Izzy

Although some older design motors can run fairly hot I would not expect it of present day ones. Or only if they are under extreme loading. Running light/with no load, as in your shot, they should remain cool or barely warm at most. Is the combi a feedback controller. If so that might be having an effect.

If you want to add stay-alive then I would suggest you get 8-pin wired decoders. Easy to cut off the plug and then hardwire by removing all surplus wires. With 6-pin - where there is no common + blue wire connection - they use half wave for the lighting circuit through the black track connection. So then when adding SA you need to locate both the common blue+ and ground connection places, designated solder pads etc. Some have them, many don’t. With 8-pin there is the common + blue so all you have to find is ground for the SA. Much easier by comparison.

Glad you found it useful Jerry. This is one of those aspects that is difficult to convey in words and seeing says all that's needed. I just wish I had the skills to present things better. As far as the Buck goes it's now finished, or rather should I say that it now joins the queue - it's getting quite long - of those waiting for spring/warmer weather and painting. The final details of pipework along the footplate sides, injectors under the cab, lamp irons and destination board brackets now added. Any cab interior will wait until painting is complete. These isn't quite as much spare room as I'd hoped so it will be very basic. Here it is up against the N7/3. I am pleased with it's final weight. I have been able to add enough lead in the smokebox, bunker and tank sides that it's now 43gms. This is the same as the larger Farish Jinty. One aspect that did worry me for a while when comparing it with my other steam locos was it's size. For a while I wondered if I had produced the drawings size wrongly for these exGE tank locos are generally seen as smallish, yet in reality these last designs, and thus the biggest, weren't. It is smaller than of course the N7/3 but in some respects seems to loom over the Jinty at some angles and quite dwarfs the J15 in height and width. It's nice I now have a selection of scratchbuilt exGE steam locos in 2mm. Now I must really get on with the J15, the poor thing was started first of all the current construction and is the last to be got towards the finish line. I've had a few issues arising to solve with it, not the least being finding enough room in the tender to fit more than just the tiny Zimo MX615 i.e. some stay-alive in the form of the flat 470uf. It's going to be difficult. But also the ex farish 4F tender wheels look as if they won't last the course, the N/S plating on the tyres is wearing off and the copper under layer is showing even though they have hardly had any use. Current collection was thus pretty poor under plain DC until the loco was hooked up. I may have to replace them with 'proper' mk5/6's. But comparison with the J69/1 has shown up an aspect of the N7/3 that will be dealt with first. The lack of beading around the side and front windows. It looks poor and needs doing. Somehow I missed it when completing the loco and didn't notice it until now. Anyway I hope my relating some of the J69/1 construction, the making of parts, might help and encourage others to give it a go. Bob

Yes, the 4-pin is as you suspect just purely for motor control. You could probably remove the spare pins and plug what remains into the 4-pin socket. All that’s needed for many steam locos. Just make sure you remove the right ones…..!

With regard to the stay-alive aspect and 'just' using a single 470uf tantalum I thought I would try and make a video of the result. It's not that brilliant so you'll have to forgive the shaky and less than wonderful result but I hope it does - just - show the amount of run-on that exists. It's a crude way of doing it but I couldn't come up with any other that actually showed it clearly enough. Obviously more uf would always be better but it works good enough for me. Bob

Interesting the subscriptions for all the mags shown is roughly the same. I wonder where BRM stands in this, or such as the MRJ. Also what % are digital rather than paper. It’s interesting to me in the sense there is now no local newsagents in my area, the last closed in late 2023, and none of the smaller size local supermarkets stock any modelling mags at all, Tesco/Coop/Sainsbury/Aldi/M&S, 10 miles or more to the nearest that does. I often wonder what impact this might have on the hobby in generating new interest.

Thanks Tony. Compared with the 3D plastic versions and the home-made one I eventually made up for the N7/3 when they all fell apart in my hands I think they are quite nice. They do certainly look the part I feel. Here's a quick comp shot with the N7/3. I don't know if it would be possible to print them in a slightly softer material because trying to drill 0.3mm to take the pipes was near impossible. I managed to make a dimple to help locate and that was all. But it might be whatever is used. However I do find they take normal soft soldering with no issue so actually adding the pipes - some PB wire - wasn't the problem I expected and a good strong joint resulted. TBH it's nice such parts exist at all, so thanks. Bob

J69/1 details The work of adding the details has slowly progressed over the last week. I started off by trying to work out where all the bits needed to be and the holes required for them and then drilling 0.3mm pilot holes to be enlarged as necessary. In the end I counted 30 holes... so it took a while to do. Doing them in one go I find better than doing them at the time of fitting and then finding a detail already in place prevents the hole being made. It is for this reason that I now leave fitting chimneys and domes until last, finding they are either in the way or keep getting knocked and damaged in the handling. I also leave adding footsteps until the end for the same reason. I fitted the whistle first simply because in getting the holes in the right place it 'pinged off' onto the floor so I made sure when I luckily found it that it wouldn't do it again..... Then I made and fitted the clack valves, produced simply from 0.4mm brass rod with slices of 0.8mm & 1.0mm brass tube ( Albion Alloy). Since I need some for other locos I made a batch of six. I often make bits in batches when I know more will be needed in the future. All the details except the Westinghouse pump - a 2mm SA stainless steel 3D print - and etched handrails knobs - were made up from wire & tube of suitable sizes. It's all time consuming rather than difficult but does produce reasonable results. Working out the order in which to add the parts is key I find in not tying yourself in knots and it does tax my simple brain so it was slow going as the loco is 'busy' as regards pipes runs etc. I fitted the smokebox door next to enable the handrail fitment. The condensing pipework I made up on some paxolin before fitting. Nearly there The footsteps I always back with a narrower strip for strength before adding the steps themselves as I'm always finding myself bending knocking them in handling If I am not careful. I think you can just about see them in this shot. The buffers were from a batch I turned when I made the N7/3. The steps are small bits of sheet cut and bent up and then soldered into place. With the chimney and dome now added it's beginning to look decent. Like the smokebox door these were glued in place with cryno. I have always fitted them this way rather than soldering. It means when whitemetal castings are used and something isn't quite right there is a greater chance of getting them off and re-using/re-seating them. Not quite there yet though, there is the pipe runs along the footplate sides for the brakes etc plus the actual bufferbeam pipes. Bob

There are two different arrangements for the MS490. A direct connection for a small 16v capacitor up to 1,000uF, and another for complete stay-alive packs using the normal common + and ground. @John Besley There are some decoders that won’t read on a program track once stay-alive is added. Those I’ve encountered like this to date (CT & TTS) also need analogue running turned off to work, although I do this by default anyway. I have not encountered these issues so far with any flavour of Zimo, sound or non-sound, but I also don’t use large capacity stay-alive such as LaisDCC, nothing over that 1,000uF figure. This might also have an impact. With regard to the MX600 going duff I would suspect the stay-alive connections were the culprit and must be different to those I posted, the ground connection. It’s all a learning curve …….

Thanks Nigel, that’s interesting, and food for thought as usual. Bob

Oh, seems they have revised the design, no doubt to do with component availability and suchlike. Okay, here's the original, Zimo recommended connection point which I used until I was made aware of the alternative. You do need a fine point tip to get to it. Unless of course the top surface arrangement /design has also changed......! As the MX600 has a continuous current of 0.8A and a momentary of 1.5A wouldn't that be enough for a coreless motor with a stall of 0.6A? ( I'm presuming the quoted 0.6A is stall not running value and the C1320 is a coreless from High Level Kits).

Ah, so no cutting off the function wires then! Do grain of wheat need extra resistors adding? Never used them myself with decoders. Only LEDS. Yes, I slit it lengthways along one edge to remove it while adding the ground wire and then re-fit and tape the edges together if the decoders somewhere I need to ensure it's properly isolated.

Unless you intend to replace it at some stage in the future and use it elsewhere I'd suggest just cutting off the plug and surplus wires and hard wiring it into place. So if no functions are needed, just motor control and stay-alive pack then remove the green, white, yellow. It's red and black to the track/pickups, orange and grey to the motor tags, while the blue (common positive) along with another connection made to the ground are the stay-alive connections. I re-use the white for the ground. You do not connect stay-alive to the motor itself. You must of course use the appropriate stay-alive pack/parts. Here is where the pad for the ground connection is on the MX600. On the underside. As per here: Hope this helps. Bob

No John, I made them on the lathe out of 1/8” stock when I did all the turnings recently. Kept the outside diameter and drilled them out 2.5mm. It all started out when I made the cab windows in the J15 oversize by mistake - they are the same size - and so got the idea to use inserts and decided to do the same with the J69/1. I guess rings from 1/8” brass tube might be possible to cut. I am hoping to knock up a simple punch from either 1/8” brass or steel to produce the ‘glass’ eventually. Bob

For security I would guess. Better use of space as well. With a building that size you’ll always need the lights on. I think I see a security roller shutter on the door which would be sensible given the heartache some have suffered in recent times due to vandalism.

Having soldered the front windows in place I then added the coal bars to the rear ones and fitted them. This was done by cutting the bars (36thou PB wire) over length, placing them in position on the drawing with d/s tape and soldering the window to them. Then trimming to size before also soldering into position. As the windows rotated fairly easily I tack soldered them to ensure they were vertical before final fixing. Once this was done it then occurred to me that I had yet to make the cab roof. I used the drawing to help with placing the 'rivets' in roughly the right places before adding the ventilator and rainstrips. As per my preference the cab roof is designed to just be a push fit into place so I can gain access to the interior so shaped struts were fitted underneath to both help keep the roof shape but also be a firm fit on the inside of the front/back. You will see that they had to be shaped to clear the windows, which being 0.5mm thick are raised on both the inside and outside faces of the cab. Then I spent some time fiddling around fitting the front sandbox fillers and handrails. I don't know about others but I find adding the details to anything I build, locos, rolling stock, buildings etc. very time consuming but utterly necessary as they transform whatever it is from being quite bland to something with a measure of individually about them. So a long way to go yet as it will have the full condensing gear some carried all their lives. I have a couple of suspects in mind, both of which appear to have worked in North East Essex towards the end of their lives. Bob

I have encountered this at odd times with both my Prodigy system and Sprog/JMRI both of which have emergency stop options. The loco will respond to all other commands except this. This covers both MX & MS types as well as the (odd few) other makes I have). Not tried to narrow down the issue but just thought it strange, although I did wonder at first if it was somehow connected to using stay-alive, soon dismissed when a new pre stay-alive decoder install did it. Bob

Ah yes, it's funny how rose-tinted your memories can sometimes get! Selective memory I think they call it. I'd rather forgotten how poor Farish were at the time compared with the likes of Arnold/Minitrix etc. Happy days ........ahem.... Bob

That's kind of you to say David, and is a bit ironic given how it was originally intended to exist. The first N gauge locos I had were a pair of Graham Farish J69’s bought new when they first arrived in the GER blue livery and were my introduction to N gauge. In the late ‘70’s they were sold off with the rest of my N stuff when I moved on to P4 but my fond memories of them have remained with me ever since. In more recent times I have often thought about finding one second hand and fitting the body onto a 2FS chassis but looking at the pictures I have seen of them I realised that perhaps they weren’t as good as my memories seemed to suggest they were. So having the complete set of John Gardner loco drawings from the GE society I decided that perhaps the answer was to scratch build one in lieu of the memory of them. I have to admit I think I probably made the right choice. Bob

Yes, so do I Jim. This is what I often use as with the J69/1, the basic motor control tab. The advantage is that with just adjusting the Vmid I can do that on-the-fly using POM on the layout, this being cv6. Vstart is cv2 and Vhigh cv5. cv3 & cv4 are acc/dec respectively. I often do the same with them, make adjustments on POM. I always save all to the Decoder Pro roster after to keep the records correct. I know I've said it before but I wouldn't be without my Sprog + JMRI. If I could only have one piece of DCC equipment it would be these (which I class as one hardware/software combination). Bob

That's very kind of you to say Clive, thanks. I'll admit I've always liked a challenge but there are still times I wished I just used DC, and especially where costs are involved. But then I think of all the things I've done to try and get decent/perfect running using it in the past. However I do like the simplicity of DCC, well as I have arranged it, the go anywhere nature sans all the section switches. Strangely enough I've come to realise that it has perhaps as much advantage, maybe more, for a small/minimum size layout as with a larger one. But it has taken an awful lot of working out, the understanding of the various aspects, to home in on how I wanted to use it as compared to others. For me in the simplest way possible, only being interested in basic loco control and performance. Bob

Having been in conversation recently with a local model shop owner about trading levels, all the various factors in play, I am naturally saddened but not overly surprised about this news. Given the excellent level of service Hattons have given over the years all I can do is wish both the owners and staff all the best with whatever comes next for them. Bob

That’s very interesting Jim. With both the MX615’s I’ve now used they have run off like hares compared to previous Zimos. I don’t know whether it’s just these particular decoders or firmware changes although I rather suspect the latter. That the default speed curve has been altered with more recent firmware versions. These are v40. Usually I just change the address, add acc/dec (20-40 normally), plus dial in 51/133 for cv9/56 respectively for the coreless. But with these I have tried both pulling down cv6 on the basic speed points or using a modified speed curve to get running speed levels to match previous Zimo/CT decoders. While the Hunslet 05 is now satisfactory - I ended up with cv6 at 65, so start 0, mid 65, top 255, with the J69/1 I am still trying to find the sweet spot. Bob

Keeping Going I have now installed the MX615 and 470uf stay-alive pack in the J69/1. As it's just a single tantalum I got the idea to solder the 16v Zenner diode in place directly on it along with the resistor & diode. I could then add short wires for the common+ and ground and then wrap tamiya masking tape around and in-between to insulate it all, a multi layer sandwich affair. So the decoder was insulated from the stay-alive parts as well as the loco body. I cut a couple of slots for the track feed wires and used a bit of d/s tape to hold the whole lot down on the pcb. Normally I arrange pads of pcb for the motor wire connections but as there wasn't really any room I just soldered them together and sat them each side of the motor sandwiched between more layers of tamiya tape . This was needed because these motors don't have solder tag connections, the wires coming out of the end cap. These I now fold over and cryno together to prevent them fracturing as they enter the cap. I have had this happen in the past rendering the motor useless as there is then no way of attaching more wires. Then I fired up the laptop and JMRI to see what the result was. Always a nervous time in case I have made an error somewhere. But on the program track it read okay. Phew! On the throttle it ran okay at the default settings. Between step 3/4/5 of 28 ( I only ever use 28 SS) I got about an 1/8th of a wheel revolution when lifted off the track. So I think just 470uf is more than adequate for my needs. However, being picky I did notice that at the automatic motor settings Zimo now set as default when starting from rest on SS1 there was a slight jerk when moving off. So I set cv9 & cv56 to the fixed settings Zimo have suggested as a baseline for coreless in past firmware (this version is 40). So cv9 to 51 and cv56 to 133. This produced what I like, a more gradual move away from rest. Right, on with the body... Bob

I have wondered if this was on the cards, part of the reason. I already have iPhone and iPad Pro. It won’t take much more ‘persuasion’ from Microsoft for me to go and get a MacBook and be done with it.