kintbury jon

Just to follow up on this. Hornby got back to me (quickly) to say that they do not have any spares for bodies of any of their locos. I have got a Heljan buffer that fits nicely and will look to make some sort of dummy pantograph. I will never have it in the raised position so no need for anything that functions.

Doesn't sound daft at all! I have found a Heljan buffer that will fit in place. In the end, the pantograph will never be raised so I have wondered about scratchbuilding something if I can't locate any parts.

Thanks chaps. Will get on to them. Really impressed with the loco. Super runner.

Afternoon all. I can't seem to locate a download sheet for the Hornby 71. Is there one that shows spare parts? Seems odd as I can find them for pretty much every other loco. I'm essentially after a new pantograph, buffer and cab rail.

I've shared this one before but definitely ideal for this thread. Got two of the same unit and thinking about renumbering? Apologies for the poor quality but it was quite amusing to see 150142 in two platforms! Taken in the late 80's I think with my rubbish 110 camera.

Not many Z2 units left so catch them while you can!

The 7100 is indeed CC7140. One I had for haulage from Avignon to Nimes. The evidence I have is this photo belting through Tarascon. Would love to get to Breil sur Roya to see it again. Thanks again for all your photos.

Wonderful photos and thank you for sharing them. I did a couple of weeks in the summer from 1989 to 95 and can relate to all the depot visits. Friendly welcoming staff that seemed pleased that a British teenager was interested in their trains. Sadly I didn't take many photos on my adventures but it was a great era with such a variety of stock.

Thanks for your messages gents. There has been a bit of progress with the layout. I painted the entire board with some primer. Whilst it is a dark colour, many areas will be repainted in a lighter colour. I have painted the track bed in a light sandy colour but the intention is to lay some ballast on top. Sleepers have been painted brown too. Regarding stock, I checked all my fleet again and am pleased to say that both the Jouef 67300 and 67400 are able to manage the curves so they have been added to the fleet. My Roco BB16000 can also manage though as a 25kv loco, would not go with the 8100. If I can locate a body of a 9200 or 9300 I might consider swapping them over. What with the new 'regulations', picking up odds and sods from the continent is no longer as cheap and straightforward as it used to be. I have also bought a nicely priced Piko 63500 that runs well though I think will be too small to have a sound decoder fitted. After acquiring a fair few Jouef buildings, I do have enough to turn the top section into a town/village so I may move away from the original location idea that I had. Whether it ends up being the Pyrenees or not, probably doesn't matter too much for now and I will just see where it heads! I will be bringing the layout down to work on in the next few days but below shows a couple of photos showing the change in paintwork. 67349 can just run round in the loop!

Problem resolved! After a bit of searching I came across this thread: The solution is: Set CV7 = 220 Set CV66 = (new value for sound volume) Set CV7 = 0 I have opted for a value of 20 for now but at least I know I can mess around with it now!

Thanks for this Alan. I'll try cv266 again but it didn't work for me last time. I'm in the UK so sadly can't take you up on your kind offer, but thank you anyway. My controllers are both the red ones and so I suspect are not updated but will check to see if the double press works.

Morning all. Any thoughts on how to reduce the volume on the loco? I have a Multimaus so can only access the first 20 functions. With volume control being F27 and F28 this proves a problem. Changing cv63 or cv266 doesn't seem to do anything. Is there a cv setting I can use or is it a case of getting a better controller that has more functions?

A bit more done today. Have blocked off the back scene. Time for a play of course.

Can't be many photos of VEP's in NSE carrying 77xx or 78xx I'd have thought (in ref to 7850 above).

Not a huge amount done this weekend but I have added a scenery break to the layout cutting off the rear section. I am moving away from the idea of it being in a mountainous area but perhaps somewhere in a village or town. I am looking at perhaps having a road going along the back with road access to the yard towards the middle of the layout (where the scene drops). A bit of tweaking is required in a few places. I've no fixed idea with this layout but happy to go with the flow and see where it ends up!

Hello everyone. How much can you fit onto a 4 by 2 board? I have been looking at creating a small, portable layout where I can use some of my French sound engines. Having thought about a shunting in and out type layout, it got me thinking about how small a circuit one could make. With Piko having brought out a sound fitted BB8100 and claiming it could cope with a radius of 35cm, I thought I would test out just what it could do. The loco is very short being about 15cm in length. I modified some Hornby radius one curves bring the radius down to about 27cm. As a result they went from being 45 degree pieces to 60 degree pieces. Did the loco run OK? Easily. So it got me thinking about creating a small roundy roundy layout with a yard in the middle. This is what I have created. The curves are obviously tight but it does give the option of continuous running - something I do like. Plan is to make the top section out of sight. The layout being a freight only one. Testing of wagons showed that all short(ish) items coped with the curves. I tested my other locos and not surprisingly most could not cope, except for my Piko 25500 which has no problems. In addition to the two electrics I have just taken delivery of the new Roco Y8000 which will be ideal for the layout. Here are the locos... I have a handful of catenary masts and am hoping in the long run that I can fit it to the layout permanently. Looking to create a small yard between two tunnels in a mountainous scene.

It does seem to look like we will lose out on auctions based in the EU. If I have to pay an extra 20% on my bid I am not likely to bid as high as an EU bidder that does not have to pay it. As an example I have been after some Xmas wagons produced by Minitrix so am watching this listing. Doesn't seem a level playing field now. Hey ho.

Certainly I could see a rake of white rooved FO's with a similarly treated RBR would be popular. What would be lacking is the BCK or BFK that would need to finish the rake. A Bachmann BCK would do the trick.

When choosing which one to go for I looked up the allocations from my 1990 book. 1653 was allocated to ICCX (Cross Country) based at Craigentinny. 1667 was allocated to ICHV (VIP Charter) at Bounds Green. 1653 seemed more useful to me in that sense though I don't really care in the end. But when there is a choice you look for a reason to pick one!

I have bought one of the Intercity liveried RBR's and I am happy with it. My Cross Country rake has been made up of a rake of Hornby Mk 2e's plus a Bachmann Mk1 buffet. Not surprisingly the Bachmann coach has stood out from the rake (not just due to the fact it isn't a Mk 2!) having a different shade of colour to the Hornby coaches. At just over £30, it represents a good price and will replace the Bachmann buffet coach.

NSE for me. Loved the 104s. As well as the Gospel Oak to Barking line, they were often seen on the GWML.

Thanks. I'd seen those though having got myself a Minitrix DB 120 in festive colours i'm going down the German route.

Hello. Looking to make a small festive layout, and am after some N gauge Christmas style wagons. I know that Minitrix and Fleischmann have produced them in the past. If you have any that you no longer want or know any where that has any for sale, please let me know. Many thanks,

Sorry yes I realise I was not clear. When I said the sound and lights were fine, I meant they were functioning and when I was referring to the loco stuttering and stopping, I was referring to the lights sound and motor, not just the motor.

I have not soldered the motor supply wires and probably won't as I think it seems OK. The sound not being reliable was the issue which I would say has been rectified. "How well do TTS decoders respond to capacitors on the motor?" Not sure I know how to answer that question i'm afraid!