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I'm having ongoing trouble getting my Golden Age Gresley coaches to stay on the track reliably. I use Peco Code 75 track which everything else I own has zero problem with. I've done everything I can to the bogies themselves and things are better than they were but I am left that I need to replace the wheelsets with non-finescale replacements to deal with three areas of track that they can't traverse. The picture shows the current axle/wheel combination and I can't see anything like it for sale. Can anyone help? Syd

I got one of the latest batch of these, very impressive. Unfortunately it went about twenty feet before the screw holding the speedometer cable and rear connecting rod fell off whilst reversing, sort of pole faulted off the track and lost the alignment of the screw hole in the process. Luckily I persuaded the other side's wheel back carefully and it turned the nearside offending wheel with it. FortunatelyI had the right tool to fit the nut and it is now running beautifully again. The downside with models in short supply is that you are tempted to repair faults such as this as, if you return them you may not get a replacement. Syd

Thanks to everyone for your help, I had assumed based on Hornby models that all of these coaches would be 61'6", a bit of exploring and actually getting around to reading a book I had on the shelf opened my eyes! Missed it first run through though. Just need to get these coaches to stay on the track reliably now but I'm getting there. I'm now pretty certain they are second hand which wasn't mentioned on the website. Hard to find out much about them but I think maybe their wheels are finer than my track laying. Working through other problems such as the couplers are higher than standard and mounted permanently, Kadees will be fitted by some means, The springs on the bogie mounts were rough and the bogies quite stiff until worked on. Llights installed badly (by a previous owner?) , wires catching the bogies etc. When one gets running right though it's beautifully smooth. I have a few track issues that caused no issues with any other trains, these need perfect+ track. Syd

Of course, as soon as I posted I found the answer in LNER Carriages by Michael Harris. It's a Flying Scotsman V Locker Composite, 66'6". Would like to know now what a V-locker is. Can anyone tell me where this coach would be in the train? I only have 8 coaches and unlikely to have more so roughly would do.

Can anyone tell me what type of coach this is please? It came in a set of Golden Age coaches which includes a full brake and another vestibule brake third. This one has a much shorter 'guards' compartment, if that is what it is. Syd

It's not derailed Gilbert, its a shaft of light shining on that side of the loco and the bright bit of rail makes it look as if the wheel is above the rail. Look at the other bright bits between the other wheels. Syd

Thanks Tom, I wouldn't ever have thought of bending Kadees. I'll get hold of some and give it a go. Interesting about the lights, mine certainly didn't look like a factory installation. Syd

Hi Tom Great to hear from someone who is running these coaches. I'll check the springs over the weekend. I have already checked the fore and aft tip but worth making sure. How did you arrange a coupling for Mallard? I have an A4 but not sure which one, I'd like to get it involved. Do your coaches have lights? I am fairly convinced mine weren't factory fitted and one isn't fitted at all. That Rapido car is really tempting me, but a bit out of period. Syd

I understand that but I have some experience with brass models and fine tuning to get the best performance. The weird thing is that about half responded to bogie spring adjustments and all did benefit to varying degrees from having the lighting feeds and wires disconnected. The bogies look square and the design of the attachment looks sound enough. Given they were selling rakes of coaches I really did assume they were designed for regular running. I'll not give up!

A little late in answering your question David but you repeated it on PN a few weeks ago and I have the answer now as regards weight. The eight I bought vary from 320 to 350+ grms. Mine are crimson and cream Gresleys. At the present time I couldn't advise anyone to buy these coaches if mine are typical. Several had already had their corridor connectors pulled off but lying in the box, luckily. So far I haven't succeeded in stretch-fitting them on again and nice as they are when two coaches are coupled there's quite a gap. The couplings are coach mounted therefore sit very high. I've had to butcher a Bachmann 10001 in order to run them (no idea where to get the correct coupling, I've used a metal Kadee for now which isn't a perfect match). None of my steam locos, all shop bought admittedly, can move an inch with them, not really a surprise. I've now spent many hours trying to get them to run reliably as some keep jumping off the track. I'm sure my track is not perfect but I have it sorted well enough that many different trains, some nine coaches or more long can race round with no problem, (not a normal practice), curves, points etc. (We recently ran a 100 wagon train for the grandchildrens' benefit with no problem). part of the problem is that these coaches have nearly all been fitted with lights, I doubt they were fitted at the factory. Some of the LED strips are dangling from the 'ceilings', the electronics are leaning against the window in at least one and the wires to the pickups were mostly too badly routed or too short to let the bogies rotate freely. Again some of the pickups were already lying loose on the bogies. I decided to remove the pickups as not only were they fixed with nothing more than a spot of superglue but they were so long that they were fouling the chassis as soon as the bogie turned just a small amount. Oh, some wires were already broken as the soldering 'quality' varied greatly. The pickups were designed to press against the top of the wheel treads so effectively every wheel had the brakes applied.The bogies themselves are very sensitive to the track as I've said and I wonder if the wheels are finer flanged than normal, though not all the coaches are affected. As received some bogies had their spring-tensioned screw tightened fully home, others ready to fall off. Adjusting the screw does seem to have helped some coaches. These were bought from Rails, spur of the moment as there was limited stock and I really wanted replacements for my Hornby Gresleys. I initially emailed Golden Age directly as I have read how helpful they are and I doubted Rails could help. About a month now and no reply. I contacted Rails by email yesterday but they have no-one in their technical department who knows anything about these coaches so have passed my queries to Golden Age, maybe they will have some influence. I know there is no stock at Golden Age and I'm sorry to hear of their problems but it is still a little frustrating, not helped by the low sales numbers (I guess) means very few people write about them as far as I can see. Meantime they do look nice in the sidings <G> Syd

I think that shot through the canopy, highlighting the area beyond is great!

I don't think even all 8 Golden Age coaches would weigh as much as 100 wagons, Kadees do seem to be very strong. Meantime you've reminded me I have a green diesel somewhere that was detailed and weathered for me and it has that wire and hook on one end. Never a shortage of things to do when you have this hobby!

Thanks for the tips, I'll browse through. I'm sure you're right regarding collectors but I was hoping one or two folk on here might be running them. I'm fairly sure I'll go ahead and alter them to take Kadees, it would take strong springs to use Keen type! That said a few weeks ago we coupled up 100 wagons, mostly 4 wheel but some parcel bogie vans and all on Kadees and the only fault was one NEM type pulled out of it's NEM socket! I also will consider new wheels as the flanges seem very fine on these, don't know yet if the bogies can be persuaded to allow a change. The curves are down to maybe 20" in places and everything else works fine, but you're probably right! Syd

I bought 8 of these coaches from Rails of Sheffield two weeks ago. Parcelforce moved them around the country for a few extra days but they finally arrived. I'm really pleased with their appearance and quality but I am having difficulty keeping them on the track. I found that the bogies were screwed up fairly tight and loosening them helped a few of them. I have been rolling them by hand only so far as their couplings, which resemble Kadee but are a little larger and higher than any Kadee coupling my locos have. I'm surprised at the distance between coaches when coupled together so if anyone can suggest or show how to get them more like the way Bachmann or Hornby coaches can be improved with Keen or similar mods I'd be grateful. I emailed Golden Age but received no reply. I understand they are in some difficulty but I'm still disappointed. I have not contacted Rails as when buying them, though pleasant to deal with, I think the sales staff have no knowledge of these coaches. Has anyone any experience or knowledge of these? There is very little out there that I can find.

Ah! I had the above post sitting ready to send before lunch so pressed the button without refreshing the page first. I couldn't find any pictures of them good enough nor any articles to show details but I'll be happy enough as it was the 'turnunder' that was annoying me more than the other details. I wonder are they old stock, as they are not shown on the Golden Age website. Still happy to be getting them, something different!

Thanks Derek, just wanted to be sure they are the correct ones. I've just ordered the seven coach set plus an extra coach. They are quite a bargain compared to getting a set made. I was unaware of the Gresley Hornby issue until I became a 'Gilbert follower' <g> I don't think the sale of my Hornbys will contribute much! Apologies to Gilbert for the intrusion, but it was an emergency... Regards, Syd

Are these the same crimson and cream type as the Hornby ones? I know little about these but the crimson seems to come up higher. Regards Syd

We fitted a wireless chime (or a choice of other sounds can be selected) setup, couldn't be easier. Bell push sticks on the door and the actual 'speakers' plug into any mains socket. We have two plus a battery one that can be taken outside. Couldn't be simpler.

It's great to see these vans getting some use (and their moment of fame ) and I'm looking forward to seeing them well work worn.

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I'm in trouble, again, as I can't transfer the config on my main iPhone to the other two that I use as controllers only. I had bought another used phone, a 5S this time as my first used buy went faulty after about two years. I haven't been using the extra controllers over the winter as no-one other than myself was ascending to the loft during this over-long cold winter. The faulty 4s proved repairable but meantime I had wiped it through iTunes. Both will see and apparently copy the main phone's config but it's data doesn't come over. I put this story on the Touchcab Facebook page, which I don't normally use and but someone did kindly reply suggesting that I copy it over through iTunes as it was an issue at the moment. I can't work out how to do this. I backup via iTunes to my PC only via iTunes. Can anyone tell me how to sort this please? Syd

Would you consider 'blackout' blinds? When I retired I fitted up two rooms, one for my sound system and one for movie watching. I bought a quality 55 inch Samsung but the problem was that during the day the light from outside prevented me seeing the TV! I had a winding blackout blind fitted into the window recess and that was a complete cure. It has a frame right around it so zero light can enter. This might be a really good use of your recent windfall. My approx. 6' x 4' blind cost about £330 fitted and is still in perfect condition 9 years later. You could then have lighting arranged to suit yourself. My winder system could have had a motor fitted but I didn't have a nearby power point. Recently I noticed that a battery powered version is available which could be useful. I suspect 'winter syndrome' is affecting a lot of people just now, so stick with it. I really enjoy both my thrice-daily visits to see your latest shots, coupled with the witty narrative! Syd

Try the TouchCab app. if you have an iPhone, excellent value, needs the 23151 which you have.

'and I wanted to keep the Sentinel and coach in' That was the best part of the picture!

Thanks Suzie, all the above is very clear and I got everything sorted in a few minutes. You really have gone to a lot of trouble and I very much appreciate it. Having a DCC rolling road available without going up to the loft is great, especially as the temperature drops!