WolfofBadenoch

My dad's brought me a loco with a Lokpilot V4 which he got to work very infrequently. I have tested it and apart from one brief backward motion it is working in only forward direction. I have removed the decoder from the loco and connected it to an ESU decoder tester with the same results. Works forwards fine, but no reverse motion. Connecting one of the function leads i can get the LED to remain lit on the Decoder tester in either direction. Is there any settings which could cause this scenario or is there likely to be some damage to the decoder. The decoder had firmware in it form 2010, but i've updated to the most recent but the results remain the same!

87022 Blue Large Logo as previously modelled by Lima - or should that be imagined / invented by Lima?

Excellent - thanks. A bit of clicking involved but there's plenty of time for research before these hit the shops. Thanks for the info - so the obvious visual differences are wheels, possibly jumper cables and possibly pantographs.

Very happy to see another AC loco announced but saddened by the fact i think it's outside my time zone - i think. Is there anywhere with a definitive list of when re-numbering took place? I've had a search over the weekend but not found any. I've found a couple of photos in books dated 1985 with 86/0s. What is the difference between an 86/0 and an 86/3? From what i've read it's just the wheels? If it's only this then surely that's a reasonably easy change to make and add an 86/3 to the this batch? I'm finding 86/3 photos thin on the ground but presumably they lasted longer than 86/0 so maybe into 1986 or 1987?

The Loksound comes up with options to F28 available, the decoder in the DBSO comes up with options to F20 so i assumed they were available. Maybe they're not! I only have 1 47/7 so planned on it being a fixed formation. A different address would give me options to occasionally change the loco at the other end. I like the idea of changing the direction the loco is heading and the lights at the other end changing automatically as well.

If you have a friend with a Lokprogrammer i think you can select which functions you want or don't want. i think you can select just the marker, headlight and tail lights only or with any combination of internal lights you fancy.

I've changed the address on my DBSO to the same as my 47/7 and now I'm trying to re assign the functions for interior lights from F2-4 to F15-F17 (free on my Loksound chip) using a Lokprogrammer. However when i send the commands to change the Lokprogammer software crashes. Has anybody managed anything similar? As an aside when you read thte decoder on the lokprogrammer it comes up as type Bachmann Mk2F.

Sound in the 87 is Legomanbiffo - Loksound v4 micro with a small sugarcube speaker. Even the micro decoder is a tight fit in the decoder space - i glued a couple of pieces of plasticard above the driveshaft and have put the decoder on these under the PCB. The speaker is placed between the chassis and driving cab details as shown in photo. I think LMB reckons it's quite quiet with just this speaker but i'm quite happy. As i'd taken off the PCB to investigate possible placings of speaker etc, on refitting it i altered the wiring slightly so that the headlight comes on with the marker lights in 'day mode'. From others comments a consistently on headlight while the loco is stopped isn't prototypical but i feel it's a better solution than the driver's cab light being on during motion! Back to the wagons - i plan to add at least one more Inner. I know the Intermodals wouldn't have run with the FGA / FFA (and they're outwith my time zone) but i think i can get away with the KFAs?

Which speaker fits best into the area under the fan (i presume that's where Bachmann plan for the speaker)? Thanks

Received FGA pair and FFA today from Rails. Here's a quick video i shot of them and the DBSO which also arrived. The threesome reversed well through points, before running fine. Containers were just placed directly onto wagons without using any of the supplied 'pins' - i was in a hurry to get them tested and have a shot of them before the children got home from school - as you can hear in the last clip i didn't make it! https://youtu.be/j6DBU35SG-M

My Scotrail DBSO arrived from Rails today. Here's a quick video of it shot this afternoon showing different lighting functions. It also shows the other Bachmann goodies which came in the package. All were just taken out the boxes and placed on the track! The level of detail on the DBSO is something! It ran well while being pushed by Bachmann 47/7 and 4 (HST) Mk3s. https://youtu.be/j6DBU35SG-M Just have to hope Oxford Rail have the same colours on their Scotrail carriages!

I remember a similar experience in Egypt this millennium - still it was better than the practices i saw whilst being chauffeured about in Egypt. Back to HSTs i saw a training run heading from Dundee to Perth Thursday afternoon. Another training run going south over the Tay Bridge Friday morning and a return in the afternoon which was closely following a revenue earning Edinburgh - Aberdeen HST service. It's getting a bit more exicting around here after years of 170s and 158s :-)

Long time admirer of this great layout without posting before. For sound clip editing i use https://www.audacityteam.org/ . Free software and easy enough to use to cut chunks out of clips. I would say though that the voice is far too clear for a 1980's PA system though! ;-) Possibly the bit least like the real thing on your whole layout.

Have any weathered versions been sent yet?

New decoder arrived today from Charlie / DCkits. Great service - Thanks.

I presume the 23mm speaker is without any enclosure?

Posted today. Thanks

Bought a couple of 87s from Rails when they came out. One turned up missing a small plastic Multiple Working cable cover. I expected them to be sold out but on contacting them i was told to send it back (postage provided by Rails), and 6 days later i have a new 87 with complete MW cables and covers. Very pleased with Rails.

Yourself / Bif

I have a Loksound 4 chip which has stopped working and is quickly getting hot if placed on the track. I purchased the chip February 14 and in Jan 16 soldered an extra wire onto Aux 3. Everything worked ok. Last winter i couldn't get the lighting functions to work, but put that down to connections / soldering at other points on the train. The unit moved ok and sound was ok. I've not done anything on my railway since about March. Have started again this week but could get no sound (didn't try lights) but the unit moved. Yesterday before lunch it was moving, after lunch it wasn't and i now note it is heating up quickly within a couple of minutes. I've disconnected it from the unit and the tried the chip through Lokprogrammer and decoder tester. The result is that the lokprogrammer says there is no decoder. Is the decoder completely broken or is there any other checks i could do? Thanks.

I presume you mean red light showing through the headlight? If so i had this. I think either check the small part with the LEDs is firmly down in it's holder or the body of the loco is firmly pushed down onto the chassis. I did these fixes at the same time and one of them solved it.

Vanbasher - DCC lights - I've put a Lokpilot in my 87. It works just as a DC would except you can switch off all lights on F0. Switching on F0 you get marker lights front and rear in Day mode, In Night mode you get marker lights front and rear + headlight and cab light at front. Not planning on doing anything further at the moment. I've contacted LegomanBiffo about a sound chip. He's hoping to get his hands on a model this weekend to check motor settings etc and the best speaker for it. Once he's perfected it i'll get one. Can some one who knows about these explain the problems this causes? My early thoughts for an initial basic fix were to try and re-wire the headlights to come on with the marker lights and have the night mode just for switching on the cab light. Obviously this doesn't solve the rear lights coming on all the time! Thanks to Darrel - i was wondering if something had snapped off on my roof. Now i know a little about ABB! Thane of Fife - Some comments from your video - doubt you'll re-do it but here's some info you queried. According to Modern Locomotives Illustrated No.199 Robert Burns was named April 78 after being introduced October 74, so it's not straight out the factory condition. In the same magazine there's also a photo of 87001 in May 73 with a white battery charger box. Finally had my 87 pulling 16 carriages last night with no obviously slowing up my 1 in 50 on 900mm radius curves (it is a short gradient and only half the train is actually on at a time)!

Some more photos and ramblings. Good news is that Rails say they've had some extra Robert Burns so will exchange mine for a new one :-) DCC Sound - checked some speakers i had lying about. 23mm diameter speaker with enclosure - no chance of fitting 23mm diameter speaker with no enclosure - speaker facing down i couldn't get the PCB back down properly as something on the PCB was interfering with the speaker. Fitted fine with speaker facing up. 27*18*8mm enclosure with speaker (think it came with LMB 08 chip) wouldn't fit in above driveshaft without fouling PCB. I think it might fit across the loco behind the driving cab but would need the lugs cut off to prove. King Arthur with Hornby Mk3 coaches (approx 2008 versions) Comparison of old and new Spot the difference - Which one is wrong?? Other sides Head on Head on pantograph end It started 9 Mk3s, 1 Mk2 and 1 Mk1 (11 carriages) up a 1 in 50 on 900mm radius curves with a surging acceleration Didn't try anymore carriages tonight. It was however doing a circuit in the same time as Duchess of Atholl - but the Duchess was on the slightly longer outer circuit Need to sort that out before my dad sees it or i'll never hear the end of it! Finally struggled to get a Lokpilot4. Had trim the cover a bit and unscrew the PCB to get it in and the wires looked a bit tight.

Got my two locos today Unfortunately one of the plastic multiple working caps is missing on 87035. It may have fallen off whilst opening (but i've had no luck finding it). On 87010 the rail below the cab windows was out in the centre of one end but it was easily fixed. Missing cover Can anyone confirm that the BW panto has 2 insulators and the Cross arm only one as shown above? Finally a poor photo to try and show speaker space. As previously mentioned 23mm diameter space with very shallow depth. It may be possibly to fit a rectangular speaker in above the driveshaft, i roughly measured 33mm*16mm*5mm but i'm not sure if it would interfere with the turning of the driveshaft.

Got an email from Rails on Thursday saying they were imminent and expected to quickly sell out! I wondered if they were just trying to get us to buy them quicker but i 'fell for it' and ordered both. Email yesterday to say they were dispatched. Glad i did i if they're sold out and a £10 price increase! Have to work from home on Monday - shame - might get distracted for a while when the postie comes :-) hopefully this interest will get us more IC livery variations + some more blues