cravensdmufan

All good information - and what a neat job you have made fitting the Shawplan etch to the Lima front. It now shows the Bachmann windows are incorrect. Thanks for posting Will. It would be great if you would update us here or on the "Lima Class 101 Windows" thread - thanks!

I never noticed the difference in the roof profile before. Well spotted! Looking at it now I've a feeling the Bachmann one is more accurate. And you're right about the window frames. I have a couple of comparison shots of close up side views of the cabs which I will dig out and post soon.

Recent posting on the "Met-Camm Lightweights: Guidance on Converting a Class 101" thread have prompted me to ask - has anyone on here used the Shawplan Extreme Etchng for the Met Camm Class 101 please? https://www.shawplan.com/extreme_coach4mm.html Over four years since my post above - and my model has finally arrived at the top of the "to do" list! Any photos would be really helpful. Thanks in advance

The Lima / Hornby windows are dimensionally incorrect. I have disguised mine somewhat by painting the insides of the frames dark grey - but they still bug me! The Bachmann underframe and motor bogie are obviously so much better but as @EasternO states a lot more expensive, even secondhand. Here are my Bachmann and Hornby models side by side.

Can anyone confirm please whether the more recent releases of the Class 91 have been modified to improve running? The original 3 models that were released tended to be very clunky over pointwork and prone to derailments.

I would use a Bachmann model. Unfortunately the three front windows are too long on the Lima / Hornby moulding which I always thought completely spoilt the look of the model. It is very difficult to correct this, though I think Shawplan made a replacement etch. But you'd need to use filler after cutting out the original windows. It was a shame Lima got those windows wrong as the rest of the body was very good indeed. It was even flush glazed. Edit: https://www.shawplan.com/extreme_coach4mm.html EECD 4009 for the etched window frames, though I have never tried them. Does anyone else have experience of fitting these please? I have a Lima Regional Railways 101 which I'd like to improve.

Really looking forward to following your progress with the 306. I remember them with fondness on the GE. Daily commute to school Shenfield to Romford.

In my opinion yes! I installed the app on an Android Lenovo tablet. App is easy to follow and the profiles take around 15 minutes to download to the decoder via Bluetooth. Instructions on the screen are easy to follow. I have now fitted four decoders, 8 pin and 21 pin into Bachmann and Hornby locos and found that motor control is every bit as good as my ESU and Zimo decoders without needing the CV adjustments that TTS often required. Diesel sounds are good. Haven't tried steam. Easy to adjust individual spot sound volume levels "on the fly". I really like the system and will definitely be buying more decoders.

I have a Bachrus rolling road set, the ones that clip onto the rails. I find even my diesels without traction tyres wobble on it. As the rollers don't clip that tightly onto the rails they move fractionally when the loco is powered up and I think that's what causes the wobble. Best to see how the loco behaves on the track.

Just installed my second TXS, this time into my old favourite Hornby Class 50 035 Ark Royal (can it really be 19 years since I purchased this loco?!). Installation and download all successful ... but the loco was occasionally stalling. 😮‍💨 My initial thoughts were of course decoder problems. 😏 But no! I had knocked one of the black wire cover caps off, so the poor old 50 was only picking up power off of one bogie! Anyway, now another perfect runner, smooth as anything. Like the day I bought it. Remember the excitement. It was a real game changer for Hornby diesels. 😀 And I think I have answered my own earlier question. The sound is so much different and better than the TTS version. For now I have just used the supplied speaker with largest enclosure. Can't wait to upgrade the speaker soon. I think it will sound awesome!

A comment from a viewer of my Class 47 video reckons that, apart from enhanced selection of horns, the basic sounds are the same as those on TTS. In which case are the 31, 37 and 60 etc also the same? I have to say that my untrained ear thinks they are different, but wondering if anyone could clarify? IMO the new TXS are a significant improvement over TTS. I have found that motor control is way up there with the premium products, and the ease of adjusting CVs with the app is great! I'm enjoying fine tuning the spot sounds.

As mentioned above, I have recently installed my first HM7000 TXS. I immediately received an automatic email from Hornby giving the Device Reset Passcode for the decoder, which I have now saved. I was impressed with that.

I ticked "no" but would fit an etched nameplate if supplied.

Further to Chris's Class 37 video, I thought I'd do a very quick one of the Class 47 I installed last night. My very first venture into TXS - a 21 pin into a Bachmann 47, using the supplied second smallest speaker. Sound is very good, though I will be experimenting with speaker upgrades in due course. I'm really delighted with it. A very easy 15 minute upload with no glitches whatsoever. A real breeze, the app was so easy to follow. Motor control is fabulous - no adjustment of CVs required at all. I was amazed. The overall volume default of 50 is just right for my layout. Already I have adjusted some of the spot sounds to my liking, for example spirax valves right down to level 1 - absolutely perfect. The app on the tablet makes CV adjustments quick and easy. I also reduced the brightness of the loco lights to better suit a 47. You can do so much. I shall definitely be buying more and uploading more loco classes to replace some TTS. Can't fault anything at all. Quite honestly it's now one of the best sounding (and running) Class 47's in my fleet - and I have Loksounds and Zimos from most sound suppliers. So well done Hornby.

I am, at last, in the process of rebuilding most of my layout. Given that the "new" Hornby 91 is fussy over pointwork, I have been using it as my test loco while laying track; if the 91 runs well over the new track, then surely everything else will! So far, so good. Even copes with small radius Peco Streamline and the radius 2 curves which will be covered as hidden sections. All Code 100. Regarding Mk4 trailers - I have a rake of originals (undersides state proudly "Built in Britain"). I intend to retain these coaches as the colour match to the loco is good. I will lightly weather them and paint the interior seating which will make a huge difference. I replaced the wheelsets with newer Hornby metal wheels and they run nicely. The couplings all line up and the 91 will push them quite happily at all speeds - even through my less than perfect fiddle yard at full speed! I uploaded a very short video.

Could be the flat lead that links the socket to the throttle that has failed, normally by the plug at one end or the other. Worth giving a wiggle at each plug and see if the red light on the panel flickers. I've had two leads fail in the past 10 years, and since then replaced it with a coiled wire version purchased from Coastal DCC - much more robust, easier to walk around with, plus it doesn't get all tangled!

Nice photo. Blue and Grey looked great when clean and recently painted. Unfortunately it usually went dull pretty quickly.

I agree that the original tooling for the Mk1s was good. IMO just a few minor tweaks would be good: Addition of window frames (most Mk1s had this modification made from the early 1960s onwards due to corrosion). Removal of steps (apart from the bottom one I think) and also the ledge above the corridor connection from the carriage ends. Address the "roof rib" situation once and for all! Yes, there should be lines visible but subtle weld lines, not raised ribs! And I would agree that having a completely smooth roof doesn't look good either! With those tweaks I reckon the Bachmann MK1 would continue to be a great carriage.

Another vote for the Berlingo Multispace from me. I owned an M49 2002 Forte for 15 years. Now have a 2016 B9 XTR 1.6 HDi and it's absolutely brilliant. Very comfortable, great seats with armrests, aircon etc. Well sound proofed too. Lots of storage, cubby holes etc. Took it to France in the autumn. Cruised beautifully and effortlessly at 130kph on French toll roads. Great engine torque. Limoges (central France) to South Lincolnshire on three quarters tank of diesel. And the 3 rear seats are easily and individually removable so you can use it as a van. Absolutely love this vehicle.

I still have a number of Lima GUVs and a few wagons. I just cut off the huge Lima couplings and mounted Bachmann cranked couplings (with the tails trimmed off) onto the bogie cross beam using a card spacer to achieve the correct height. Just used strong Araldite glue.

Collected INTERCITY Mk4 DVT from my local model shop this afternoon. Very pleased with it.

Tri-ang already did that - albeit a bit on the short side! 😂 Did a centre car as well.

Russ, I certainly remember seeing them and travelling from Norwich in the late 60's and early 70's at Norwich (in blue and grey as presumably they were used for longer distance main line. Before "ordinary" units were universally treated). They were used on the Birmingham service. I thought at the time how very posh they were compared with our usual Norwich allocated 101s and 105s with their wooden panelled interiors, oval mirrors and curtains. Alas, I don't have photographs from the time. There's a nice shot (albeit in b&w) of a three car blue and grey unit departing from Thorpe on 4th April 1977 in John Brodribb's excellent book "First Generation DMUs in East Anglia. I really hope we get a R-T-R model in 4mm.

Yes, some were allocated to Cambridge in 1986 for parcels use. See the excellent railcar website https://www.railcar.co.uk/type/class-120/parcel-use

Model Railways Direct have two 91s in their sale at present: LNER £163.49 and GNER £152.59. (No connection with MRD just a customer). Hornby R3891 LNER, Class 91, Bo-Bo, 91118 'The Fusiliers' - Era 11 - Model Railways Direct Hornby R3893 GNER, Class 91, Bo-Bo, 91117 'Cancer Research UK' - Era 10 - Model Railways Direct Edit : Sorry unable to paste link to pages - don't know why!