OFFTHE RAILS

The ZTC511 manual is available on the Taunton Controls website. That explains how to slave the 511. Ian

The Dapol M7 (Mk1 & 2) bodies are OK - it's the chassis' (Mk1 & Mk2) that are wrong. The driving wheels appear to be below scale diameter but the driving wheel axle and the splasher should be concentric and on the model (Mk1 & 2) it's way out, that's why I've never bought one. IMO the Mk 1 version was bad enough but Dapol seem to have made the Mk2 even worse.

Great song but what an awful version! The original was recorded by The Crickets post Buddy Holly’s death in 1960 and the song was written by the lead guitarist Sonny Curtis who had been in Buddy’s band on his first big company recordings in 1956. That was the best version [IMO] - the Clash had only heard the 1966 US hit revival of the song by the Bobby Fuller Four (also a great version) but the punk band only managed to turn it into a grungy mess (again IMO)

Err....GWR 4-6-0s did not have any external valve gear. They have Stephenson's or Walschaert's valve gear inside the frames, out of sight. What you presumably want is the coupling rod, connecting rod, cross head with piston rod. Unfortunately many spares suppliers and model manufacturers mis-describe what they sell and cause confusion for all. Rant over.

IMHO this "updated" model and it's predecessor have never looked "right". The body is OK and the chassis is probably reasonable for N but the two don't match - the centre of the front driver should match the centre of the splasher (in the horizontal plane).

The Bachmann N class loco was NOT split chassis - it was one of the first "Blue Riband" models. The chassis is conventional with a Buhler motor positioned vertically inside the firebox

In which case he might have been more explicit....

I have photos of Q1s west of Salisbury: 1. Between Dorchester and Weymouth - passenger train 1950 BR 2. At Bournemouth 1948 3. At Branksome 1948 - passenger train

The good news (possibly) is that the Fowler 4F 0-6-0 is pictured with full daylight under the boiler. The bad new is that it is coupled to a tender with tender drive. I suppose it's another example of photoshopping an ancient ex-Airfix model.

The Granges and Manors had a new type of cylinders - i.e. different to the Halls. The piston valve centre line was raised an additional 2 1/2" above the cylinder centre line. This additional steam space is said to have contributed to the smoother running of the Granges relative to the Halls. (See the Rev. J. Gibson's book "Great Western Locomotive Design - A Critical Appreciation"). The Churchward 43xx 2-6-0 cylinder centre line was 2 1/2" above the driving wheel centres but Collet wanted cylinders in line with the axle centres on the 4-6-0s. So, to be able to use 43xx wheels and motion meant a revised cylinder type.

EBAY UK - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314203501525?hash=item4927fcf3d5:g:3D8AAOSwhAZjWDYn&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA0EUdzBrT2r8O6HDnFeNzc%2BGjN0THjn1UQAvKwMjmA7tlMLPUkuPpL19DggGS%2FfQbmP%2Fgm%2BbcgRuP3MXG5RwOtPEicjyJ%2BUEj5DEi7NmwRdBqGpbDgWFcHUrApnJcLDwvLCLmj8bWz6x3ysAua19nkg0DlG8xqlXeBKX6fSIBuSFghHHXxGAZEo2dy7MliT2dS0IyWKm0S%2BZ2rqrV2XDDtdppiuwp%2FMeTI%2BhJPFq46JqcTfH%2B7Te2T3HAq%2FHc6MO5eNNTGCF%2BNpcsnciKWRm4WaA%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR57kppGCYQ TITLED "Dublo large Prairie tank GWRG Chassis’s Dublo N2 POOR RUNNER WOBBLY FOR SPARES" err.... what is it really?

It's now 11 years since Dapol announced their intention to produce N gauge models of the Bulleid West Country/Battle Of Britain pacifics in both air-smoothed and modified form............. I'd like to see anyone but Dapol produce one - How about Sonic/Revolution having a try?

Con rods? I think you mean coupling rods, The real locos con rods are hidden between the frames.

Why put an uninformative heading on a post? It would have been far more useful to have described the subject. What use is "oooo - look at this!" as a heading? IMO - This heading on this kind of original post is uninformative and ruining all forums. Rant over... Ian

A very interesting thread but as a retired chemist I should point out that Butanone and Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) are just earlier common names for what is Butan-2-one - the modern systematic name for this compound. Mek Pak is just a trade name for a proprietary solvent and the Slaters version on offer today says on the label, "contains halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbon". This means the chemical contains chlorine and is definitely not Butanone aka Methyl Ethyl Ketone aka Butan-2-one. (also aka Ethyl Methyl Ketone according to wikipedia.) Ian

The BR "maroon" livery is unlikely to have been carried. That started in 1956 just as the coaches were withdrawn (Dapol say) in 1956-7. I suspect/hope Dapol really mean they'll be offering BR crimson/red/carmine which was used 1949-56.

Judging by the illustration of the "2022" 4F 0-6-0 it appears that Hornby have reverted to the tender powered version with the loco having full daylight under the boiler......

Thanks for your replies - I'm glad that it's not just me getting the message when trying to access the Peco site. I've also found out what a boilerplate warning is! Ian

This evening I tried to access the Peco website "peco-uk.com" but the following message was displayed: Domain has been suspended. In order to have a current information (sic) in the WHOIS, ICAMM - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names And Numbers - has required all accredited providers for domain registrations Whatever that means - it seems to be an EU initiated internet security requirement. But the poor grammar hints it might be a hack of some sort. Anyone any ideas ???? Ian

Not hard to find - on Ebay today (21/04/2021) peco SL113 pack of 4 £9.95 post free

Yes, superb looking locos - the one put aside by the LNER for preservation was another unfortunate casualty of WW2. Only a small non-standard class (22 locos) so they were the first LNER atlantics to go. The other LNER atlantics classes were more numerous and/or had boilers common with other classes (e.g. the GCR C4 and C5s had the same boiler type as the very numerous 04 and ROD 2-8-0s.

Thanks Keith, even though their site suggested they're out of stock, I emailed them and they've found one for me - it's on it's way. Ian

Many thanks for all of your replies and your suggestions. My google search tuning is obviously poor! The MTB MP1 and it's adjustable throw distance looks good - I'd like to try those but they're not available/out of stock! I hadn't heard of the DCC Concepts SS Surface mounted motor either, nice, but they're £60 a pair so I'll pass on those. I'm glad to see the Conrads are still available and around £10 each so that's a fall back option. Thanks again, Ian

A surface mounted point motor with a built-in frog polarity switch? Does anybody make one suitable for 4mm or 2mm applications? The closest I had found was the Hoffmann / Conrad type (apparently now discontinued) which has a switch but needs a bit of fiddling (omega loop or similar) to use as a surface motor. [My latest N gauge project baseboard is a lightweight door with point motors to be mounted in the hidden fiddle yard, operating visible area points by tube and wire. All wiring to be accessible or hidden on the board surface - no groping underneath (!..) ] Ian