Johnfromoz

Yes, guess its the circle of life or something. Have been buying from Rails for 25 yrs, but they often used to play second fiddle to the mob over the Pennines. However they now seem to be more competitive (price) and reliable (delivery) and I'm buying more and more from them. These days they are far more competent at getting shipments out to me here in southern Tasmania. Their postage is sometimes 1-2 GBP more than the Widnes option but hey, I'll pay that to get the item shipped out the same day. The bargain section prices are also way better than the competition too. Oh how the world turns.

While everyone's experiences may vary, I have to report some evolutionary progress on the quality front with these models. Having bought a bunch of them when first released I recall some grouchy sounding, crunchy mechanisms, occasional suspect wiring and cab glazing which appeared to have been sandpapered before fitting! Still, they ran ok, sort of, with a bit of a wobble etc..... Fast forward to late 2017 and I bagged myself one from the recent clearance from a certain Sheffield emporium. Silky smooth motor, no wheel wobbles, almost silemt running and above all, a big leap forward in the quality of the glazing, now crystal clear and superbly fitted. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe Dapol QC is improving.

Wondering if there's any news on the replacement body program? I signed up for it a few months ago and I seem to remember talk of a September/Oct exchange, but could be mistaken.

A pointless, reactionary comment. Many of us on here have been using the company for four decades or more BECAUSE of their previous exemplary service. We just dont want to see that eroded, and are entitled to raise concerns when money is taken and no item is shipped for 11 days and counting, in my case.

Quite agree. Hattons used to be a bastion of reliability, ethics and trust in this industry. I 'm now not so sure. Like many here I have spend many thousands with them over as many decades. In the last two years I have watched their once impeccable and consistent standard of practices practices erode, bit by bit, very gradually. It is now common for orders to take a week to dispatch, and their pre-owned section is regularly and routinely oversold. I have lost count of the number of refunds issued for this reason in the last year. Currently, no sign of dispatch for an order placed on 21/9, well before their stocktake. All of this is a shame, as for me it blights their record of excellence for many years. Others may feel differently. I can only speak as I find.

I would take their on line listimgs with a pinch of salt at present. An item I purchased a few days ago is still up as being for sale. Obviously their stocktaking efforts are causing a bit of chaos.

Image 125 in Paul B's collection also seems to suggest one in BR blue, albeit original image colours have naturally deteriorated. John

Continuing the Australian theme, I have been buying items big and small from Hattons practically every week for the past 25 yrs, so have lived through the ups and downs of its generally reliable service and good ethics in dealing with problems. While I am now retired in deepest Tasmania these last few years, Hattons had until recently, kept up a consistent level of service. However, in the last few months their delivery times have blown out about 130%. Why this is I dont know. Possibly it is a sign of the times with increased parcel screening re- the threat of terrorism. Locos (with their internal wiring and electronics) seem to be delayed the most, some taking over two months. One in fact failed to materialise at all, the matter being addressed well by Hattons. This is a rare and disturbing event. I have today quiried them on an item from mid-June and no doubt will get the standard polite email telling me nothing. I do hope its not a return to the the old 'Sh***y Link' days! We shall see

Relaunching a major retail website is a thankless task; you cannot please all of the people all of the time. BUT, the new iteration is in my view a dogs breakfast. As previously remarked, it is focussed too much on marketing rather than providing a clear portal to its many hundreds of products through a legible home page. As someone who has spent several thousands with them over as 25 yrears, I hope they get this sorted. John

Hi Oliver, in the vein of further feedback on the new site: The old one may have been a but rusty, but at least had an all encompassing 'front page' on which you can quickly go to links for your chosen interest. The new site presents to me as having too much emphasis on your headline/flagship new collection, but difficult to see the overall picture of what Rails stock at a glance. Hope this helps John

I have to chuckle at this revelation (if true) that the Bachmann aircons will have moulded handrails and grabrails. Remembering the hysteria of scorn that met the release of Hornby's aircons, I am so glad I disregarded this and purchased two or three rakes with several priced as low as 13 pounds in clearance sales etc. Once the obvious flaw with the visible solebar is addressed easily, I find them more than acceptable, even with some vent errors on carriage roofs. Flush glazing, printing and lining are, in my view superb (except for blue and grey.) The lighted versions, while not brilliant, can be picked up for about 14 notes now and then. Other than the DBSO I have no interest in the Bachmann efffort which is shaping up as not being that much better than Hornby but at maybe triple the price!

Really interesting sighting Brush Veteran, and thanks for recording your recollection here. To get 1200 Falcon over to Stratford for tyre turning you would have almost certainly thought it would have been tripped over the NLL by a London crew from OOC. John

Interesting recollections. First time I have heard of Falcon in the west country. Thanks John

Thanks Jonny, That was entirely my point. All pics of Falcon in 1200 guise are either at the Paddington or Bristol end. Would dearly love to hear of anyone recalling it at OC in the 1970s. Cheers John

Thanks. A great starting point, albeit 1966. It at least shows the Falcon did visit occasionally.

Hi all, Just wondering if anyone has photo or anecdotal evidence of 1200 Falcon at Old Oak Common circa early 1970s? I am quite familiar with the traffic history of the loco, and know if was worked hard on the Bristol expresses for quite a while before the South Wales chapter. All of the photos I have found show it at Bath Road, Swindon or Ranelagh Bridge (Paddington). I'm guessing OOC would not be a major haunt for Falcon, but am interested in any visits maybe for unscheduled maintainence etc. wonder if it was ever seen around the turntable. Over to you WR afficionadoes..... Thanks John

Further to the above, have now unearthed the early advice put out by Dapol themselves about 16 months ago: (CVs 49 & 50) need their values reversing. Repeated here for the benefit of others who may require the info. Thanks to all John

Hi all, Further the notorious 73 lighting stuff up and yes, I am a bit late to the party on this , but today fitted my 73 with a Hattons cheapie 21 pin decoder. In trying to fix the lighting direction I have tried both the decoder cv resetting mentioned by Metro Cammell above and the settings put forward by Olivias on their web site, with no success. I realise I can resolder and reverse the wires, but being a lazy sod, wanted to try to rectify the light direction through CVs. Does anyone out there have clue about which CVs and values would work for the Hattons decoder? Am I right in thinking they are vaguely Gaugemaster based in origin? Cheers

Very impressive Steve. Can I get your recommendation regarding the best fixative for attaching the 37s frost grill? Am slightly concerned that cyano may leave marks. Was thinking about dry clear PVA? Cheers John

Hi Paul, As an O scale newbie, I can only offer commiserations if the decoder is indeed fried. In my wider experience of DCC in OO, once the decoder is inoperative/dead you tend to get the message cannot read decoder/cv. The only obvious checks I can suggest is have you tried a number of CVs such as 1,8 etc? Given they are such a big ticket item perhaps Digitrains or one of the more specialist outlets can test it for you independently. Given the cost, might be cost effective for sending to ESU for a repair? Good luck John

Great sound! Those mark twos are meticulous, the finish and glazing looks great.

Hi Norman, Does the L and its adaptor board 'plug in' to the Heljan pcb, or do you connect it by wire? Cheers John

Thanks PM. Am currently weighing up buying the V4L or the XL, which appears to be a dearer option but I like the idea of the screw terminals rather than soldering. With using the XL are their any resistor issues/risks with blowing the lights? I am looking at simple directional lights/headcode on one function. Thanks for any advice on the XL John

I agree, these new versions are, overall, fine models. My green FYE is now running as Canton's 37230 in the mid-70s but awaits some weathering. As has been noted here, the side windows are a smidgeon low compared to the prototype, but not to any noticable extent. This is my first big HJ diesel and the more I examine it the more I love it, particularly the way it sits on its bogies in line with the real thing, a feat not achieved by any other cl 37 in any scale! The only downside is its less than user friendly DCC option. I am dreading my forthcoming installation of sound. John

Thanks Norman. Slowly accumulating my knowledge in the world of O DCC. John