davetheroad

No problem with double heading on DC. I researched online a couple of years ago and the general consensus was its OK as long as one loco is not constantly skidding or wheel slipping. I aim for loco speed matching of better than 10% difference which is what DCCWiki suggests. No need to have that amazing sub 1% match that does not survive the move from test track to real layout anyway. I speed matched a couple of Class 3f 0-6-0's and coupled them light engine with the slightly fastest one in front. As expected on my roundy roundy the coupling was under tension but I was surprised to find at 2 points on the circuit totalling about 4 feet the couplings were under compression. The slow loco was faster than the fast one!.

If the nominal 2.4V from two AAA batteries is insufficient Pololu do two voltage regulators that give 3.3V and 5.5V output from inputs as low as 0.5V

If you are doing a number of conversions consider using a test vehicle or vehicles. I use a Dapol coach but you could use 2 open wagons, oen for the receiver and one for the battery. You can then test if everything works before the final modifications to the loco.

I have remotored a Lima class 26 with a diesel-trains remotoring kit. The motor looks the same as the Susmotor one to my eyes. The good news is if you use one of these motors you should expect much improved low speed performance and impressive endurance. I used a 4 x AAA NiMh battery pack with 700mAh Energiser batteries and the loco pulling 6 Hornby RR MK1 coaches as at least scale 50mph. After 5 sessions each of an hour duration the loco was still going strong with spare battery capacity. I then stopped the test because I found one of the batteries was 500mAh - Oops!, and did not want any over discharge problems. I calculate that I should get over 6 hours of use using my 'normal' 850mAh Duracells. The motor is drawing less than 150mA and never even felt warm so is not working hard. Impressive!.

That's useful. The TTS models are ideal for battery power radio control as the insides are mostly empty space and I don't want or need sound. Will you be selling a similar class 37 when it is released?

Yes, all my other Limas are about right but that class 26 was nearer 15mm than 14.5. It was second hand but the paintwork is in excellent condition and the commutator shows little sign of wear.

Doh!, simple really.

I must be thick, I can't see how that can pull wheels apart.

That's a neat idea. Thinks - making up some collars from washers could do the job as well. For widening coach and wagon wheel back to backs I have found forcing the gauge between the wheels works , so far.

Thanks for the inspiration. I only had a big vice but discovered a 2 inch G clamp did the job beautifully with a 1/8th turn! The back to backs are now correct and the gears are meshing well. I fitted the replacement motor this afternoon and the loco trundles along nicely on a 1.2V battery. Next is fitting the radio receiver and a 4 x AAA NiMh battery pack.

I intend to keep the pizza cutter wheels which on the class 26 clip in to the bearings so no need to remove the wheels from the axles

I am 'fettling' the motor bogie of a Lima Class 26 before fitting a diesel-trains replacement motor. I checked the back to backs with a DCC concepts 00 Gauge and was surprised they are more than 14.5mm, actually nearer to 15mm!. I also noticed on one axle the final small gear does not quite mesh with the large gear on the wheel due to side to side play in the bearings. I guess I need to make those back to backs narrower. The question is, how do I do it without purchasing a specialist tool?

Those Susmotors look similar to these http://www.diesel-trains.co.uk/Lima_replacement_motor_kits.html Which I will be using to remotor some Lima diesels I did a remotor of a Lima class 08 and it works well on a 3.7V battery drawing about 110mA while pulling about 12 wagons Notice the diesel trains ones have a pre glued mounting plate

Two AAA batteries would give you a nominal 2.4V to power your voltage booster and two lipo batteries would give you a nominal 7.4V. The 9V booster I use works well with a single 3.7V lipo if your loco draws no more than about 300mA. That would save some space. I use Eflite style batteries like this and charge the batteries with this You can also buy USB chargers for a single lipo of this type. A single 160mAh lipo can deliver 1 Amp for about 9 minutes so if your railcar needed 200mA you should expect about 45 minutes of use between recharges. With a single battery it is simple to fit a simple switch/charge socket. I don't bother as I have modified the body for easy removal. Looking to the future check out the concept of the Bluerail board. This uses radio to deliver the commands to the loco and normal rail power or battery or a combination of both. The neat trick is it auto switches between track and battery power so think of the battery as a 'stay alive' that can work for along time. They do not have auto charging though. I would think a board that auto switched between track and battery plus had on board charging via the rails would be an excellent solution. This could receive standard DCC commands of course and does not need to be a propriety system.

There are alternatives to LiPo batteries. on my latest diesels I use 4x AAA NimH consumer rechargeables rated at 850mAh each (Duracells) in series feeding a voltage booster providing 9V. There are no problems with charging although you have to do so in the charger. As an example I have a Hornby Railroad class 47 that has a maximum speed light engine of scale 91mph with 9V and can haul 12 Hornby Railroad Mk1 coaches at scale 60mph for over 4 hours, plenty for exhibition layouts if you consider the idling time for a full battery pack is nearly 50 hours. The receiver/booster combo draws less than 20mA when idle. If you need extra duration just add 2 additional batteries to give over 6 hours run time. Although the comms are not bi-directional the receiver does monitor the battery voltage to protect against over discharge. The reason I can fir all those batteries in is that the Hornby Railroad Diesels, and Lima ones, are mostly empty space inside. The NiMh manufactures calculate the mAh capacity in a different way than lipos so those 4 duracells are about equivalent to a 1000mAh lipo

Thanks for the information, it looks like either a painting job or looking for something else as a unusual block train.

Does anyone know when the green livery was first applied to BP petroleum tank wagons? I am thinking of having a rake to model trip workings to a distribution depot. The layout is based on the north west before electrification was completed and I have both green and blue diesels.

I see Hattons have reduced the price of the 3 wagon pack from £48 to £47, yes £47! The images are now of the Railroad version but do they think anyone will be mug enough to actually pay £47 for something that should be less than £20. Obviously yes.

Rail top to underside of bridge - minimum 15 feet or 60mm in 00 scale.

Thank you Hornby. As the models released are now out of stock on the Hornby site I presume they will start appearing at the more realistic Railroad price, say £24 for 3. This makes it easier for me to buy 30 of them!.

Wow!. It arrived today, that was fast. Looks good and the Hattons image does not look like the green on the model. Maybe they should consider using a standard photo setup when preparing models for sale. all I need to complete the loco fleet is a green class 37 and a green 08

Thanks everyone. I have ordered one, plus a BR blue version.

Yes, D1843 was what I was looking at but can't see the Great british locomotives mag version on Hattons

I noticed today a couple of Lima class 47 locos for sale second hand on the well known online retailer site. There are also Hornby and Heljan versions listed. The images show a lighter shade of lower body green on the Lima models compared with the others. Is this shade too light or is it a reasonable approximation of the original? I wont be buying the Hornby/Heljan versions as it is the Lima body I want to put on another chassis.

On another forum someone asked why early European railways built 4 wheel wagons but the US ones seemed to use bogie wagons. I tried googling it but can't find any answers, anyone any ideas?