irishthump

Well that's barely a 1% grade which should'nt cause too many problems. Like you said it's probably all the weight, also if the converted Hornby flats still have the plastic wheels they can cause an awful lot of drag, especially on a curve.

As a matter of interest, how steep are your grades? Are they more than 3%?

Divide all your full size measurements my 76. Or 76.2 if you want to be super-accurate!

My deepest sympathies to you and your family, JHB.

You'd be a Guru yourself if you posted as many positive comments as you do negative ones....

Maybe you could ask the mod team to set up a separate part of the forum dedicatd to real modellers.

Ah that's sad.... I must have watched his Model World video on Youtube a hundred times! A pleasant chap with a genuine love and enthusiasm for model trains of all shaoes, sizes and gauges!

PM sent!

My point exactly...

I don't for one second think the Lima 201 is superior in detail to the MM 201, and that was not my point. My point was that there are MANY modellers out there who are more than happy to overlook dimensional and livery innacuracies in a decent running model. I've seen Lima 201 bodies being placed on Bachmann chassis on this very forum! The Heljan vs. Dapol class 52 discussion is case in point. There was much hullabaloo over the issues with the front profile of the Heljan model, but that did'nt stop plenty of modellers with the same attitude as me from buying them. Same with the early 37's, they sell like hot cakes on Ebay. Plenty of modellers are more concerned with running their trains rather than looking at them.

I would have to disagree, there's a huge percentage of modellers (myself among them) who are willing to sacrifice some details in favour of model that runs well.

Bachmann have the "Sound Value" range for their HO line, and I have a couple of those locos. These use budget priced Tsunami decoders which are great but again they have a lack of adjustment whenn compared to the high end decoders.

That seems to be the general consensus... The sound is of good quality in general and they are grea value for somebody who wants to try sound without breaking the bank. But the more discerning sound-users are focusing on the lack of adjustment. The individual sound volume levels can be adjusted but things like not being able to sync the chuff sound with loco speed is a downer for some people. I'll get one of the diesels myself when they come out, you can't go wrong at that price!

Here ya go; spare bogies frames... http://www.ebay.ie/itm/00-Gauge-Heljan-Class-26-27-33-Bo-Bo-Diesel-Bogie-Side-frames-x-4-Unused-VGC-/261710986196?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3cef30bbd4

Well that changes things..... I would gut it and use the motor and bogies for a silverfox C class!

To be honest I would make do with repainting it into CIE colours, maybe redoing the front windows! But why would you bother? It's a nice loco as is.

I'm not a rivet counter either, I'm just trying to convince you NOT to cut this loco up! Seriously, I'd run it as-is with some BR coaches. By the way, I looked at the pics on Ebay and it definatley has the older brass wheels. Take my advice and switch them for the newer nickel steel sets. I got mine from Howes models.

Don't really know about converting it to look like an A class, but I would say it would be a lot of work! I don't think the overall dimensions are correct, plus it's a Bo-Bo. The Heljans are lovely runners on DC and DCC. By the way, if the model has the older brass wheels replace them, they get dirty very quickly and will break your heart on DCC! Fitting them with sound involves a little work though, here's a good video.... Personally, I would leave it as is and install a Class 33 sound chip! They're a lovely model and it would be a shame to hack it up.

To be honest I would expect the Elite to work with any decoder as Hornby state that it's NMRA compliant. If that's not the case then I would steer clear of it.

Well the Select is not NMRA compliant, so it has issues with several brands of decoders; Bachmann and TCS were the ones which caused the most hassle. The problem is with the Select itself, not with the decoders.

As far as I know there is no DCC sound chip available for the A class yet, although Mr Soundguy is supposed to be working on one. Although I think Enniscorthyman of this parish got a hold of a protoype.... http://s370.photobucket.com/user/eamonnredmond/media/20141021_125849_zpshdi0patz.mp4.html

Nice work... Aside from how well it runs, it's a lovely paint job!

Nice work! I did a similar job on my converted Hornby flats as the bogie mounted couplers caused nothing but problems, especially when reversing.

A Merry Christmas to everyone! May your stockings overflow with 071's, 141's, 201's or whatever you fancy.....

The reason I ask is that with my old Hornby Select some decoder's lights would stay on whether the function button was on or not! Something to do with the Select's output signal being very rough.