508EMU

I can confirm it is the same on DC mode, as a side note the decoder that was in it is now in use in another loco and working fine. You are right in saying all wiring is in place and I have checked all are securely soldered to the correct place. Good spot, a closer look confirms it is indeed missing a chunk. May well have the answer! I'll focus on that and report back as and when I have an update. Cheers all!

Apologies for the delay in replying, this happened a while ago so the loco has been boxed up and dumped in the deepest darkest depths of the cupboard under the stairs and it's taken me a while to find time to dig it out. Some photos attached of the PCB, I can't see any obvious signs of damage, but maybe I'm missing something. I can't help wondering if the drop has damaged some gearing or something? I'm used to the older Hornby/lima motors and their many gears. Not too sure how these ones work.

Hi, yes I am using a DCC controller and all other DCC fitted locos working fine with it. I have not tried switching off DC operation on the decoder (didn't realise that was a thing!). I have got loco 0 DC operation disabled on the controller if thats any help. The loco responds to commands via the controller when asked, and functions such as lights etc all work fine, the only issue with it is even if you set it to snail speed its full steam ahead! Cheers

Hi, not posted in a while, unsure if this is the best place to ask so mods feel free to move if required. I've got a Vitrains 37 model (37401 in large logo), a while back it got knocked off a table. No physical damage to the body but ever since it doesn't run right. It's DCC fitted. Since the drop it appears to have no speed control at all, so regardless what position you set the speed knob to on the controller it is always running at 100% speed. Aka no crawling around, its either as fast as it goes or nothing! It's the same in both directions, and I did change the decoder as I had a spare which made no difference. I suppose something could have been damaged on the PCB inside the loco but I've not looked in detail. Anybody have any suggestions where to start at all? Thanks!

Afternoon, working on a second class 508 3d printed kit. It is to be painted in the 1990s Merseytravel livery. (Yellow and white/grey with the black and grey stripe). Is anybody able to confirm the correct colour to use for the white? (Or is it grey!) Not got any photos to hand, however if there's any doubt it's the same livery as worn by a few 150/2s and the dreaded 142s. Cheers!

Glazing and transfers complete, I have made a start with some lighting. LED interior lights fitted and wired in via the DCC Function 1. Complete with stay alive capacitor- not too authentic for a 508 with their flickering lights over points!

A long time since the last update, but we have some transfers applied from Railtec. Never done fiddly transfers before, my first attempt at cant lines and white outlines, but 508108 (was originally going to be 115!) Is taking shape. Windows made out of tinted acetate sheets.

I have just this week started glazing my 508, I have used tinted acetate sheets off ebay, painstakingly cut to size and if done tight enough, can be pushed in and stay put without gluing in place. Did put some tiny blobs of PVA in the inside corners once pushed into place just incase but they dont seem to be going anywhere! Very fiddly job.

Black complete on one cab end, half done on the other now too. Fairly happy, just needs tidying up here and there.

Managed to get some black around the cab windows which went better than expected, just need to do the door next. Oh and the other cab!

Top stuff! Looks better than mine!

I agree, not a bad kit at all! I've got the kaydees mounted to the floor, I won't say which ones yet as Im going to replace them with different ones I think. They look great but struggle with the radius on standard point crossovers and derail the unit. Look forward to seeing what you do with yours!

See latest post with more to follow in the week. I have ordered the MPTE Mersey logos and some BR arrows, still need to sort coach numbers out. Also need to buy etched window frames and head/tail lights yet.

Today I picked up where I left off, I've sprayed the roofs grey and underframe black on 2 coaches, I'll crack on with the 3rd later in the week. Next job is to paint the intercarriage gangways grey and then the fiddly job of painting the cab window surrounds and emergency door black. Some transfers have been ordered ready for the next stage. I have also fitted interior lighting to one coach which I am quite happy with but still need to do the others. I'll post more pics later in the week! Also worth mentioning I picked up another kit this time a class 313. It is a 3d print reject so has some deformities to work on. This will go into NSE livery eventually.

Mrs is out cleaning the old flat before we hand back the keys, kids are occupied, so Woodfield Rd has made a rare appearance in the garden this evening! A nice way to start the isolation period, even if I am in work again tomorrow.

I had never even noticed this, thanks! This is one I just ran straight out of the box. I've been meaning to detail and weather my locos for years but it keeps getting moved down the list. Thanks for feedback!

House move no 3, into a permanent home as we have bought this house. Now we have settled in and the sun made a rare appearance this morning, I set Woodfield up in the garden for an hour. Not had it setup outside since 2015 when I first started it, made up to have it back in natural light. A few photos from today.

Definitely worth it. Its a bit fiddly trying to assemble the kit, the version I bought has 3 carriages come in 3 sections. (so you get 9 sections in total plus the carriage floors, bogie side frames etc). Getting the 3 sections to fit properly together isnt easy, and some marks from the 3d printing process are visible. I glued the sections together as best I could, filled and sanded the joins until i was happy, then wet and dried the whole shell to remove lumps and bumps from the print. Overall I am very happy. I am pretty sure the latest version of the kit means each coach comes in 2 sections now instead of 3 (so 6parts for a 3 car set instead of 9). Well worth the money!

Things have moved on a fair bit since the last post. After doing the main shell in BR Grey, I masked the cab ends and also the inter-carriage doors which I sprayed yellow. Then I masked the rest up and painstakingly guessed where the grey should be around the windows in order to spray the rest blue. It is clear the scale of the model isnt entirely accurate, however unless you are comparing to a prototype photo then you wouldn't know the difference. 2 of the 3 coaches are now sprayed in blue, the 3rd is waiting on a final coat. For a first attempt at masking and spraying models I am very happy with the result so far! I havn't ordered the dark grey paint for the roof or black paint for the cab window surrounds, emergency doors and underframe yet, however I have made a start fitting the 3d printed underframe components including air tanks, camshaft cases, aux panel etc, I havn't finished yet but its already looking pretty neat. Bogie sideframes are all now fitted along with the 3rd rail shoe (on one side of one bogie). The motor was mounted too high on the chassis in the middle coach resulting in that end of the carriage sitting lower than the others so I have adjusted this and it now seems to be the correct height. Overall a pretty convincing looking kit and definitely worth it for anybody looking for one of the PEP series.

Ordered some aerosols from Railmatch to spray the unit into BR Blue / Grey. Decided against ordering an airbrush etc as I will most likely never use it again. Sprayed the first carriage in primer as a test in my makeshift kids christmas present box spraybooth with smarties tube to hold the body, I have never sprayed models before so thought I would have a go on one coach, see how bad the blemishes in the body prep where before doing further prep on the other 2 coaches and spraying them. As expected the marks from the 3d print process are quite visible, so I have gone over these with sandpaper on the other 2 and sprayed those in primer. I am much happier with the result on these but given the nature of the kit they will never be 100% perfect. I will wait for the 1st coach to fully dry before stripping it down and having another go, as for the actual finish of the paint, I am quite pleased, no runs and even coat. Photos show the end coach which was the 1st one I did, and the trailer coach which was the 2nd.

So, planning begins on something a bit different but has a lot of potential - a longer term project due to costs and size, and Mrs probably wont be too happy with the bill (!) I'm based on the Wirral, and growing up in the 90s spent a lot of time travelling around with parents on the Merseyrail network. A common place we would wait a while for a connecting train was Hamilton Square, connecting from a Chester/Ellesmere Port train then changing to the lower platform 3 for West Kirby trains. I have developed a love for the Network, the stations and the class 507/8 rolling stock, but never had any means to replicate any of it mainly due to the lack of stock on the market. Recently a 3d printed class 507/8 kit has appeared on ebay (see my blog posts) so now I have a train in the works and nowhere suitable to run it given my other layout is a small 8ft TMD designed for class 37s. I have always wanted to model an underground station, something which had slipped my mind until I stumbled upon Rich Pappers excellent 'Oxford Road' layout while reading through this forum, which got me thinking. The intention is to build a rough model of Hamilton Square set in the 90s, with the British Rail brown panelling and class 507/8s running around in a mix of BR Blue and the Merseyrail Regional Railways yellow liveries. Also in the long run the class 501 and 73 sandite unit which could often be seen lurking around the network. Hamilton Square is one of the original Mersey Railway deep level underground stations, and has 2 platforms linked via a footbridge. In the 70s, a 3rd platform was built on a slightly lower level to allow West Kirby and New Brighton bound trains to pass in a new tunnel under the Chester and Ellesmere Port lines rather than having to cross via points, designed in the same style as the 70s Liverpool "Loop and link" line stations. So, what are the plans - In the same method done on 'Oxford Road', platform 3 will be at the forefront of the layout in a cross section style view - this gives me somewhere to run the 508 I am currently working on for the timebeing. The plan is to then add platforms 1 and 2 in at a later date, at a higher level (say 10-20cm above for now). The main idea is that all the platform walls can be removed so the station can be viewed from various angles. For example platform 2s wall can be removed so both 3 and 1 are on view from the front, however platform 1s walls will also be removeable so it can be seen from the back meaning the wall on 3 (the normal fron viewing cross section) can be fitted meaning it is completely closed in, so platform 3 would then only be visible looking down the stairs from 2 just like in reality - bringing back many memories when the 507/8 class are finally withdrawn in the next 2 years or so. Very early plans drawn up in Anyrail are attached, subject to quite a bit of tweaking as it has just been guesswork so far. To do it roughly to scale would mean about 18ft width which is a potential problem , so I'm looking to shorten it so platforms are 3car length rather than 6. I am also going to add some extra space on to the rear to make the curves on my plan less sharp. Also not sorted the width between the tracks on platforms1/2 yet, so thats next on the list. There is of course scope to build the station building and surrounding town scene on the top of the layout - say 1foot or so above track level. Not overly realistic as its a deep level station, and as mentioned if platforms are shortened its not going to be spot one , but gives a good feel. Certainly lots of potential, lots of challenges, and hopefully at long last somewhere to run a 508 that gives a proper feel of the network - now where can I bottle up the smell of the stations into airwick wall plugs?? I look forward to any views people may have.

I've done some work on the 508 this week. Class 153 bogies and motor arrived and fitted, all wired in and DCC Fitted so had it running. Kaydees fitted and also started fitting correct bogie side frames. Starting to take shape and have to say I'm quite impressed!

Recently I have been keeping an eye on the rather tasty looking PEP series 3d printed kits on ebay, over time I have watched the quality improve throughout the listings, and following a topic on this forum where a class 313 from this range was built , I decided to take the plunge and do a 508. The kits are available by 'Modernmultipleunits2019' on ebay - give it a search! First to note is the product came very well packaged which is always a good start. Each bodyshell comes in 3 sections (end, middle, end) - it is a 3 coach train so 9 body pieces in total. Also included are bogie sideframes and the bodyfloors complete with predrilled holes for bogie mounting and a bigger removable chunk on the centre coach for a motor bogie (designed to work with the newer Hornby 153/6 bogies and motors). I had a go at assembling the body shells last night. First thing to note is a bit of sanding and fiddling is involed to get them to fit - of course there are some rough edges from the printing process which need smoothing down. I also found the roof mounted glueing strips are too big and push the roof up too high in some cases, however I believe the 2 middle sections for my motor coaches wern't HD prints, whereas the trailer coach was which fit like a dream. I decided to completely remove this roof support anyway. According to the seller if I have understood the description correctly, it will soon be availabe as whole solid bodyshells which dont come in 3 parts. Obviously its not a perfect fit, filler is needed to make the joins seemless but overall so far I am impressed. In some cases the base of the bodypart were different widths, so a quick measure of the chassis/floor width and cutting some strong card to size helped stretch them out to the correct width to fit. My progress so far is posted here. I am going to invest in some filler this afternoon and will post my results in due course. I havnt bought the etched window frames or undercarriage components yet as the mrs would probably have a fit, so it will be a slow build from start to finish and also my first attempt at a kit built. Hopefully this will help people understand what the kit is like and help influence a decision. Fingers crossed it turns out well!

Looks great and can't even tell it was filled, but what brand/ product of filler are you using?

I've been referring back to this thread on your 313 build as I've just bought the 508 kit from the same place, I'm very impressed with it so far and managed to get the 3 bodies assembled. I'm just wondering what filler you used for filling the gaps? Top work, seeing your finished product really convinced me to take the plunge!