Cliff Williams

Speaking to Heljan at Model Rail Glasgow there is some thought to a new O Gauge Class 37 version being done. It would appear to be very early days on this, but they are thinking of a centre headcode 37/0 which could be done in green and blue. Personally I think they would do well with a large logo blue 37/4, finish it without numbers. Yes there are detail differences on the 37/4s - I know as I am building a few just now, but these could be addressed by the purchaser. The downside though are the numbers - up to 800 units with the one mould. So is there a demand for a 37/4 LLB? I think there is as I had friends rattle off a dozen in a few minutes, then the Gent from Newcastle who spied my DJH 37 402 being showed to Heljan said there could be another dozen needed there. So show your interest here and lets see if a 37/4 LLB is economically viable for them. To whet your appetite here is a picture of my 37 402 passing a lightly modified Heljan 37.

It has happened to me before now. The humidity when spraying also has something to do with it. Might I suggest a large loaf tin, clean your Thumper in the normal way, then dip it into a bath of fresh Cellulose. This will help remove any remaining contaminants. Then spray it with U-POL Acid 8 etch primer, lightly warm the spray can before shaking then applying, it can help as well.

Approaching the final stages of my JLTRT 24 125 with a few mods along the way including hand cut flush glazing

Jeff the clue is i nthe opening credits and the video title -its a Howes ESU sound chip! Guaranteed to be the Loksound XL V4 and it sounds great - well done the two Brians. Look forward to seeing it at Telford.

Brian you should fit the Loksound XL V4 on the roof underside, horizontally. This means that the cables for the lights can run along the underside of the roof, you have two mini plugs to the bogies for pick ups and motors. Simple! This also means when you look in the side windows you do not see coloured components on the chip!

Thanks Gents for your help. Here is 24 125 with a coat of blue paint on it now, progressing well alongside a TTG 25. Will post up pics and a video once it is all finished. It will have DCC sound with lit route indicators (dirtied) and separate aux functions for front and rear Lucas lights, separate cab lights, separate tail lights. Makes for a lot of buttons to work, but I am happy with that!

Juts finishing one of these in O gauge right now as 24 125. What is the consensus of opinion on the roof colour for BR Blue - are there any fibre glass panels visible in light grey fawn colour? The pics on here suggest that the roof is blue, or just disguised with crap? http://www.flickr.com/photos/21403537@N00/2221387616/sizes/o/in/set-72157606875370137/ Any thoughts Gents? Thanks in advance.

Hi Michael Do you have any pics of your BR 06 built up please? Ideally 7mm shots if possible, what motor system did you use? Thanks.

Bast from the past Locthy no More - SMDV I had forgotten that nickname from Lochty!

I thought that might have been the case Brian! Look forward to some better pics.

there are a couple of O gauge Western pictures on the Heljan website now http://www.Heljan.dk/faste_filer/modul.asp?vis=nyhedmod&fModul=web644.asp&mode=laesnyhed&artikelid=323

Brian another alternative to transferring pick up power would be to run two bits of 1mm copper wire underneath either side of the chassis and terminate them onto a piece of copper paxolin pcb stuff. As the floor is resin if you positioned the pipes carefully they could be seen as part of the model rather than current carrying. That is how I will do my Clayton - when I get round to getting the kit later this year.

Spoke to Laurie tonight sorting out an order for kits as they are damn good diesel kits, the more we buy the better chance we have of new stuff, without wanting to state the obvious! Sorry for the post hijack Brian.

Good old anti macassers Brian, gotta have them in there to protect the cushions! I have ordered some ESU 50703 380mm lighting strips for these old coaches to see how they look. Not cheap but a lovely effect to have. Will post up some pics when they are fitted.

Like others I do not like the JLTRT Mk1s with the window frames, they are just too thick. HOWEVER I think that the JLTRT Mk1 coaches with original window frames do look good if finished properly. Here is one progressing through my workshops just now: And here is one of Dave Parkin's original Mk1 coach kits butchered about a bit to get it the way I wanted it. To put this in perspective I did this coach in 1986!!! It would not surprise me if a Mk1 coach in O Gauge were to come to market ready to run fully finished (made in brass) if there were sufficient demand. Next on the list this weekend is a Heljan Deltic DCC sound instal with a few more auxiliary functions on it for cab lighting, see how one speaker sounds against the default twin 40mm, 32ohm round speaker set up I put in the LHL Deltic. Brian - is it just one 40mm round 32ohm speaker you fitted to your Heljan Deltic? Sorry for the hijack Brian, hope you get inspiration from these pics, as I enjoy watching your endeavours.

jbg06003 and I had ours delivered today. Mighty fine pieces of work I reckon in relation to the cost. Yes there are minor errors in them, but I am impressed!

Fantastic Jim! Any chance of a picture of 08 710 on its own? The ones I took when it was at Thornton have gone walkies. I have just fitted Howes sound to the MMP O Gauge 08 710 model I made years ago, which wears a superbly handpainted Edinburgh Castle logo done by a friend.

No worries Bruce. We had a lot of fun, especially after the 47 had been ordered and you came on and described the Scotrail livery as "looking well fit" as it made your son and I laugh. Nailbiting bit was the chance of Rails doing a last minute deal on the limited edition stuff as they did, thank goodness it was a crap offer! Sent you subliminal messages about a large logo being better dinnae buy 'em!! Phew. I bet Rails never sold many of the three pack ltd ed 47s Queen Mother, Scotrail & Merddyn Emryss, crazy combo spanning a time frame no-one would want!

I might get a pair once I finish my JLTRT Class 20s/26/40s & 50 for comparison including pulling ability. They will be nice all dirtied up in blue with Howes sound in them! By that time they might have dropped a tad more in price like the 47s did.

Loksound XL decoders: Try it with the jumper off as the impedence incompatibility muffles the sound files and you are not getting the proper effect. On my RJH Class 26 with Howes Class 26 sound files I set CV63 to 20 when in my garage which is enough, for bigger venues put CV 63 to 25, this should be a brave enough setting. I even drop CV63 to 15 if I want a quieter run at night, the band for CV63 is 1 to 64. Hope it helps!

Best would be a Howes sound file for a Class 40 with a single tone horn. EDIT: Just been chatting to Bryan and the best that is possible is a healthy approximation using the Class 40 sound file, so it would be a special request from Howes if you ring up, available on the Loksound XL, V3.5 and micro decoder. The whistle Bryan says is far less prominent and has been taken from a bit of sound of them going up Shap. LMS 10000 had the English Electric 16SVT Mark 1 engine, Class 40 used the English Electric 16SVT MkII engine, so you can see why it would be as good as we can get at this stage

Brian I dont think you have repositioned the red jumper on the sound card. If you havent then do it, the howes Class 26 sound file is awesome on the XL decoder with the correct positioning and the 40mm speaker.

Its a cracking model you have there Brian, got mine a couple of days ago. I still think the cab side window is not quite right, I have told Laurie. The outside dimensions look bang on, but look at the slanted pillar? Its too thick! When I do mine this will be cut out and replaced. We are back to the old Lima effect with significant unprototypical window cills. Having said that, that is the only VERY minor thing wrong with a breathtaking kit and I can fix it in under 10 minutes. I might even just fit a complete pane of glazing and use a bow pen to line the slanted window divider onto it. Couple of coats would do the trick nicely and build it up to a prototypical metal thickness. Either that or cut two pieces of glazing to fit in more flush like. I have an old RJH Class 26 and it has never been finished, but this JLTRT 26 will be!

Just dont show any Class 06 shots to Bruce, he goes weak at the knees. Its some collection of 80s shots Bruce has, inspirational for a couple of JLTRT locos to appear in the Workbench section.