vaughan45

Interestingly having taken the lid off, Dapol have actually glued an oblong speaker onto bonnet top, rather than use a round one designed for the moulded housing. This speaker projects under the exhaust area, so the although the instructions state you should lift the bonnet top from the radiator end in order to remove it, you actually need to release the cab end first in order allow the bonnet top to be pulled back towards the cab first. Having played with the CVs this evening the sound has improved a little, but I think the Zimo decoder will be replaced / re-blown with one of Paul's sound schemes.

What is the view on the Dapol sound scheme in the class 08??? I have just received a black one with factory fitted sound and not terribly impressed when compared to the one I self-installed using one of Paul Chetter's sound schemes. Despite following the instructions, I just wondered if I am doing something wrong, as it doesn't appear to notch up when accelerating and seems to remain on 'tick over' at all speeds. Thank you, Vaughan

Excellent news, looking forward to receiving them to complement my existing roster. Vaughan

First edition of this magazine is bagged with latest Rail Express. Looks poor compared to Rail Express Modeller supplement, but think it is probably aimed at the beginner or collector market. Very reminiscent of the old Practical Model Railways magazine both in terms of content and production values.

Below is a comparison of the GWR green on my terrier compared to the green used on the Ixion GWR Fowler diesel, which shows some difference, although not sure if this is related to the differences that occurred in GWR green over the years. Although not being particularly knowledgeable on GWR matters I do seem to remember there was pre and post 1928 green. Both these locos are awaiting new identities for my industrial layout, which will involve the removal of the GWR ownership, plus some additional detailing and weathering. Hope this helps, Vaughan

Excellent, I have a DCC sound version fitted by EDM which includes 'stay alive' capacitors to ensure smooth and reliable running at low speed. DC versions I have seen appear to run well at low speed straight out of the box. Vaughan

Not sure this will help, but the first thing to mention is that the lid as three clips down either side, not two near the ends as shown on the Dapol instruction sheet. Therefore squeezing the lid near the ends as indicated on the sheet failed to work for me and risked damaging the handrails. My cack-handed method of gaining access was to undo the two body retaining screws under the chassis, carefully unclipping the ends of pipework from the chassis sides (doing this is not mentioned on the instruction sheet) and lifted the body up a little. In the available gap I pushed a rigid plastic rod upwards and this moved the lid up sufficiently to disengage the clips and I could then carefully remove it. Also worth mentioning is that if you are going to remove the body fully, you will need to watch out for the vacuum pipe on the front which could potentially become damaged due to the way in which it is secured. On my example the wiring to the cab light doesn't appear long enough to allow the body to be removed fully, without it being unplugged from the main circuit board. Vaughan

I suspect the Dapol open wagons were designed and in production before Richard Webster of Lionheart joined the company. I have no knowledge of Dapol's intentions although I wouldn't be surprised if the ex-Lionheart 7 and 8 plank opens became the basis of their future releases of this wagon type, unless future releases of the Dapol tooling are made to sell at a lower price point. I converted a Dapol 5 plank a while ago, using a variety of parts, but found I would have better spending the time it took to built a kit.

Thanks for photo link, although interesting for the period I am intending to use the 08 for it may need windscreen wipers. It is due to have a range of customisation applied, have the ladders removed, be subjected to a partial repaint and have wasp stripping applied to the ends, followed by a dose of weathering to represent one that has been sold into industry. Whilst I had been intending to start and customise the JLTRT 08 kit, at £170 for a fully working loco I thought this would present an interesting challenge. With regard to decoder fitting, my only warning would be to remove the Dapol blanking plate carefully to avoid bending the pins as it seemed to be a much tighter fit than on some other 21 pin locos I have encountered,

Couple of photos of initial stages of fitting sound to my black 08, following Paul's instructions, using a Zimo MX644D, LS40x22x09 twin speaker and his Activedrive sound file. Final speaker fixing and wiring tidying still required. Burbles along nice & smoothly and lighting fully operative. It will be interesting to compare this to the factory fitted sound green version currently on order. I succumbed to the black one as too impatient to wait for the green!! Must do something about the lack of windscreen wipers though.

Looks as though this is coming along well, although it's a shame, some of the issues with the earlier BR & LMS van kits appear to have been carried forward to these wagons. The metal castings seem to vary between batches, sometimes they are a sloppy fit leaving gaps and at other times they require filing. Good to know they now have the buffer spacing correct. You seem to have been lucky with the vacuum cylinder casting, many I have received have been poorly produced and I usually try and fit a replacement from an alternative supplier such as ABS (w/metal) or Parkside Dundas (plastic). Must admit I usually don't use the white metal safety hoops, but make my own from heavy duty long staples, using one leg as supplied and bending the other as necessary. I have found that Slater's axles do fit if you deepen the holes in the axleboxes, although it has to be done very carefully to ensure you don't come through the front surface, as I know from experience.

The current Lenz three way turnout is made by Peco under contract, unlike the other parts of the Lenz trackage system. Not sure if Lenz sourced a previous version from another supplier though. I have recently purchased one of these Lenz turnouts and it is built in much the same way as other Peco O gauge pointwork but with continental style sleepering and spacing. It features proper rail section for the crossings (frogs), unlike the other Lenz turnouts which I believe use cast or stamped items in this area, much like Atlas USA O scale turnouts. On the underside of the sleepers in addition to having the Lenz trademark it also says 'PECO Made in England' Key differences to UK Peco turnouts are the use of plastic for the check rails and an operating lever next to each tie bar in addition to the usual Peco 'over-centre' spring arrangement. The rail section matches the flat bottom rail in the Peco code 143 series but the rail is held in place by 'chairs' not 'Pandrol clips'. The geometry appears designed to mirror that of the existing Lenz range which is not the same as Peco UK products. The crossings (frogs) are DCC friendly with separate wires provided to power them independently via a changeover switch or a hex frog juicer.

Maybe after eating there, the diners need the assistance of the Wellcome Trust - a heath research organisation

These baseboard discussions are very timely, as I am currently considering materials to use for an O scale USA taster micro I am planning. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105828-new-o-scale-layout/ Whilst I had been thinking of modifying a laser cut plywood board, I am now wondering about using blue insulating foam supported on a framework built from laminated 5mm Foamex plastic sheet (either directly laminated or built up into beams). Whilst this foamed plastic sheet is more expensive than foamboard, it weighs about the same and as it is solid could be used without the need for timber edging. I also appear to have several sheets gathering dust in the garage! (along with all the other stuff that will come in useful one day). Not sure on the best way to make joints, probably using either a strong solvent or hot glue gun. Thinking along the lines of building a 'tray' from the foamex sheet material into which the shaped blue foam could be partially fitted. Good to see you back again, Marc - I have found your previous layouts inspiring

Electronic version available on Zinio and also now Model Railroad Planning 2015.

The whole DVD can be downloaded to your PC for a price that is little different to the price of the DVD (when it was available) if you select the right option.