HeavyDuty

I'm still waiting for my preordered unnumbered plain green late crest to ship from Hattons, but on a whim I was able to find a TOPS blue 08 at near preorder pricing - it's on the water to me now. I'm thinking the blue one will make a nice centerpiece for a little shunting plank, possibly a small cement terminal. I was a little concerned about preordering one of these all those months ago, but it seems like Dapol has produced a winner.

Hi, Stu - I just stopped in for my periodic booster shot of small layout inspiration. I've been mostly off modeling forums for quite a bit, but the impending delivery of a pair of Dapol 7mm 08s (one in green for East Anglia, and one in TOPS blue for who knows what) has fired me up again...

I just updated my longstanding Hattons preorder to unnumbered late crest green - I'm hoping this will be enough to get my modeling reinvigorated after a trying couple of years. I have a pile of Lionheart minerals ready for a coal yard shunting plank...

My second J15 showed up yesterday with the typical smokebox door handles adrift but also with one of the steps under the cab broken off. It's a clean break and will be an easy fix. Even better, I had a chance to run them both on the test track. Very smooth and quiet operation! I'm impressed with these little locs.

LOL, the first thing I looked for. Amazingly yes. Regauging wider is a brave new world for me, all my regauging up until now has been narrowing US O scale to Proto:48. Wouldn't new replacement axles made to 2mm (or as appropriate) be an easier path? I'm with you, the mech on these seems to be worth saving.

I was wondering if this was a possibility earlier today. One of my two J15s arrived today - it seems to survived the trip with only a broken pilot beam lamp bracket. (Suggestions for more durable replacements?)

But I'm scared! It's a big step up from the O scale wagons I've been slowly building, and I'm concerned I'll make a total mess of it.

Ultrascale has no plans for a conversion at this point - and said I was the first to even ask for one!

I don't think this has been covered, at least not since the locomotive arrived. How are the EM conversion prospects for the J15? I know an EasiChas is in the queue but is probably 12 months or more off. I emailed Ultrascale this morning to ask if they had any interest in creating a conversion, too.

Just pulling your leg - I have soooo many modeling interests I have no room to criticize!

I didn't know the Soo had OAAs...

Rails of Sheffield came through for me, I think I'll be using them in the future since they accept PayPal which helps me avoid currency conversion fees on my card.

&*$%#*&!!!! Hattons just canceled my R3232 late crest saying that no resupply was expected so they went ahead and shipped the R3231 early crest. I did find a R3232 at Rails of Sheffield, I've never dealt with them before so I hope their shipping is reasonable. Affordable shipping is one of the main reasons I generally use Hattons. I wonder if Hatttons got bad information on the resupply or if they are being throttled by Hornby?

We can easily fix you up with a real ATSF caboose: http://www.intermountain-railway.com/distrib/ccs/html/ccs1083.htm

Don, I'm a bit surprised it can be tuned that closely, I've never found them to be acceptable before. I'd definitely be willing to give it a try, though!

I'll look at that when mine finally get here, but I'm thinking that it's unlikely that flywheel revolutions will give proper synchronization. Push comes to shove I can always do the epoxy-on-the-back-of-the-wheel-rim-with-a-wiper trick, but a cam is preferred if at all possible. I just haven't seen any photos of the underside of this locomotive so have no feel for the available space (or lack thereof.)

Has anyone installed a cam for synchronized DCC sound into their J15?

Dava, look at a Home Depot's selection of bifold doors - pull the hinges and you'll have a pair of narrow, inexpensive 6'6" long panels.

Oh, what the hey - I put an early crest on order, too. I just sent an email to HMRS asking about transfer sales to the U.S.

Now I'm beginning to doubt which version I want. I have a late crest on order from Hattons, but it's still out of stock. I'm doing a fictitious minor Norfolk branch ca. 1960ish where the J15 will be used only for goods - passenger traffic is handled by a W&M railbus and the occasional Derby lightweight. Would I do better with a vac braked early crest version and change the crest (and number, probably) or should I stick with the late crest which is air braked?

Thank you all for the advice! I seriously doubt we'd be riding many trains or trams due to the scooter. Here at home she uses a power wheelchair and has a modified van that she can wheel into and drive, but renting one in CZ would likely be prohibitively costly - if they are even available for rental at all. Plus, I think trying to maneuver a large, heavy power wheelchair would be very difficult as opposed to her using a simple three wheel mobility scooter for the trip. One thing I've been doing is getting a list of where she wants to visit, and then doing fly-bys with Google Streetview. Being able to see the physical layout is very useful. Hopefully this will all come together - I would like to see my familial seat, too (Prague area) and the current CD rail scene is interesting to me. Thanks again!

Lázně Kynžvart (formerly Bad Konigswart) near Cheb about five miles from the German border. Her family were Sudeten Germans that owned a hotel, café and grocery. Her mother and grandmother were driven out of Czechoslovakia to Germany at the close of the war.

Thanks for that - her family's town was and is in a spa resort area, so I think we'd do OK with phrasebooks and iPhone translation apps to assist. Let me see if I can sell her on it.

A few questions for those that have railfanned the Czech Republic in the last few years, please... SWMBO and I are both of Czech extraction. She is angling for a week's holiday this autumn, flying into Prague and visiting her old family locations in the rural western part of the country. A complication is that she is normally wheelchair bound, but we can source a transportable scooter for the trip and she can transfer from scooter to auto seat. I would also be hitting as many railway sites as I could, and not just in the major cities. She is convinced we need to hire a full-time tour guide and interpreter since neither of us speak the language. However, I have heard that English is a very commonly used second language, at least on the Czech side. Do you feel we could survive on our own without an interpreter? It would make the budget much more bearable - rent an estate and drive ourselves vs. an interpreter with a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Ouch.