irishthump

Wait! You mean Thomas the Tank Engine isn't for grownups?!!

Hi Sulzer, Hope this helps, this is the way I tackle it myself. Remove the cab at the front end first, that is the opposite end to the roof grill. Remember to just unclip the handrails from the cab or you will break them off, it just slips out of the little hole at the corner of the cab side window. Most people recommend removing all the handrails first but I found them a nightmare to put back on, so this is a way around that. The cab should just pull straight up but you may need to use a very small flat screwdriver to ease it away. What I do then is turn the loco upside down and if you turn the bogies to the side you will be able to see the small tabs which hold the body on. They will easy to spot if the loco is in an orange livery! You can then use the small screwdriver to help release the tabs, the body plus the cab at the grill end will then lift straight up. (Remember to unclip the handrails from the grill-end cab as well before removing the body!) I find his much easier than trying to squeeze the body sides to get it to unclip, as you said you seem to need to use a lot of force to move it!

Thanks Enniscorthyman, I new I had seen it mentioned somewhere on the forum! Do you find much of a difference with the new speaker? I was contemplating the bass reflex myself but I assumed it would be too big....

I realise that, and I have 3 141's all fitted with the same decoder and they run flawlessly. But as was said you can get differences in performance after a while even with 2 identical locos. True this can be sorted with the basic cv's in most cases but the more drastic ones you have to resort to setting up separate speed tables and I've read of some US modellers (very experiences DCC users) who would rather turn one of them into a dummy unit than faff around with speed tables. Granted they're running consists of up to 4 locos so the loss of power is negated.

Yeah but I've read about US modellers turning one loco of a pair into a dummy because they couldn't get them to speed match.

Simple enough. Just replace the wheelsets with ones without gears on the axles. If you're using DCC then you can still operate the lights. But you're right, the weight may be an issue.

Guys, Gareth from the ModelShop recommended replacing the fitted speaker in the 201's with a bass enhanced one. Has anybody here done that? I'm just curious if there is any "major surgery" required to make it fit!

Guys, thanks for all the positive comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! John-r, the MK3's are my own repaints. I used a rake of older Hornby Mk3's which I believe are a little short to be prototypical but I think they turned out well. If you look on my workbench thread you can see how I went about it - http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/77-Graham-s-Workbench/page2 As for the DCC sound I'm sold on it myself! I know it's not everybody's cup of tea but I really enjoy the "driving experience" with sound equipped locos.

Lads, Just got my 201 Decoder from Model Shop Belfast, here's a little video of her in action... 210 gets delivered to the engine shed by 086 before first startup. She takes on diesel at the new refuelling point then she's tested hauling a rake of Mk3's. Enjoy!

I used a 4mm thick foam sheeting used for floating wood floors. I picked up a pack of 12 3x2 sheets for €20 in Homebase in Nutgrove about a year ago. Easily cut and as Dave said it's useful if there is any irregularity in your baseboards. But as said, once ballasted it does nothing for sound!

Yes it certainly looks the part.....

Guys, Most other model railway forums seem to have one and we are getting a few DCC queries. Anyone agree?

Glad to help!

You'll have to take one of them off the track like I said because they both have the same address now. Make sure you select loco 3 then press "PROG" until you see "PROG MAIN TRACK" on the display. Then the first option will be to program the address.

No you haven't set them up for doubleheading as such, you have just given them both the same address. The best thing to do is take 220 of the track then reprogramme the 141 to whatever address you want it to have. Personally I use the loco number itself as it's easy to remember.

Ha! If it's any consolation to you I did the same thing when I tried to put a decoder in my 071. Flipped it over and went for the first screws I saw!

Give us some more info.... Did it run under a different address before you tried to reprogram it? How did you reprogram it? Did you use the main track or a separate programming track?

Sorry I forgot to answer the second question! Most decoders wont need you to adjust the start voltage but the idea is to have the loco moving smoothly at it's slowest possible speed. This will vary from loco to loco as some have better motors and mechanisms that others, the MM stuff is top notch so you don't really have to do anything with them. When you're programming with the Prodigy it cycles through the most commonly used CV's like start voltage, top voltage, acceleration, etc. just for convenience but you don't have to enter a value for them.

The volume is controlled by the loco's decoder so you can adjust each one individually. This is done by programming the relevant CV for the decoder, can't think offhand which CV it is on Modelsshopbelfast decoders. You should have a sheet with the decoder that will tell you which CV to adjust. Then you need to refer to your DCC controller manual for how to reprogramme decoder CV's. Don't worry, it's very simple with Prodigy controllers!

As for myself, the Missus got me a voucher for Marks Models which will be spent at the first available opportunity!

You won't be disappointed with it! I looked at your Youtube vid, it sounds great.

Very nice! You'll like the Prodigy, so simple to use. What 201 chip did you get?

Compliments of the season to all!

You need to remove the middle section of the body. There are 4 screws on the bottom, 2 at each end underneath the bogies. You'll see the screw holes when you turn the bogies to the side. Just unscrew them and the body will slide upwards. You'll see the blanking plate for the DCC socket around the centre of the circuit board. Carefully remove it and fit your chip in it's place. Give it a quick test before refitting the body.

Well I gave the loco a go on a length of DC track using a normal Bachmann control. The sound started up after turning the power up about half way but I couldn't get the loco to move even at full power. Maybe the controller didn't provide enough juice? I'll double check later to see if DC running is activated.