murrayec

If your using Hornby points this link may be helpful;- Peco points are better, the air gap in the frog is smaller and the check rail is in a slightly better position, but small wheels can still be a problem! Eoin

@burnthebox Yes, the axles are generally 26mm point to point, but there are axles out there that are a different length! 26mm is the standard for OO Gauge. Eoin

@burnthebox Their all the same, they have to be to fit OO track! The wheel flanges are all generally made to the same NEM spec- as in thickness. The wheels are set with a 'Back to Back' setting of approx 14.7mm, there are exceptions when working with old wheels that don't comply with the NEM specifications. Hornby used to make pretty thick flanges on their old wheels but they don't do that anymore. Eoin

@David Holman But do look at CAD for the future, I use Autocad & TurboCad for 2D drawings in the model building. Here is a link to a few videos introducing the beginner to Autocad;- Eoin

@David Holman The Proxxon scroll saws are only for wood or plastic, it's very dangerous to try and cut thin metal on a reciprocating blade machine due to the up lift of the blade- any snag in the work will rip it out of ones fingers and god knows what else it will rip! The band saw blade only goes in one direction- down, against the table. The right tool to do this work. Hanger do a scroll saw for cutting metal but is rather expensive at around £800.00 and it's a scary thing to use! Eoin

Stunning model David, That's the first time I've seen it moving! Eoin

I use a Cameo Silhouette cutter- its great for thin styrene, thick paper and vinyl. It can almost cut through .5mm styrene with multipal cuts. CAD is a requirement also! Tin Van parts cut from .5mm styrene on the cameo, after a bit of cleaning up! Eoin

Hi David Learning CAD is the right step, it opens up huge possibilities in this craft. There is a learning curve to most of the programs out there, but after mastering a few of the basic commands the rest will follow and soon you'll be saying I should have done this before now! A table saw is not the tool for cutting brass or NS sheet. If your thinking of a saw you need to look at a band-saw- best example for model building is the Proxxon MBS Micro-Bandsaw, which one can add accessories to like- diamond blade, HSS blades for cutting metal, coolant system. The band-saw can also be used to cut out parts from sheet- like a piercing saw, though takes a bit of practice and constant attention to where your fingers are! A bench guillotine is the other option for cutting sheet down to manageable size. Eoin

Fantastic Ken

Just to clarify;- This model is from a kit of parts made by Brendan Kelly, Brendan built 4 of these models a few moons ago from his own patterns for members of the MRSI club. The Model Railway Shop did produce a kit of the GSR Class 800, but that was a different animal! Eoin

They are super glued in, and as I said above;- ''Not the easiest job for the faint-hearted! The handrails are a bit fiddly, but the glue will eventually let go with slight lever pressure with a cocktail stick. Super glue remover can be used for softening the glue but it will also soften the paint! All came free for me without breaking'' Eoin

I don't think so! the only way I was able to release the barbs was from underneath after the chassis was removed, also there was the difficulty with the boxes being in the way and I could not have sussed what was going on without removing the chassis. The cab rear barbs do release when the cab body is squeezed on the outside, but the cab front ones needed a cocktail stick prodded in from underneath. Eoin 'Cab rear' - I'm looking at it as bonnet front!

The speaker is up front under the board;-

I was asked how to install a driver in the MM 121. Remove the chassis by undoing the 4 screws, 2 in front of each bogie. The cab is designed to slide up off the footplate/body after one removes the door handrails, there are 4 barb catches on the base of the cab which catch into the footplate. On this model the cab refused to slide up as the boxes clued to the body in front of the cab were catching it! I had to remove the footplate which again is held by barb tabs on the body into the footplate. The front handrails also have to be removed for this. I could then flex the parts and slide the cab up. Not the easiest job for the faint-hearted! The handrails are a bit fiddly, but the glue will eventually let go with slight lever pressure with a cocktail stick. Super glue remover can be used for softening the glue but it will also soften the paint! All came free for me without breaking. This is a shot of the OO scale driver I use in the DARTs! He's to big- way to wide, and not fitting into the space. I recommend using a HO scale driver. Eoin

Due to the present situation this Sunday's Fair has been cancelled;- Keep an eye on this thread for update

And some live action

The model is now complete. The cab window frames and glazing were finally installed after the body was given two coats of satin lacquer. The lads posing again! Then final assembly to take a run on the rolling road. I'll post up a short video soon. Eoin

I did an edit on the post above and it came in as a quote? I was responding to the question on ''running a DC loco on DCC track''

It can, depending on the type of controller- some of them allow for a DCC loco with ID 0 to run, but as you say they make more noise and not really recommended for long running as it can damage the motor! Could what you took out of the 201 to replace with the MM DCC chip be the DC blanking plate? It's rather different to a DCC chip, as in very few components on it..... Eoin

Thom You say the two locos run fine on DC with the DCC chips installed! which means the chips may be OK, this would make me think- your accessing the locos with the Gaugemaster DCC controller may be at fault, also the fact the two locos are doing the same thing at the same time? Does the Gaugmaster controller have an 'identify' option for a DCC loco on the test track? if it does use that to ID the loco and see if you can operate it and do the factory reset if required. or If you know the loco ID for certain!- when you do a factory reset (or any CV change) the loco should jiggle a bit with low volume clicks to tell you its doing something- did that happen in your previous factory resets? If you get no jiggle n clicks your not programming that loco! eoin

The last mechanical parts are complete;- The Tender drag bar was set-up with a brass tube collar to capture the bar and allow to rotate. The oil pump drive gear was cnc cut from .35mm NS sheet and brass handwheels cut from.3mm brass sheet, the parts were cleaned up, holes sized, and then prepared for sweat soldering. Parts are now soldered and ready for installing. Test fitting the handwheels to the pump box with 14BA screws. .8mm Steel rivets were used to assemble the gear. All the bits ready to go on, using a sleeved 1.2mm brass tube as bearings and more 14BA screws. And done both sides. Eoin

The ESU chip does run in DC with limited sound, generally they are set to startup the engine at 50% of the throttle, the loco will drive from there with more throttle applied, the engine sound runs up with the more speed and runs down with break squeal, and switches off when the throttle is turned down to less than 50%..... Not sure how Murphy's chip is set, so the above is an example Eoin

Here is the October date for the Fair, due to the Covid situation please keep an eye on this post for updates near to the date.