Mutley

There was an ex-LMS presence at Minehead Butlins as well!

I was there the Saturday before last to pickup a standard DCC ready version and they mentioned that the sound fitted locos were due in 2-3 weeks.

I bow to your expertise. Just saying that Hitatchi build trains for their home market that have to endure a lot more than what is thrown up at Dawlish.

Are you serious? Do you have any idea of the extreme weather conditions that Japanese trains have to endure? The Japanese Rail system is amongst the most efficient and reliable in the world. I'd suggest the problem is not with the build quality of the trains, it's with the cheapskate DfT and their specifications.

There's this rental layout: https://www.youtube.com/c/レンタルレイアウトReColor/featured

All of my Japanese stock provides for slide-in decoders on cab cars and the centre coaches with motors. I think the ICE models also use this and so would presume it will be the same for the 800's. See here for an example of fitting:

My Kato stock runs the best of anything I've ever owned. I bought a couple of Shinkansen sets, thinking that I'd have a small N Gauge layout alongside my OO Gauge Minories but that plan was soon out of the window and 12 months on, all of my British stock has been sold and I have no less than 30 Japanese-prototype EMU's and loco-hauled sets. Absolutely no regrets!

Another vote for Zimo. I've just returned to OO Gauge after a brief period in O and I've equipped my whole fleet (20ish locos) with Zimo MX600R's for the 8-Pin locos and MX638D's for the 21-Pins - as SR Man says above, £20 each. I tried some of the Hattons 21-Pins a year or two back and didn't find them to be as good as the Lenz's I had elsewhere, but the Zimo's beat both of them in my opinion for quiet, smooth running and fine tuning on motor control. Mike

Try here for some extra detail, usually fairly accurate: http://cgibin.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/r-roster.cgi

Brilliant, thanks - really appreciate it.

Hi all, A layout that really inspired me back in the 1990's was Hexworth Market Street, set in the northwest in the BR Blue period. It appeared in one of the Model Rail supplements of Rail Magazine back in the 1990's and I kept a whole load of them for years but unfortunately they all got lost in a house move. I'm trying to track down the issue in which it appeared so that I can try to nab a copy from Ebay and wondered if anybody could point in me in the right direction? I realise that a long time has passed now but thought it was worth asking the question! Thanks in advance Mike

I advertised in the 'Wanted' section that I was looking for a Hornby loco that was released back in 2014, haven't been able to find it anywhere and Barry dropped me a message to say that they had one. Loco arrived very quickly, excellent, friendly service and will definitely use them again. Mike

If you have one of the above that you're looking to sell, please drop me a PM. Thanks Mike

If you have one of the above that you're looking to sell, please drop me a PM. Thanks Mike

If you have one of the above that you're looking to sell, please drop me a PM. Thanks Mike

If you have one of the above that you're looking to sell, please drop me a PM. Thanks Mike

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated.

Quick question on formations. After a quick flirtation with O Gauge, I've cleared the decks and am back to OO and going to focus on the Western Region in 1985-1990. I want a rake of these in Blue / Grey and a rake in Intercity and am just wondering what mix of coach types to go for? The memory's a bit hazy now but for the Blue / Grey, I seem to recall a lot of Aircon trains ran with a MK1 BG in lieu of an Aircon BSO and with a MK1 catering vehicle (would that have been an RMB?). I can run 6 coach trains, so this could look something like MK1 BG / 3 x MK2F TSO / MK1 RMB / MK2F FO. I'd need to add lighting to the RMB but that's not a problem. Down side is that if you look at photos of those trains, they're a lot longer and the proportion of Aircons to Mk1's is a bit out for a 6 coach train. Second option for Blue / Grey is to omit the MK1 vehicles altogether and go MK2F BSO / 4 x MK2F TSO / MK2f FO. Did such trains run on the WR? And should I include an extra FO in lieu of one of the TSO's? For the Intercity rake, I'm thinking MK2F BSO / 3 x MK2F TSO / MK2F RFB / MK2F FO. Is that too much first-class? I guess I could get an additional TSO and then run with the RFB for closer to 1990 and add in a MK1 RMB for earlier? What are other people doing? Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks Mike

No longer required.

No longer required

Hi Clive, I don’t say much on the forum but I do appreciate the amount of knowledge that people such as your good self share and I don’t mind admitting that I did a bit of copying and pasting from a topic where you were talking about the workings of a diesel depot. Nearly actually went and built one as a result (still might) and it wasn’t something I was really very interested in before, so thank you for that. Oh, and great layout and stock by the way Thanks also for introducing me to Skating Polly Mike

Artwork showing on the Lionheart Website: https://www.lionhearttrains.com/index.php?route=blog%2Farticle&article_id=4&fbclid=IwAR2YKKehhhr4roNAJgFFf4ZrQGypkpOGwFzW7awHCD4PQjgkOlW8qwNivf0 https://www.lionhearttrains.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=60 Mike

Heljan have announced via Facebook that in addition to the Class 31 / Deltic re-issues, they are also going to re-run the Class 35 Hymek, which is good news for those of us just moving to O Gauge and who may have missed out before. I don't think this has been mentioned on here, models as follows: Class 35 Hymek - SRP £495.00 3585 - BR green 'as built' unnumbered 3586 - BR green with small yellow panel unnumbered 3587 - BR green with full yellow end unnumbered 3588 - BR blue with full yellow end unnumbered https://www.facebook.com/heljanas/photos/pcb.2236411339755053/2236404836422370/?type=3&theater&ifg=1 Mike

Thanks for that.

Hi all, Has anybody heard how Dapol are going to implement the DCC element of these coaches? I'm assuming this will be for the control of internal lighting / tail lights etc so that they are not just constantly on (ie for when they are parked up in Carriage Sidings or the like). I've noted that they are going to be available 'DCC Fitted' as an option but as I've quite a number of Lenz decoders in stock (that won't fetch much secondhand if I sell them) it would make sense for me to purchase without DCC and fit my own decoders. My question is, are we going to get sockets, or will they be provided with decoders hard-wired? I have asked the question of Dapol but haven't had a response, so just wondering if anybody had heard anything on the grapevine? Thanks in advance Mike