foggyjames

Sorry - just realised "I've got the picture" sounded a bit ungrateful! I meant "I'm getting a clear picture!". I blame typing while the TV is on...! cheers James

Thanks for your thoughts - I've got the picture. Shame, as it was one of the models which first made me realise N had come a long way. Do people re-motor (or even re-gear?) N-gauge chassis, or is it all a bit fiddly / expensive / otherwise not done? I suspect it will do for basic testing. I will probably get something else for low-speed testing. Incidentally, Dad has today mentioned his love for the Schools class. Is Dapol's model of those any good? cheers James

Thanks for the tip - as a Gaugemaster user, I was unaware before starting this post that there were dedicated N controllers. O, yes, but I'd not heard of N. Good to know! cheers James

Thanks for the further comments guys - much appreciated cheers James

Thanks for the run down of better-and-worse products - much appreciated. I must admit, I'm quite taken aback at how expensive used N stock is...maybe because the leap in quality is relatively recent, and it's more niche than OO anyway? Yes, I'm sure the 45xx could be tamed with a DCC chip, and that might be a worthwhile longer-term plan, but I want to get him started on OO. Interesting comment about the controllers, Graham. It's not something I'd thought about in detail previously, but I have two conflicting pieces of experience to reflect on. Firstly, I'd made an assumption about compatibility based on Gaugemaster tending to list their main units as suitable for "OO / HO / N" operation. However, I remember from years ago that the Hornby unit I'm using here would make the same OO locos go much faster than the older Hornby 'train set' controller I had. I've never measured it, but I always had a hunch that it was putting out rather more than 12v when cranked up! Having said that, it makes this 45xx move so fast that it'd be off the end of the track I have available for testing faster than I could stop or reverse it. With about 2' of track available I'm having to switch directions every 1-2 seconds with the 'speed' control on about 30% even. Portpatrick's comment about a kitten is very apt! Very much appreciate your assistance, all - this is what it's all about - learning about the various pros and cons! cheers James

Thanks, both! Ok, a picture is emerging! I'll probably buy something else to test alongside it, and sell it on at some point. It'll do the job for now, but I think you're right that my Dad (who by his own admission is not at all a techie and just wants to play trains!) will be frustrated by it, especially as he owned some N-gauge kit probably 40 years ago, and is assuming that things will have moved on - and this will be a bad start! It's a bit of a shame, though, as they live (and I grew up) very close to the Paignton & Dartmouth, where 4555 used to live! The recommendations and video were both very helpful. cheers James

Thanks for your replies all, and thanks for the welcome! A quick point of clarification, grahame - "It's as if the controller is working on a 0-24v scale instead of 0-12v". The controller is a normal 12v unit - don't worry, I'm not that much of a donut! But the rate of progress which the thing makes is as if it is it's being supplied with far too much juice. Yes, I'm fast getting the impression that the Dapol stuff is not the best for a beginner (which I'm not, but my Dad is!). Thanks for your thoughts, Johnster! I've done quite a few repairs and setups on my OO stock, so it's broadly familiar territory, but I was wondering how good N should be, relative to OO. Certainly the modern OO stuff will creep at an extremely slow speed, and this definitely won't - it jumps straight from not moving to moving reasonably briskly. The track is brand new, but the loco is second hand. I will give it a strip-down and see if I can improve matters. I appreciate that the Hornby controller isn't premium quality. I do have a Gaugemaster kicking around somewhere, but this was immediately to hand! The Hornby unit normally gives perfectly adequate control, though - it's what I normally use for testing, and will allow the OO stock to creep very slowly. Interesting to know that there is a new generation of DC controllers - I had assumed there was little inbetween my 90s Gaugemaster and a DCC setup. WH - Good to know, thanks. This loco is used, but I don't know how well used, if you get me! It's certainly in excellent cosmetic condition. I'm planning a minimum of either second- or third-radius, so hopefully I'll be OK! cheers James

Might this be my first post?! I'm not sure! Long-time lurker. Hi all! I'm aiming to build a fairly basic "train set" style layout in N for my Dad (although hopefully with acceptably realistic scenery - just a space-constrained continuous run track plan compromising realism). All of my experience to date has been in OO, so N is a bit of an adventure for me...and one I've been quite keen to embark on for a number of years! To get me started, and to give me something to play with while I'm working on the track plan, I've bought a small amount of track and a Dapol 45xx. Herein lies my first point of confusion. Powered by a Hornby R921 controller which I had immediately to hand, the loco has poor slow-speed control (i.e. it's hard to move away smoothly, and prone to stalling), and once you're up above around 25% on the dial the thing is moving at a scale speed faster than any 2-6-2 surely ever has. It's as if the controller is working on a 0-24v scale instead of 0-12v. I should add that I've had no such problems with this controller with my OO models. It's also got a pretty growly motor...similar, ironically, to a Dapol-boxed (ex-Airfix) GWR 61xx I have in OO. Now...I did a bit of searching, and found a few references to these not being great runners, and a couple of people saying that the controller makes a big difference...but this seems really extreme. It reminds me of Hornby's hyperactive 0-4-0s! I might just chalk this up to experience, do a bit more research, and swap it for something else. Perversely, having read up on it a bit more, it seems some of Dapol's steamers are not well-loved, whereas I had the perception (mainly from looking at them, I think) that they were superior to the Grafar stuff. That perception is probably very out of date... Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is this just what they're like, or is there anything I can do to improve matters? cheers James p.s. Bear with if I don't reply - I find some forums I'm new to don't have email notifications enabled by default, or have strange settings otherwise, so I might miss the odd post!