Wagonmaster

Thanks Ceptic, no doubt about that!

Thanks for your quick replies guys! Your photographs definitely show them flush. So, out with the drills and files to make two slots in the brass sides! Thanks again

Still plodding on with my Wessex Electric. This time a query about tye MBLS. Looking at photos, I can't quite make out if the Guards handrails are proud of the body or inset in recesses. Seems to depend on what photo I'm looking at. Does anyone know for sure? Thanks

No problem JDW. I've joined and filled my 323 bodies, but that's about it. I need the window etches to check that they'll fit in the recesses in the window apertures before any priming and painting. Maybe OTrail might get there first with the etches and make them available? I figured on using plasticard for the chassis/floor too. That way I can fix the bogies and at least have a rolling unit. Long thin strips of plasticard are going to be quite flexible, so I figured using thinner strips and laminating them together would make a more rigid chassis/floor. The Hornby motor bogie will be visible through the windows, so I was going to place this in the centre car. By doing this I'm hoping it will be less noticeable. Anyone thought about the orange dot matrix type destination indicators? Does anyone do these and for Midlands destinations?

Curious about the problem with the lighting?

That was me JDW, also posted a photo of some modified for a Class 310 and 313. I've also used them for a Class 303 and 504! They are useful as they have plain sides designed to attach sideframes to. As far as motorisation goes, I've tended to use the 8'6" Hornby bogies. Cheap and reasonable peformance. I'm tired of my 323 bodies sitting there so was going to make some chassis for them and use the SPM bogies and Hornby motor bogie. It's just the window etches I could do with really.

Yes, I had this on mine too. Superglue is a no no, you'll ruin it, as you say. I used small dabs of Glue'n'Glaze, which is a PVA type glue. This will stick it, but not ruin anything if it ends up in the wrong place! Also, if you press the bump, it might appear elsewhere, if you see what I mean. So, like I had to do, you may have to loosen the chequer plate towards the front and re-flatten it having applied glue. If you can get a weight on it to keep it flat whilst drying, it will help. I used a spare flat weight out of a carriage. Hope that helps. Enjoy.

I too have acquired an MSL kit of the original No.6000 later 26000 'Tommy'. Unfortunately, there weren't any instructions with it. I have read here that maybe the instructions aren't any use anyway, but if anyone has a copy (or for the production versions) they could scan for me, I would appreciate it. There are a few bits I'm scratching my head over!

Strange dcc problems JDW! With the 153 contacts, have you made sure the sprung contacts are actually making contact? Obviously the red and common are. It might also be worthwhile checking through with a multimeter on the continuity setting, with the decoder removed of course. At least you'll be able to see if the wires are going to where they are supposed to!

Great stuff as always. Funnily enough, I emailed Modern Multiple Units today about the Class 323 window etches and bogie sideframes. He said he hoped to have them available next month.

Has anyone who has their GT3, tried changing the tender buffers for round ones yet?

More work on GT3 trying to solve the lighting problems. Firstly the front tail lights. Two issues, they are white and they are on all the time. Some investigation of the circuit board with a multimeter revealed that the they are connected to the Ground pin, so on all the time. They should be connected to the F0(r) pin. They are white quite simply because it is a white LED illuminating them! So, I decided to rewire the circuit board. This involved cutting the wire marked NF close to the plug. A separate wire was soldered on to this to extend the wire so I could put a resistor in series, a 2k one in this case. Another wire from the resistor was carefully soldered to the F0(r) pin on the decoder plug. I also took the decision to have switchable tail lights, so that I could turn all of them off when hauling a train. This involved cutting the rear tail wire and re-routing it, along with a 2k resistor in series, to Function Output 2 on the decoder plug. The picture shows the modified board. The resistors are placed back on the board to clear the decoder. The DCC chip was inserted and the loco tested. A bit of remapping of the functions was required so that F1 controls Function Outputs F0(r) and 2. The lights behavior was also modified so that the front and rear tail lights came on and off in the right directions. F2 now controls the cab light which is Function Output 1. F0 remains unchanged and only controls the headcode discs. This was fairly easy in DecoderPro. Now to turn the front tail lights red. Very simply, I cut a small rectangle off a Quality Street Strawberry Delight sweet wrapper, which is clear red and stuck it over the lower LED! The photograph shows the wrapper and the LED housing. The result of these modifications can be seen in the photo below. Now for the red cab light. All I did here was to glue a white SMD LED to the underside of the cab lighting circuit board and move the wires from the existing red LED to the new white LED. In the event, it was too bright, so I added another 2k resistor in series to reduce the brightness a bit. The results of this can be seen in the photo below. Sorry for some of the blurry photos, but I hope you get the idea. So now I have all the correct colour lights. They operate in the fashion expected. The tail lights can be turned off when hauling a train. And finally, the cab light is white. Hopefully you will find my modifications and how I did them useful. A word of caution though, this will probably invalidate your warranty!

More on the 'shorting' problem with a Zimo MX638D being fitted. An examination of the wiring revealed that two plugs on the PCB were transposed. These were the two 2 pin plugs at the loco end of the tender PCB, i.e. the loco track feed and the motor supply. Swapping these around cured the problem. Now GT3 works with the Zimo decoder and I am now addressing the lighting problem.

My GT3 is a DCC Ready version. Therefore I have to take the tender body off in order to fit the decoder. Hopefully that won't invalidate the warranty as you have to take it apart to fit a decoder! As I mentioned, it runs fine on analogue dc, the fault only appeared when the decoder was fitted. However, I do acknowledge your note of caution.

Thanks for your reply John. Yes, I'm guessing it is a short somewhere between the track and motor feeds. I'll follow your suggestions and see what I can find over the next few days.

So, my new Zimo MX638D 21MTC decoder arrived today. I installed it in the tender and guess what, there is now a high pitched screeching noise and when I try to move GT3, it shorts and trips the controller! I then put the original dc pcb back in and it all runs fine on analogue dc. I tested the decoder on my ESU decoder tester and it works fine. Just doesnt work in GT3! Am I doing something stupid here? Any help appreciated.

Yes, but not enough for a Bachmann sound fitted Blue Pullman set! They will need to sell another one for that! Doesn't make sense. Just sign up for the second run.

Has any timescale been given about when the replacement buffer beam and pony truck can be expected? I have also noticed that the checker plate strip on the r/h side has lifted slightly. Anyone else had this and if so, how did you re attach it?

Great news! Put me down for one!

Thanks for those two posts Cheesysmith. I knew one of them was right and one wrong, obviously didn't know which one! Now that is what I call 'fine scale modelling' to cater for 0.4mm of tyre wear! With my bodge builds that's too finer tolerance!

No probs. I was just a bit confused at what KRM might have put in there! I like the 'electric Lego' though ;-) I'll certainly post my findings and solutions, if any. I'm sure there will be many different solutions to this problem posted over the next few weeks. As regards decoder remapping, I use the JMRI Decoder Pro software, makes it much easier just ticking boxes.

Ah, I think you mean SMD's, Surface Mount Device. LED's are available as SMD's and are as you describe. I've used them a number of times on other projects. Be interesting to compare progress on the different ways of tackling this issue.

When you say 'xener', I take it you mean LED's? Good to know what's under the body though, thanks for that. I'm considering replacing the LED's with the correct colours and if necessary, rewire the tender so that all light functions are controllable via dcc. Away with work at mo, so will have to wait a while before I get a chance.

Thanks for that, good point. However, the bogie sideframes are the DC Kits ones and they are wrongly made to 8ft 6in. So by using a 2BIL/HAP bogie I would have a problem with the wheels not lining up to the axleboxes! Gresley motor bogie wheels are 3ft 3in as you say, whereas the trailer bogies are 3ft 6in. In both cases of wheelbase and diameter, we are talking 1mm difference. With the wheels partially hidden behind the sideframes, it is hardly noticeable. It is a compromise I'm willing to accept. However, thanks for the pointer on this as I have a Southern Pride AM4/Class 304 to build. I'll check the SPM sideframes as they may have made these to the correct 8ft 9in. If they have, I'll follow your suggestion.

A bit more work on my Class 504. The bodies have now had their initial coats of paint and are beginning to look like 504's. The other paint details will be next. The lining, numbers and other transfers will be tackled after all the painting. Under the bodies a lot has been going on. It is now motorised and runs by itself. I used a secondhand Hornby Class 153 motor bogie fitted in the cradle cut off a Class 153 chassis. A rectangular hole was cut out of the Replica chassis and the motor and cradle secured there. Additional pick ups are fitted to the front bogie. Kadee couplings (with the tails snipped off) couple the cars together. The underframe detail still has to be fitted of course.