Unit basher

Hi Giles Thank you for your reply. I did wonder on the size when I looked at the pictures & what I intend on making. I might ask a friend what pantograph he has, I wasn't going to buy a big one but I suppose if I have it it'll get used & a proper one will do what I want it to. Thank you for the help & information.

Hi everyone, I'm looking at further enhancing my toolset & i have been looking into pantographs. I want to make some parts for some small 7mm locomotives mainly the frames & curved parts. I have relied on friends to make parts up for me which is slow & hence why i am looking into it myself. The tools my friends have are large industrial sized pantographs which are a little large for my small workshop & probably a little bit overkill for myself. I've been looking at the proxxon pantograph which looks pretty straight forward & simple to use. What i would like to know is how large the cutting plate is? I watched a video where someone did a 2.1 reduction for 7mm parts & wondered if it can do some valances for a 7mm loco or a set of frames. Nothing is going to be above a 4-4-0 or 0-6-0 type engine all rather small pre grouping types too. I would like to know if it is going to be able to do the job before i invest some money in it & if it isn't are their any other options available without costing heaven & earth. thanks for reading

I wondered if someone might be able to help me out. I'm doing a bit of research on north british railway locomotives & I seem to have misplaced my sharman wheel specification book. Would anyone be kind enough to copy me the pages of the north british section of the book? Thanks Bash

Thank you for your help Nigel & RHF9019 Changing CV66 instantly changed my loco, shes now a very slow, steady runner. cheers, Bash

HI all, I wonder if anyone might be able to help me out. I've fitted a new Bachmann j72 with a dcc concepts next 18 decoder & i am having some issues. At first it was running jerky, i turned BEMF from 0 to 1 & its improved the running no end. The problem i have now is that i cannot get it to run witha decent range of speed. When i turn it to 1 on the speed steps it sets off far to quick for my liking & i'm not sure what the cure is. I first tried to set the start up to 255 to try to see if that would do anything it still runs in the same manner. I've played with all the voltage & speed cv's but i cannot seem to get it to alter how it starts. Any suggestions on what might work to cure it? I'm using a Z21 system if that helps at all Cheers, Bash

Yes I've done a reset & the problem still persists.

Hi everyone I've just purchased a sound fitted Piko loco & I suspect it's faulty but before I write it off & return it I thought I would ask the forum for help. The directional lighting is interesting firstly. If I turn on the directional lighting it'll come on with the end lit for direction of travel. If I then turn on the sound the red marker light on the end will light up. Forward & rear lights together. If I change direction I get just the loco lights on as it should be. Secondly I cannot seem to change the speed step options. The loco accelerates similar to a smokey joe & the sound just sounds distorted & blury. When it starts it does sound fine. I'm using a white wireless z21 dcc system if this helps at all. I've tried everything I can using the z21 app & I've tried a couple of different cv settings I've found on the Internet. I cannot seem to sort it. Thanks Bash

Having tried the frog juicers I wrote them off as I couldn't get them to work. I've re wired the point & used peco microswitchs & it's now fine thankfully.

I've done all what you've said already RFS, Here is a photo of what my turnout is looking like. The power feeds for the second / sole frog is further up the turnout. The peco diagram does show both feeds from the start of the turnout. Would this likely affect it? It's really stumped me as I've checked every single part of the turnout & the microswitchs to make sure power is there & it is. Thanks Bash

I have done it on all the standard points but the 3 way doesn't have any of those wires that you cut like on standard code 75 points.

Hi all, After struggling to get the autofrogs to work with the 3 way point I've resorted back to using peco microswitchs. The rest of the layout is still using autofrogs on the standard points & I'm using dcc power. I've just wired everything back up & tested the whole point for power with a meter. I've got a constant 17v across all the frogs & when I set each road the power is at the right track. When the power is applied to the track its showing no shorts & trains run. I am still having trouble with the sole frog. As soon as a short wheelbase loco sits on the sole frog it still cuts out & when I put a meter on the frog it's show 3v with the loco sitting on it. I'm not very good at electrical work & could anyone explain what is happening & what I need to do to sort the problem out? Thanks in advance.

Evening all, I've been having a headache with the gaugemaster dcc80 autofrogs. I've read on the forum that others have had the same experience with these on a 3 way point & the single frog not working or shorting. I've had exactly the same issue & I was wondering if anyone had used the peco smartfrog on the 3 way & if so had they encountered any issues using the peco system? Cheers

Oh !!! Thank you for your help Iain. I was hoping for better news but at least I now know what's wrong.

Hello everyone, I wonder if anyone here might be able to help me with a technical issue I am having. I am currently building my layout & I have got to the part where I am installing my point motors. I have chosen to use the Z21 accessory decoders to accompany my Z21 wireless dcc system. I have installed a few peco point motors to the underneath of the baseboard & then I decided to test the motors as I went along. This is where my issues have arisen. Upon testing each motor it seems the decoder is weak & cannot send enough power to throw the turnout. At first I thought it might be me not mounting the motors correctly but I tested the motors using traditional power from a 12dc controller. The points fired instantly & with plenty of power. The information with the Z21 says its for twin coil motors which I assume covers peco point motors. Has anyone had experience with z21 & peco point motors & is there something I need to do that I'm overlooking. Thanks,

Thank you Johnster for your reply. I have tried a few of the things that you have mentioned above. I have noticed a couple of things. Firstly the rods on one side seem to wobble a little on the centre axle but only on one side. The second thing is that when the rod is at 12 o'clock the drive axle is tight with no play at all. When it runs at a higher speed it is fine. I have checked pick up contact on the wheels & this seems fine also.

Can anyone please help me out? I've given my 94xx a good run in & it's still very poor at slow speeds. It seems as though it has a bind or a tight spot & I'm not sure what to do with it. I've tried to wade through the Bachmann 94xx page but at 65 pages it's got a lot of information. Can anyone tell me if they have found a cure. Its a dc model & it's running on a standard gaugemaster controller. Thanks for looking

Hi everyone, Having no idea where to put this post I thought I would try here. A recent trip to Poland was interesting to say the least. Whilst it was a work trip I did see plenty of railways about. I thought this was interesting & different to everything else I've seen in modelling. It got the juices flowing after a long spell of none modelling & I thought this might be a new venture to model. Now where to start? I know model trains are available from various continental brands but are there any suppliers of buildings & are there any sources of information for branchlines etc that would be suitable to model. Its very hard to find information on new subjects & where to look. A small modern branch would be fun to make if anyone has inspiration Thanks

Gwr fan I've just had a look at it & as stated loosened the keeper plates. The inner one was the culprit & has loosened everything up. When I first put it on test it was almost like the wheels were out of quarter with a tight spot. It's slow speed capabilities were also dire. Having loosened up the keeper plate it's now a very nice loco. I'm going to run it in this evening to make sure it's fine but it should be a nice addition to the fleet. Thanks for the info

I have just purchased one of these & wondered if I might ask other members who own one a question. The side play on the axles is very tight in that if I move it to one side itll stay there. Are all models like this or should i be concerned & return it? It's a lovely model,I'm just concerned about that as I would imagine that the sideplay should be free to move.

It's been a while since anyone posted on the N7 page. Has anyone purchased a sound fitted model & what is it like? I fancy one of these & might go the extra for a sound fitted one. I usually look on YouTube to see if I can find a video of a factory fitted model so I can decided if it is worth the extra spend. I have looked but the only ones I can see are aftermarket fitted models. They do look a very fine model & its certainly something i am thinking of adding to my collection.

I've purchased 3 of these models & all have issues with the bogies wobbling, the rotating axleboxes falling off & some not attached when delivered. I'm sad as I missed out on the first batch & it's the one model I have most eagerly awaited. not sure what to do with them now I'm thinking of returning them & sticking with my trusty Bachmann models. I wonder how many others have had this issue?

I've just purchased a laser kit of Killamarsh signal box & would like some help please regarding colours. I would like to paint it as it would have been in the late 50s & from what I can gather they were painted in a green & cream colour. Could anyone tell me if any of the paint manufactures do a close match or what your suggestions are? I have some pheonix southern green & cream but I felt they might be a bit bright.

Those wagons look ace. I've a pile of cambrian wagons I was donated to build at some point. Having built some before I know exactly what you mean about the instructions. Paul Bartletts excellent photo page is great to find details etc on the wagons & overcome the bad instructions.

Olddudders, Johnb thanks for your replys. That calculator is a very useful tool & having read the accompanying text it's made much more sense. I'm going to have a play this evening with a few other locos to see if using the calculator improves the running. I have a few Laisdcc decoders fitted in some models & they are a bit troublesome. I tend to use rail exclusive zimo decoders, I find they are great value & give good running straight out of the packet.

I have a Hornby 56 that's doing the same. Its cakes in dried white grease. I've cleaned it but still loads hummed up in the drive train so it squeals terribly