Tom D

Any information as to when they will be available?

Apologies for the poor photo, it did appear as though the 2 pads were closer together than I thought they should have been, but as the manufacturer probably makes the decoder in an automated process, I would have thought that if this was the problem, it may have occurred to others beforehand? Does anyone have any thoughts on my putting protective wrapping around the decoder? Will this cause overheating?

I had originally posted about installing a Hornby HM7000 decoder in the appropriate Hornby forum, but there was very little in the way of responses, and as I plan on purchasing and installing 2 more Hornby decoders, I would very much like to ensure I will not be repeating a possible problem. During installation, I could hear a brief shorting sound (Initially I thought I had touched the coupling to the programming track). Loco ran well, and sound was great, overall very impressed. In fitting the decoder & speaker to the loco, I ensured that the loco body was insulated in the area I was installing the chip. But as I kept on hearing the brief shorting sound every time I placed the loco on the program track, I decided to see if I could find the fault. Using a multi meter, I could see that I was reading a small resistance value from the driving wheels. Tracing the pickup wires back to the decoder, I disconnected the TXS and reconnected the old DCC decoder, this got rid of the shorting problem. Looking at the decoder, I could see small burn marks around the black pickup wire (I have attached picture below, red line shows burn), even though the loco and decoder were working, I did not wish to chance the decoder burning out completely. I have sent the decoder back for refund. I would like to point out, that I was very happy with the Hornby sound decoder, and will order a replacement when I receive a refund. I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem, and while I am very confident that I did nothing during the installation of the decoder, that may have caused a short, maybe someone reading this, could suggest something that could have caused a short. I would like to put some protective wrapping around the decoder, but am unsure if this will create an overheating issue, if anyone can comment on this I would be very appreciative. Tom D

I am sure Hornby would offer a replacement Decoder, however, I purchased through Amazon UK, whose service this far has been very good.

Just thought I would post my recent experience with HM7000 TXS 8 Pin decoder, and a Bachmann Class 55. After installing the Hornby DCC App, fitting the Decoder & speaker to the loco (ensuring loco body was insulated in the area I was installing the decoder), loading the appropriate loco profile and function map, loco worked right away, but I did detect a brief shorting sound when putting the loco on the program track. (Initially I thought I had touched the coupling to the track). Loco ran well, and sound was great, overall very impressed. I use an NCE Power Cab, so I was keen to move from Blutooth mode to DCC mode, I had read that there were some issues when switching between the modes that the loco long address was "lost". This was the case for me, but I had pre-recorded the CV values for 7, 8, 17, 18 & 19. I was able to re-enter these values into the NCE Power Cab, and I could then successfully switch between Bluetooth & DCC mode. So far so good..... As I kept on hearing the brief shorting sound every time I placed the loco on the program track, I decided to see if I could find the fault. Using a multi meter, I could see that I was reading a small resistance value from the driving wheels. Tracing the pickup wires back to the decoder, I disconnected the TXS and reconnected the old DCC decoder, this got rid of the shorting problem. Looking at the TXS chip, I could see small burn marks around the black pickup wire on the decoder (I have attached picture below, red line shows burn), even though the loco and decoder were working, I did not wish to chance the decoder burning out completely. I have sent the TXS decoder back for refund. I would like to point out, that I was very happy with the TXS sound decoder, and will order a replacement when I receive a refund. I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem, and while I am very confident that I did nothing during the installation of the decoder, that may have caused a short, maybe someone reading this, could suggest something that could have caused a short. Tom D

Always appreciate your photos David, thanks for posting. I was born in Liverpool, and always have an interest in any Liverpool railway pictures. Your picture (J1109) was of particular interest, as the head code was for Liverpool Exchange, yet your caption mentioned Liverpool Lime street. As there was a transition of trains being routed to Lime street at that time, was this the case with the picture in question? Also, as this was a 6 car dmu, was it made up of 2 three car class 101's? I have a soft spot for Liverpool Exchange, as I travelled to work in Liverpool, many times before it closed. Best regards, Tom D

From what you have described, it could be that by resetting all of the decoders, the decoders have defaulted to original settings. In particular CV29, (Bit 2) which defaults to DC and DCC allowable running. What you have described, does sound as though you need to change the DC running to 'OFF', you can do this by adding 4 to the CV29 value for Bit 2. Hope this helps. Best regards Tom D

I have successfully converted 5 Bachmann split chassis, and although a challenging conversion, it was a very rewarding experience. 4 of the 5 conversions went very well, but for one conversion I had problems, as one of the plastic gears broke. There are replacement parts available, but you may want to check ahead of time, if that is still the case. I would also recommend using the smallest decoder possible, as there is limited space with the older models. The following video link showing a split chassis conversion, was a great help for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvylg1yX_I Best regards, Tom D

Earlier video of the planned remodelling.

It sounds as though NCE (Powercab or Procab) is not recognising the address, have you tried re-setting CV8 to 8 using NCE, just to verify factory settings?

I have only recently found your thread, and am enjoying following your build. May I ask how you complete your axle boxes? It appears as though you had glued a piece of plasticard to the axle, and then you mention 'axle boxes filled'. Best regards, Tom D

The idea of the laser cut turnout timbers with the resin chairs is really impressive. I am fortunate enough to have access to a laser printer, and have used it often for producing turnout timbers, but can I just mention, that the large size of apertures, for the resin chairs may be detrimental to the structural integrity of the wood. I use 2 types of wood for turnout timbers, ply and basswood, ply is stronger, but basswood is a lot less expensive. However, basswood has a tendency to disintegrate when excess water/glue is applied to the area (specifically when applying ballast). Again, I want to point out that I support this idea, and hope it can be brought to fruition. Tom D

Only time will tell if this scheme will ever come to fruition. However, I have to commend any idea by the local council for utilisation of a Heritage railway, for re-instatement as a main line. Hopefully, ELR can come to some agreement with the council that would be beneficial to ELR, whether that be financial or in other practical terms. From 1948 to 1961, the rail network lost some 3,000 miles, if there is an opportunity to gain some mileage back, then I'm all for it. At the same time, I would hope that the ELR could take advantage of this potential opportunity. Tom D

There is an excellent book titled 'The Birkenhead Railway' by T.B. Maund from RCTS, it has track plans, timetables and loco types for GW and LMS. Good luck with your project, Tom D

I have been looking for a class 50 TTS decoder, but there does not seem to be any available anywhere. Has Hornby stopped producing them?