AMac

I'm still waiting for mine as well. I pre-ordered a sound fitted 56008 mid May (different chip if I understand you correctly) . I'm from NZ so waiting for their email confirming postage costs. I also emailed to check I was still on their list as Rails were advertising the Class 56's had arrived. They replied with "... once this has been worked out we'll be able to contact you." I think the response you got was a bit odd as a few days ago they were advertising that Sound fitted and DCC ready versions were available in store. Anyway, crossing fingers they'll be sent through soon - they look really good. I just can't wait!

Thanks for looking into suppliers etc for the super caps.

I wondered about that as I've removed the suppressor caps from my old ringfield motor locos I chipped. Many thanks for the explanation.

Hi JSpenser. Thanks for the info on the NDM caps. Time for a couple of dumb questions. What is the purpose of these caps and are they needed for DCC operation? What size are they - a few micro F at 25V? I take it you suspected the originals had a higher tolerances in the specs?

I think they used a 1000 µF 25 V electrolytic capacitor in the 2020 release. Still to get around to having a look myself. I'll probably end up getting a couple of the new coaches. When I do, I'll have a look at that.

I did follow up with Hornby and they got back to me a couple of weeks ago. They confirmed that all they did was to replace the capacitor. To quote them; "Development have informed me that the only difference is the capacitors, everything else remains the same including how the capacitor attaches to the board, so removing this would be a case of removing the capacitor and replacing it with an alternative." I queried the capacitor spec and last week they replied with; "Our electronics team have confirmed that the capacitor is a Supercapacitor, 0.33F and 5.5V." I'm not sure if they've got other components already in the PCB that can deal with the higher track voltage compared to the super capacitor 5.5V. I'll open up a coach and have a look. In the meantime - has anyone else had a look at this?

Hi 25kV. I've been looking at your website - it's fantastic! Really good if you want to get a realistic or an actual formation. The only problem is, I might need to buy another set!

It's a known fault - the big stay alive capacitors that Hornby installed in their APT trailer cars just don't work. I'm not sure why and haven't looked into it yet. The new trailer cars have much smaller capacitors hidden out of view and do work. It's good that Hornby have corrected the problem, but not great for those of us who have already bought the 2020/21 release versions. Hornby have confirmed to me that while spare parts are available for the 2021 spec models, no spares were made the 2023 spec (as mentioned a bit earlier in this thread). No point getting the 2021 spec spares for the lighting board as all the capacitors don't work. I'll follow up with Hornby next week and see if there is any technical help they can provide and maybe even supply the capacitors that do work (I have to try!). It may be more than just the capacitor that is required - I'm very rusty with my electrical theory and just getting back into modelling but I suspect the lighting PCB will have other components such as resistors that will need to be changed or added.

Someone probably has already answered this question, but just in case ... I have just started emailing Hornby about providing owners of the first release with an upgrade kit. Not surprising the answer is no. I followed up and they confirmed that the 2023 version spares should theoretically fit the 2020/21 version spec but no parts were made as spares. The main thing I wanted to improve was the lighting PCB and stay alive capacitors. The other points I was interested were the increase in motor chasis weight (easily solved as mentioned elsewhere in this thread), the pantograph (probably not a big enough improvement to worry about?), and possibly the decoder sockets/PCB but wondering if this provides any more functionality (eg. Cab lights for the DTS's).

Hi RobinofLoxley, thanks again for your comments. Yes the facing points at the top LH corner were quite a way from the station. As I think you realised, I put them there to get the station platform as long as I could but maybe I could shift the the platform a bit the right and shorten it . The Other thouigh I had was start off with my one then get some confidence and build may own bespoke curved points to suit the radii i have (using Templot for the design). Thanks that looks really good and I'll give this a go (along similar lines to DCB's marshalling area etc). I though I might end up with a wye eventually.

Thanks for the link - I hadn't seen that site before. Really useful!

Hi DCB - thanks for the mark ups. Looks so simple! I'll start playing around with my layout plan using this as a base. The layout was going to be semi-portable until I worked out I would probably need a lower level for a place to store trains. Your plan of how to get down there gets that and I can still see a train along most of the length along the back.

I think you'll find the central "gap" is around 8"! This was going to be a clean 2' gap for the whole length of the inner access slot then I added a scenic section for the town. I am thinking about this - either a removable/hinged section or go back to the original 2' clear access. Cheers

Hi, yes I saw the Layout section just after I posted. I think you're right but it's here now. Happy to shift though. The reason for the top LH facing points is for the DMU's to go from the inner loop into the platform bays. How did the DMU's etc get into the bay platforms operate at Lancaster? The curved points crossover on the bottom RH were to give the outer loop access to the inner most platform. I note in the actual (current at least) track there is both non-facing and facing crossovers leading in from the London side. Again - I'm keen for knowledge on how these operate. I'm from NZ and haven't lived near railway lines so lacking in knowledge here.

Hi, I am planning a layout which is inspired by Lancaster station. I really like the APT so somewhere on the WCML in the late 70's/early 80's was required (I also liked class 50's but that's a problem for another day!). I'm after ideas or a cunning plan for storage/ a fiddle yard. Things I really wanted on the layout were: A through station A roundy roundy type so I could have longer trains (and just see them go round if I felt like it) A decent section of run so I could run the APT at a bit of speed and and see it tilt around the curves (that's the point isn't it?) keep the min. radius to 24" I can squeeze in a layout of 5.2 - 5.3m x 1.8 m (close to 17' x 6'). I also can have room for a depot/storage of 2.3m x 0.75m as an L shaped layout. See my current design using Scarm below/attached. BTW, it will be a DCC layout. I've squeezed the station shorter, took away the through Up line and added a double slip so a can access the depot/storage area. Normally you could use the back for hidden fiddle yard but this is where I like to see the APT a bit at speed (I know it's not long but I want to try!). I looked at stations like Oxenholme and Penrith but wanted the feel of a bigger station and I liked the bay platforms. Happy for suggestions. Many thanks in advance.

Hi Paul, yes I suspected the era system for these wagons at least when I started looking at photos (and after I bought my FFA's). The site you sent is excellent - thanks very much! I've looked through it before and shows the changes in the Freightliner container livery/branding over time. I'll look through this again now, If I didn't see many or all examples of the containers in the latter Bachmann sets but I'll have a more careful look. Cheers

Hi Brian, thanks - looks like a good site for different options.

Hi all. (I wasn't sure if to post this question here or under UK Proto type questions - sorry if I got this wrong). I am modelling from roughly 1978/9 to 1982/3. I have already bought 3 of the Bachmann "Maersk" branded inners as this is labelled era 7. I am about to buy some outers and wondered if I got this right as I had trouble trying to track down photos of the Bachmann "era 7" containers for my time frame. I remember seeing a series of photos of the Bell container c 1984 somewhere on the RM Web site. Should I get the "MSC / Bell / Cast / Stolt / Evergreen FGA outers? Or should I get the era 6 Freightliner series (which do seem to be a bit old for my era)? I'm not sure if if makes any difference but I'm modelling somewhere on the WCML - north of Preston. I'm from NZ so lack the background and trying to read as much as I can! ANy help / advice is much appreciated. Cheers, Alastair

Hi Andy and all. Similar to Mark Eillis's post, I can't access nearly all images (one example is photos from a 2014 post). Does this mean a lot of members like Jamie and Redgate need to re-upload them (or were you both talking about the 12 months up to March this year)? I saw the problems you had a few months ago - what a pain for you! I appreciate all your efforts. This is a fantastic site and I have got lots of great information from people with a lot of knowledge either directly or by reading other members questions. Cheers

I also had my 7 car APT pre order from Hattons cancelled. That's a great shame as I've had great service from them previously though this is the first pre-order I've tried (similar with Rails and Kernow). I emailed both Hattons and Hornby - I got a response straight away from Hattons re confirming the last on - first off policy when there's a shortfall of supply. I ordered 8 months ago - I can't remember when the pre-order was advertised - does anyone recall? Anyway that clearly was not early enough. I'm yet to hear back from Hornby - that should be within the next 2 days or so though I not expecting a great answer. My worry is that being in New Zealand, I'll struggle to get the APT which is the loco/train I really want. (The APT along with the Class 50 for some obscure reason are my favourite locos). Good luck to us all on the pre-order machine. I was about to ask for suggestions of where I should look, but realised "we customers" are now mortal enemies scrapping for remaining APTs! (A slightly amusing and depressing thought! - a tad melodramatic though)

Hi Paul, thanks for the link to the photos. I take it these are your photos? Fantastic to have that resource made available! To my eyes it looks like the 38-130B's are also a Sealion? Seems to agree with the coding as per giz's post. Good tip on the bookazine as well - I found the page on this site. I might just get that bookazine. Cheers, Alastair

Hi giz, many thanks for the info. Yes, I was wondering about the YGH code. Cheers, Alastair

Hi, I have been looking at purchasing a few of the Dept Olive Green Seacows by Bachmann and noticed there appear to be 2 photos showing the decals/markings in slightly different places. See the screen shots below (one image is higher resolution); you can see the warning hazard sign on different sides of the end U channel ribbing and other info including wagon type and YGH code are in different spots with less/more info. Are these 2 different types or is it just the 2 sides of a model? If there are 2 types is one better than the other? As a sub question, why are these seacows but have "SEALION" written on the side? Are they ex Sealion and converted to Seacow? I'm trying to start a layout based on late 70's very early 80's on /around the WCML. By the way I picked up on an excellent thread on this site about the make up of a ballast train including seacows/sealions, sharks (never heard of them before!) dogfish and grampus wagons. This thread also introduced me to the different braking systems with what goes with each other and the formations - still getting my head around this! Any help appreciated.

Hi 298. I think you may have picked up the problem! Do you mean the copper coloured clip that holds the gears in plus the large gears on each side? I pulled these off and noticed what appeared to be a very small dead spiders legs and possibly a small body (baby Daddy Long leg?). It was wrapped up on the holding pin for one of the large gears. I pulled these off and ran with the gears and the motor ran fine at around .03A at low speed. I then placed the gears and clip back on and tried to run the loco and it seems to be fine. My test section at home is only 700 mm long (I need to do a bunch of projects so I can clear space in the garage, then build a layout!). I'll go around to my Father's who has a layout and test track loop to do a better test. If that solves the problem then it is a bit odd ball! Many thanks for that, 298, and to everyone who replied. I'll let you know how the test run goes. Cheers

Hi smoke box. Thanks for the reminder of Brian Lambert's website - a lot of really helpful information. I think I pretty much did the conversion as per his instructions. Orange to LH brush strip (I went to the small tabs to the side rather than the main part of the strip , though I was able to heat shrink over the solder connection) Grey to RH brush strip Red to rail pick up on motor chassis Black to rail pick up on non-power bogie frame I've checked for continuity. nothing from either brush strip to either rail pick up connection. There is continuity between the 2 rail pick ups.