Adrock

Looks absolutely amazing. I’m really looking forward to this model! I too wonder about the shed code plate - I did raise it on here at the beginning of October but I think it was lost in the excitement of the announcement! I would have thought 89C would have been it’s plate, but maybe Accurascale have a picture showing it carrying an 89A?

It was really sad news for me and my family to hear that Les had passed away. I grew up in Haslington and live close by, with my parents still in the village. I remember the first time I went into the shop around 1995 or 1996 with one of my neighbours and his Dad, it was like an Aladdins cave! I would have been about 10 at the time, and over the following years my Dad and I or my Grandad and I would go in to get the things I needed for my layouts. He was always so friendly and helpful, a true gent. I made sure to buy my engines from him when he was able to get hold of them and did manage to take my own eldest son into the shop a couple of years back. It’s very sad that Les wasn’t able to have a longer retirement, but I am sure that running the shop wasn’t like work to him, I think he loved doing what he did. Best wishes to the family and Rest In Peace Les.

The images on the KeyPublishing website appears to show a shed code plate of 89A…is that correct? I can’t quite see that the records on BR Database match with this, as Shrewsbury was 6F by the time Bradley was allocated there. And she wasn’t at Oswestry during this period when Oswestry was 89A. I could of course be completely wrong! I would have thought an 89C for Mcy would have been the sweet spot for this loco in this condition as it was there until the end of 62.

Same here - looking at the article it said there were only 350 being produced, so yes these will all have sold out now. Gutted about that, as this was the exact specification / allocation that I was looking for and hoping would be produced. Just a shame that it’s the one produced in such a limited number.

This is brilliant, thank you.

Thinking further, if you also made two additional cuts to the lead casting that I have marked red, you would create the same amount of space as in the DCC ready version. You could then fix the lead to the chassis and mount the speaker, chip etc on top of it. The only thing you would have to do is create a new fixing point between the chassis and the front of the body, under the front coupling. Because the original version uses the little protrusion on the lead casting to retain the front of the body to the chassis.

I did wonder whether it was a typo or not! No I don’t use JMRI, haven’t needed to on any loco other than this loco potentially!

Hi Jon, I finally managed to take mine apart to replace the faulty decoder. 3 of the 4 wires had come unsoldered from the decoder! No wonder it wasn’t running. Here are pictures of what I did originally. I cut the boiler weight back half way. This gives enough room to pop the decode within, whilst mating the body to the chassis. However, the main problem I have is that I can’t put the second screw into the boiler weight, so it’s not a flush fit. I have used a zimo decoder here and have painted the cab back head, this dropped out very easily for me. There is a slight lip of the lower boiler weight showing because I can’t a) get the second screw up through the boiler at the rear end and b) given the way I have cut the weight, the fixing point is no longer there anyway and c) the decider is now there!

Yes that’s the same decoder that I have. Are you able to read and share the CV values that you used at all? Or not easily? thanks.

Hi, I think I recall reading something about this but am struggling to locate in this 95 page thread! Did someone say that they had programmed their DCC decoder with a completely new speed profile and curve, and had hugely improved the running as a result? If so, could anyone point me to the details at all please, as I’d like to replicate this! I have a ZIMO decoder fitted in mine. Thanks.

This is a much appreciated gesture and yes, it will allow me to do a direct comparison and hopefully answer this question conclusively! I will video the comparative performance too.

Hi, yes I have as I’ve just recently bought a new controller. Both chips have always been like this, i bought them ~2011/12 ish, couple of years of light use and then in storage within the locos until this year. I never considered it at the time but I’ve found this article suggesting some of them were faulty: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60802-tcs-dp2x-uk-in-a-Bachmann-pannier-setting-up-for-shunting/page/2/

The speed table is all over the place and I’ve spent hours already trying to improve it. No other decoder I have is like this, so it’s easier to just replace.

Yes I know, I use them in all my other locos. They just don’t do a direct plug unfortunately. What’s the issue with the two that I have listed?

Hi All, I need to purchase a couple of decoders to replace my TCS direct plug in my Bachmann 00 pannier tanks. There is very little room in there so I’m insisting on another direct plug. I think my main options are either: RAILS CONNECT DECODER, 8 PIN DIRECT 4 FUNCTION NANO DECODER Or OMNI DIRECT PLUG DECODER (8 PIN) DCC29 Does anyone have any experience of either of these, and maybe in a Bachmann 57xx/8750? Are they smooth runners? many thanks in advance.

Thanks for this, looks like a great job with the tender mods and pickups. I think that you’re right, the earlier loco must have the Buhler motor and the later one the Bachmann. The former seems to run more smoothly and I would say the 1998/9 release has better quality control all round. I have cut the wires in the middle, re-routed through the larger hole and have reassembled. The body does now sit level against the tender, so I’m really pleased with that. Just about to add a Zimo chip and then am going to work on the cosmetic details - pipe work, etched plates and renumber the model etc. Picture illustrates coupled to a tender now from a Dapol mogul (ROD tender has gone!).

Certainly is an old thread, but a very useful one! yes a job for the soldering iron, but there are three places - unsolder at the pickups, unsolder at the motor, or cut the cable and then resolder. So would be interested to hear what others have done. My cable is pretty squashed from the body nipping it to be honest. thanks for the info on the red grease, I’ve removed quite a bit. The motors in the two models look a bit different, and I always thought it was a 5 pole motor in the initial release but I could be wrong! I may check my catalogue from 1999 tho...

Really useful description here Ray as ever. I am just DCC’ing both 2260 (32-301) and 2259 (32-311) and am wondering if anyone has re-routed the wires through the larger hole on 2259; and more importantly, does that then make the body sit level? Can the screw be tightened up normally whilst still getting the rear wheel set to operate correctly? I bought this engine second hand (but in excellent condition) and it had quite a lot of red grease around the cogs. Is that a factory thing does anyone know, or likely to have been added by the previous owner? 2260 is the much better runner by the way! Assume that’s a 5 pole motor whereas 2259 is 3 pole...?

HI this may now be a bit late but I have just been through exactly the same thought processes as you at roughly the same time. My requirements were an experience as “similar to analogue feel” as possible; and something that my 5 year olds could operate. initially I went for the gaugemaster Prodigy as a result of the control knob, however I didn’t like the fact that it didn’t have a “0” position and I found it wasn’t the most refined level of control. I therefore returned that and went for the NCE PowerCab system. Every review and model shop owner that I spoke to about this system couldn’t rate it highly enough. Suffice to say, I ordered and it arrived earlier this week and I can’t really fault it. So easy to use, the thumb wheel control is great. I also purchased it with the CAB006 in mind, as that seems like a great way to not only add an extra controller for one of my sons to use; but also a more simple interface with an even more “analogue like” experience should I still want that over the coming months. Hope this helps in some way!

I know only a picture of “white walls” but I’ve now got my 4 sockets installed (part of the ring main) to provide layout power; and I’ve painted the walls. So, other than the new lighting installation, the room is ready to go. I’ve taken detailed measurements today so that I can draw up a scaled track plan, then i will make a start on building the frames which will carry the baseboards themselves. My idea is to separate the two, so that a) i can change the layout in the future if I want to and b) so that I can flip up the boards whilst working on the wiring. I am also looking to design in a fairly tall backscene that is hinged, and will come down over key parts of the layout to box it in and protect it from dust and damage. My specification also calls for the supporting wood to be painted white (to blend in with the walls); and the layout and framing in a cream eggshell paint to provide a semi-sealed finish (similar to the type of paint used in hand painted kitchen cupboard doors). I am going to try and make this construction look as neat and tidy as I can!

Thanks, I hadn’t seen this, it looks interesting - I will take a closer look! The wall was plastered this weekend, so next stage is to paint and then the room will be ready as I’ll be starting detailed layout planning.

Brilliant! Have you got a thread or any pics? yes, planning to build all the boards myself, open framed for most ideally.

Hi, am planning to model late 50s / early 60s, as that is what my stock collection is based on. However, I reckon I could just run to early 70s BR blue at a stretch! I very much want to run the Cambrian coast express, so I was actually thinking this layout size is a tad small, as my version of the winter train is 7 coaches long. More “normal” service trains will be 3 or 4 coaches long. Will hopefully prove out through more detailed planning. The layout will be DCC too, with some DCC sound.

Good point, omission from my side! It is to be 4mm / OO gauge, and the space available initially is about 2.4m wide by just over 5m long.

Hi I have been planning to build a new layout ever since we moved into our current house just over five years ago. In fact, I’d insisted on buying one with a double garage with this very plan in mind! However, a combination of work and the arrival of two little boys seriously limited my time (or energy!) to start...until just recently. With the clearing of more and more baby stuff in the garage (only one pram left, and that won’t be long!), I have started to prepare the railway room in there. We use our garage quite a lot as a route in and out, and until we redesign the kitchen later in the year our main American fridge / freezer is also in there. Therefore, I decided to build a short stud wall to divide the garage up and make a dedicated and more usable space for me. I was never going to get away with the full double, but may be able to extend outside of my “half” a bit in the future. In terms of the layout, I will be building a Cambrian based layout and it is a strong requirement that I want to model one (or a number) of prototype locations. My main challenge is that I can’t decide which one just now! I also like the idea of “system” layouts, so am quite taken with the looped figure of 8 championed by the Grantham team, as not only can I get a longer run but I could probably fit two or maybe three scenic sections within. Again, what I can’t quite decide on is whether I need gradients and split levels to achieve, or whether I could do it all on the flat. Finally, being Cambrian most of it will be single track - I would like to model the section at Pont Dollgoch but would ideally like a station or junction in there too. So, all thoughts welcome in terms of location, plan etc. I have sketched a very basic concept of how I think the figure of 8 could work - it’s not a track plan as yet, more of a route schematic. I’ve also attached some pictures showing progress on the garage space. The wall is due to be plastered tomorrow.