Opelsi

I have a vague recollection of a swing door and glass partition, though I could not be sure as it is a long time ago and I think only once or maybe twice in a Mk3 CO myself. Hope this helps! Si

Snuck a NCE D14IP in mine ok. Was a while ago so cannot remember how easy or not it went in. Si

My two Heljan 07's have ESU Lokpilot V4 Micro decoders and although only on the programme track (layout still under development) they do seam to behave well enough in conjunction with my ECoS. I do not have any 6 pin Hatton's decoder though I do have some of the Hatton's 8 pin decoders which are hard wired into steam models (Hornby 8F, A4, West Country), these have not had any issues to date. The ECoS reads the 8 pin Hatton's decoders as manufactured by DDC Concepts, unsure if your 6 pin ones are from a different manufacturer or not.

I would love them to do 'Lord Nelson' itself in SR Malecite at the next Collector Club limited edition model.

Don't get me wrong - I 'H' and buy their products and wish them well - just preferred how they used to communicate , hope they read and react favourably . Yes - I would agree (though with an outdated perspective, would love them to refresh) . Maybe those of us going to Warley this weekend could have a quiet word in the ear of any relevant party on the Big 'H' stand. I do believe in trying to encourage not slag-off, after all, these guys are doing what they believe to be best and a little feedback could go a long way!

I tend to agree with you here. From where they were, it would appear that the big 'H' have taken a pill of 'How not to do it' - sure only my opinion but I do think if I had been asked "What would be the worst thing they could do?" - where they are now is what I would have come up with! Looking into the cause of this perceived regression, one can only ask what happened at this time to go from where they were (excellent coms) to why we are now! Anyone care to speculate?

I was on chat with them this morning too - they indicated 'a few weeks' Anyway - I had visions of missing the boat if they did not get a full allocation so sad to say for Hatton's, I cancelled orders and switched to a Sheffield outlet which did have stock. I found cancelling a bind, only really able to cancel a whole (not part order) so ended up shifting best part of £900's worth of pre-orders. Very much looking forward to getting my Mk2F's + South Foreland and other bits through this week before heading to Warley at the weekend!

That would be very nice I would be surprised to say the least, though very pleasantly so (think Heljan may be slightly more likely) I'm thinking further additions to the Mk1 range [maybe a sleeping car and/or buffet variant] Class 86 - well DJM thought about it then backed off as one of the big boys were supposed to be doing it, that was a while ago though we have the Class 87 so maybe the Class 86 in the 2019 or even 2020 announcements - I'll take 2 please in BR Blue and hope to change to the very rare proper domino headcode style frontage (managed to change my Bachmann Class 85 similarly)!

Not actually so, but my point was in response to the assertion "The Hornby Mk2D TSO has 8 windows, always has had." which is clearly inaccurate. The original post from Jonathan425 was not 'nonsense', never mentioning anything about batches or anything Hornby 'didn't make', and is in fact accurate for the most recent release [R4806] earlier this year which Hornby/Production Facility clearly got wrong (proved by model not matching catalogue images and apparently never having run in real life at a 7 window TSO in Blue-grey and certainly not in the era pre1985 which I model). I suspect the production facility made a cock up, either wilfully or accidentally, not wanting lost production time switching over from one mould/slide to another, or not realising and just painting the FO/TSO differently instead of using the different moulds/slides with 7/8 window apertures. I do hope Jonathan452 is right and Hornby correct their error on the most recent release and give us an 8 window TSO. I might try and ask them while at Warley if I can find anyone who is technical at stand on the day and not tied up. I would defiantly go for a full rake of 2xFO + 2xBSO + 3xTSO all blue-grey if they do! .

That is correct - I sent back a whole consignment of 2xFO + 2xBSO + 3xTSO because the blasted TSO was wrong for my era. I understand there were actually some which were declassified first (7 windows) but these were after my modelling period and possibly after blue-grey livery had gone too. The irony was the catalogue showed them correct (8) but they arrived incorrect (7 windows) to massive frustration!

Had a Blue-Grey Restaurant Buffet arrive yesterday. On inspection it was evident the coupling spring at one end was detached and, more worryingly, there was the sound of plastic parts loose within the bodyshell. Needless to say, the model worked a swift return diagram to Widnes ECS. Hopefully the next through working will pass its exams on arrival!

Mine arrived in the post a good week ago. Another lovely volume. Question is: Is this going to be the last in the series or can we look forward to any more of them?

Yes - good that these are a success indeed. I hope this might encourage our good friends in Denmark to undertake another venture into the realm of the small British Diesel shunter. Unlike mainline classes of diesel of which most have been done, there are a few shunters awaiting the attentions of a decent ready to run stab. Would gladly go for an 01 / 02 / 06 myself!

I was at the Hornby stand at NRC/Warley when the covers went back to showcase announce the Class 87. Was so excited. I wonder now if it will arrive within 2 years (before Warley comes around again). Mine is already planned for reassignment as 87014 'Knight of the Thistle' - in BR Blue, when it finally pulls into my station. More important to be right late than wrong on time though. Now then, someone was mentioning elsewhere on here about station announcements. I well remember the lines of 'British Rail regrets to announce.........' Maybe us modellers ought to get announcements for our stations 'manufacturer regrets to announce the late delivery to market of...................'

Placed my original order 4.5.18. Really pleased that I just managed to place my replacement order again this evening while working in the Netherlands. Forgive me if I missed the answer to my question. I am in the planning and construction stage and have a medium sized non-scenic annex area with storage loops (lower level complete top level pending). I am going to have to plan a dedicated loop for the 14 car set. Any idea how long the loop will need to be to accommodate it please anyone? So looking forward to what will surely be the flagship model of the layout punching above other beauties such as APT-E / Blue Pullman / HST / Original Pullmans etc! One day would love to complete the line-up with Prototype HST!

Oh good! It seams like an age waiting for these - though patience is a virtue. One rake eagerly awaited, will they beat the Hornby BR Blue 87 to my door?! Appreciate it matters little in the scheme of things though it is nice to have something to be excited about and look forward to.

My two additional models went back with APC today. I was told they don't give receipts! How the heck can you prove someone took then? Anyways the driver hand wrote me a chit. All I need now is my awaited call from Locomotion as I got a DDC ready version when I paid for a DDC fitted one. A nice lady called me on Friday from York and the Shildon shop will be calling me to refund the difference. Happy days!

I would just like to go on record as trusting Dave. I am really pleased with my DJM Class 71. I will defo be getting a DJM J94 when a pristine BR late crest version is (I hope) released at some future juncture. Sad that Class 74 and 00 King did not go forward though appreciate I was not left out of pocket (having pre-paid for the former). I do understand that there is a risk - and am willing to take that risk to support Dave on this project. Never thought for a moment anyone is pulling the wool over my eyes, they are wide open. Will be paying my first APT-P instalment at earliest opportunity for what I believe will be a super model and the pride of my not inconsequential fleet! Thanks in advance Dave - your efforts are very much appreciated!

Beautiful Model but what a problem must be going on somewhere! 3 boxes delivered to me this morning (I often have deliveries so was unsure what the contents were until I opened one of the boxes) All three boxes the same - have opened one and it is DDC ready (not DDC fitted as ordered & paid for) The two other boxes (one addressed to me and one to someone else) No order slip or anything such as invoice included in the box I have opened.. Tried calling 'Locomotion' there offices open 10:00-16:00 though still on the office closed massage at 11:00! So, I have two extra models (I have no idea if I have been charged for) and a model which I have paid extra for DCC fitted but is not DCC fitted. Guess I will wait for Locomotion to get in touch to clarify - happy to return (at no cost to me) though I do want a invoice to show what I have paid and a refund to cover the difference of DDC fitted but received not fitted! Someone, somewhere ought to have a very red face! UPDATE: Subsequently I have received an invoice for one item though the post (NC002 - though I cannot marry this ref - presumably for DDC fitted, to the orders received). I have also now left a voicemail on the Locomotion phoneline - lets see what happens - good job I am honest!

Noting the Hornby comment of "Our current tooling .........." I have fingers crossed that future tooling will allow for an olive green lined version. In the mean time I will purchase the unlined olive green Maunsell Restaurant Car as an insurance policy in case I am wrong. Either way it is a lovely coach and shows that adding to an existing range can pay dividends for manufacturers. I also live in hope of Hornby adding to their range of LMS Stanier coaches and GWR Collettes.

BR Blue (Domino headcode) + Ethel in Blue-Grey ordered. I think these will be superb and a great addition to the fleet. That will be two train-heating units now. May not be prototypical but the ETHEL ADB97250 will likely sit next to (on my layout) the Class 15 ADB968000. I always wondered why TOPS switched from ADB+6 digit number to ADB+5 digit numbers? Anyway, very much looking forward to these releases!

Be nice if we could get one on BR Blue in something more convincing than the previous purple and primrose tints. I bet large logo would go a bomb too!

31404 in BR Blue with white bodyside stripe would be a prime candidate for me please Kernow/Hornby! This was a minor celebrity back in the day and know locally as 'Dennis' or to give it it's full title 'Dennis the Demon' though not actually written on the loco from memory I don't believe. The stripe really did add something to the BR Blue livery and looked great! Incidentally I don't think Hornby ever did a super-detailed version of a skinhead in BR Blue livery which was not weathered. Would love a pristine one of those please. 31418 or 31111 would be my choice and I would happily renumber if necessary!

The numbering system for decoder addressing is an interesting topic. For none steam I have gone down the TOPS route, using the for 2 TOPS class numbers for the loco and the last 2 cabside numbers for the identifier. Hence 08762 has address 0862, 40141 - 4041, 45036 = 4536 etc. This works well for me without any duplications though could have duplicates for some folks. For units I use the first three class digits to identify the class and the final digit the individual unit. For example I have 2 Class 108's and these are 1081 + 1082. For locos or units not designated a TOP class reference I assign a defacto one, so HS4000 'Kestrel' is given Class 54 and addressed as 5400. For the APT-E I chose class 270 and address 2700. For steam I use the first 2 and last 2 cabside numbers, so 60163 is given 6063 and The forthcoming Stirling Single will be 0001. It is not a prefect system but I like the logic and it is easy for most items to know the address straight away and it is pretty user friendly on the ECoS, given you can sort by address or by given name etc. I also use an Excel spreadsheet as a point of reference for all locos / units / carriages / wagons / buildings etc. on different tabs. Eventually they can all be hyperlinked to an image. Hope this helps!

Hi, I changed the decoder (Ulenbrock - TCS) on mine at the weekend, so fresh in my memory. Firstly you need to remove all four of the small screws under the fuel tank on the underside of the locomotive. (Keep them safe). Then after gently taking the fuel tank away, remove the four long screws (again keep safe) which are now exposed. Once you have done this insert thin card or similar strips into the recesses between the chassis and bodyshell, underneath the model. (I bought 10 guitar plectrums off eBay for £1 and find these perfect for the task on many locos and DMU's / EMU's). Turn right way around again and the chassis should almost fall away from the bodyshell under it's own weight. Hope this helps!