Midnight-Freight

Never pre-ordered a loco before, I have now!

I'm not too clued up on these but I like the look of the VTG ones. I'm also not a total stickler for realism but how out of place would these be on a modern image, virtual quarry layout?

This might be a bit of a non-starter but I'm looking into the idea of building my own bogie ballast wagons like the MMA/MJA/IOA type. I wouldn't mind having a go at building the body myself so can anyone suggest a kit or cheap flat wagon I could use as a base? I'm not too worried about it being super accurate as long as it looks ok.

The 66 market is definitely a bit saturated at the moment but I think it would be a real shame if there wasn't a future run of these. Particularly any new liveries which may appear. My opinion might be slightly skewed as I only have one and it's perfect but they really are a fantastic model and on my end to end shunting layout details like the rotating axle ends really stand out. I wonder, if Hattons have been put off producing any more whether any other manufacturers would be willing/able to acquire the tooling and produce them, with a few tweaks. It would be a huge shame if the tooling went to waste after all the time and effort that went into the project.

Thanks very much. Really appreciate your comment.

Here is the January update at Chesterton Road where I look at adding some more detail like signage and my first attempt at making tree.

I haven't updated here for a while as there hasn't been much progress with the layout. I do however have a new loco for the layout in the form of Hattons DB 66097. It's a stunning loco. I've put together a short video where I first get my hands in the model. Will it be one of the good ones or a dud?

Did you investigate at all or just return it?

Has anyone had one of these with a dud motor? Mine arrived yesterday and on dc there was no response from the motor but lights came on. With a known to work Hattons DCR-21pin Version 2 decoder fitted my dcc controller won't read any cv's and acts like there's nothing on the track. Functions 0-4 work correctly for the lighting though.

Yes makes sense. Obviously I can't change a cv on a decoder in that loco to see if the motor reacts to it. I'll try and check the wiring to the motor and see if I can find an issue there.

Thanks for the replies so far. I've been doing some tests with my multimeter and have confirmed that there is continuity between the rails and the 4 points on the circuit board that I assume are the wheel pick up points (2 each side). With the blanking plate in place there is then also continuity at the two points on the board marked motor + and - (from their corresponding rail) which is broken when the blanking plug is removed so that suggests to me the decoder socket is ok and there should be power feeding the motor on DC. I wonder if there is no power going to the motor, which I'll try to confirm. My next question is what information does a dcc controller require from a decoder for it to be able to read cv's and function? If there was no feedback from the motor would that be enough to confuse it and think nothing was on the track? The error 2 code when I try to read cv's is what happens if I try to do it with nothing on the track so I guess my dcc controller isn't recognising there is anything there.

Yes, I just mean a very faint noise, I assumed it was normal as most of my dcc locos do it. With the decoder in all the lights work on functions 0-4, it just won't read any cv's and the motor won't respond.

Yesterday I took delivery of a Hattons 66 along with one of their DCR-12 Direct V2 decoders which I've fitted myself. I'm using a z21 start with wired Multimaus handset. When I tried to change cv1 to set the address the screen locked for a few seconds before displaying Error 2. I press ok and it then goes to the CV input screen but when I change it and press ok it displays error again and won't accept. Now I've just swapped the decoder from another loco and the Hattons decoder worked fine in the other loco but the problem remained in the Hattons one so it appears to be the loco at fault. When there is power to the track I can hear the decoder buzz slightly and if I turn the lights on the front ones illuminate but not the rears. This is all with the body still removed so no top lights. I'm assuming the body doesn't need to be refitted first and I think the lighting switches are set correctly, not that I would expect that to affect anything. Does anyone have any other suggestions before I contact Hattons? I'm hoping I don't have to return it as cosmetically it's a goodun. Just to add the only DC controller I have is an old Hornby one which I tried with the blanking plug in and no response from the loco. When I tested the voltage at the track it was only 8v on max though so I don't know if that tells me anything.

I finally gave in and ordered DB red 66097 with a Hattons decoder as a Christmas present to myself. Hopefully it will be a goodun...

Do I spy a DB red one in there? If so and you will be 'dumping' a Bachmann equivalent I might be interested.

Oh dear, I really, Really, REALLY can't afford one of these right now but a DB red one is almost irresistible at that price, even if it might have a few issues.

I've made some progress on the office build and started doing some rough scenics. Still lots more to add but it's looking a lot less bare in this area now. You can check out my latest video here:

That's great and gives me an idea of where to start.

One thing that strikes me is there seems to be a few customers that have returned faulty models and had replacements that have had the same and/or different problems. Surely if a customer has already had one duff model that they've returned the one thing you make sure you do is to check the replacement is a good one.

I've been neglecting this thread recently, partly because there hasn't been much to show and partly because I've been gravitating more towards making videos to record my progress. Here is my latest layout update:

Hi, I want to experiment with using seafoam to make some small trees and bushes. Can anyone suggest a good supplier? Browsing online hasn't thrown up too much.

Whilst a complete re-tool was unlikely it would be nice if they would at least improve the lighting. You can buy a replacement circuit board that allows the marker lights to work for a tenner (albeit fixed in which ever configuration you solder it) so I'm sure Bachmann could do it at little extra cost and remove one of the most noticeable advantages of the Hattons model.

Hi, I'm after some advice on weathering the above Bachmann loco which is currently in pristine condition. I don't own an airbrush so will have to be done by hand. I don't have much experience although through trial and error I have achieved reasonable results on a couple of ews wagons. I'm just after a general faded and used look. My current thought is to use frame dirt for the lower portion and either wipe on/wipe off or dry brush to the desired level. Use a black wash to emphasise dirt in grilles and panel gaps etc. My main query is how best to achieve the faded appearance of the maroon colour. Would giving it a white wash of either Humbrol wash or a thinned acrylic be my best option? Any other suggestions welcome.

Doesn't matter if it can't rotate after does it?

Here's my latest video where I take a look at the loco and decoder.