D1056WesternSultan

Its almost 10 years down the road since this topic was started. I have just bought my 11th Heljan Western because I just don't seem to be able to buy a Dapol Western with a reliable mechanism. I have three and they all wobble like a duck. I have two Class 22s which are not the best runners - one had to be sent to DCC Supplies for repair. I had to send back a class 29 as it stopped working having sounded like a coffee grinder before expiring. I have two Dapol 121 DMUs one of which had to go back to DCC Supplies for warranty work. I wont be buying any more Dapol diesels or diesels made by Dapol for other brands.

You could try the new Hunt Couplings Elite buckeye for clips They give very close coupling an dare rigid so the coaches don't rattle about. https://www.westhillwagonworks.co.uk/hunt-couplings-new-c-2/hunt-couplings-buckeye-elite-oo-gauge-new-c-28/hunt-couplings-elite-buckeye-pack-for-hst-set-with-clip-couplings-oo-gauge-p-134

I have used aluminium angle too. Current is transferred by the bulldog clips which also provide alignment.

Mmm?. I was given a Dapol class 29, (D) 6107 for Christmas and unfortunately it too is a poor runner on both DC and DCC. I have fitted an Imperium decoder. It judders and stutters. Refuses to start sometimes. I really am very disappointed with Dapol mechanisms and would not have selected this loco out of choice. Fortunately I have the receipt so may send it back for something else from Bachmann or Hornby. I have four Westerns that waddle and 2 class 22s that run OK and 2 class 121 DMUs that take some warming up. Dapols advertising promises so much but delivers very little.

#robD2 Thank you for your suggestions. Fortunately there is no rust anywhere in any of the locos. I am 'manning up' to strip the bogies down clean and inspect the gear train, reassemble and lightly oil. No grease will be used as this is the curse of smooth running. I have some phosphor bronze strip so may well try and add extra pick ups while I am at it.

I have used several different types of the ELITE couplings and have been very satisfied with them.

Hi fellow RMWEbbers. I know this topic has been raised before but its a few years since and I am still having trouble with three locos from the early batches namely 66135 EWS, 66610 Freightliner and 66701 GBRf. When new they all ran well but after 10 or more years stored in the loft I am trying to use them on my layout. The running is to say the least very poor now. 66135 was the first to be interred and I decided to send it back to Bachmann for service. It came back the same so went back and they fitted a new motor. It is better but still does not run like a sewing machine. So, I ordered two new motors and 4 new drive shafts from Bachmann and did an exchange on 66610. I also exchanged the Bachmann 36-553 chip for a Lenz Silver. No improvement. I have soldered all of the wires to the main pcb and removed all of the capacitors from the motor. Running is erratic with what appears to be tight spots (yes, the locos have been run in more than 1 hour), noisy mechanism and the headlights flash. There is also a rhythmic knocking as the loco is running on teh track. I then fitted a TCS KAM4P decoder with Keep Alive. This cured the flickering lights but not the erratic running. I have yet to take the bogies apart . Any ideas or suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hopefully, someone will pick up on this post and be able to offer some advice. I have three of the first issue of Bachmann Class 66s, 66135, 66610 and 66701. All have been in store in my loft in their original boxes for several years, 15+, until lockdown 1,0 when I thought I would get them out and have a play. As they had been stored I decided to give them a run in on the layout. I was very disappointed that they all ran jerkily in both directions. As a start I sent 66135 to Bachmann for service and on its return it ran just as badly so it went back again. This time they fitted a new motor which improved the running somewhat although I am not 100% happy with it. After some research on the interweb thingy I came across Peter Dixon's Torridon Road YouTube channel where relays his experience with faulty class 66 motors. I ordered two new motors and four drive shafts from Bachmann service. Today I fitted a motor and two drive shafts to 66701. It made no difference at all. So what is the answer? I like the locos and as they only cost £69 each at the time I am reluctant to spend much more money on getting them to run correctly. I have removed the bogies and rotated the wheels by twisting the drive shaft in my fingers and I can't feel any resistance. There is plenty of oil on the worm. Perhaps over lubrication is the answer. Should I strip the bogies completely, clean and re oil? Any advice will be gratefully received.

Does anyone know the procedure for removing bodies from Hornby Mk2 coaches the ones I have are Virgin liveried and cat Nos. R4086B, R4087B and R4088B.

Has anyone ever chopped one of these about to make it easier to fit in a loco?

Phil Bullock, thank you for your comments. I made sure the speaker was glued to the frame and then fully sealed with black tack. the photos sadly don't show that. I have to say the sound is much better and louder! I need to turn it down.

I have to say the improvements to the basic supplied speaker has made a difference but it is still at Platform 1 says 'thin and weedy'. I suppose that as 100 ohms decoders are now very old the manufacturers are not making suitable speakers. I see ESU have just culled their complete range of conventional speakers in favour of a'one size fits all' sugar cube set up. I have an ESU 100 ohm base reflex speaker that I may try and butcher to see if I can make it fit.

Thank you all for your useful comments. I have glued the original speaker to the mounting frame and sealed all the joints between the speaker and the frame with a bead of black tack. I am not expecting too much of an improvement but am sure it will be better than before.

SRman, where did you get your speakers from as I have found there are very few 100 ohm speakers available that will fit in the space available?

Hi Charlie, Thanks for your advice. I will seal the chamber and see what happens. i suppose I could alway smake a deeper chamber out of plastic card, I had the chip reblown by Howes (sorryt) several years ago so its already much better than the Bachmann sounds. I will soon be after some Legomanbiffo sounds though to replace TTS class 60 and 67. They are truly awful I see the class 60 is on Loksound v5 chips now.

I am looking to upgrade the pre-fitted speaker in my Bachmann 32-376DS sound fitted class 37 37693. It is fitted with a loksound v3.5 21 pin decoder and a very basic rectangular speaker. I am looking for a suitable 100 ohm replacement speaker or advice on how to improve the sound from the existing speaker. The existing speaker is attached to a plastic frame which in turn is attached to the chassis. There is no sealed sound box as such. Any advice most gratefully received.

Based on my recent experience of a class 60 and class 67 TTS decoder each installed in a Hornby class 60 and 67 respectively I would steer well clear of TTS decoders. They require a lot of tinkering with the CVs to get them to run smoothly with the sound on. Youa re better off having just one or twoof your favourite locos fitted with either ESU or Zimo sound decoders.

Cravensdmufan. Thanks for that. Your 47s look great.

Are you stalking me?

I am not sure whether I am expecting too much from Hornby's TTS decoders but following the recent problems experienced fitting the R8104 Class 60 TTS decoder to a Hornby class 60 I have now fitted a R8105 decoder to a class 67, 67003, included in the R3399 EWS freight train pack. I have to say that the performance is VERY disappointing. I know it is a budget decoder but it does have to be fit for purpose. Fitting a Hornby decoder to a Hornby loco should be plug and play. I know I use NCE PowerCab DCC controller and not a Hornby Elite or Select but that really should make no difference. So, what is the problem. Pressing F1 the loco goes through start up and the engine settles to idle in a very 'notchy' manner - not a smooth transition. So turning the controller up to step 3 the air brake sounds. Turning the power up further to step 6 the airbrake sounds again and then the revs increase quite quickly but the loco moves oh! so very slowly. By step 10 the engine sound is at thrash level but the loco is still crawling. If this is the standard of TTS decoders then I think I will have to seriously consider ditching Hornbys DCC sound. I have three other dcc sound fitted locos a Bachmann class 37 with factory fitted ESU Loksound v3.5 with a Howes reblow and two Dapol class 52 Westerns with Legomanbiffo sounds on ESU Loksound V4 21 pin decoders. They are superb and I did not have to make any adjustments to with any of them. They worked straight from the box. I find the whole thing very disappointing especially as the class 67 and the TTS decoder were a Christmas present from my wife and I have had to wait until now to get the time to set it up. I should add that the loco runs perfectly with teh sound off.

I suspect this has been asked before but I have not been able to find any threads that give me a short answer. I am looking to add the excellent etches for BR arrows, nameplates and depot plaques from Shawplan to a Lima class 60. But first I want to remove the original printed over sized decals. What is the best fluid to use to dissolve the existing transfers without damaging the main livery paintwork. I have previously used Humbrol Enamel thinners on Heljan locos. I have seen that IPA can damage Lima paint. Any help or advice gratefully received.

You can weedle your way in between the chassis and the body using a set of car mechanics feeler gauges available from most motor spares shops such as Halfords. Alternatively you could use a piece of brass shim. Once you have got the metal in you can start to prise the body away from the chassis with plastic card and finish with an old credit or loyalty card.

Thank you all for your comments,suggestions and advice. It looks as though there is very little to choose between the Zimo M600R and Lenz basic+ decoders and that it will come down to my choice. This begs the question then that is there really any need to standardise on a particular make or type of decoder but rather select a decoder to suit a particular loco. I have to say that I have been delighted with the performance of both the Zimo M600R and teh Lenz Silver+21pin decoders so far fitted.