DIRTY DIESEL

My class 85 was a pain until all the grease was cleaned out, it's now run okay for the past few years.

Summer 1991 on driver training & ready for the Winter 1991 timetable. *I used to bring them to a stand just outside Colwyn Bay, then give them a green so I could here them scream passed my box at Colwyn Bay!

Merf, Ronnie was the T4 man that day as I was in the box (I think) when the coach & loco was being lifted in. I know I was on duty the night Platform 3 opened as I was brought a pint to the box!!!! So many fond memories of Colwyn Bay goods yard when my Grandad use to take me to watch the trains shunt just above the tunnel mouth, to a four year old seeing the wagons come out of the tunnel being gravity shunted was just brilliant & frightening when a class 40 pop out with the noise & whistling only a few feet below your feet. PGH thanks for posting. Stu

That looks like Ernie Hughes (beard) who worked on Rhyl platform (coach or Merv???)

I know the spot also, my grandad used to take me there in my pram to watch the trains shunt the wagons, the heat and noise from the Locos as they went right under your feet certainly made a real impression on me & it's probably why I'm coming up to 33 years on the railway!Very found memories of that spot indeed. Stu

Pete, 27/6/81 40057 1A73 1605 Llandudno to Euston Mk3 air cons & was unbearable by the time it got to Prestatyn, it was wedged solid!!! & 30/5/82 40091 1K38 1748 Llandudno to Stoke was Mk2 coffins By the way 122 looks ace Stu

Merf, he would also have the Irish Mail headboard on a 40 in the head shunt by the up starter. Many a time a 40 would wonder down there for no apparent reason! Ps I'd have no idea you would drive them down there would you? Lol Stu

Hi Jinty I think me & my mates used the same B&B for 1983 class 40 Silver Jubilee tour York to Euston with pair of 40's. Up on the Shrewsbury York Mail which was rammed so the over head rack was used!! Remember it being a class 31 I think. York was one of the more cosy over nights compared with others!! Stu

This photo was taken by Merf from the S&T up the old concrete lamp which was out of use when this picture was taken and still there to this day. It's also taken where I would eat my butties when I was a box lad, strangely enough when a class 40 was shunting the yard!

044, I think your right its the Warrington goods and by the size of the train would say mid 80's and I think the headcode was 6F10 and airbraked, It changed from 8/9F10 when they did away with the brake van and vac braked wagons. The wagon on the back is as you say are the bricks, they use to bouce all over the place on 60 foot track & were seperated by old tyres if my memeory is correct. Its a train your forum name worked a few times as I always remember the flush front behind the discs at one end Stu

If the diagrame still takes in the Cambian Coast then will be 97's again.

Pete, I very much doubt anything will be stabled there but it will be for running round charters that are not top and tail or it will now allow charter company's to just use one loco and save money I presume. It will be finished as the summer season has finished so no idea when first train will use it. We have an engineers train booked down next Saturday & Sunday night bringing the rails from Crewe. Cheers Stu

It's to do with the station being done up as they took the run round in platform 2 out so they brought Cae Mawr back. Last used in 1998 and a T4 of the sidings was taken by a certain Merfyn Jones above I believe!!!!

I think your right Merf, it won't be Jim (Rowlands) as you would n't be able to find him!!!! As a Box Lad YTS (Younge Think & Spotty) Dai once asked me to shake his hand, being younge and daft I did. I just about go all my fingers back and the feeling slowly returned a few hours later!!! happy days Stu

Pete, Llandudno Carraige sidings Cae Mawr will be back in use by October, local houses which back on to Cae Mawr have had letter warning them of work starting the end of this month. Also Penmaenmawr stone traffic might start again by November as p/way have been into the yard to check S&C etc No idea where to mind cheers Stu

I rang Digitrains and sent my two controllers on Monday this week, by Wednesday they had replaced both faulty encoders & sent both controllers back to me!!! price was £10 per encoder plus postage, great service Stu

Hi Pete, I asked around in work and got theses times. Down trains came as a class 7 and went back (empty) as a class 6. 7D28 0927 FF to LJ 7D29 1915 FF to LJ rtn 6F69 0057 LJ to FF 6F79 1440 LJ to FF cheers Stu

Thanks Mike & to the other posters, might ring Digitrains and see what they say before I try my own mod. cheers Stu

Hi Pete, Yes it only ran for about a year, and if my memory is correct the second run use to come down the coast after the second Freight Liner 4D59 the Trafford Parks around 2000 to 2100hrs but before the returning Amlwch Tanks got back to the Junction, I seem to remember it use to pass my mums house in Old Colwyn and I would think a 40 had gone up on the Bangors due to the noise it would make. I think we had special instructions in the Old Junction Box for when it use to set back as we did n't want it ending up in the Carriage Shed!!!! I know an extra stencil indicator was paced on the Cob so the driver knew when the peg was off. cheers Stu

That class 56 is setting back on to the newly laid Flyash run round loop, it's just come off the Flyash unloading siding and after running round will set back onto the down main for Fiddlers Ferry. There were two trips per day, the Flyash is now under the up & down main lines which were moved to build the A55 between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction. Stu

Hi Mike, My thumb wheel has started playing up also, when I scroll either up or down it will jump up or down at different speeds so when I'm thinking I'm slowing down it is now speeding up then back down again. I can now only use the speed buttons and was thinking or buying a new hand set. Before I do I might try what you have done, how did you detach the part from the handset as when the last time I took the back off to try and fix the problem I could not work out if it was soldered in or push fit, I managed to get the wheel off ok but did not what to break the part you have mention & did not know that might be the problem part at the time Thanks Stu

That might be Mad Raymond, when the Amlwch Tanks had a 40 on it he would always get a run in front of the London's from the Junction. The guard would call the box and I would ask who's your driver? I use to always gee him up as he set off,as if he needed it!!!!! The noise was ace but the poor guard would hang on for dear life as the brake van would rattle though 55 points and though Junction platform.

Just had my 141 back from Lee,blueeighties on here, WOW!!!! What a transformation I had it weathered while it was in the North East but the quality in running since the pick up mods have been done is amazing. I cannot get it to stall anywhere on my layout even at speed step 3 it just crawls around without a problem. Lee have you fitted slow speed control or something as the 40's did not have them!!!!! :wink: I've also just received D211 from Hattons & that seems to be a lot better runner than 141 it will loose sound on bad track (occasionally) but the radon stalling has not been a problem with this model (fingers crossed the problem does not return when muck gets in the pickups). In due course it will end up in the North East for the mod & dirtying up... Steve, My D211 also shot off at speed when I first put it on my track with the horn sounding, I put this down to Bachmann testing it before it left them and just taking it off the track without letting loco spool down like we would normally do. I did notice a slight stutter at slow speed which I stopped by that black art of setting CV54 to 0 (I think) then pressing F1 and watching the loco shoot off and sort its own motor control out. I Googled this and found it on here but best check first as not all chips are the same. Two other slight problems I had, was the headlights would only work in one direction but tailamps were ok, I slackened the screws off at that end of the loco and it seems to work fine since. Also I cannot fit a blanking headcode disc over the middle lower led as there is no hole to push disc into. Has anyone else had this problem? cheers Stu

My reason was out of shear frustration as it had already been cleaned by myself then sent to Bachmann & it still stalled over points and stopped at random. Then after receiving a replacement from Hattons with the same problems I sent it to get pick ups added as I had already spent best part of £30 in postage (refunded) up to that point & did not want to keep on sending off to Bachmann or Hattons. I really do hope the sound one does not have the same problems. I wish Bachmann would have made this a 12 pick up arrangement not a 8 wheel one as I think the length of a class 40 might lift the wheels off the track if track is not perfectly laid.

Ironically, after reading how to sort the the forty out on here I took apart my class 85 witch ran like a dog and cleaned it out, it now runs silky smooth. One slight difference with the class 85 is its a bo bo all wheel pick ups where the forty is 1co co1 with the same amount of pick ups as the class 85.