Chamby

It works the other way round too. Heljan 2661 - Class 26/0 in BR green: Rails price = £95.00. Hattons price = £61.00. In stock at both retailers now. Many other examples of the price differential favouring either retailer, depending on which model you are looking at. Sweeping comments based on a small sample Can give the wrong impression. The reality is that you need to shop around for the particular model you want at a given time, if you want the best price. I have a number of retailers that I routinely check out before committing to a purchase, sometimes even the smaller guys have a better deal on a particular model. I think it is a fair observation that Hattons are currently the cheapest supplier rather less often than they used to be. So shop around, but don’t write them off as a joke. Phil

I disagree strongly with your comment “it’s only model trains” - it’s hard earned money for what in many cases is an expensive purchase. And October’s shambles was just that. That said, I am finding Hattons service back to normal now. I have been pleased to take delivery of a couple of orders now - correctly processed and delivered next day by Royal Mail, just like they used to before that fateful stock take. Yay!

#907 of this thread if you're interested in a pic of one example of a simple sound install. Phil

Thanks John, I understood we were talking about MX645.... explains it then. Phil

I use a craft knife to slightly widen the gap between the ‘jaws’ of the fishplates, this makes them easier to slide on. I also find it best to hold the fishplates with a small pair of long nosed pliers when sliding them on. One other thing you will find with the bullhead track, if you are using track fixing pins and a softer track bed such as woodland scenics foam, is that the rails can very easily pop out of the chairs whilst being pinned. I find it best to drill a 0.5mm pilot hole in the sleeper, and slightly countersink this hole before using pins to fix. A quick coat of sleeper grime and the pin then becomes almost invisible.

Fond memories of visits to Victors and W&H. Was it really that long ago? How things have changed...

Thanks for the above responses. The Youchoos guy at Warley did say that the MX645 would work for an indefinite period with the 4ohm double dumbo, but at some point would likely overheat and blow the chip... he also thought it strange that they sold these speakers that were best used with Loksound chips! I can only assume that he was additional staff taken on for Warley, or he maybe had personal experience of one blowing. I’ll go with the published advice on Youchoos own website over the verbal advice then. It is consistent with Zimo’s own technical sheets and other suppliers views as well, so I’ll stick with my double dumbo installations - but be mindful of the volume. Should be fine for home use and I’ll be careful about tweaking up the volume for exhibitions or club use. Phil.

How about an Eastfield shedded K1.... that would fit the description, and be a lot easier for Hornby to deliver. #putsontinhatandrunsforcover

The two green Hymeks could easily have been painted with the same batch of paint at a similar time. The one on the right looks cleaner than the one on the left, so the one on the left is tinged with ‘grime’. And they appear to be on gently curved track which means the sun strikes each locomotive at a different angle.... Then there is the question about the film used. Kodachrome and Fuji film in particular were notorious for their different colour renditions when used in otherwise identical circumstances. The film will then have been processed with chemicals that may or not have been ‘fresh’, then the reusultant negative or slide will have aged for an unspecified time in unknown conditions. Then the image may have been printed in a book using we don’t know which manufacturers ink on paper that might not be perfect white, which aged again for an unspecified time before being digitised using unspecified equipment, and finally viewed by each of us on different manufacturers computer screens/tablets/smartphones, under different lighting conditions. When you think about it, it’s remarkable that they look near enough the right sort of green at all!

It is clear from Charlie’s OP that he is looking to develop a high end product, something that will appeal both to collectors and those who desire and can afford the best. It will be a high performance product with state of the art spec and capability and a premium price tag to match. Think SLW Class 24 and Kernow’s Bulleid diesel in terms of the business model, with a twist of added Charlie magic too. For me, the 47, 37, 08 and 41 appeal in terms of longevity and breadth of application. They would have broad appeal in both transition era and modern image versions. The 55 has a big fan base, but a more limited sphere of operations. I can also see the appeal of a 66, but this would only be relevant for the later era modellers. The 08 could be a challenge to squeeze everything inside, unless the cab space is compromised. Whichever he goes for, I will be most interested if it comes with a green era version. Not to upgrade a fleet of ten, but a couple of specials to bring a smile to my face? Yes please.

You got me thinking... how about “Albatross”?

Your first sentence, great... But then even you couldn’t resist re-joining the discussion again! Remember Monty Python’s argument sketch? I think there’s some of that goes on with this forum, people actually enjoy the argument for its own sake.

We paid £9,750 for our first house in 1978... I was earning £3,200 a year at the time. That’s inflation for you. In forty years time, modellers will probably be reminiscing about when they could buy a model railway locomotive for a mere £200!

I think the manufacturers and commissioners have realised that there are in fact four main types of model railway enthusiast, at least in the RTR arena. (So scratch/kitbuilding notably outside of RTR scope). 1). The kids who want toy trains 2). The ‘average enthusiast’ who looks for reasonable quality models at reasonable prices 3). The ‘affluent enthusiast’ who wants higher spec models and can afford the higher prices. 4). The collector. It is the last two that are driving the current price hikes well above what you would expect to see simply due to exchange rates. Manufacturers know that by raising prices they can reduce the production run required to recover the tooling costs. Recently they have found out that if you don’t raise prices enough, supply outstrips demand and discounting inevitably follows... whereas raising prices even more with a smaller production run means that demand outstrips supply and prices can be maintained, or even raised further. Witness the last few of R3555 Sir William Stanier on sale at Rails for comfortably over £200 at Warley. This surely will be seen as a positive development by the collector - who are emerging as a significant driving force as production run volume declines. I think this is why we have seen prices shoot up for the latest models, why Hornby are rethinking their discounting strategy, why production runs are getting smaller and why retailer commissions are becoming more popular. After a period in the doldrums, the market seems to have found a sweet spot, at least for the moment, for the more monied among us. Longer term I hope they also find the right supply model to properly service the ‘average enthusiasts’ who have higher mortgage/rent and family commitments. Maybe the rising price of their premium products will finally give Hornby’s ‘Railroad’ range a clearer niche in the market too? Phil.

Is that foam ballast I spy on the running lines?

Thanks Tractor. Wish that resellers who pre-load and repackage chips could pass on the technical leaflets too! I am left wondering why the guys at YouChoos gave other guidance? The guy seemed very assured on this point though, maybe their experience is otherwise???

I was chatting with the Youchoos guys at Warley, and was warned against my current practice of installing their ‘double dumbo’ speakers with an MX645 chip because the impedance was incorrect. The double dumbo features two 8ohm speakers wired in parallel, so a combined 4 ohm impedance. I was advised that this would work for a while but burn out the chip in time because it required a 8 ohm speaker. I was advised to use the single dumbo with 3D printed chamber instead. Upon checking the technical data on Zimo’s website, apparently the MX645 requires a speaker of 4 ohms, which is different to (for example) the MX646-8 and MX649 series which require 8 ohm speakers. (I normally use Loksound v4 which seem to be standardised at 4 ohms but have recently acquired a few Zimo chips with pre-programmed Locoman sounds). This conflicting info about Zimo’s chips is confusing at best! Can anyone ‘in the know’ provide some definitive clarification please? Phil

Stationmaster, that is exactly what I did too. But Andy 53B makes a valid observation about the impact of sleeper position and rail cutting, and you have to admit that it is bizarre that Peco haven’t updated their website with any details about the new points. Especially since they felt it relevant to publish .pdf plans for both Code 75 and Code 100 points which have identical geometry and sleeper formation, so why not the bullhead points too? Phil

Yes it’s a misquote... should have been “An Ivatt, an Ivatt, a King’s ransome for an Ivatt !” ;-)

But which is best? FIGHT!!! (With apologies to Harry Hill).

There is no doubt that good colouring can disguise all sorts of anomalies to the casual observer. A simple touch of the right colour paint can help quite obvious anomalies to blend in to the overall scene: for example painted wire connections soldered to the rail sides, in track and/or ballast colours as appropriate will camouflage even blobby soldering quite well. (Yes I agree it is better to solder hidden droppers to the underside of the rails, but most people do seem to lay the track first before wiring up). Code 75 bullhead rail, being of a narrower profile than both Code 75 and 100 FB rail, looks finer before you even start to add any cosmetic enhancement. I have received many compliments about code 75 bullhead OO track that has just had the sleepers and rails painted, then carefully ballasted.... without any weathering of the ballast. It just looks more delicate, to a finer standard. Some people even ask if the trackwork is to EM scale, such is the effect! I think this 'instant finer scale' look, together with the improved sleeper spacing, is the attraction for many people. Phil.

That model locomotive would be between 30-40 years old, most likely. It doesn’t look like it was in a prototypical livery even when new!

I can’t vouch for SMP trackwork, but the Peco Bullhead joiners SL-114 do work with C&L bullhead rail as well. Sometimes they need a gentle easing open with a miniature flat headed screwdriver to fit, but they do the job.

I think Peco really need someone to kick their kennel regarding their website. It’s appalling. The sort of basic questions being asked in this forum, such as “can I join Code 75 bullhead track to the flat bottomed streamline rail” Should be on their list of FAQ’s by now. I would expect a raft of FAQ’s to help their customers get to understand this significant new development in their range. The templates for the new points should be available as .pdf now. I know they are the same dimensions as the flat bottomed streamline.... but not everyone realises this. Peco have seen fit to publish templates of flat bottomed code 75 AND code 100 points which have the same basic layout, so why not add the new points with a different sleeper configuration? Their whole website needs an overhaul IMHO. I trawled through nine pages of 00/HO products all lumped together searching in vain for anything to do with the new trackage system. They just don’t seem to have anything about it. This is not a big ask, it’s just updating your website. Come on Peco, you can do better than this for your customers... and your own business!

At Warley I was able to make a spur-of-the-moment purchase of 10202 only. I assume 10201 was sold out on pre-order. (?) My 10202 runs fine on Code 100 streamline, C&L and Peco Code 75 bullhead track and points down to 21in minimum radius curves. I have also tried it through Code 100 second radius reverse curves without problems (alternate left hand joined to right hand R2 curvatures). Even some Hornby and Bachmann stuff supposed to cope with R2 curves struggles with this wiggly track test! Phil.