Art Dent

Sorry - brain fart. My post should have said "How would a driver know what spped he was doing in a speed-restricted section??", not "How would a fireman ...." Also should have said 'speed' not 'spped' (I blame fat fingers/small keys)!

@ramrig Sure looks like one! I didn't know that 9Fs weren't fitted with speedos. How would a fireman know what spped he was doing in a speed-restricted section?? Thanks for the replies folks. Art

Just a quickie. I don't seem to recall seeing a speedometer on the 9F 2-10-0s. I guess that they had one - but I can't seem to see one on any model, nor in photographs. Was it internal running off an axle via gearing?? Art

No problem. If you're thinking of the Slaters wheels, the correct set is Slaters 7838G and I got mine from Holiday Hobbies (link here) but they are currently out of stock. You will need to open up the holes in the bogie frames as the Heljan axles are of a smaller diameter. Art

Well, having run well for 25-30 mins including hauling 5x Teak coaches, it lost a bogie wheel at a curved point. I could have araldited the wheel back on but it seemed better to get some "proper" wheels. The axle diameter on the Slaters wheels is larger than the Heljan axle - so the bogie needs drilling out to accommodate the replacement axle. A tad tricky, even with a pillar drill! Art

@Bucoops, At least the gears are metal and not nylon! Another "annoyance" I've encountered. The front guard irons - that should (on the model at any rate) be fixed to the drain cocks/cylinder pipes and the lower front valence - were loose, being attached only to the cylinder pipes. On fitting the new wheels to the pony truck (correct terminology?) then putting the loco away, I noticed that there was a guard iron and an attached piece of cylinder piping on the table! Why are these parts so fragile that merely by looking at them, let alone handling them, parts fall off? Looking to figure out some way to fabricate the guard irons out of brass and find some way of fixing them (to the bogie?). However, some research indicates that between Dec 1952 June 1954 the large guard irons were removed and consequently the cylinder drain pipes cut back to a point level with the centre of the leading bogie wheels. So, my loco would appear to have aligned itself with the prototype! Att

Looks great! Such a shame that you've had to do all of this "engineering" to fix a problem that should never have occurred. Still, it is probably a more "robust" solution - given that Heljan seem to use spit & hope to fix some parts. Would love to know your opinion of the EC Buckeye couplings. I've yet to fit the new Slater's wheels to the front bogie - I caught Covid on 26th for the first time and I'm just about 80-85% at the moment (on Day 15). Just grateful I've had all the jabs & boosters - dread to think what it would have been like without them! Art

Trust God's Wonderful Railway to do their own thing! Art

Hi folks I've sent a message to Dapol requesting the sound function list for this loco (I have mislaid the original). In the meantime (or assuming that Dapol don't reply), does anyone have a list they could post here? Thanks in advance. Yours hopefully, Art

Thank you @Bucoops I orderd two sets of wheels on Friday, but thank you for thinking of me! Also ordered a thin strip of brass to fix behind the tender doors - so that (a) they may be re-positioned more easily and (b) aren't held on by the two tiny 'nubs', spit and a prayer! Just need to figure out exactly what shade of green to paint the brass - I may just go for matt black. Merry Christmas Art

Hi Albie, Looks like I've found the correct list thanks to you ... Zimo 08 ActiveDrive Soundfile (Paul Chetter) Kind regards and Merry Christmas Art

Thanks Albie, I'll check that out. Art

Hi Nick, that's very kind of you. No need to send me one however, I'll use the picture you kindly posted. I'll also have a furtle about in the storage boxes to see if I can find the command station & programming track in the meantime! Update: (several hours later - success - I found the command station & programming track. Just need the time to check things out now) Art

Thank you @dpgibbons I have this pdf already but scanned through it last night and couldn't see a list anywhere of which function was assigned to which sound - hardly surprising because this is a generic manual covering lots of Zimo decoders - both sound and non-sound. I will pop an email to Dapol to see if they have an assignment list - after all, the loco was sound-fitted by them. All the best for Christmas, Art

Thanks Nick. It is a sheet like that that I have mislaid. Currently unable to pop the loco on a test track to try out the function buttons due to house rennovation and evrything being packed away. At least the locos were i a readily-accessible box! All the best for Christmas. Art

This is the last of three queries about DCC Sound-equipped locos (all with Zimo chips) I have mislaid all the info on these locos and what sounds are allocated to which FN. Heljan Class 25 This had a Zimo MX MX645P22 sound chip with an ADAPLU board fitted by a third party. The loco was purchased brand new from Rails and the sound chip was fitted later on. I believe that this is also a Paul Chetter sound project - but I can't confirm this. Can anyone please help with a list of FN keys? Everything is currently boxed up whilst a major house refurbishment is taking place, so don't have access to a programming/test track. Thanks in advance, Art

This is the second of three queries about DCC Sound-equipped locos (all with Zimo chips) I have mislaid all the info on these locos and what sounds are allocated to which FN. Secondly a Dapol 57xx Pannier Tank This came with a factory-fitted sound decoder which (through interrogating the CVs) is, I believe a Zimo MX644D Purchased brand-new from Rails of Sheffield in late 2018/early 2019 (I can't remember) Can anyone please help with a list of FN keys? Everything is currently boxed up whilst a major house refurbishment is taking place, so don't have access to a programming/test track. Thanks in advance, Art

Hello, This is the first of three queries about DCC Sound-equipped locos (all with Zimo chips) I have mislaid all the info on these locos and what sounds are allocated to which FN. First off - a Dapol 08 Shunter Fitted with a Zimo MX645R and stay-alive. Purchased from Digitrains, Lincoln and fitted by them with a Paul Chetter sound project. I think it was one of Paul's early 'Active Drive' versions (dating from March 2017 or 2018?) Can anyone please help with a list of FN keys? Everything is currently boxed up whilst a major house refurbishment is taking place, so don't have access to a programming/test track. Thanks in advance, Art

@Bucoops Those pictures of the tender keeper plate look horrendous as does the copious amounts of glue used to fix the tread plates (which doesn't seem to have had the desired effect!) If you look back to my pictures posted on 3rd Nov of my original A4, you'll see the merest hint of glue (but no treadplates). However, even the huge amount of glue applied to your loco seems tohave had no effect! Looking at your 4th pic, I presume the glue marks are for the tender side plate? I'd get back to Hattons and ask for a partial refund - given that they don't have any more in stock to replace yours with. I asked for replacement wheels - they hadn't any spares - so asked for a partial refund so that I can purchase a replacement wheel/axle from Slaters. They were kind enough to offer a partial refund, which I accepted. Now to go and buy some wheels! Art

I presume you are meaning the Hattons Originals OO-Gauge 66's? There are no new Hattons Originals 66's on the site at the moment. There are lots of 'used' locos with one bogie and cardan shaft as separate items to the main loco (i.e. detached!) plus other loose parts! What do Heljan use for glue - spit & hope?? Art

Who in their right mind would risk their reputation by commissioning something to be made by another firm and NOT put any QC in place? Or who in their right mind would accept a commission from another company and risk their reputation by NOT QC-ing their product before dispatch? Beggars belief that either Hattons or Heljan would do that (but seemingly one or both parties have!) Hattons have replied saying that they are out of stock of the loco and don't have any spares and have offered a return/full refund as the loco is within warranty. Art

Yes, they'd sold out of the £299/£329 new A4s over a week/10 days ago. I looked in case my replacement A4 had problems running and had to itself be replaced. Turns out (apart from throwing a shoe - see my earlier post today) I seem to have got a good one (okay - so the windscreen on the fireman's side was stuck on with only a bit of spit and hope and the one of the tender doors [with two ridiculosly small 'nubs' to attach it to the tender] also fell off) as it ran straight out of the box with no coupling rod/crank pin issues that I've heard of. Plus this one had a fall plate and a dummy coal load - but was missing the valance pipe and running-board support brackets. Mind you, it did have the shiny tread plates over the cylinders and these were actually stuck on this time! Mind you, I'm not convinced that these were shiny after the initial locos for the Jubilee Trains [Silver Link, Quicksilver, Silver King and Silver Fox]. Most pics I have been able to find seem to indicate that these were black (or very grubby) and not polished stainless steel. Makes you wonder who (if anyone) is employed in Heljan's QC Department (if indeed they even have one)! @Bucoops I emailed Slaters and they came straight back saying the same as you - secured with a countersunk screw. £18.50 per axle - so £37 to fix a problem with a brand-new loco that has run for less than 30 mins total. Just need to replace the plastic washer that got lost when Aussie went off the rails. Any ideas? Art

Are the correct wheels these .... Slaters 7838G If so, how are they secured to the axle - push fit or grub screw? Art

Managed to figure it out - use the 'Share' feature for your video! Post now has the link and the video! I should have taken a second video with it pulling the rake of Teaks! Such simple things. Art

I took my replacement A4 to my local O-Gauge Club to test it. They were most accommodating and she ran without a hitch straight out of the box. Started running her gently, light engine, then gradually ramped up the speed until it was running at a scale 110 mph. Tackled curved points, etc without a problem. The club then suggested some coaches and attached 5 Teaks. Again, she ran without a problem for a total "running in" time of about 20-25 mins. Then, the Iron Horse threw a shoe! Coming around a curve (with a curved point) she lost the driver's side front pony truck wheel, losing the small plastic "washer" in the process (which we didn't find). Earlier in this thread, someone had posted that the wheels were "wrong' and suggested replacing them. Rather than 'Araldite' the wheel onto the existing shaft, I thought I'd explore this possibility. Can someone post a link to the replacements (with an appropriate axle if not included) for the front pony truck? Would the wheels be a 'push fit' or would they be secured with grub screws? Thanks in advance, Art [Hope I've managed to post the YouTube clip correctly. Now sorted - YouTube clip should be embedded! ] Many thanks to the friendly and accommodating folks at http://www.sheffieldogaugegroup.org.uk/