel should be relatively easy, lots of room to fit the decoder and the supply comes off separate bogies. I also found the LaisDCC modules off EBay are the best for old models at least to test them out, as you don't lose much if you blow them up.

Last weeks has got to be the best. I bought a Bachmann A4 off that popular auction site, for a very reasonable price . It said it was DCC fitted and it was the new type of Bachmann (no split chassis). It arrived this morning. To my surprise it had lights and a smoke generator fitted. I had to glue a few bits back on, but that was a real result.

I just did a search on Sir Keith Park, they are totally ridiculas prices. The Wrenn ones are even more stupid. I have got 2 early unrebuilt Hornby models, that I bought years ago, but the good news is the body shape is still the same. I have early eighties one, but that is totally different. The really good thing about them is that there is loads of room to put the DCC chip in, in my two I had to add a socket but there was loads of room, but the model is really simple the valve gear is really uncomplicated. There is even room to put a decent speaker in it. At those prices it will be cheaper to buy the new one when Hornby release it.

My Hornby R2171 Canadian Pacific had the original price still on it, it was £71.50. I cannot remember when I bought it, I know it came from the Signal Box in Rochester (sadly gone), I preordered it because I liked the colour. I checked EBay and I remember there was one for sale in the North York Moors Engine Shed shop (I was on holiday), and all of them were around the £100 mark, because I remembered thinking that is a lot of money for an old loco, that is not even DCC ready. What is it about these and the unrebuilt ones that makes them fetch so much money? It is the same with Wrenn, if it is a City loco it is worth around the £100 mark, but if it is a unrebuilt West Country it can be as much as £400.

Reply to atom3624. I have got one of those Hornby R2171 Canadian Pacific, if it is the one I think it is. I bought it from new, years ago. I have only just got back into the hobby since I retired. I have just checked on EBay they go for stupid money. I found with mine, that it wasn't DC ready and there is no room in the loco, so I put a socket in the tender using Hornby 4 pin spare parts. I added the Hornby sound decoder and it runs really well. I did replace the tender coupling with a fixed drawbar. You probably know that you cannot easily get replacement valve gear.

Just bought a brand new green class 37 with split headcodes Bachmann diesel. I initially baulked at the price, but then when I saw what they went for second hand, I bought one with sound fitted. When I added up how much the loco would have cost without sound and then added on the cost of a decent sound chip, the already fitted option makes sense (it saves about £20). I must admit it is really good, although I normally don't spent that much on a loco.