Sir TophamHatt

Do you think it's worth subscribing? Used some Tesco vouchers for a 6 month subscription, which was okay but nothing hugely exciting. I'm looking at the J70, which has £13 off for subscribers, plus they're doing a deal with a free soldering iron. I already have one but if it goes rubbish, I'll always have another one then. Sad to see it's £25 for only 7 issues though. £50 a year is quite a lot. I do t know how much the Apt was when released but the all bells and whistles version is now around £500 on eBay. I don't want the J70 to go out of my price range. EDIT: Turns out the answer is NO. There is something like "take your money then don't care" about this. My Post Here explains a little more. EDIT 2: To be fair, the magazine does have some helpful articles. But beware clicking through from the Model Rail website automatically adds a hidden code to ensure you get whatever offer is on at that point in time. Adding any other codes at any point will cancel out the first one.

If I'm running a passenger train, 28 steps. If shunting, 128 steps.

So I've been looking at these: http://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/SiteResults.aspx?searchfield=pannier%20tank But not sure what to buy. So far, I have just bought trains I like the look of. I have a 4MT tank, which is weathered and black. I have a Class 45xx Prairie tank, which is green with GWR or Great Western down the side (I can't remember which!). I'm not particularly modelling a certain era, but at the same time, don't want to end up with a whole bunch of trains that don't really go at all. So when choosing trains, do you buy things that fit with your mode, or ones that you like the look of? Or a bit of both? On a side note, if anyone has any suggestions about a Pannier, that would also be great - would like a green one though I think.

Hmm. That's a shame but probably a bit too much work for me right now. Thanks though

Just to re-affirm, many of my trains are Lenz Silver + v2 and I also use the Prodigy Advance - no problems. Well, tell a lie, the only problem I have is my wiring on the tracks Did have a large problem when fitting a Class 52 and a Class 170 (with expres models lights), but a nice member from here (I think?) worked it out and got them both working for me.

I know it's probably been asked before but I can't quite find any threads on the basics of automated operation. At the moment, just stopping at a station. How easy is it to do?

Quick couple of questions about these couplers. Why do people upgrade? Do they look more realistic, better for shunting or what? I'm just undecided about converting some of my coaches.

Quick question about electro-frog points. What's the advantage of using them/not using them? All mine are insulated, so I just wire up each side to the bus wire at the moment. I only have one or two trains that are very short that struggle.

Can anyone give me a quick run down on motorised points? I know obviously there is a motor and electricity but how is it switched? Can I get the electricity from the bus wires that power the track, or is it best to get a whole new power supply? I'd only be motorising 5-8 sets I'd think. I guess each switch is singular? So diverging to another line usually requires two switches - both of these would have to be independently operated, or could I wire one switch to throw them both? Watched the Everard Junction video about switches. His had a loud buzzing when switched. Is this easy to fix? (Did't see all of the video so don't know if he fixed it.) If so, how? Thanks for any help

I have not long finished wiring my first layout. I didn't particularly follow the rule of "every piece connected" - I just added dropper wires every so often. To be fair, most pieces are connected but I still have a couple of dead spots. One, I am certain has it's own dropped connecting it to the oval bus wires I have under the hood so not sure what's happening there... But as I'm adding a section, then I can check all the connections properly after that. It sounds hard, but the more droppers the merrier! Next time, I certainly will plan to add droppers to every piece of track just to ensure there's no dead spots and everything is connected.

I don't really understand this whole "not shipping to x country" thing. With the eBay Global Shipping Programme, you ship to a UK destination and they do everything else. If the item is damaged, you can claim from ebay. If it doesn't turn up at the final destination, claim from ebay. So long as you have the email, or a signature saying it's arrived at the GSP Centre then you're practically covered. It's all tracked through ebay automatically then. I sent a Class 170 to China through GSP. While the buyer didn't leave any feedback, tracking shows it arrived fine, so I guess there's no comeback - although until the 180 days from PayPal is passed, anything can happen!

Thanks so much - that's really great Will give it a go this afternoon

I have a couple of Zimo and a Lenz Standard + v2 spare but I could do with a couple of photos showing where the screws are. To be honest, I have no idea where the "valve gear" is or what it even looks like! I found two at the back, then three in a line near the front... but didn't see the tiny ones It did sort of want to come off when I pulled but I didn't want to exert more force in case something broke off. I understand I need to make some cuts to some of the parts to separate the body? Pretty confident at fitting the actual chip though (hopefully will be able to recycle an old Lenz chip!) though, but I'll take photos as I go and put together a guide (I have about 5 others to write).

Is there a definitive guide for fitting a DCC chip to this loco? It's the last one I have to do. Thanks

I'll have to double check but apparently the Thomas and Friends Oliver won't be DCC ready... http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=879_756_772_774&products_id=5905 Granted, it's Bachmann USA, but Bachmann is Bachmann...

Which is strange as some other trains that have yet to be released are not DCC ready...

Maybe they're simply trying to get rid of old non-DCC stock.

But even if they made 0 money from it, so long as they've covered costs, it could be a way to get their name out there for future projects.

Me too! Although I just took the plunge and bought it; arrived yesterday. I still have to set up the bus wires and droppers though. I happen to have a Swallow HST coming, with Legomanbiffo sound so I can give it a real good test.

Has anyone done this? Is the new coal glued in? I was thinking of doing it as we have an open fire so get real coal fairly frequently. Would the spray of Copydex/Water I'll use for ballast be good to use? While I don't want to ruin the loco, I can't imagine going back to the plastic that is currently used.

It sort of worries me when I see threads like this :/ I thought to convert a DC loco you simply had to wire in a socket and/or decoder and away you go. But I worry about stall rates and what I have to test. Ordered a bunch of Lenz Standard v2's, but will probably order some Zimos as they too seem to be popular (I have about 15 locos to chip). Is there a bit more of a guide on stall rates and stay alive things?

Hmm. I guess it depends on how much profit you want to make. If they work out the costs based on todays value, work out how many people are likely to make a pre-order, then that should give an indication on how much to charge. Use that for the Kickstarter, which will likely get more orders anyway, and then up the price by 10% for after Kickstarter. If production was limited to 1000, then the math is even easier to work out. The pound rate won't change significantly over the next few months, and while small increases or decreases will happen, calculating the rates to a lower pound value could mitigate this. But because there's no indication of cost, then it all hinges on the "sensible price" variable. For the power cars, charge anywhere from £150-£200 or £250 - £300 range for DCC ready - that's £250,000 at the lower end. I'm sure the Kickstarter could start at the £250 and head up. With a limited run, people would buy.

Why didn't they just do a Kickstarter campaign? I'd be happy to pay upfront at a sensible price. Then [the builder] can see how many people would be interested from the outset. While I appreciate not everyone would go for a Kickstarter campaign, at least it would help gather funds from the beginning.

Also, FIY - to emphasise words, use the italics button.

Thanks for the advice. Been reading as I'm looking to start with DCC as soon as possible. I think I already have a DC controller so can switch if I need to but the more DCC things I have, the better. Just expensive converting 15+ locos! But then should be fairly quick after I get the first few under my belt. I was looking at the NCE cab as it seemed to be the most popular but now I'm not so sure. The fact it's built for the UK seems nicer, and if it means I can add sound, lights, points in the future without having to change anything - I might just save a little longer and get the PA2 instead. My only concern is both seem to be over 10 years old :/ Also struggling to find it at £209.50? Website please How many locos (no sound, points or anything else) could you run with the NCE out of the box? Thanks