meanach

In a word , yes! They sound extremely tinny straight out the box. The larger Bachmann speaker also is not glued or sealed so it vibrates / rattles horrifically . I can only assume their research and development department are deaf!

I I saw that , I already have a couple and find them to be too light and so disappointing runners. The new Rapido OAA on the other hand are impressively heavy.

Time to chime in with the original 37/4s , 1980s style , Dogs & stags… stuck record? , yes !

Bachmann 37 Mk3 ? Butchery ! As the company that was milling out my chassis blocks for me has ceased to offer the service, my hand has been forced to seek alternatives to the dreadful factory speakers. The fan recess (on none deluxe models) is a perfect fit for a Rail Exlusive ‘Boomer’ speaker. The bigger problem is the larger speaker. As I had to hand a spare chassis , I set about experimenting. Trying not to damage the fine detail and preserving the gap between the tanks. I have found that a Rail Exclusive ‘Boomer’ (or now discontinued Zimo small dumbo) is a perfect fit. This entails removing the switch (it’s plugged in) and carefully drilling / filing out the larger of the 2 tanks. Handily, the switch recess acts as a way to let the sound out. The 2 metal chassis lugs also need snipping off. Finally , a blob of black tack should stop any unwanted vibrations. This is of course, very much work in progress!

Very useful ! I bought a none sound decoder as a test decoder and have that exact problem. I changed the C.V and it’s still the same, so thanks very much for sharing. As for the noses , I’ve bought 9 so far and some are better fitting than others. The 37260 batch seem particularly good and the earlier 37430 batch the worst.

I’m still holding out for inter-Frigo fish vans! Although a detailed VDA is surely over due. I rather like the Heljan Dogfish as they are lovely runners.

Let’s hope they make the tooling alteration for the sibling OBA. I’ve succumbed to 6 of these OAA ! Also the new tool Hornby TTA tank wagons are superb. Although the latter needs a little re working for 80s west highland layouts, it’s still leaps and bounds over anything that’s come before.

Hi Rob , have you tried checking the cab bulk heads are not fowling the wires which run around the edge of the chassis ? They slide down into the slots in the metal in the chassis. The wires have a terrible design with those plastic retaining pieces which either pop out , snap or warp. That stops the bulk heads sliding down flush to the chassis. Ian

That’s a very interesting photo! For starters that’s a quite an unusual 37 to see a phot of on the WHL. The 4th wagon back looks like a Dutch livery OCA? If it is I had no idea they were even painted in that scheme that early.

Hi Ian The donor 37430 has a nose with a centre lamp iron that annoyingly is unique to 430 ! 401 & 422 had flat style centre lamp irons. You could just cut off the lamp irons but then you lose the double bolt that should be there in its place. In the case of 405, I have added the 2 western region ‘cow horn’ style lamp irons at each end. These are available from Brian at Shawplan. cheers Ian !

That is a superb bit of modelling. Fancy knocking one (or 2!) up In 00 ?!

Meanwhile my slowly plodding work continues with 260,401,405,423 & 425 all ‘in the works’ and at various stages. 405 & 425 being the most time consuming, owing to the nose swaps. With 425 I also found the donor noses from a 37423 didn’t marry up well and required filler… which then cracked after spraying and required a second attempt.

The question is , what traffic flow would that be working through to Oban from the continent? It’s a real shame that we have ended up with 2 superb models of the same diagram ferry van (Rapido / Sonic models) when there are so many other variants that will probably never see the light of day. Still , exciting times for us 80s highland modellers with the release of new OAA AND Alcan PCA wagons this month. I particularly love ‘grotting up’ a good wagon!

The humble buffer stop. I am slowly going through the process of replacing my make do Peco stops. Although this one had been kit bashed, it plays a prominent role in any photos or videos I do. So, after a rifle through the ‘bits’ box, out came some white metal parts which I’ve knocked up into a rusting, semi- neglected stop. It made a nice change from the 4 Bachmann 37s I’ve been working on for what seems like years!

Although all our minds (mine included) seem to fondly remember red ballast in association with tractors and Mk1s , in reality this isn’t quite accurate. I only found this out after I’d ballasted Meanach. Although there were pockets of red ballast (from the quarry near carstairs) on the extension , red ballast up until 1989 was, It seems, almost none existent on the WHL. The platforms at many locations gained red ballast at various stages from about 83 onwards and by 88 most on the WHL had it. The track beds were predominantly grey though or a mix of ‘pinkish’ and grey, more rounded stones, whose origin I’m afraid escapes me! I am by no means an authority on the subject I have only learnt via people I’ve spoken to on here and a couple of people I’ve met who worked as drivers and guards in the late 80s. Nothing much comes up on the subject on a web search, so please don't take my info as gospel. However, for my next west highland based layout, I shall stick to predominantly grey ballast! Ian

I always take a photo of the name now as it’s all too easy to forget by the next day. Despite having a ticket , a badly timed arrival of Covid put Pay to my visit this year. I had to make do with some fine YouTube footage. There seemed to be some better layouts this year but as usual at Warley, not many modern image.

Will that 4ohm load not upset the decoder when combined with the Accurascale sugar cube or have you removed that ? Cheers, Ian

Hi . Yes , but it’s not very helpful I’m afraid ! I got them from a work colleagues wife.

I have a bag of jewels that I obtained a few years back. They are the ones I used on 37033 (photo c/o Doug) and Jon Gavin used on 114. They are the correct diameter. If you want a few I can bring them to Warley next Sunday . Ian

There was a chap I spoke to on here, possibly 10 years ago (!!) who told me of a method of making a head light. He used a small led sat inside a brass bearing cup (as used for Alan Gibson wheels) drilled out in the centre to allow the wire to pass. He then painted the inside of the cup and used glue and glaze over the led and cup. I did contact Bachmann a couple of months back for some spares. They said that it would be some time before they got spares through for the new tool class 37s. Accurascale responded on here to an enquiry regarding class 37 spares. They stated that it would not be economically viable to carry spares at this time.

I may try your idea. I also have plenty of Smiths 3 link coupling retaining pins. I’m wondering if they can be used for this purpose or if they will be too large. Ian

Does anybody know if there is a way of changing the destination blinds? I have one Scottish provincial ‘Super Sprinter’ but I would love another. The only ones I can see that are left are Cardiff - Pompey sets.

Hi . I could have sworn I replied to this the other day but the post seems to have vanished ! Anyway , Meanach is a bothy run by the mountain bothies association at the head of Glen Nevis and the junction of a fine walk from Corrour to Roy Bridge via Loch Trieg and the Mamores. I’ve slept in it a few times and have fond memories. Although the line Meanach is based on is a real location further east , the station and village (and indeed railway!) are all fictional. The line was proposed but never built. Meanach would roughly be north of Ben Alder mountain by a couple of miles. As I’ve walked the hills around there the scenery is based on the terrain in that area. The M.B.A oddly don’t name their bothies in relation to their geographic location. For example you will find Oban bothy is nowhere near Oban but actually at the head of loch Morar! My station follows in this tradition. Ian

2 of mine have snapped at the bogie end . As mentioned , they quite happily re attach at the lever end. The bogie end has a floating piece of plastic with a fine semi circle. Any knock or tug and they splay apart. If you remove the step then they are only connected to the brake cylinder by a piece of plastic that must be 1/4 of a mm. That is why they won’t attach, as the plastic moves. My other gripe, and Bachmann denied to me that anyone else has had this problem when I asked them at a show , is that the sockets on the nose come un soldered. This seems particularly bad on 37430 where all 4 of mine have had this problem. Also one of the 37423 I’ve bought had this issue. Based on those numbers I can’t be alone . I’m not ham fisted either!

Has anyone come up with a solution to the dreadfully designed bogie chains? I’ve received several through the post now that have broken chains. I’m not talking Unattached from the body but snapped off at the bogie.