irishthump

Absolutely stunning weathering job! What scale is it?

Some UK outline for a change: I picked up an old Hornby HST from Ebay a while back, it's in good condition overall but the ringfield motor was little knackered! A good service didn't improve matters much and getting a replacement was proving difficult as well as potentially expensive, then I came across this low cost alternative which uses a motor from an old CD drive. Here's the link... http://web.onetel.net.uk/~johndent/ringfield.html I installed the motor as described except that I had removed the old magnet which left a lot more space around the motor, which I simply filled with blobs of hot glue. Here's a pic: I wired in a bog standard Hornby decoder and was amazed at how well it runs. Here's short video of it in action, sorry about the low quality as I took it on my phone.... I considerably increased the weight in the loco and as you can see it pulls a 5 car rake as well as a driving trailer with no problem at all.

I feel your pain..... Here in work they look at you like you have 10 heads when you tell them you didn't see "The Match" last night!

Regardless of the size of the stanchions, it certainly looks the part after a coat of primer...

I use Windsor and Newton acrylic artist's varnish, it comes in a spray can but I apply it with an airbrush. I just spray some into a small paint jar and let it sit for a while to allow the aerosol gases to escape then pour it straight into the airbrush.

Depends on which loco the chip is for. The 201 has around 18 functions, so with the Select you would be missing out on a lot of the sound effects. If I remember right the main headlight is on F11 so straight away you would not be able to turn it on. For sound equipped locos you really need a more sophisticated controller than the Select. I had one myself at first but upgraded right after I started buying sound equipped locos.

Good call. These can get very mucky with general dirt from the track as well lubricant from the bogies.

You could always try the IE approach; and never, EVER wash them!

Brings back a few memories alright!

Bloody hell, Anto..... So realistic!

I've already checked that the loco was picking up from all 8 wheels. In fact, when I got the loco 2nd hand there seemed to be a problem with the circuit board where both axles at one end of the loco were not picking up power. I re-soldered the connections to the PCB so I know everything is ok there. I also make sure the pickups are properly adjusted every time the loco is cleaned. I'm pretty sure the loco was ran on a DC layout so maybe that's the reason for the condition of the wheelsets.

The problem isn't so much having to clean the wheels it's the how frequently I have to clean them! Like I said this is the only loco that gives this sort of trouble. After less than an hour of running it's starts to run erratically and needs cleaning again. I have a Heljan class 27 which gave the same problem and I noticed it had the same type of brass wheels, I changed them for a new nickel set and the problems stopped.

Haha! Those made me laugh....

I only use IPA and cotton buds to clean my loco wheels with, as you say, a fibreglass pen for stubborn dirt. Guess I'll need to try and give them a good polish. I don't think the track is much of an issue, I clean it very regularly and none of my other locos collect much dirt even after weeks of running.

Lads, I bought a secondhand 141 from Ebay a while back which has been suffering from the intermittent running. The wheels seem to need cleaning very often and I compared the wheels to those on my other 141s and they seem to be brass rather than nickel steel. Maybe the previous owner switched them? Anyway, where would I get spare wheelsets? Are they standard sized Bachmann wheels? Should I contact Bachmann's spares dept?

Sorry for your loss, HF.

Lovely project David, the scenic work is particularly fine. I'm partial to American HO myself, although I'm not a steam afficianado! Could you give some details on how you tweaked the decoder in the Shay? I have a couple of Bachmann locos with factory fitted sound which needed a bit of playing around with to get good slow running.

Lovely job, Rebelred. Looking at your work there is no way you could be called a "novice"!

So are those times set for the time being? Or are they likely to be changed at any time?

Another great vid... I particularly liked the SuperTrain liveried ladybird at the start!

Many thanks GM! The times listed for the Ballina-North Wall trains; are these the times for their departure from Ballina or arrival at North Wall?

I'd love to get some info on this myself! Any spotting gurus care to share their knowledge?

Cracking videos, GM!

Wonderful work, Patrick! The backdrop is the icing on the cake! It adds a terrific sense of depth, finishes the scene off beautifully.

Whoops! Better come clean before a plagiarism suit gets filed against me! Yes, most of the techniques are from Tim Shackelton's book "Weathering Locomotives" which I would recommend to anyone. Also, credit to Georgeconna for his "wash on, wash off" technique for the loco's sides!