Foden

Roy, I’m going mad if I’ve imagined it, but wasn’t a blue 31 released last year, if not the year before? I believe it was a skinhead.

Intercity Executive 87, and BR Blue 56!

I can see Sam speculatively booking his post COVID holiday to the Caribbean, off the back of all the ‘nothing in there for me’ superchats, genius.

Such a shame it has come to this, I feel for you, and hope you, and your staff, manage to weather the storm, so to speak. A little on the issue of face coverings though, if I may. My wife works for a NHS CRHT team, and they've had to deal with a sharp increase of cases lately where vulnerable persons suffering from mental health concerns have suffered a great deal due to questioning of exemptions. Whilst I wholly understand the frustration of any person being able to claim an exemption, there are, sadly, genuine cases of people with real reason for exemption (and whilst I'm referring to mental health in this instance, accept that exemption criteria can vary enormously beyond this) suffering by way of feeling singled out. It's a very real problem, that can, in some unfortunate cases push a vulnerable person over the edge, and has sadly resulted in numerous cases of self harm, and worse. I'd urge anyone to be mindful of this, no matter how frustrating it can be, especially when we feel sure some people are taking the p***. There are delicate people amongst us, that don't (and shouldn't) feel it appropriate to fully disclose the nature of their exemption, but have a legitimate one no less. To such a fragile soul, feeling singled out in being disallowed from 'normal' shopping habits can have quite disastrous consequences. Of course, that said, nothing excuses the assault on your staff, which is of course unacceptable. Best of luck to you all, stay safe.

I have 3 of the original Heljan 58 releases. Two in trainload, one in railfreight grey. Whilst not troubling the newest of D&E models for intricacy of detail, they stand up quite well. The only thing that’s on my ‘to do’ list is to swap out the massively thick handrails for more scale wire replacements. But as others have said, a solid performer too, well capable of pulling a scale rake of hoppers. With the release of the Cavalex HAA on the horizon, I think these will prove popular, I’m surprised Heljan offloaded them, but I’m pleased to see them back no less. Might yet be tempted by another!

I've several of Biff's 37 sound files (all on V4s), and like yourself, never had a problem moving stuff around before either. This is my first 47 sound file, and my first V5 though, so this one is new to me. My plan eventually is to do the same as the 37s, and have separate aux outputs for all lights allowing the same level of functionality, but for now, having non directional lights allows for more prototypical movement around a depot as I won't be pulling anything along with the loco for now. I've achieved that in the end, just odd that no matter what I did in the mapping, the sound file that was originally on F10 wouldn't be shifted. No matter in the end. I've used the ESU 21pin adapter boards in the 37s (largely for space as there's EM2s fitted onto milled chassis), and after mapping out, all works well on those examples, well worth the effort. Nice little trick with F9, I like that, frees up a function space!

Very kind offer Richard, however I've long since function mapped the aforementioned 37s to use the 6 lighting functions, and all is working well in that regard.

Not on this example, no, it's factory wired. I'll get round to it though so I can operate all lights independently as per my fleet of 37s. I've just come back to it in the meantime, and no matter what I do I can't shake the whistle off Function 10. So in the end I've left it on 10, and used 11 & 12 for independent light control, and shifted the old F11 (buzzer), and F12 (Rad fans) to 19 & 20 respectively, which has given the desired result now. No idea why the whistle kept sticking to 10. This is my first map of a V5, I've done 6 V4s without an issue in the same way.... oh well, no dramas in the end, got the functions I wanted.

I've been replacing my factory circuit boards on Bachmann 37s with the ESU 21pin adapter boards (51957) in order to accommodate EM2 speakers. I've used this opportunity to wire up forward, and tail lights at each end individually, as well as cab lights individually at both ends to make use of the 6 functions. It's a little effort, but worth it for prototypical lighting functions. As I go through my fleet I'll be upgrading the Hornby models to 21pin 6 function in the same way.

Thanks Nigel, different way of looking at it. I'll try and do it a little differently later this evening, and instead of removing the sound file from the function key, moving it down to an inactive function, as a place holder if you will, and see if that frees up F10, and F11. Thankyou.

Thanks for the reply Nigel, I did indeed read the full sheet before making any changes, and then altered accordingly. The reason I wanted F10 and F11 were so the functions were available without using extended functions on my throttle (DT500), and I was happy to lose the two sounds I would not use, knowing I could later revert back if I should want to. Keeping the directional lights on F0 is also advantageous for a quick glance to see which direction a loco is heading in, in the fiddle yard.

I've got a Loksound V5 with Biff's sounds loaded on, which I'm trying to alter the functions of. The sound file uses sounds on some functions that I won't use (namely F10 (Guard's whistle), and F11, Cab buzzer)). What I would like to do is change these functions to individual control of the head and tail lights so they are not directionally specific as on F0. Whilst using Decoder Pro to alter the mapping does add the required features to the function outputs, I can't seem to lose the guard's whistle off F10 whenever it's pressed, or F1 is pressed, or direction is changed. At first I thought this might have been a bad write, but after attempting it many times, this doesn't seem to be the case. Is it a possibility that some of these features are hard written into the sound file? I'm using JMRI Decoder Pro as the interface, and a SPROG II as the hardware for this. Maybe I need to use an ESU Programmer to achieve this? (Apologies if this is in the wrong section, I considered putting it in DCC Sound forums, but as it relates to Function mapping CVs, thought it might be best placed here)

Funny you should ask..... Rather embarrassingly, I seem to be on a mission for longest, most tedious layout topic on RMweb The reality is, this year, in contrast to many, I've been absolutely flat out due to the nature of my job, and from March until this Christmas holiday period, I've not had any holiday, or 'down time' to speak of. Oh the joys of the self employed. So, over the past week, between periods of being largely drunk, I've dusted off the layout, and proceeded to get a little further into it.... Firstly, I got the wife tipsy enough to agree to let me cut a hole in the side of the wardrobe in the spare room to allow access to the fiddle yard And then after working on a simple design to try and offer as much loco storage, got the tools out and created this simple shelf upon which to lay the fiddle yard In contrast to the scenic section, this will be kept much more basic, no need to go all out on a fiddle yard. So code 75 track, seep point motors, and surface mounted electrics will be the order of the day here. Onto something a little more rewarding. Early this year I ordered some bits from Express Models. Depot lights, a buffer stop lamp, lighting for the fuel point, and some wall lights for the retaining wall when it's up. Here are the yard lamps and red buffer stop lamp added to the scenic section. Really nice after all this time to be seeing it begin to progress beyond just track. And finally, for now, I got to start work on the rather fiddly plastic kit for the fuel point. I picked this Gaugemaster 'Fordhampton' fuel point kit up at Warley last year. It's quite a chore to assemble, and I think the scaleing might be more HO than 1:76, but it's a nice model and fits the space quite nicely. It's not fully assembled yet, and I'll be fitting lighting to it, so hopefully it'll sit nicely once built, painted, and weathered, and blended into its surroundings. I've still got a few days grace yet, not officially back at work until the 6th of Jan, so I hope to achieve more progress in that time, hopefully laying track in the fiddle yard, and starting the retaining walls would be nice. After this year though, what an absolute treat to be able to return to doing some modelling, and just shuttling a few locos about the plank!

Digging up a month stagnant topic to give my two pence here.. I appreciate the matter of sound is very subjective, so there's no right or wrong, just opinions based on individual preference. I've read a lot through the years about how sound doesn't scale, so can't be realistic, and that's why it doesn't appeal to some. I completely understand that, yet I absolutely love sound, it's consumed my interest to the point that, like many others, I don't run non sound fitted locos anymore, other than for testing.... why? Because, for me, having sound on a locomotive isn't about trying to be absolutely realistic, sound is about adding another level of immersion. Standing 6 feet away, I may hear a sound fitted model much more clearly than I would a scale distance, but where does that stop? I could apply the same logic and say that standing a scale distance away I wouldn't see the edge of a baseboard, a backscene with static clouds, the same static vehicles, people, and other props that would, in reality, be fully animated and constantly evolving the scene. What I get from hearing the sound, is another level of 'feeling' what that moment is imitating. A non sound fitted Class 37 pulling a rake of wagons away to the gentle sound of a motor buzzing doesn't provoke as much suggestion to the power of the prototype struggling, slipping, and battling, as a well driven sound example does. Whether the scale of the sound is realistic, or not, is not the defining sensation to me, but having another layer of performance presented to me, the viewer makes me feel more present in that illusion of a reality. Previously, without sound, my imagination filled in the gaps, and depending on how vivid one's imagination can be depends, I suppose, how real that feels. Now my imagination doesn't need to manifest as much content, it only needs to reign in the disbelief of that content, re scale of sound etc. It's the same way my imagination dials out the view of the kadee couplings hanging off rolling stock, or the way the track doesn't continue its trajectory after the scenic break etc. I stopped caring deeply about pursuing absolute realism when I recognised that reality isn't built on a 6ft baseboard, what matters more is about the feeling it gives me, and that's often born from nostalgia. Do I still seek out non sound presented exhibits at shows? absolutely I do, this hobby is about much, much more than just sound, and there's a hell of a lot of modelling eye candy to feast on. What was true for me 10 years ago, is still true to me now, but given the option, for my own layout, I'll only ever run sound fitted locos, I've been spoilt by them, anything else just doesn't really live up to it.

There’s a time and a plaice for fish jokes... Looking forward to seeing my order arrive, but considering the current realities, I wasn’t holding out hope for delivery this year, which is totally understandable.

Think you’ll strike gold with these ones lads, you deserve it too. A true icon of ‘modern image’, looking forward to more details and eye candy in due course.

Another replacement body received here after politely enquiring by email as per Pedro32's own request. To give Hornby credit, they offered a direct replacement body, or to send the loco to them to do the swap (allowing a little delay due to Covid backlog). Really can't fault that service, well done Hornby.

Oh this is so tempting! Any history of these ever having a run on the WCML??!! (apologies if been asked already)

I agree that a decent precision screwdriver set is worth it’s weight in gold! Something so simple yet when dealing with such intricate parts it needs to be both functional and comfortable. This is the set I use, a throwback from my previous spell in the motor trade infact. Various bits, lightly magnetised (too strong and it becomes more of a pain), light and comfortable with a palm bearing on the top. The only time I have to switch to a traditional fixed piece precision screwdriver is if the neck of my driver is too large to reach a well sunken screw, as in some bodies etc.

It is indeed one of my personal favourites too, even if I find the roof fans a little gimmicky (easily fixed) I also have a few that have had partially seized drivetrain after sitting on a shelf and never turning a wheel in anger for many years. A strip down and clean a lube followed by a good running in on a rolling road always restores them to superb runners though. Tends to be the worm drive bearings that need attention I've found.

For what it's worth, I don't think that on the whole the filtering in of young blood to the hobby is too much different over the last 30 years, but maybe the method of interest is somewhat different. At the core of it, there will always be young boys and girls that find 'big working stuff' fascinating. Go to any airport (in normal circumstances!) and you'll see as many younger folk standing off the edge of the runway fencing watching these wonderful machines take to the sky, and having as much overall interest in the operation as any older age range, I believe the same generally applies to trains etc. What may be different is one's entry into model railways. Maybe there are less 0-4-0 tank locos and short train of open wagons buzzing round an oval of track on the dining room floor at a scale 180mph, but there are other ways for younger folk to get their train fix these days and further enhance their interest. Now there are fantastic computer and console based train simulators that can be fired up in minutes and require no space to set up, and don't terrify the cat. They're comparatively cheap when you consider one would probably have the platform to operate it regardless, and offer an immersive world in which to grow one's interest and understanding. Some may say this isn't particularly healthy for the railway modelling hobby, but I disagree. Getting your kicks out of a simulation is perfectly fine, and has many advantages that modelling can't touch, but physically creating a world in miniature, and controlling an actual locomotive, all be it at scale is still unique to what we do. A person's desire to craft and create something will always draw people to the hobby if the interest of the wider railway world is present. Simulation and modelling in my opinion go hand in hand to offer a really credible, fulfilling hobby to young (and old) who show an interest. And to add, I think culture and acceptability among the young has changed a lot in recent times. I'm only 34, but when I was a 'young' lad at high school, I wouldn't have dreamt to have talked openly about my railway fascination, it wouldn't have done me ANY favours socially, and when a little older and seeking the attention of young ladies, it's something I would go to great lengths to hide. Yet now there seems somewhat of renaissance, and it looks to be a lot more socially acceptable for a young person to express their interest in railways, modelling, and many other previously assumed faux pas interests. Indeed to some young ladies it appears to be somewhat of an attractive feature in a man! Where these young ladies were when I was 20 years old I'll never know!

Doesn’t that knackered old Ped just fit the picture perfectly. I agree with what’s been said there is something quite sadistically appealing about grotty old run down stations and permanent way. A couple that spring to mind in the past that I visited and felt were quite eerily run down were Norton Bridge, Blackpool South, and even to an extent some larger stations like Sheffield and Preston. Bit before my time but Leicester Central (as indeed most on the GCR at the time) looked to be in a very sorry state in its final years when express trains were long gone and only a token local service remained.

Was there ever any concern with drivers in DBSOs and DVTs of being propelled at upwards of 100mph in a lighter carriage? After the awful events of Polmont, was it something that some drivers didn't particularly like for these reasons?

Never seen any in cab footage riding in a driving van trailer, what were they like from a driver’s perspective? A lot like a coach with a forward facing window I’d have thought!? So were they generally the preferred end of the train to drive from? Something to look forward to if an outward leg was in a loco? A nicer ride and a little more peace and quiet perhaps?

One assumes the benefit in the running overheads (no pun intended) must have been enough to warrant the change in traction from diesel to electric where feasible, otherwise I'd have thought BR wouldn't have bothered with the faff and added manpower of changing a locomotive part way through a service.