Right Away

I'm sure a similar issue has been raised before but I'm danged if I can find the results.

 

I would like to identify the cause which has always, since new made a Bachmann Hall appear to move in a surging motion at low to medium speeds. It is most noticable in the effect it imparts on the coaches as they "to and fro". It is as if the drivers are not absolutely central to the axles, ie in a slightly eccentric fashion.

 

(Bachmann can't have intentionally incorporated the feature that can occur with long stroke 2 cylinder locomotives).

 

The loco, No 6988, is fitted with a Lenz Standard decoder and is otherwise a very good runner.

Could anyone shed a light on the liveries that were carried by 4 and 6 wheel milk tankers during the years of BR steam, particularly in the South of England (WR & SR lines).

 

The photos I have seen are of generally very dirty examples with no identification visible.

Thank you in anticipation.

Southern modellers have indeed been very fortunate in recent years.

 

Indeed it was the availability of a Wainwright C class that brought me back to modelling the British scene a few years ago. The seemingly repetitive runs of yore from the manufacturers had appeared to have been broken with a fresh injection of a work-a-day design. For those less skilled in brass and white metal, prayers had been answered.

 

As for pre-Grouping designs from much further afield, my only regret is being unable to have seen the originals at work in the flesh, as it were, back in the '50s and '60s. Alas, pocket money in those days wouldn't stretch too far, albeit travelling on a Privilege Ticket (Father was a driver).

 

There is quite an element of risk for manufacturers when producing models which in prototypical terms were numerically very small and rarely strayed from their "patch".

The Marsh Atlantic is a splendid addition to the RTR stud for modellers of ex-LBSCR metals.

 

However, its long awaited presence has given weight to a yearning of mine for another numerically small Brighton class that has always been a firm favourite. The K class Mogul.

 

They were "part of the furniture" at Brighton loco in my earlier years and their (to me) sudden demise in late '62, along with the depot's small allocation of Schools seemed unforgivable. The K's were aesthetically well balanced with a very handsome profile.

 

So, to expect a RTR version in the not too distant future to rub shoulders with the H2 is wishful thinking is it not?

 

Edit - correction of typo in title (bloody touchscreens)

The running of my Hornby 700 was so impressive that I purchased a second one!

Lovely runners, and they're still available at attractive prices.

 

Nothing wrong with using some of the old "modellers' licence when the need arises. Failing that, vary your theatre of operations occasionally if your choices are historically and geographically extreme.

My first purchase from Derails was made a few days ago - and what a most pleasant experience it has turned out to be.

 

A friendly, helpful voice on the phone and a rapidly delivered, extremely well protected package.

 

 

DERAILS - your up there with the best of them.

Bachmann are to be congratulated on the provision of a very informative instruction document supplied with their new H2 Atlantic model.

 

Not before time.

If it had not been for the extremely helpful communication received from members of RMweb I would have struggled when gaining access to some previous models.

 

Oh, and the loco's not bad either!

In some instances the re-issuing of older models can appear to command near identical prices to those of a brand new release.

A renumber/rename is all that has occurred; the cost of initial development and tooling of these older models has been returned manyfold.

 

For those considering a return to the hobby, perhaps a little help with their first purchases of higher detailed models from the manufacturers would be a step in the right direction.

 

 

Just a tad of greed there?

Having to watch the pennies to a degree, the temptation to "collect" motive power is tempered by basing my railway in a particular geographic area and time frame. Keeping locomotives and rolling stock within this theme narrows down the size of my stock and future purchases considerably (also appeasing my very understanding wife).

 

That is not to say I would not like a majestic Peppercorn or Stanier Pacific, but their presence, amongst many other "would likes" would simply not be prototypical to my modelled location and a limited budget deems I concentrate funds on items more appropriate. I do operate inter-regional excursions and "through" trains which permit some latitude when it comes to running "foreign" locomotives and stock.

 

As far as it goes, I don't really consider myself a true collector of locomotives; even the smartest has slight areas of weathering, thus none are in a "collectable" condition.

What they do however, is give immense pleasure when operating and to my mind that is what the modelling is about.

Resistors are relatively inexpensive.

 

Providing a "bank" of them in order that every LED has its own dedicated one of the correct value negates the need for further calculation. It's also advantageous when fault finding.

That's great news, 34C.

 

I shall be looking at the Zimo range shortly for a decoder which will fit the loco in order to replace the weight yet able to sustain the maximum current draw.

The engine appears to draw around 0.3A with 4 ex-LMS coaches and a Mk1 in tow. She handles this load OK on a 45" radius curve despite flange drag but tends to lose her feet with 5 Bachmann Mk1s; hence the preference to increase adhesive weight and ensuring stronger electrical contact at the tyre.

Thank you everyone.

 

Been with Lenz for years and am very pleased indeed with their equipment. My reason for a change in this instance is solely because I would like to refit the cast metal weight in the particular locomotive and to do so would require a very small decoder. I'm hoping for something smaller than the Silver Mini. The engine is a BR4 Mogul.

I am proposing to try a Zimo decoder in one of my Bachmann steam locomotives by reason of space and motor control. My system is a Lenz 100 and all current decoders are Lenz.

 

My questions are:

1. How compatible are Zimo decoders with the Lenz controller as regards programming input/output?

 

2. Can satisfactory double heading be achieved when one loco has a Lenz decoder and the other a Zimo?

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance and perhaps any other issues I would need to be awre of.

All 4 roads of my traverser which supply a double track line have permanent DCC electrical feeds from the main bus via a flexible cable.

The traverser is formed as a long shallow box with sides and back end 60mm high of 9mm plywood. A thin plastic foam strip is glued to the far end to protect stock in the event of unauthorised movements.

Most informative thread, helps me make my mind up, I shall stay well away from DCC and remain analogue.

Appreciated, the more in-depth technical information posted in this thread can be interesting to some, with quite viable points for owners of very large layouts but providing sensible electrical practices are followed, DCC need not be viewed with trepidation.

 

I have not had to resort to utilising my electrical calculations/AC theory from "Tech" days in order to build my garage-sized 4mm scale DCC railway, which has operated well for years. A good multimeter is a wise investment for fault finding.

 

If anything, the simple expedient of running 4mm mains cable (I know, overkill) and feeding EVERY piece of trackwork with 7/0.2mm dropper wires is far less hassle than providing independently switched isolated sections.

 

Initial outlay for the necessary decoders and control system is the only downside.

Interesting post, Robert.

 

I do not have an E5000 electric loco myself and have not personally experienced this type of fault.

 

When these situations do arise and diagnoses suggest substitution of decoder and/or motor to no avail and then discovering that the culprit has been lying dormant in your locomotive since manufacture, bringing this to the attention of members is very helpful indeed.

 

Why this particular fault appeared some time after running satisfactorily is a question in itself.

How many other "on board" Gremlins are lying there, awaiting the right conditions to inflict their worst

Thank you.

 

I will definitely give this issue more thought as I did some preliminary testing in a Bachmann Std 4 tank fitted with a Lenz Silver decoder which (as I mentioned in another post) emits a growl when running at mostly slow speeds.

 

Yesterday, I replaced the decoder with the blanking plug and ran the loco on the DC test track.

Result: The loco is quiet.

On refitting the decoder (which incidently has worked fine in another locomotive), the growl returns!

 

Still puzzled, and out of bewilderment I grabbed the Lenz controller, entering 64 (binary 7).

Result: The locomotive will not move until speed setting passes step 6, BUT then moves away relatively quickly WITHOUT any growling noise. Obviously, this running characteristic is not useable until a solution is found to

fine tune the decoder output to restore the slow running.

 

Meanwhile, she'll have to growl away at prototypical slow speeds with CV50 restored to default.

I would agree with the "leave well alone" approach when all is well. Why break anything?

 

I had always been curious as to the implementation of Lenz's CV50 but count myself fortunate in running locos that really have no need for that kind of "tweaking".

 

Thanks again.

Is any member aware if the running of motors in both Hornby and Bachmann steam locomotives can benefit from altering the values of CV50 and the associated CV113 and CV114?

 

With regards to changing the values of these CVs, the information given by Lenz is somewhat unclear to me.

 

I must stress that my locomotives perform flawlessly with the default values; therefore the only reason for my inquiry is "Could I be missing out on something?"

 

If such CV changes were beneficial, would they vary for differing driving wheel diameters?

Having given serious thought to all the helpful comments above, some BR Standard tender locomotives are shortly to be allocated to my stud.

 

Nice, peaceful afternoon and therefore ideal for a bit of chipping in the man cave; taking the bull by the horns, I attended to the (DCC ready) Bachmann BR5 first.

Successfuly fitted a Lenz Standard V2 decoder into this loco without any tears thanks to the assistance given by you helpful people and referring to The Bromsgrove Models website.

 

For the information of any members who might wish to perform the task, the direct URL is:

 

http://trains-of.blogspot.com/2007/12/Bachmann-standard-5mt-disassembly-dcc.html

 

Thank all again.

I can appreciate those who wish to go down their own DIY-DCC route. What would concern me is the potential risk to expensive decoders should a fault develop within the system.

How far we should go in our strive to emulate realism on our home layouts is governed by what we are prepared to accept.

 

Slightly incorrect working railway practices in miniature are fine as long as they can satisfy or be ignored by the critical eye of the owner; after all, it's their railway.

 

Having said that, the mere carrying of a tail lamp can actually transform the appearance of the last vehicle, denoting that the train is in fact entire. The carrying of head lamps/discs also conveys a strong impression of realism to the observer.

 

One approach to the carrying of tail lamps is to fit them to certain coaches and wagons only, utilising these only at the rear when required. It can mean "doubling up" on certain items of stock however.

With regard to head lamps, some lamp irons are small enough to accept a drilled lamp to facilitate changing.

As light engines were also required to carry a tail lamp, a removable one would be useful. If one can encourage SR discs to stay put with Tacky Wax or Blu-Tak, fine, the alternative is to be "stuck" with a permanent headcode.

 

Modellers of the modern era, luckily have it quite easy in these respects.

2mm scale can offer significant advantages where space is at a premium; simply observing the longer trains that can be operated can be very satisfying.

 

There are other issues which must also be considered. For example, the smaller rolling stock can prove quite "fiddly" for large hands when performing maintenance especially on locomotives.

 

N gauge RTR examples of recent years are very realistic indeed with good detail for their size. But it is this size and the minute detail given to these models that can be difficult to appreciate for modellers whose vision has become less acute.

It was for this reason that I made the decision to revert to 4mm scale a few years ago. Nevertheless, I am constantly amazed at the accuracy which modellers can achieve, proving that the size of N gauge does not have to be a compromise.

 

With regards to actual costs, it would appear that the smaller gauge is not that much cheaper than 00 for new stock.

Live frog points with links removed and switchable polarity feeds. Use insulated joiners on the inner rails from the frog.

 

I have used small 2-way slide switches to feed the frogs, mounted against the side of the board, in line with the point tie bar.

The plastic slide of the switch is drilled and a 1mm steel rod is passed through the baseboard frame and bent 90° to the side to pass through this hole.

Beneath the point tie bar the rod is bent 90° upwards to pass through the hole in the tie bar.

A 3A electrical strip connector is fitted beneath the board through which the rod passes; this is solely to take up any "whippyness" in the rod.

Correct alignment is essential before fixing the switch.

 

This was originally a temporary fix which over the years due to its faultless operation looks like becoming permanent.

 

I have to stress that my layout is longitudinal and this method would not suit every situation.

 

I hope this might be useful. Please see accompanying pics of the switch set up on a test board.

 

 

As Pete mentions, dropper wires feeding EVERY section of track; you can't go wrong.

We were all Walschaerts "Dahn Sath" here on the Southern.

 

Can any ex-footplatemen who used the Caprottis as well, shed (pun intended) their preferences of the two types of gear. I seem to recall being told that the Caprottis were less able in hard slogging than the main bunch but once on the move there was little difference between them.

 

Maintenance of the rotary driven valve gear was apparently a more specialised affair.

 

It would be nice to hear from first hand experience.