RFS

As my 33/1 is more or less permanently coupled to the 4TC I've opted for Roco couplings instead. To get the optimum distance apart I've used one normal Roco coupling and one of the slightly longer Hornby versions. With Kadees there's some slack which can mean the gap opening and closing a little as the train starts and stops, but the Roco ones are tightly coupled and hence there's no buffeting on starting and stopping.

I've used this German box-shifter (Arstechnica) several times for Lenz decoders and they have plenty in stock - http://www.model-railway.expert/en/search?sSearch=lenz+lokdecoder

There used to be a late evening working from Waterloo soon after the Bournemouth scheme went live with a class 33 at the front + 1 or 2 TCs and then a 4VEP bringing up the rear all controlled from the 33 The train divided at Basingstoke with the 33+TCs going to Salisbury and the 4VEP to Eastleigh/Southampton. So it's quite in order to couple them up provided you include a 33 - I suspect the Hornby 4VEP might struggle to haul the 4TC as well....

If you don't pay with PayPal then you lose all the buyer protection that it provides, ie if the item does not arrive or is faulty. That's why Ebay say sellers must accept PayPal. I don't understand why the seller has 41000 feedback and 100% positive if he doesn't take PayPal.

J5770 Silloth station - what a contrast to around 20 years previously - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silloth_railway_station#/media/File:Silloth_station,_1951_(geograph_5323386).jpg

The Lenz 21-pin Silver decoder has 5 functions and hence will control all the lights correctly. On the thumper the interior lights and head code lights all work together. There's only a 2-pin connection between the coaches which is why this is so, because the head code lights are directional. If you want to turn off the interior lights whilst keeping the head codes lit there's a manual switch underneath the coaches which you need to use even on DCC. But with the 4TC you have the ability not only to control the interior lights independently, but also turn off the head code lights in one direction only (eg for the end facing the 33) whilst keeping them directional - all with DCC functions. Plus with 4-pin connectors, all 4 coaches have full power pickup which means any problems in that regard are almost completely eliminated.

The Bachmann 36-557 decoder has been replaced by a newer decoder, which for reasons known only to Bachmann is also called the 36-557. If you use the new version it has the necessary extra functions to work the interior lights (via F5). The old version will not operate the interior lights as it only has 4 funcitons. A Lenz Silver 21-pin decoder will also work all the functions.

After further investigation I've found that the space bar is commonly used as a scroll bar. Try going into this site with IE, for example, and the space bar will scroll you and down the first page (and up with the shift key pressed). When replying in the text box it seems you need to ensure the cursor is within the box. I've composed this reply with Edge with no problem. Doesn't mean there isn't a problem somewhere though. I can reproduce the problem on this site, but not on any other forum.

My PC has now been updated to the Fall Update (version 1709) and now I have this problem too. Not every time but often enough to be a problem. I've had to write this reply in a text document and copy-and-paste it here. Edit: The space bar is sometimes becoming a scroll-down bar.

Try DCC Supplies - eg http://www.dccsupplies.com/search/results/?search=0.5mm+wire

Has there been any mention anywhere as to when the range might expand in the future, ie with slips and crossings?

I realize you're running TC Silver, but if at any time you were to upgrade to the TC Gold version then it will take care of long trains in short blocks without the need to fit resistor wheelsets. It knows the length of the train and the position of the stop marker and is therefore able to calculate that the train has not fully entered the block. Although I run TC Gold, I still have resistor wheelsets on a few trains (usually freight) in order to protect against coupling failures.

It's quite easy to disconnect the couplings if you use the supplied tool and carefully roll the whole unit upside-down - like coupling/uncoupling 4-CEPs for example. I have a yard track to do this with a foam covering alongside to make this easy, as this is the only way of cleaning the wheels on all my EMUs.

The 4 green strips are roof destination boards - to be finished by you with the name of your choice. The bogies are just a clip-fit so you can just pull them off carefully - the step boards etc easily come off! For couplings I've used the Roco coupling internally within sets - not the Hornby one as supplied as they're too long (but exactly the right size for Bachmann MK1s). With the Roco ones the corridor connectors touch on straight track.

The gap looks no different to that on the code 75 double slips. With these I had a problem with a couple of Hornby locos that were from the early China era where the back-to-back of the wheels was 14.2mm instead of todays 14.5mm. Once adjusted to 14.5mm the locos have performed flawlessly since. As far as the frog tip is concerned, then there is a simple alternative if there's a problem: remove the bonding between the V-rails and the stock rails, and connect them instead to a polarity switch along with the frog wire. Plus IRJs on them too.

There are some pictures here which also show the wiring on the underside - https://thehobbyshop.wordpress.com/category/product-information/ Looks to me as though the gap at the frog may be OK but we'll only know that for certain once we can get our hands on one.

BRDatabase is an excellent reference - http://www.brdatabase.info/index.php

Older locos were not designed with DCC sockets in mind, so it will be down to the individual loco as to whether there is space for both a socket and a decoder.

Best option might be to email Lenz in Germany asking them who supports their products in Australia.

Didn't see you were in Australia! The Australian agent is listed here - http://www.lenz-elektronik.de/haendler-worldwide.php?lang=de

I would get in touch with the UK Lenz distributor A and H Models who may be able to help. Lenz equipment does carry a 10-year guarantee so if it needs a repair it should be covered if it's not that old.

I have a Hornby King Arthur loco 30453 fitted with a Zimo MX623R decoder. On a couple of occasions recently I have had a problem with it as it appeared to have moved forward from where I left it, causing a short if it ended up on the frog. Today I switched on the system and there was an immediate short from the Lenz LZV100 - I'd been doing some work and had left a metal screwdriver on the track. When I removed the offending tool, the short was corrected but 30453 shot forward a couple of feet and shorted the system again when it fouled the points. Running on DC is turned off in CV 29 - it's set to 34 (28/128 speed steps and extended addressing). Rechecked it again after today's event and it's still 34. It also has had its caps removed. Any ideas why it's doing this? Is there anything else on this decoder I need to disable?

Around a third of the total of 45 built (82010-25) were allocated new to 72A Exmouth Junction. Although 82021/2 stayed only very briefly the rest remained until 1962, being then transferred to Eastleigh and Nine Elms by which time all the birdcage stock had gone. Later, examples from other regions came to the SR to eke out their lives at Nine Elms etc. so were quite numerous on the SR compared to other regions.

Alll you need to do is to copy the DVD using Windows copy. Create a directory somewhere and copy the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories to there. Then VLC media player can play it directly from there. It's what I do with the BRM monthly DVD to save having to keep mounting the physical DVD. But I think this will only work however if your DVD is not copy protected.

R2420 also affected (D5512) but not R2420A (D5511). My D5512 was so badly affected, including cracking the body shell, that Hornby replaced it with D5511. All OK since. See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123769-zinc-pest-mazak-rot-the-affected-models-list/