Izzy

A class 16 pt 6 The bogies are now done. They look a bit better to my mind and are much stronger, the metal outer portion superglued to the inner keeper section. With the fuel tank also done and stuffed with lead I have managed to add enough lead weight in total so the loco weighs almost exactly the same as the class 15, 52gms. This is just 4gms less than the larger Farish class 20 so I am quite pleased with this result. The loco is thus finished apart from making some square base oval buffers on the lathe which I can’t get out at the moment. Making the cab interior and glazing will be left until after painting. So the 16 now joins the painting queue. Not being able to use the lathe at present also means I can’t move on with the J15 so a start has been made on another loco build that’s been in preparation for a while. The simple chassis is up and running and just needs the brakes adding, hangers, pull rods etc. I've gone for a fixed axle one following my experience with the Royal Scot regarding the combination using stay-alive. I’ll reveal what it is meant to be when I’ve made the basic body although I would think many could guess but might be wrong as I haven’t decided yet myself…….. Bob

There are lots of very helpful people on here, but perhaps the easiest way to find views on particular subjects is to use the search box to bring up the various threads. For example there have been several on the MTB point motors and I believe the same regarding the Digitrax Zepher DS52. Can take a while to sift/read through them sometimes but worth the effort. Regarding DCC, Coastal DCC in Ipswich is perhaps closer if you live in Essex or Suffolk and comes highly recommended from me - usual disclaimer. They do attend a lot of shows but have a shop in with Orwell Models and Scograil. Kevin is ever helpful by phone/e-mail/website as well as personal visit but best to contact first in case he has popped out. Bob

Thanks Chris, that's very helpful. Looking at the photos I've studied of around my local area it seems that perhaps Thompson's were the main steel bodied type. That's lucky! Bob

Studying the photo you posted I took it both these wires go to the motor terminals. The grey/orange motor control wires from the pcb go to what seems to be a small capacitor sitting on top and I guessed it was just how they had chosen to do the wiring. Since there isn't much involved, just the pcb to enable a 6-pin decoder along with a few bits for directional lights I would suspect the pcb is faulty somehow, a short-circuit or duff part. Given the quality of the wiring two of the wires touching would be easy I think. Purely personally, since with the prototype the lights were very dim and hardly seen in daylight I don't bother with them, so I rip all the gubbins out and just hard wire a decoder in. And you can also remove the capacitor since it isn't needed under DCC. With just four wires there isn't much to go wrong ! If you want to keep the option of changing decoders you can always use a 6-pin wiring harness. Bob

Yes stereo. As others have suggested it’s probably down to each individual setup. The usb converter I use to use was by Roland, which might have been key. I haven’t had the need to convert anything in recent times so whether it’s different under W10/11 now I wouldn’t know. Bob

I’d download and try Audacity. It’s all I’ve ever used in the past to convert records/tapes through Windows via different devices. Bob

I've had a Prodigy PA2 3.5amp system for around 13 years now. I'll try and list what I see as the plus and minus points. + you plug the bits together, flick the switch, instant use. If it's already set-up (mine sits all together in an A4 size really useful box with access holes cut where needed with the output plugging into the layout used via 5-din plugs/sockets), then just flick the switch. No time delay while it all boots up etc. before it's ready. + it's very easy to use for controlling locos. The handsets have separate buttons for quite a few of the main functions. No multiple button pushing to access the basic needs. Speed control can be either by rotary encoder or by push button and you can switch between the two on the fly. + the 3.5amp output means there is plenty of 'overhead' to have an accessory bus to power such as point motors, lighting and so forth. I actually take a feed of it to power hacked servos, lighting etc. via a voltage regulator. So no multiple power feeds into a layout. + if you want there is now a wi-fi adapter to allow used of phones/tablets using either apple or android apps as an alternative to the Prodigy wi-fi handset ( I've ended up with both options over time). - It's okay writing to decoders using POM - program on main - but pretty slow/turgid trying to read/write using the system. I now have a Sprog II with which I do all programming via JMRI/Decoder Pro, it's vastly better than any programming via any handset. - When it comes to sound fitted locos like most handsets it falls down with convoluted access via multiple button pushing to get to the functions because of the limited number of buttons. - There are few if any options for automated control. It is pretty much a 'closed' system although a computer interface is now around to allow limited use with JMRI. I have no idea whether it's worth the cost. - the encoders on the handsets keep failing. Not working properly. I've tried Gaugemaster repairs and fitting replacements myself. Thankfully there are the push button speed controls. But it isn't good at all. Biggest downside I feel for something so basic. - It is all round an expensive system these days compared to others offering much more. Conclusions: Would I get one again today knowing what I do? Very doubtful. Nigel's recommendation of the Z21 + Wlan Multimaus would on balance be where I'd end up I think. Very capable on all fronts with the option of a handset or phone/tablet. But.. I might also end up with a variation on the Raspberry Pi front. A Pi 400 + Sprog II/III with the other bits needed, Steve Todds etc. Just add a small screen for a complete system running JMRI with a graphical interface if needed. I believe @KingEdwardII has gone down this route. Quite a bit cheaper into the bargain I think. What you get I think all depends on whether you just want really simple plug & play and how much computer involvement you are happy to have or avoid. Bob

In my limited experience of Dapol N gauge stuff this is what you get whether new or secondhand. Not the same finesse of design/construction with regard to electrical parts, wiring/pcb's etc. as you get with Bachmann Farish. Nothing that can't be fixed though. I get the impression it came decoder fitted? If you can I would fit a blanking plug - if you have one - while sorting it out. Getting it running properly before adding in the decoder. No, I don't believe the red wire should be touching the chassis. I believe this is one of the motor feeds. If it is this may be where the problem was. One side of full power DC/DCC going both to the motor and backwards to the pcb and decoder motor outputs. Hope it hasn't cooked the decoder if one was fitted. But the basic pcb with the 6-pin socket should be fine just resting on the wires although for belt and braces you could put some insulation tape of some description on the chassis underneath where it sits. I'd also make sure the wires soldered onto the pcb are isolated from each other as well. As you say the actual assembly looks pretty poor, lots of exposed bare wire rather than neat soldering onto it. Bob

Mention has been made of wheels to RP25/110 profile. If you look at the NMRA standards I think this may well be where the problems lay when 16.2mm is used. This profile is that recommended for OO/HO where the flangeway gap is set at 1.22mm using the NMRA track standards. The actual wheel flange is 0.73mm so in theory it should pass through the OO-FS reduced flangeways of 1.0mm. But this doesn't take any account of the root radius which may cause the wheel to rise off the rail head if the wheelset is too wide to gauge and then they can end up running on the root rather than the tread. Obviously the wheel b-t-b or back-to-flange front measurement is also key here. Unified wheel and track standards are obviously best. This is where track standards such as P4 and 2FS score. One gauge, one wheel profile etc. Alter them at your discretion and expect them not to work if you don't know and understand what you are doing or parts are outside the tolerances built into the original standards you are altering. The same is really true of all these gauge narrowing dodges to overcome either running or looks issues. I've built a small layout in O-MF/31.5mm. This seemed easier than what I did previously of increasing the b-t-b to obtain reduce flangeways. It works quite okay. But O-SF/31.25mm? Hm, I'm not so sure it would work for me, pushing things a bit too far. Reducing slackness is one thing, removing it altogether quite another. Bob

I think there is a wide difference between the requirement for a work tool used regularly/on a daily basis and something for occasional hobby use such as here. Having bought a cheap MM from Maplin way back when and found it does all I need I’d suggest you do the same. The £10-15 jobbies. It might be all you need. If not then you will have a benchmark with which to judge getting a better one.

Hi Clive, TBH not now you mention it as that’s another aspect I wasn’t aware of. The later build Thompsons I know can be spotted by the rounded corner windows but I didn’t consider the steel Gresleys might be around in considerable numbers, I just took it they were Thompsons. So I’m grateful you say they are hard to tell apart. Bob

Starting out covering the green diesel era when local services were DMU based including such as Colchester to Cambridge via the Stour/Colne Valley I found that BR Mk1’s were on the remaining loco hauled ones at this time so that’s what I went for. It wasn’t until I decided to also cover the last steam days that I realised that around the area the local services such as mentioned mostly used Thompson NC up to around 1959 when the DMU’s arrived. I had assumed that most of these would have used Gresleys so it was interesting to trawl through photo albums to find that many of these had gone by these mid-50’s times and replaced by the Thompsons. It was something that hadn’t really fully registered. Bob

Thanks Chris, that’s kind of you, but having now built the 2mm Thompson NC set I realised that they suit the small layouts I am restricted to making better being that much shorter and go nicely with the 2mm steam I am gathering together, N7, J15, J69, L1, for local workings so the Farish Mk1’s I have will probably get moved on and not be replaced. Bob

Originally I had hoped to have a full set of the BR Mk1 2mm coaches and didn’t appreciate until it was too late that they would eventually run out. Nice as the N gauge Farish stuff is the size difference is noticeable at times. Having as much 2mm stock as possible was just a goal I set myself so I’m grateful you produced them in the first place. It is frustrating at times when kits and scratch builds get overtaken by RTR even if the scale is slightly different, which then becomes the only crumbs of comfort you have left. My Cowans Sheldon 6/10T hand crane is one such given all the time and effort involved. I never imagined a RTR version would appear. Thanks. Funny how nice shiny objects look more appealing! I always feel very apprehensive when I have to paint metal stock because I often feel it won’t look as good. Plastic on the other hand never looks finished until it gets a coat. I’m getting quite a few models that need painting so I guess one day in the spring I will have to bite the bullet… Bob

A class 16 pt 5 With the Thompson coaches awaiting painting attention has now turned to the class 16. This seemed initially to be the loco with the least work to do to reach a finished state compared to the J15 but now I wonder…. Having fitted the plasticard bonnet tops I did consider further soldering unwise when work stopped, but looking at all the door handles and panel grabs required on the sides I decided to see if I could make and fit them in the same way I had for the Hunslet 05 and the Thompson coaches, soldered into place from the rear. With a medium sized chisel tip on the 15w Antex this did prove possible, the heat produced not being excessive enough to affect the plastic thankfully. However with the spacers for attaching the chassis at the ends I couldn’t get the iron in to solder the end foot steps and hand rails in place. So these had to be fixed with the runny cryno I mentioned in a previous post. This was of course essential with those at the bonnet end that fit into the plastic roof anyway. The top of the bonnet has a pair of access panels, exhaust ports, and a fan grill with a walkway grill over it to be able to get to the access panels, well that’s what I presume it is for. The panels and ports are bits of plasticard while the grills were made up from some mesh I had that seemed suitable. I was able to solder on a ring of brass cut from tube for the fan grill and pb wire for the walkway legs. I worry that the grill bits are a bit over scale, the mesh a bit too thick and heavy looking. I have no alternative finer mesh for comparison to judge what may look right and haven’t found any prototype shots showing the roof detail from which to make a judgement, all shots being from ground level. These grills will be added after painting so they could be replaced at any time if they prove to be too over scale. The bogies have been converted to 2FS using 7mm plain disc carry wheels. These Bachmann American diesel bogies differ in design to the UK diesel ones so using the 2mm drop-in wheels made for Farish diesels isn’t possible. These locos were actually one of those early diesel classes that used spoked wheels – I don’t know if this was a carry over from steam construction times - but given the cost of the Mk5 carry wheels I want to make sure conversion was not only possible but that the spokes would been seen before getting some. As the bogies use ‘back scrapers’ for current collection I don’t know how they would work with spoked wheels either so it’s a case of one step at a time. The original wheels are a shouldered stub axle type fitting into a plastic geared muff with the shoulder being 2mm dia and the stub 1.2mm. As the 2FS plain disc wheels have the standard 1.5mm stub axle some modifications were needed. The muffs needed drilling out to 1.5mm and some brass sleeves of 2mm OD/1.5mm ID fitting on the stub axles. As luck would have it I had some brass tube of the right size to use. It sometimes strange to compare the 2FS replacement wheel sets and consider that while they look completely different the diameter and flange depth is exactly the same. Since this was all a bit of an experiment I was grateful I had a spare set of these gear muffs to attempt the drilling out to 1.5mm. These were in the original white Delrin while the latest versions use black. (I presume it’s Delrin as it looks and drills like it is). With the class 15 I made new outside bogie frames in brass and nickel silver with just some details in plastic. This was required because the frames were much narrower than the N gauge originals. The class 16’s bogies appeared quite different and wider overall so I thought that perhaps I could use the original frames with the outside details just filed off and new ones in plasticard overlaid onto them. This I judged would be much quicker and easier. With hindsight this was a mistake. It still took me a couple of days to slowly fabricate them using 5thou and 10thou Evergreen sheet. They didn’t look brilliant when basically done, but I hoped that a splash of paint and a few more details would help them pass muster. However… within just a couple of days it became clear that they were too fragile. The 5thou exposed edges started crumbling away and they just looked really poor. Partly I put this down to the very soft plasticard Evergreen supply, Slaters is a much harder grade but not available these days in 5thou. So they have been junked, the basic outer frames cut back as with the class 15 and I have started over with making them again this time in brass. This will take much longer to do – the 15’s were each composed of around 30 individual parts - but should produce ones that are more robust and hopefully will look better when done. It has to be remembered that these outer frames clip into place to retain the wheel sets so have to be strong enough to cope with the flexing involved in clipping and unclipping them. This was something I had failed to take into account when deciding to take the easy route. I am reminded of a saying from my dear old dad, a sailor in his early working life, never spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar…. After 3 days this is the result so far, each bogie composing of 28 separate bits with more to be soldered into place before I can consider super-gluing them to the outer frame and adding any final details. But I do think they are better. Certainly more robust. Bob

My initial take is that there are two flavours, DC or DCC, and that it is a very expensive closed system. Makes such as the Z21 and Kinesis look very flexible and VFM by comparison.

You could try here: http://www.bluerailways.co.uk/Index.aspx No idea how good they are ( the actual level of motor control) apart from seeing them in action some years back. Didn’t know such stuff existed until then. But at £39 for the 522 + PSU if you have a phone/tablet then might be worth a punt. Or at least download and try the app.

I’ve been bemused in recent years to encounter RTR OO locos with different wheel standards, flange width/depth & overall width, under the same loco I.e. bogie/driving/tender. Indeed no two locos wheels from any maker have been exactly the same dimension wise either. Bob

Might I just advise that Newton Tracey, Chipping Norton etc. were the work of the late Keith Armes, not Ames, who was a highly regarded member of the 2mm association and used to offer a track construction service and more in both 2FS and N in more recent years which several 2mm modellers I know took advantage of. Bob

Yes, endlessly, well seems like it. No issues with any other website at all. Some conflict somewhere. Others have reported the same problem.

Firefox worked quite okay until about 2 months ago. Either an update to it or the forum software seemed to change something. Pages just freeze if I sign in, it’s fine if I don’t …. go figure …

No it’s just a standard install, well as far as I know. Don’t run cortana or any of that stuff, would get rid of edge if that was possible, too invasive with all the advertising snooping etc. Firefox I can set to suit. Perhaps that’s why it won’t work with this site any longer. This is via an iPad and Safari.

I’ve been wondering when my laptop might get 23H2. The other day I thought I’d just check what it currently has and it’s 23H2 which was installed on the 16/07/23. It seems when I installed a new bigger SSD then it was what got loaded. The funny thing is it doesn’t seem any different to what I had before on the old drive, 22H2. Perhaps I automatically deleted the new apps/rubbish I didn’t want.

The only Gaugemaster I can find is DCC25 which I believe refers to the Gaugemaster product code of the particular one listed. You have to appreciate JMRI is not commercial and decoders get added by those able and willing to do the work involved, mostly I guess the ones they want/use. I’m just grateful it exists. I see the person that originated Decoder Pro before passing it on to JMRI, DCC guru Mark Gurries, has recently passed on. Bob

I use a similar system but using A4 size Really Useful boxes as they have locking lids and are stackable. The ones I use are able to take two trays of 4mm stock. Not sure if Pacific type locos or long coaches would fit though. (I actually use them for storage of a lot of my modelling bits besides stock). Bob