kintbury jon

Experienced Prague and the Czech Republic for the first time last week. Using the Prague XXL ticket that covers the city plus zones 1-4 I was able to get quite a variety of haulage in. An interesting trip, was an 850 DMU to Vsetaty. A wait there for a 750.7 diesel back to Neratovice. 809 railbus to Kralupy and then returning on a 371 electric back to the middle. As well as other moves in and out of hl.n. station, lots of loco hauled options are around so got in class 150, 162 and 362. The ticket cost around £5 for 24 hours!

Yes I was wondering about declassifying a first, perhaps one of the 64xx series. I should probably just stick with my Hornby Mk 2E coaches but the Bachmann ones do look nicer.

In theory then, is the most cost effective way to get an IC TSO (at the moment), purchase a Scotrail non-dcc coach at £40, Body at £38 and base pcb at £15? Would anything else be needed? Thanks again!

Thanks ever so much for your detailed reply. Very helpful to know that the BSO is different to the open coaches. I have seen that Kernow have FO's at 60 and BSO's at 48. I had wondered about getting a body shell or two of the TSO that are available at £38 from Bachmann Spares and fitting them to the BSO. I guess it would probably make sense to get one of the Virgin/Scotrail ones that are slightly more and just swap them over? No need to get the interior then. I am a little put off the latest IC ones because of the CDL fitting which is a bit modern for me. I assume they can't be removed easily? Once again, many thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge!

Morning. Can anyone tell me how easy it is to swap bodies over on the DCC versions? For example, if I bought a DCC fitted BSO and replaced the interior and body with a TSO, would it be a straightforward swap? Having bought a few Accurascale Mk 2Bs I'm keen to mix and match them with some Bachmann 2F's. Sadly, all I can see in IC is a BSO/FO or Blue/Grey BSO only!

Lovely layout. Just been looking at the thread as I have just come back from a couple of days in Prague having sampled Czech Railways for the first time. Had a ride behind a 750.7 so love the photo of the Roco 754 Goggle!

Yes a plus one from me too! Bit late to the party on these and would like a few NSE ones myself!

Haha yes! I keep the catenary stored away to keep it safe. I am wondering whether to get some 25kv masts so that the layout can move locations! You won't be disappointed with it, the model is superb.

Evening all, I haven't updated the thread for some time. The layout was invited to the Woolwich show in December and it worked without faults. I am hoping to do a couple of shows this year with the French Railway Society GTG and the Bluebell Railway model show, both in June. Not a lot has changed except I have added some flashing lights at the level crossing. Thought I'd share a photo of the new Arnold CC14100. Whilst not suitable for the area (wrong voltage for starters!), it was something I couldn't resist and it is a superb model. Looks great on the coal hoppers and can mingle with my CFL 3600.

Just given both of a VEPs a test to check all is fine. The new version is certainly brighter inside with white LEDs instead of yellow. I'd say this is good for the modern ones as they were refurbished with fluorescent lights. The small seating section by the guards area is obviously dark and looks a little odd so might ponder whether to do anything about it. Running wise it is so much better than the original version. A worthwhile project and I am pleased I have upgraded the NSE unit. Just need to offload the SWT one now!

Just finished swapping the other three PCB boards over. A bit time consuming but not a problem really. Interestingly there are more LEDs in the new models, so I suspect it may be quite bright inside! Bit late to give it a proper test now but might have a look at it tomorrow.

I agree that the face still doesn't look right. I have a couple of 4tc models and the face just looks right on them. For me though, I can live with it. The sides have always looked good. PCB was a pain to swap. I managed to prize the luggage racks out without the glazing removed. It helps that the plastic is quite flexible. Also, there is a piece of plastic attached to the inside of one of the gangways. This was at different ends on each model so I have swapped them round. Was glued quite hard on the nse one but not the SWT one. The piece removed on the SWT body, now with the nse PCB. Quick test of the motor coach with a DTC shows that I will need to change the PCB on all coaches as the internal lights that were yellow on the nse one are white on the SWT one! All manageable though!

Interesting to compare the motor coaches. My nse one weighs in at 305g. I had added about 40g extra to it which improved power. The SWT one comes in at 425g with no tyres. Because of the differences in the motor position it will require the PCB to be swapped including the luggage racks. SWT on the left. Nse on the right. Lugs are in the same place so won't be an issue. Overall this looks like a good purchase. I will offload the bodies and old chassis as whilst the SWT bodies are superior, I'm only interested in nse so happy to live with the body faults.

Evening All, Well I took the suggestion and bought an SWT one on eBay and it arrived today. Have only so far compared the driving coaches. End view out of the box. My nse one is on the right (I have modified the paintwork at the top removing the black bit). Are they different? Yes a bit. One criticism of the original model was the gangway door was too deep. Can't quite decide whether it has been moved forward a bit. If it has it's not a lot. Roof differences are the vents are bigger. The SWT one is on the right. Bogies. Now pin point and much more free running. These are interchangeable so if they are available as spares they may be useful for upgrading. Internally they look the same and the lugs on the body are in the same place. I haven't checked it electrically but the plugs look identical. The couplings are different and look more robust. Will look at the motor coach next!

Hornby SWT 4vep on eBay. Has a 20% off code that makes it a decent price. Two left at time of posting. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315126519044?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=90j_qsyqqlo&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=nWwfM6fYQfq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY