Solo

Ah, that is a bit of a blow - wonder why the 25's leapfrogged the 24's when they were announced so much later? Perhaps Heljan's re-vamped 26 will beat the SLW 24s to the market then, that also looks to be a very promising model.

I really hope it's not that long! I've had mine on order since they were announced (a few years now) and my long-held 'back to my roots' Scottish layout plans need the Scottish locos....I have two of the earlier SLW 24's and frankly they leave competitor locos standing in terms of quality (especially the sound file and speaker arrangement) so I'm not willing to 'downgrade'. I was under the impression that the head-code ones were slated for the early part of next year, though? If not what a shame that all of the (equally lovely-looking) 25s in the initial batch are Western and Midland-region examples.

Thanks - yeah, the C&PR rings a bell, I also remember that part of the website. Roads and Rails do offer the sounds but give no details of what the sound file contains/functions etc, I did email asking that question but haven't heard back. If Accurascale have indeed snapped him up then I guess that's another endorsement of how good the sound files are.

Having listened to - and been impressed by - some of the various Jamie Goodman sound videos I was wondering if there was a website for more details on these? One or two of the retailers' sites seem to say that they'll supply them but I can't find any more info on function lists, decoder type etc. Any pointers would be be much appreciated.

Not sure that's entirely true - whilst publicity is always a good thing you only have to look at how quickly the 'mundane' ie 'most needed/useful' stuff sells out to see that all those standard class coaches and workaday locos must make a tidy sum for the manufacturers and would do more so were the runs larger. Usurpers such as Accurascale (albeit in 4mm) have done well publicising - and selling - high spec models of the mundane, particularly wagons and forthcoming coaches. Farish have quite a bit of non-glamourous stuff being released/re-released in the future, it's just the time getting it to market which is the issue these days. If only we had even limited capacity for production on these shores I'm sure the stuff we all want would be more-or-less in continuous supply.

Great work with the gatehouse - looks very realistic and I personally think the brickwork is coming along nicely. I was drawn to this thread because there’s just something about lone houses like this standing sentinel over the railway landscape. Have you any ideas yet regarding a backscene? I’m thinking big stormy sky might be just the ticket, remember driving through Lincolnshire a couple of years back after a heavy rain shower and seeing a house like this prominent among the fields next to a disused railway, grey and black storm clouds and just the hint of a rainbow….Thought it would make an excellent model..

That's a lovely scene and looking forward to more - what scale are you working in? Andy

Since this topic also covers the '101' I was wondering if the latest sound-fitted ones had the re-designed speaker-assembly inside as per the latest batch of 108s from last year? Handy to have but also slightly more tricky to remove if you're looking to fit a bigger cube-type speaker, what's the sound quality like from the factory-fitted sound ones?

YouChoos have a useful guide on their website on how to do this with the latest '08', they also sell all the components required. You may have seen it already but this is the link: https://www.youchoos.co.uk/Index-Resource.php?L1=Guides&Item=N18FarishCL08-STACO

Actually by way of answering my own question I’ve just discovered Tillig’s range of 12mm flexitrack and pointwork. Whilst obviously continental I wonder if in this scale it wouldn’t be too obvious as it looks like very nice stuff.

Being excited by the latest announcement from Hornby and others I think I’ll certainly be dipping a toe into these waters but was wondering if any finer scale British-outline track parts were available in this scale? The track announced by both Hornby and Peco is rather crude in appearance, I’m happy to spend time hand-building something more authentic but where would one go for, say, bullhead rail, sleepers or turnout kits?

Wow. Being on LA time I’ve only just read this release. All I can say is Well Done Hornby. Fortune favours the brave. I’m sure with such a big name wading into TT big-time it won’t be long before all sorts of things from the smaller suppliers will be released to match the scale, and there’s already significant product support amongst the continental ranges. I’m someone (space-starved!) who’s recently switched up to ‘O’ gauge but having also kept a modicum of OO and N stuff on the back burner in order to have something with a bit more scenic development but which will nonetheless fit on a tabletop. I think this will be the perfect sweet spot for that and can see myself selling off the other two scales and plunging in. As a diesel modeller I note the ‘08’ is an early release and this is a good idea since many will not have the space for all those express-type trains, though one thing I can’t make out is what the spec of these models will actually be (aside from DCC interface etc) - will they be on the highly detailed camp (as per Heljan’s 31) or something more akin to Railroad? Hopefully finer scale track will be available to hand-build from somewhere as the offerings from both Peco and Hornby are both very train-set in appearance which is a shame with it being the correct gauge.

Lovely to see this announced and makes me glad I've kept back some of my N gauge stuff since I can see it fitting nicely into a little project. Regarding the sound question, I gather that the 120s were fitted with twin BUT engines as per many of the other First Generation DMUs - never having heard one would this make it authentic to simply put one of the readily available class 101/108 etc sound files which are already available into it? I'm thinking that since there's quite a bit of variety between the projects already available there's bound to be one which would match up pretty well.

Do these CVs apply equally to diesel behaviour in that case....and could the decoder interface be playing a role, I wonder - since the Next18 MS decoder seems to be the one where is all as you would expect. Many thanks Andy

Hi Paul, thanks for the reply - CVs 283/284 did feature in my experiments but since that whole section in entitled "Steam Locomotive - load acceleration and dependency" - and these are indeed diesels that I have - I didn't delve too far. One of the issues is that that the translation into English on Zimo's website of what the CVs do has not gone too well, making it hard to see what they're getting at. I've been playing across the scales recently (although an upcoming move means I'm going to have to nail one down!) the most obvious examples of where this happens are a Digitrains 'O' gauge class 08 (which otherwise is a really nice sound file) and an 'N' gauge Farish DMU (108) which is equipped with YouChoos' latest DMU project. I have another of these DMUs with the equivalent Digitrains project and although on an 'MS' the sound 'dimming' and surging is still tangible it is much less so. The one sound project - my favourite - where this does not happen no matter on 'MX' or 'MS' is the Digitrains 'N' gauge class 31 (for the most recent Farish release for Next 18), this is entirely consistent with no problems whatsoever and I find needs no adjustment. A Bachmann '03' (Next 18, Digitrains sound) with MS decoder - which no longer lives with me - as I remember also did not have any of these issues.

I've had a few of the new MS decoders with various sound files on them from three different sources and the funny thing is that all bar one have a rather peculiar attribute. When you accelerate a loco, not only do the revs increase but the actual volume of the sound gets markedly louder, then drops right back as soon as you back off on the throttle. As if the loco is getting closer and closer to you and then receding into the distance but all the while simply trundling along a small diorama - the effect is of the sound constantly surging and then receding. Now I've had a play with the Zimo list of CVs (particularly numbers 387-389 which seem to be associated with sound vs acceleration) but so far to no real avail. Never had this with the older MX decoders and was wondering if anyone else running Zimos has noticed and is it a known issue?

Thanks Fran, that's good to know - I shall take the plunge.....

Yes, Rails have sold out of the sound-fitted 37001....have already ordered 37027 via them (with sound).

Having recently resurrected a small 'OO' project I'd love to get one of these with sound but can only find the model I'm after non-DCC fitted (all others sold out). Will Accurascale be making 'sound packs' available as an add-on with the speakers and chip etc?

View Advert 5 x Trainsafe 'Vision' storage tubes/cassettes with connectors (N gauge) Bought these a few months back but have recently left 'N' gauge for the larger scales. For those not familiar these are very high quality acrylic tubes with electrical connectors into which trains can be run for off-scene storage. The tubes are completely enclosed so models are kept protected and dust-free and can be easily removed or re-positioned on the layout/fiddleyard. There are 5 tubes - each 80cm long - plus 4 connectors which are designed to be connected to Peco Code 55 track. This is the link to their website with videos: https://shop.train-safe.de Since these were delivered (from Germany) after I had taken the decision to sell my 'N' gauge stock the package remains untouched other than for a quick check of contents. They are worth over £400 once the import tax was taken into account but I would be willing to sell them for £150 to someone who will use and enjoy them (I have previously used the 'OO' product and they are truly excellent). The one snag may be that due to the size of the package postage costs would be high - so they would be ideally collected or I could possibly deliver/meet half way within a reasonable radius of LS29. Advertiser Solo Date 22/09/22 Price £150 Category N / 2mm scale  

View Advert Farish (Bachmann) class 108 Blue/White 3-car no chassis in motor car. Slightly quirky one here. Bought this a few months back but have since moved away from 'N' - the motorised chassis in the powered car was used for something else so this is effectively an untouched driving trailer and centre car (both with full chassis) plus a spare body shell for a DMBS. Could be useful for augmenting an existing set or mix/matching DMU rakes. All as new (aside from the removed chassis) and boxed. £60 to include postage Advertiser Solo Date 17/09/22 Price £60 Category N / 2mm scale  

View Advert Farish (Bachmann) Class 31 BR Blue Farish Class 31 (371-112A), BR Blue, recent model with Next 18 socket and pre-fitted speaker. Has been tested but never used on layout, so condition is as new - fully boxed with accessories/instructions etc. £110 to include postage. Advertiser Solo Date 17/09/22 Price £110 Category N / 2mm scale  

View Advert Farish (Bachmann) class 108 Blue/White body shells Bodyshells for 3-car Farish class 108. This is from the recent release, I used the chassis for another project so these are spare. Destinations Leeds/Hull. They have been lightly weathered (roofs, door seams etc) and curtains added to First Class section but otherwise never used on layout, excellent condition. Body-swap project perhaps? £45 to include postage. Advertiser Solo Date 15/09/22 Price £45 Category N / 2mm scale  

View Advert Farish (Bachmann) Class 101 body shells BR Blue Bodyshells for 2-car Farish Classs 101, BR Blue - destinations Bradford/Huddersfield. These are from the later Bachmann tooling, have been barely used (chassis was used for something else!) and in excellent condition. Packed securely in N gauge boxes. £35 to include postage Advertiser Solo Date 15/09/22 Price £35 Category N / 2mm scale  

To be fair it wasn't Ben I spoke to at the weekend, it was his colleague (Kim?). But I agree that it matters not, Ben's reply here today has made the position fairly clear as regards this model.