gordon s

Hi Martin, please do open a new topic on this as I've just read the link. Still trying to take on board the implications, but it talks about voice services and being unable to use them over a land line. Does this mean what it says? Are voice services a normal old fashioned chat over the phone? If so, where does that leave those without internet, such as the old where a land line is a life line?

I really wish you hadn't given me that link, but having seen it, they offered the perfect gift for Grand Childen. Surprised at the very good presentation and quality. 26 books for £29.99....... Tempted to say, they wouldn't enjoy them and just keep them for old times sake.........

....and.... Harwich for the Continent Frinton for the Incontinent.... That takes me back..

The three screws at the front end simply hold the footplate in place. I was able to open it sufficiently to refix the poorly fitted sandbox. Unfortunately the backend appears to be glued to the cab floor and I didn’t want to disturb that, so didn’t investigate further.

Of course I have to agree. The blue looked spectacular and the purple was way off the scale. If that was a rock star, then the green is more suited to Accountants..... I wasn't one, but have to say I'll be happy with the two tone green and Mk1's.....

Now you're talking..... The purple and blue loco's looked terrific, but happy to say the green is just as good. Takes me back to KX and FP all those years ago..... Off to check what I ordered now...Nimbus and Black Watch....

I rest my case......

I think you may have some of the connections reversed in your diagram. May be worth checking before soldering wires to the pads. https://dccwiki.com/8_Pin_DCC_Plug

Accurascale have featured heavily in RMweb over the last year or so and what I have seen is not PR blurb, but a new supplier who are a breath of fresh air in this market. Rather than not engaging with their potential customer base, they have welcomed input at every stage of their manufacturing process to ensure they are able to provide models that will exceed expectations. You only have the read the Deltic thread on here to see they are a supplier intent on supplying a level of detail way beyond anything seen before. As someone who models the steam transition area, it is very unlikely I will purchase any of their wagons as they are mainly outside my chosen period, but it doesn’t stop me admiring the quality of models they have produced so far. Of course loco wise, I have ordered a Deltic and Class 37 in BR Green and everything I have seen in the specification and attitude of Accurascale would suggest I will be far from disappointed with the final product. I have just taken delivery of a brand new Hornby A2/2 and as the days go by, it is now likely I will return it to the supplier for a refund. Whilst it is a very smooth runner, the QC of the model does not represent value for money at between £170-£190. The colour is poor and several small components have come adrift. The footplate is not straight and I was lucky not to destroy a couple of decoders due to an internal wiring fault. As such I consider this to be a ‘pricey’ model that does not represent value for money. Pricing is always subjective and you cannot look at the price of any model without consideration of the quality, accuracy and level of detail that is promised by the supplier. As has been suggested earlier, I do not see Accurascale loco’s as pricey, rather the opposite. They appear to offer very good value for money based on the quality and detail of each loco, but of course we have yet to have a model in our hands. Not an issue for me as the photos and EP videos show me everything I need to know. From what I have seen so far is a new supplier who have an outstanding set of values, particularly when it comes to talking to their customer base. I cannot fault what I have seen to date and really look forward to receiving the loco’s I have on order. I know I won’t be disappointed with the final product as I have seen the attention to detail and pride they take as a new supplier on a continual basis. If only other suppliers were that open in terms of dialogue with potential buyers. I wish them every success in the coming years.

I agree. I went to the local opticians and bought two pairs (special offer) of powerful prescription lenses (+3.5) for real close up work as I found the quality of light was secondary to seeing clearly. Had them for several years now and well worth every penny.

No worries, just glad we were both right......:-)

That's interesting, so I pulled out my Yeadons to hopefully add to your findings. It says COTN was condemned on 8/2/60 and then cut up at Doncaster works. Of course that pre dates May 60, so I wonder which dates are correct. TOF was condemned on 10/11/59 and there is a photo confirming that.

As far as I'm aware, but there is no option to fit a set of flanged wheels as nothing can turn. The axle sits in a narrow slot with no room for radial movement. Need to check out that pick up strip tomorrow....

One beautiful loco on a layout with still much to do. Running on DCC despite it's best efforts to confuse me....... Looking forward to Sun Castle arriving soon...

Many thanks to you all for your ideas and suggestions. In all my years of fitting decoders, I have never had one that performed beautifully on DC yet a dead short on DCC. I did look at the socket, but didn't see the stray wire until I had seen a close up photograph. Loco running like a dream now....

Hi Guys, spend the day messing around and managed to loosen the footplate at the front end. There are three very small screws holding it in place. This allowed me to gently prise away the sand box and with help from a straight edge, I managed to get the footplate much straighter and then re attached the sand box so that it wasn't fouling the boiler. Not a perfect answer but certainly an improvement. The rest of the day has been spent trying to fit a decoder. This loco ran perfectly on DC, but when I went to fit a decoder, I had a dead short. Many thanks to Nigel, Keith and Andi for your input, but eventually we tracked it down to this..... Luckily I didn't blow any decoders and of course it might just be my Friday afternoon loco, but tread very carefully and ensure you only use the programming track to set up your decoder. In all my years of fitting decoders, this one had me beat as it worked perfectly on DC, but a dead short when you plugged in a decoder. Apart from that, the loco is great........ Hoping to get some video taken later on ET with 8 coaches....

Just tested both decoders and all fine, but look what I found. Must be a Friday afternoon loco....

The test programme I had completely forgotten about was in the ECoS itself under Advanced in the loco programming mode. This steps though every function and completely tests the decoder. Just tested both decoders and they are fine and function perfectly.

OK, this one really has me beat. I have a few brand new Zimo MX623R decoders and a new Hornby A2/2 locomotive. I've been running the loco on DC for hours without a problem. 1. Loco runs perfectly on DC. 2. Plug in brand new Zimo Decoder into loco and when I use my ECoS programming track it gives an immediate dead short. 3. Remove the decoder and switch on ECoS again with loco on programming track and without blanking plug and all is fine. 4. Thought I would test the decoder even though brand new, hence my question above. 5. Opened another new decoder to swap over and same result, so assume decoders are fine. 6. Unscrewed tender socket to ensure no shorts in the tender from the socket, but same result. 7. Started to buzz the socket through (without the decoder fitted) and red wire (rail right) in pin 8 connects to track, but also connects to pin 7 which is Common +. 8. Orange wire (motor right) connects to pin 1, but also connects to grey wire (motor left) in pin 5. 9. Black wire (rail left) goes to Pin 4. Something very strange is going on as with the blanking plug in place, loco runs perfectly. Plug in new decoder and dead short. Surprised pins 1 and 5 appear connected together as are pin 8 and 7. Been staring at this for an hour or so and it's as if I have never fitted a decoder. If the internal wiring is haywire, why would it work on DC and show a dead short on DCC? Any ideas? Tell me I'm not going daft......

Sorry guys, I'm having a complete brain fade. I bought an ESU 53900 decoder tester a year or so ago and have completely forgotten what to do to test a decoder. The instructions are pretty vague, but like a lot of technical stuff if you don't do these things regularly, you can completely forget what to do. I have a brand new 8 pin Zimo decoder and have plugged that into the 8 pin socket on the board. I have a harness connecting the tester to my ECoS programming track output and the two green leds are lit showing power is there, but then I have a complete blank as to how to test the decoder...... Any help appreciated... Perhaps it's time to hang up my boots...

Very easy to remove the body shell this morning. Just two screws, one at each end hold the body on, so that rules out over tightened screws. The whole body is plastic and not cast. The only thing that I can see that may cause the problem is the lubricator box? on each side. There is a noticeable gap on the 'straight side' between the angled box and the boiler. Here is the straight side, where you can see a clear gap between the angled box and the boiler. The other side is slightly tighter and the angled box is definitely pushing against the boiler and may be pushing down the footplate. Being plastic, there is some flexibility along its length, so this may be the cause. As far as I'm aware there are unlikely to be replacements, so as long as I run the loco clockwise, it won't show.... To be honest, it is something I could live with. I'd prefer not to, but as the loco is such a smooth runner, I'd rather have one than none at all. The lamp bracket is a simple thing to fix and I'm sure weathering/Klear will give it a well worn appearance. Above all, it captures the prototype well, runs beautifully and the with the complexity of modern models that are shipped half way round the world, there are always going to be the odd part come adrift. The hardest part is to find where they should be before parting company. Edit: Change of mind re buying another one. On reflection I don’t believe the quality is commensurate with the price paid and once out of hospital I will return my loco for a refund or credit against other loco’s I have on order.

Cracked it!.......... Looking forward to watching now I’ve managed to crack the secret code...... Deleted ‘studio’ and ‘edit’ from the link code and somehow managed to sneak in past the armed guards.....

Sadly no joy this morning, Mike. The normal process is to open the YouTube channel and simply click on share. That should allow you to copy the link and paste here. Providing you have permissions set to public, everyone should be able to view the videos. I’ve never seen ‘studio’ included in a YouTube address, so have no idea what impact that has.

Hi Mark, just looking at your pics again and unless it’s my imagination, there are signs of a similar wave in your footplate on the same side as mine, but perhaps not so pronounced. This may possibly confirm an assembly issue where one component is not sitting properly or the body has been clamped down too tightly. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow and see if there is anything obvious. The other side is perfectly flat on both locomotives. Not the end of the world and I can live with it, but curiosity makes me want to take a look. It’s in the three pics directly above and runs from the centre driver to the front driver and cylinders. I have to say, mine has been running on the bench for several hours now and it really is quiet and smooth in both directions.

Tried removing the the word studio in the URL and at least it took me to YouTube, but it then said the video is private, so it may well be to do with permissions.....