Pedro32

Hi, Yes mine runs absolutely flawlessly with the Hornby TXS decoder. I used one of the speaker chambers which was already prefitted- so just stuck the speaker enclosure down (there are two side by side). The surplus speaker enclosure I covered over with black tack. I did struggle to find space for a stay alive though so opted to not fit that. Others may decide they can find space for the stay alive somewhere. regards Peter

Hi, I managed to pop into the garage to do some testing of the loco on my layout track work. Haulage ability is impressive. I will remove the pipe work detailing from both ends as this restricts the movement of the nem coupling in my view- (others may disagree- but I’m basing that on the Heljan 25 I have which has a similar coupling set up). The loco passed through all my uneven yard areas and helix. Thumbs up from me. 😀 Regards Peter

Well my GM Exclusive Aldeburgh Festival 47596 in revised NSE livery arrived today, and first impressions are excellent. Straight out of the box it has a good weight and after reading* through the manual and running in I set about fitting some TXS Bluetooth sound. (*skimming). Actual body removal was simple with four screws. The bogies seem to have a bit more give in them compared to their Bachmann class mates. I’ll report back once I’ve had a garage session with the layout as I’ve got some helixes and uneven storage sidings.😆 It should certainly look at home with the new Accurascale Mk2bs. I’m hopeful that my other Heljan 47’s on order are equally as good as this one. regards Peter

Rails of Sheffield have emailed today to say they’re getting their first batch of new 47’s in on the 4th March, so the revised NSE version should be winding their way to layouts next week. 👍 For the sake of clarity- Gaugemaster collection NSE version - https://railsofsheffield.com/blogs/news/Heljan-class-47s-57s-due-imminently

Thanks for sharing the link to the YouTube clip. I’d not spotted this yesterday. I’d also noticed last month there was a post on Heljan UK here https://www.Heljan.co.uk/post/oo-class-47s-due-february-2024 Cheers Peter

Well since the last time I posted I’ve installed a further 5 decoders into my fleet, from more 50’s /31/ 9F to a class 60. I’d forgotten that the sound file for the 60 was now available. Took me over an hour to install, as at first I thought the decoder was duff after installing the firmware update. Turns out I had to remove the decoder a couple of times before it accepted downloading the sound profile. I’d learned quite early on you don’t install the stay alive pack till you’re all fettled first with the profiles. After a few cups of tea and choice words it’s all come good. 👍 I’ll be buying a couple more to see if I can fit into some new 56’s hopefully. cheers Peter

Hi, All three of my new arrivals (TTA liveries) came with a detail bag containing pipes and a tail lamp.

Hi, These new wagons are now in stock at Hornby now. regards Peter

So it appears these may break cover in January “24 as I received a notification from Hattons earlier today, on some variants I was interested in . Usual caveats apply. Perhaps there may be some final samples on display at Warley.

Hi, Appreciate it is very very busy at Accurascale. Is there going to be an update on the ZDV wagon and associated MDO/V wagons soon? As I had received an email in June saying they (ZDVs) were 4 weeks away. thanks Peter

Hi team Accurascale, @McC Having seen this great early review today: I had a question about the flexible nem magnetic couplings provided in the detail bag. Will these be supplied as a coupling pack that we can buy separately in due course? thanks Peter

Hi there Jamie, I’ve only installed two sound decoders with stay alive to a Hornby class 31 and 9F so far. I’m waiting for an eventual release of a 47/60 and (assumed they may release in time) pannier sound files for me to install more decoders to some other stock. Once I installed the sound files to the locos and I set the location and tested sounds etc. I did this initial testing using my Dynamis, I then kept the toggle for each of the profiles set to DCC on the app. So I’ve not needed to change the location with my ECoS Command station. I’m afraid I’ve not read the locations either as the ECoS has recognised the locations already previously set by the Dynamis. Sorry I don’t know this offers much of a solution? regards Peter

Hi, I wonder- Are these lovely wagons fairly imminent? Assuming they’re on the high seas now? best Peter

Some nice looking wagons developing it would appear see: https://uk.Hornby.com/community/blog-and-news/engine-shed/come-oil-ye-faithful

I’ve been watching this range develop since the initial announcement. My view was this offered those who had dabbled with TTS decoders something with a bit of more refinement and also encouraged those who may not have thought Iphone app or android control/sound possible to give it a go. I have an ECoS command station as my main DCC controller and use a Dynamis Pro for testing and bench work. Some time ago I had fitted some of my items with TTS sound decoders and while basic they were good value for money. That said I decided to order two sound decoders with a stay alive pack for each. R7336 8 pin TXS sound decoder and R7322 21 pin TXS sound decoder. I had read through the instructions and also seen some other Youtube uploads. I fitted an 8 pin sound decoder to my Hornby Engineers Grey Class 31- which I had recently rescued from Mazak rot with a new metal chassis The sound decoder and speaker and separate stay alive all fitted together as I expected. Downloading the software was simple and the prompts to remove from track and replacing to install new sound profiles was very smooth sailing. All in all it took me an hour from taking the loco apart to having it running on my bench. I like the fact that I can use an Ipad to adjust the settings including volume and change the decoder location really quickly then flip the control to DCC and then cycle through the options on my Dynamis. Today I fitted a 21 pin sound decoder to my new version Evening Star 9F. Again, I used the power supply from my Dynamis as I had done for the 31. The fitting of decoder and stay alive was simple and the tender of the 9F already has a speaker housing though you do have to squeeze things up a bit to reassemble the tender. Took me a while with my thick fingers! Loading of the sound profile took slightly longer than I’d hoped as I kept getting an error that the sound profile wasn’t loaded properly. What I did in the end was to remove the decoder off the track then reinsert it again and reinstall the decoder software then install the sound profile and it worked! Sound was much better than TTS in my view and the total fitting time was an hour and a half- probably because I was being extra cautious as the decoders has stay alive packs added and it tells you to remove it from the track for 60 seconds. All the extra sounds you get is an added bonus over TTS. And I’m impressed with the range of plastic speaker housing you get in each kit. Instructions once you have found them on the Hornby website are by far the most comprehensive I’ve seen- when compared with the old TTS variant. I should add that I have a fair few loksound V4/5 sound fitted locos in my loco fleet and these decoders offer versatility as well as being £ cheaper. Rest assured I’m not telling fellow modellers what to buy. Just saying what I’ve found so far. Solid start. I’ve installed two sound decoders so far. I’ve now ordered some more (8pin and 21 pin sound) with a view that it hopefully won’t be too long to wait to see what other Ex-TTS sounds are released… regards Peter