OldSutt

Just a few notes on progress so far. Having sorted out the T9's problems posted elsewhere, I turned my attention to the my Bachmann ROD GWR No 3031 and chipping. It had ran smoothly on DC so after a quick check that it still did, set about installing a decoder. I was aware of the reversed wires problem. So I removed the tender body and checked with a meter that the board marked motor M1 M2 and L / R were indeed reversed. I treated myself to a new adjustable heat soldering iron to replace the >30 year old one and tackled the reversing of the wires. (Be still my shakey hand!) I inserted a Bachmann 21-pin 36-354 and it ran smoothly after adjusting CVs 54 and 55 as recommended.

"There follows a rant. Why is it that people assume that everyone has a ****** mobile phone? I want to confirm a date for installation of a smart meter. Log on, and I get a requirement for a phobile moan number. "Required field" it says. I type in "no mobile", but it won't have that, so I have to go and phone them, which means waiting ages for someone to answer. :ireful:And why do I have to scroll so far down the list of emoticons to find this one? It should be right at the top. So should this one." Fully Agree!! Perhaps your new smart meter requires you to check in by mobile phone. Great Pictures, my daily dose of North/Eastern Images. A GWR/SR fan.

Quite a few at the Post Office shop in Sheringham, this morning.

From unfortunate family experiences, do not DIY will, they can only lead to problems. Use a solicitor to ensure that your wishes are met, its worth the fee.

I have used 3 DCR-8Pin direct decoders and found them OK. They can be a tight fit in some installations, check the dimensions. I have also noticed that in some posts here that they work where some of the more expensive have a problem??? As you said Good value.

"I just wondered how happy you were with the Bachmann Dynamis controller and whether you feel the trip to the 'dark side' has been worth it???" My thoughts on the Dynamis have been given earlier. As to the changeover to DCC, when the system is running I cannot fault it and I like especially the ability to control several locos at the same time. My main problems has been as mentioned before, has been the points and the chipping of some locos.

Yesterday I had some issues with my T9 No 314 Black Southern. Originally DC, but converted to DCC and ran well on DC and on the programming track when converted. I took it down to the layout and the controller showed a short circuit as did the programming track. Taking the body off, I discovered that the motor retainer front and back had disintegrated and I was left with a mess just like one of the previous posted pictures. I see that a solution to the problem is to use the brass replacement part from Peter's Spares, but a previous poster quotes 2 hours to fit. I wonder whether my filling skills are up to this?

I was thinking of buying a 700 and wondering what decoder to use. If the decoder is in the tender, I wondered whether the tender was shorter than a T9 tender. I have fitted a Gaugemaster DCC26 in one T9 and a Hattons 8 pin Harness in another T9 as suggested by Hattons in their advert for a 700.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122405333393?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Why? There was one offered at half the price!

An answer to my enquiry regarding chipping T9's. I have fitted the 6 wheel tender one was fitted with a Gaugemaster DCC26, whilst the 8 wheeled T9 was fitted with a Hattons DCR-8pin- Harness mini.

Currently using Opera 43 on W10 64 bit. No problems except sometimes seizes on a download of a file, which can be downloaded with Edge, curious???

Just an update on chipping, a Hattons DCR-8PIN direct found its way into my Hornby R2937 GWR County of Cornwall, albeit on a slight tilt. A Gaugemaster DCC26 was induced into the six wheeled tender of Hornby R2829 SR T9 #314.

'However I now have a dynamis controller and this doesn't seem to work.' I am not familiar with the ez controller, but to read the cv's with a Dynamis you need Dynamis Pro-Box as well, see page 7 of Manual.

In the course of chipping my T9's with 6 wheel tender, I encountered a problem with refitting the tender top. I was using a Gaugemaster DCC 29 and realised that even at 10mm depth the top was not going to fit. So I trawled for information from yesteryear and found I was not alone, just 6 years late. Solutions were removing weights in the tender and sticking underneath the chassis or using a Lenz mini, which is currently £20 more than the decoder tried. So I wondered what other decoders had been used successfully and easily. Possibly even Hornby?

Just an update as to progress or lack of it. My local model railway shop was showing that it was down to its last 2 Gaugemaster DCC 29 decoders. As the Hattons DCR-8PIN-Direct was just a little too big to allow the body of my Bachmann GWR 66xx to be refitted last time I tried, I fitted the DCC 29. The only problem seemed to be that the pins on the DCC 29 were thin and the decoder did not sit securely in the plug socket, resulting in the address to be unreadable. This was solved by tweaking (aagh!) the pins to give a more interference fit.

Just had this email from Hattons: "We thought you may like to know that an item you have asked us to notify when it arrives into stock, has had some information about its release date added or updated. Heljan 4782 Class 47xx 2-8-0 4707 in GWR green with GW lettering £154.00 Our latest information from the supplier suggests this item will arrive with us between July 2017 & September 2017 Whilst we are hopeful this information is accurate, manufacturer lead times are frequently prone to be delayed. This information is to be used as a guide only. We hope that this email has been useful."

I obtained a Hornby Dean Goods R 2064A some time ago, which had a tender motor. It was a fair representation of the prototype but I could not stand the motor noise, so it had to go. Hornby

I managed to obtain a diesel Hornby GWR Railcar for a reasonable amount recently, so I decided to chip it with a Gaugemaster DCC29 as my local stockist were offering them at a reasonable price. . My diesel Hornby GWR Parcels had been chipped with a Hattons equivalent, so I was able to compare performance. Both ran well and little differences were noted. The ability to run and stop separately both on the same path compared to analogue was a revelation. At the same time a Pannier shunted in the goods yard. This would have been difficult in analogue. I think I am being converted, although the thought of converting the outer circuit is daunting. Another thought crossed my mind, what is the residue current drain of a processor at rest? Hopefully small, when many locos are on the whole layout (eg 10 in the loco shed and yard )

Time for an update. The inner loop has been wired for DCC and the first official circuits have been made (not counting the runaways when only partially wired). The chipped locos have shown the advantage of slow running under DCC as opposed to analogue. Only a few sidings to rewire on the inner loop to complete. Quoting #17 "I remember having to re-motor a point on a friend's layout at an exhibition & did that from below. I was able to get almost directly below it though. I always find working under the layout to be extremely uncomfortable." I thoroughly endorse Pete the Elaner sentiments. My knees have decided the issue, ALL points in future will be fitted with point motors and a hole made in the board. For those still using the extended pin method, I found that a mini bolt cutter snipped the excess pin. Now to chip some more locos, however there is that nagging worry about whether my GWR ROD is one of those that were faultily wired for DCC.

1607

Latest update took about 3 hours yesterday evening.

Whilst relaying track and points and fitting Peco point motors where required, I have not made up my mind which method of fitting is worse. The method of fitting the motor underneath involves hacking out a large hole in the base board to accommodate the motor. The other method is to fit the extended pin type afterwards from underneath through a previously drilled hole. I have found that trying to find the hole in the slide bar is a most frustrating operation. I have use a wire down through the hole and tried to push it up with the point motor pin. Are there any good methods for either?

An update on lack of progress. I have reached the main part of the inner circuit that is ballasted and is the station area. Previously I had not had this problem as all the changes were confined to the storage and unballasted sections. Taking up crossovers and re-laying them is a pain. The only good thing about the poor weather is that the allotment takes a back seat to the layout.

I must congratulate you on this series and have long admired the rolling stock. The only problem is that your depiction of former LNER Brake and Brake composites has had me examining/questioning their use for my GWR/SR West Country layout. On perusing the current edition of the GWRJ, I find a picture of the 12.20 Truro to York formed in 1925 with the leading coaches, a GWR Brake Compo for Glasgow, an LNER Brake Compo and Brake Van for Aberdeen (via Edinburgh). I am totally ignorant of LNER Brakes and wondered, whether Gresley? teak vans would be appropriate for my 1930 - 49 period formations.

As Microsoft has informed me that their Cloud storage was only free up to 5GB, I thought about backing up any excess on to DVD. Only to find out that my DVD drive was apparently not recognised by Win 10. It did not show up in This PC and there was no indication in Device Manager that there was any DVD drive. I hadn't used the drive for ages. Looking at the Internet, I discovered I was not alone and many people had the same problem. Loathe to play about with registry changes, I tried a fix suggested of uninstalling ATA channel 0 and 1 in the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. This prompted me to restart the computer afterwards. It worked and now the DVD drive has been found and I have been able to view a relative's CD of their trip to Darjeeling. Surely Microsoft could have forseen this happening?