murphaph

I need to check the speaker on one of my 201s. I've never opened one before. A quick Google didn't really help. Is there anything I should be aware of before I start? Thanks!

Me too lol. I have actually been wondering about these two axle flat wagons because of the coal to Ballina but what else did they transport in the 1990s?

Bachmann Marks Models Auto ballasters would also be an option I think.

@Noel what are, in your opinion the best donor coaches for mkIII resprays?

Isn't the one beside the Imp the delivery colour where EMD used an off shade?

Does anyone know if Mark's Models will also be retailing the IRM A Class?

Does anyone have any idea will all the tippex 121s make it to the UK retailers before January 1st (end of Brexit transition phase)?

Was space at a premium at these sites or why did they build them as opposed to simply cascading normal turnouts/points? I learned something new this week:P PW engineers call them turnouts. Signalmen call them points! (At least that's UK practice, would be interested to know if it's different in Ireland)

That's actually really useful.

Me neither! Fig. 1.2 in the "Track" book shows BH rail on concrete sleepers on the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth line in 2010. So it was definitely used on the mainline in GB. I think you are right though that "simple" FB rail was more popular in Ireland, which is worth noting. I think I'll try to model a good mix of the types. I may even model the CWR on Cork line as in retrospect, the track will be difficult to see and modelling it is easier. The pandrol clips are so low profile that a little drop of solder is good enough! For BH you really need the chairs for it to look right.

BH was definitely used on mainlines in the UK and Ireland before the transition to FB began. I read that in my recently acquired "Track" book by the 2mm Scale Association. I am pretty sure you can even still find it on the mainline on concrete sleepers, but only lightly used lines.

I wonder was anything like Fig. 107 ever built in Ireland. I think they'd only resort to such things if space was very tight. Note the joggled (kinked) stock rails for the second set of facing switch rails, whereas the first set would appear to be "undercut".

I've done a bit of research on these things lately so I'll just add a bit more background. The select is physically identical to the v4 but it is hobbled by ESU at the factory to make it less capable than a real v4 by flashing a different firmware. This can't be overwritten by a Lokprogrammer. Apparently this is purely a business decision because ESU wanted to compete in the US market where these sorts of limited decoders dominate. Rather than building a new decoder, ESU just hobbled their existing one. The hardware cost difference is probably negligible. The development costs are sunk anyway. If they didn't do this, nobody would buy the v4 at full price. Everyone would buy cheaper "selects" and use those. It is interesting to hear that the v5/v5(US) will have "less hobbling" than the v4/select. That would appear to be the route to take if one can only source ESU decoders in the US as v4 files should work

I particularly like such posts. You learn from your mistakes as they say but it's even better if you can learn from someone else's. I don't even own an air brush but when I do I'll have registered this little bit of information at the back of my mind as something I need to be aware of.

What about the EMD 12-710G3A LATE EXH T? ESU returns this with a reference to the 201 if you search ESU for "Irish".

Thx for the clarification. In that case (at least in my case with 6 121s on order) it probably makes sense to maybe get one MM decoder and try it for size. If I'm going to end up replacing the whole sound file for better driving features then I may as well program cheaper blank ESU decoders and spend the difference on more stock. If you do reprogram your 121s where would you get the ancillary sounds (horn especially)?

What exactly do you mean here? Would you be left with anything of the MM sound file following this reprogramming?

The ESU files for the 071 and 201 are the same as those preloaded on the MM branded decoders, are they not? For the babies there never was an original MM decoder at all AFAIK so we're really only talking about "original part or spurious" for the A Class and the 121 if I'm not mistaken with the above assumption. I see an argument in both those cases for taking a custom (proprietary) made solution, especially for the A as it has been confirmed that the advanced driving features will be included. For this reason I'll probably opt for the IRM chips but for the 121 I'm still undecided.

Is there a viable "ESU only" approach to the 121s? The prime mover should be no problem from a US donor project but what about the ancillary sounds? Can one easily swap out say the horn sounds?

Ok good to know. Thx.

Lol I was just about to ask as I have 4 IR A classes on pre-order. Will these sound files be available for download on the ESU site or will they be proprietary and only available by purchasing a pre-programmed decoder from you guys?

That would be a shame indeed and if the rumour mill is correct and MM retain exclusive ownership (unlike the situation with the 071 & 201) then the modification using the Lokprogrammer based on US throttle controls would sadly not be an option.

Would it not be the other way around? Beautiful work that can really be considered art.

Cheers for the clarification Noel. I picked up a used Lokprogrammer on eBay already and I can get used Loksound V4 units for €80 so that's the direction I'm heading in for those two classes as I will have quite a good few locos to equip. I can live with "good but not the best" given the significant savings across a fleet of what will be around 30 or 40 locos in the end. From my understanding the Lokprogrammer allows you to reformat any v4 project to v5 so even if I can no longer get the v4s I should have a fallback.

What is the difference between a "genuine" MM decoder for the 201 and 071 and a self programmed Loksound V4 using the ESU projects which are available to download for those two models specifically? Is there any difference? From reading the ESU page it sounds (haha) as if these are the projects that were used by MM (it says OEM) themselves.