RFS

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_414 for class 414 And https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_416 for class 416. Should give you all you need to know.

Not with class 71 haulage. The line from Redhill to Tonbridge, which the train would have had to follow, was not electrified until 1993 which is long after the GA ceased operating. Interestingly this route did become a diversionary route for Eurostar trains when they were operating from Waterloo and the normal route was not available for any reason.

Here's an example of the golden Arrow with headcode 74 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/5448032952/in/album-72157603648772112/ And 75 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/5431432598/in/album-72157603648772112/

Just remembered I had another problem with a Lenz Standard+ in a Hornby 73. At one point I found the loco would run perfectly in forward direction, but as soon as I tried to run it in reverse, the DCC system shorted out. Turned out to be a faulty decoder which Lenz replaced under the 10-year warranty.

I have a class Hornby 31 that I originally fitted with a Lenz Standard+ decoder. At first it ran very smoothly and I was very pleased with it. But after a while it sometimes behaved oddly, for example not slowing down or stopping immediately when I operated the DCC throttle. It got to the point that I stopped using because of its erratic behaviour. Also sometimes the lights would come on and sometimes not. Now I've had similar problems with Bachmann 2-EPBs with Lenz Silver21+ decoders. The 2-EPBs worked reasonably well when I swapped the decoder for a Bachmann 36-554, but the decoder had an annoying habit of occasionally factory-resetting itself - a real pain when one of two units in a consist did this. All 4 of my 2-EPBs now have Zimo MX634D decoders and are superb performers. Having purchased a Zimo MX600R for another loco I decided to try it in the class 31. Result: absolutely perfect performance so the loco has been restored to service. I believe the problem with both the 31 and the 2-EPBs is caused by interference from the lighting circuitry on the internal PCBs that seems to affect the Lenz more than other makes. I can't say whether your problem is the same, but you could try testing your 31 with a different decoder brand and see if it makes a difference. Or swap the Lenz for another Lenz to see if it's a decoder fault. I would also first check the value stored in CV 30 for the Lenz decoder: this is where it records whether there have been any power issues - motor overload, short circuit etc. If CV 30 is not 0 you have a wiring problem rather than a decoder issue.

The older version of the CV Editor is on the installation disk that comes with the LI-USB 23150. This does have the .DEC files but they are quite old and seem to apply to the Standard, Silver and Gold decoders rather than the current + versions of these decoders. If you'd like a copy of the installation file, send me a PM and I can attach it as a zip file on a reply. The size of the file is just under 3mb.

Lenz have made available up-to-date drivers for the LI-USB for Windows 10, and these drivers also support Windows 7 and 8.1. They are presumably signed drivers and more importantly support both 32-bit and 64-bit. You can download the updated installation files from here - http://www.digital-plus.de/download.php Scroll down to the entry 23150 USB Interface - Treiber für WIN10 ("Drivers for Win10").

Firstly I would strongly recommend setting the address on the programming track first. If there is a short, you risk blowing the decoder if you place it straight on the track at full DCC voltage. As Richard says, you could first check that the pins of the decoder are not touching the metal underneath. Try putting some insulation tape underneath, or easing the decoder up a little so it's not pushed fully home. To run a loco on DC, a blanking plug simply joins pins 1 and 8 at one end, and 4 and 5 at the other. Due to faulty manufacture, one of these pairs of pins could be connected underneath by a blob of solder. However this will have no impact on DC as that's all the blanking plug does anyway. But it will cause problems on DCC when you fit a decoder. If you have a meter, you could try removing the plug and testing that these pins aren't electrically live to each other. If they are, it means you'll have to get underneath the PCB and break the false connection with a small file etc.

The 36-557 doesn't allow you set max speed via CV5 is one difference. But I wouldn't recommend either decoder. A much better choice is the Lenz 21-pin. In terms of performance it's in a different class to the Bachmann ones.

I had the same problem with a rebuilt Merchant Navy. Same solution - gently bend the strips outward so they no longer touched. Although the loco now ran fine, further investigation showed the tender pickups weren't working. The internal tender wiring wasn't properly connected and that needed sorting too.

The Lenz USB connector uses an industry-standard serial->USB converter and Windows 10 will automatically install the correct driver. Any driver on the supplied CD is almost certainly going to be at a lower level and you shouldn't need to replace it. After the driver is installed you need to look in control panel -> device driver to find which USB name was used so that you can set up the software.

Nothing to stop you using a cheap, simple lever switch mounted next to the tie bar to operate it. Given it's a fiddle yard I assume the location is non-scenic. One of these for example - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPDT-Straight-Hinge-Roller-Lever-Momentary-Micro-Switch-Lever-1x-5x-10x-240V-5A-/252368427579?var=&hash=item3ac2549a3b:m:mnP8umNQ7zpnC6A1M5U2j1g

Hatton's prices are £50.96 for the BR versions and £55.21 for the SR/SECR versions. These appear to be fixed prices not estimates. The 3-set for N gauge has an estimated price of £102.

The head code lights need function #5 and this needs to be a logic function and not a normal function, so I would suggest first checking the spec of the decoder you have fitted.

See post #16 of this thread regarding the lighting issue - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107595-new-lenz-standard-v2-decoder/

Hatton's says "due into stock July 2017".

They weren't all confined to 3-car sets. For example, here's a hop-pickers' special comprising a 6-car set with multiple luggage vans - https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/SECR-tender-engines/i-Xwvd2Jc/A

The Bachmann chip is not really a good choice for this loco. It was originally designed for locos with flywheels and the Back EMF defaults to values suitable for such locos. The DJ 71's coreless motor has very different characteristics so you could first try turning Back EMF off. Further, you need a 5-function decoder which the Bachmann isn't, I believe, hence the head-code lights do not work. I would recommend reading back through this thread as there have been a lot of posts regarding the most suitable decoder for this loco.

Here - https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Recent-uploads-and-queries/Recent-uploads-S/i-PMhTrBH/A Also https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/Rebuilt-Bulleid-pacifics/i-fXWS4PC/A

Here's a shortie from 1961 - http://railphotoprints.uk/p668741324/e46fed7cc

Some very good pictures of the Bridport branch here - http://railphotoprints.uk/p89819962 And in 1989 a 33/1 with 2x4TCs on a Bristol to Weymouth service - http://railphotoprints.uk/p804939386

Just had an email from Hatton's saying the BR Crimson versions are due in stock in September or October.

Sounds like when Outlook has downloaded an email it's being left on the server. This is an option that you can change which may fix the problem. See http://www.serverintellect.com/support/email/outlook-leave-on-server/

The Hornby 71 has no issues with performance. I fitted a Lenz Silver Direct decoder to mine, and top speed was measured by my RR&Co Traincontroller profiling as 83 mph. Bear in mind this speed will depend on your DCC track voltage, and mine is approximately 14.5v. Slow running is also excellent especially as it has twin flywheels. I have a representation of the Golden Arrow (7 Hornby lighted Pullmans, 2 Bachmann second opens and 1 bogie luggage van). The DJ 71 couldn't cope with this (max speed fell to 43 mph and it was clearly struggling) whereas the Hornby 71 romps away with the train. I use automated scheduling with RR&Co and none of the schedules require any train to go faster than 70mph (they look a bit silly faster than that!) and the Hornby 71 had no problem doing that. It competes for the train with my Hornby 70004 William Shakespeare and unrebuilt 35028 Clan Line, both of which easily haul the train. Because of the DJ 71's limited haulage capacity I have returned it and bought the Hornby 71 instead.

Yes - the Lenz 21pin decoder you need is 10231-01.