Graham T

So, first step this morning was to test the motor. One of the terminals isn't accessible without removing the motor, so I did that. Touched wires from a 9V battery to the terminals and, hey presto, the motor happily spins away. But touching the wires to the wheels didn't work. This made me think (!) that the problem lay somewhere between the pick-ups and the motor; maybe a loose wire somewhere? Next I removed the keeper plate from the bottom of the loco, to search for wires. Couldn't find any! All the pick-ups looked ok to my distinctly amateur eye though, so I put the keeper plate back on. Applied wires to the wheels, and... The motor spun up! No idea what I did but decided to quit while I was ahead. Replaced the blanking plug (thanks @Harlequin for pointing out my dumb mis-identification of that...) with the decoder, and reassembled the loco. Now of course was the moment of truth. Would it still work back in the world of Chuffnell R? Apparently yes. I think I will still take the stay-alive wires off the decoder though, and solder them directly to the PCB. Fingers now firmly crossed that TDL still works next time I venture into the railway spare room 🙂

I do have one Nick, so I'll dig that out and add it to the armoury that I'm assembling against the Demon Loco. Main weapon being repeated barrages of profanity, so far...

I also found this Hornby Magazine article which shows the KungFu stay-alive connected directly to the PCB, rather than the decoder. Do you think that might be worth a try?

You're right Phil - told you I didn't know anything about electrickery... But it still doesn't run with a 9V battery and the decoder blanking plate in place. I know the battery is good. Maybe re-solder the motor and track connections to the PCB do you think?

I'm a numpty when it comes to electrickery, but I don't think you can test on DC without a blanking plug, which I haven't got.

Quite possibly, but I think it should be ok here!

So why is it lurking next to the 517? Are you planning to fit a clockwork motor, and have something on hand to wind it up with? Being a little more serious, I like the compost bin. How did you get the battered edges on the wriggly tin?

Well, I was right. No blanking plate in the Bachmann box. But there was one of these - woohoo! A vanilla (non-sound) decoder in a sealed bag. It was the work of a moment to pop it onto the programming track, and ... "Cannot read CV". Bu@@er. So, it looks as if it's (probably) not the decoder that's the problem. Maybe it is the PCB?

Ah. I'll check in the Bachmann box, but my money's on there not being one in there 🙁

Possible! I'm going to disconnect the stay-alive for a test tomorrow, so when (if) I reconnect it I'll make sure there's no exposed wire showing.

Yes I've tried that and I don't think it's a trapped wire. It has a Kung Fu stay-alive, one of these from Digitrains. I've used them in several of my other locos without any issues... I'll disconnect it and see if that helps though.

I don't think I can do that with the PCB fitted? I tried a 9V battery across the wheels anyway, and nothing happened.

Yes - the first thing that Bachmann mentioned to me in an email was that it might be a dry joint on the PCB. That suggests to me that maybe they've had an issue with that before. I think so, yes! It's one of those weird ones I'm afraid. When it runs, it runs absolutely fine. Nice slow speed control and so on (even on my dodgy track). And then I'll try to run it another day and it won't respond at all. If I try it on the programming track the CV can't be read... Let's hope so, it's starting to bug me...

Here you go Andy. Wiring added by me.

So, here are the photos, with and without the decoder in place. The black and blue wires from the decoder are to the stay-alive, which is fitted in the bunker. Rob @NHY 581 had raised my hopes by pointing out the Rev-A PCB on the Bachmann spares site, but it seems the Demon Loco already has one fitted. Any bright ideas please?

I was thinking more along the lines of General Sir Anthony Hogmanay Melchett, old chap.

A bit more fighting with the painting today. I think the right hand buffer head might be a tad large, and of course I still need to paint the crew. But it's inching its way toward being done, perhaps. Time to go out foraging for provisions now, and then I might dismantle the Demon Loco...

That’s a smashing pic. Where did you get your vending machine from Rob?

Good grief! A chap would have to be barking mad to ask for advice here... Baaah! Stand by and I'll deliver some post-prandial piccies.

Morning Rob 🙂 Now that is interesting. I've been exchanging emails with Bachmann, who to be fair are being reasonably helpful, and the first thing they mentioned was that it might be a dry joint on the PCB. Of course they can't do much without seeing the loco, and I don't really want to send it back to the UK unless I absolutely have to because of the time, hassle, and expense involved. They also suggested trying a different controller - I dont have one - and switching the decoder to another loco. Not sure that I have another with an 18-pin chip though... So I think I might ask them to send me a new PCB.

Thanks Herr W. The lettering will indeed be only a suggestion. Glad that the soldering has given you some oomph!

It's not my choice I'm afraid Colin. I'm sure I'll be able to bodge it convincingly enough though!

I think Chuffnell R is trying to tell me something... 1303, the ex-MR 0-4-4T, aka the Demon Loco, still refuses to play, so I'm going to put her to one side for now in an attempt to keep my frustration levels down. Similarly, the LMS parcels van has been sent to Coventry. But this mixed parcels and fruit train did allow itself to be propelled into the bay platform without any hiccups. No LMS stock to be seen. Hmm. And I got my soldering finished this evening. Keen followers of this thread might remember me saying I had two more benches to build; I did, but one of them didn't survive separation from the etch. Oops. Tomorrow will be a paintbrush-heavy day, all being well. I aim to get a bit further along with the prairie painting, and also to paint some figures, some lamps and planters for the platform, and so on.

I'll figure something out 🙂 It may be impressionistic as @Harlequin suggests though - I think it'll be very difficult to have it truly readable at this scale... The shed roof will get a tweak. Also the number plate isn't straight, and the shafts of sunlight in the shed go too high - they don't line up with the windows properly. But it feels as if the painting is moving in the right direction overall.

Latest bit of daubing. I splashed out on some new brushes today, which has helped with (some of) the detail. Although I'm still not quite sure how on earth I am going to write "Great Western" on the tank...