Noel

Last time I operated into Duxford was 1984

Super job, weathering also top class. I genuinely cannot see any crack.

Mk3 Hornby shortie respray into Mk3 IR/Tippex livery getting pax fitted along with a MM Craven after reupholstering seats. Not fine scale passengers, but good enough for viewing through the glazing. Better than an empty coach. Tried out Train-Tech lighting modules for this coach rather than my own DIY pcb.

Inexpensive passengers in packs of 100 from china cost about €4. Snip the legs off with a wire cutters and glue to the seats. Led coach Lights are triggered by motion and stay on for 5mins after no motion.

Do you Suzette take this man Fred as your lawful wedded modeller? Do you promise not to object to paint smells coming out of the spare bedroom? Do you understand the secret cupboard is truly a secret place? Do you take Fred in sickness or in health? Do you take Fred as DC or DCC? For Richer (measured by size of model collection, nothing else), or poorer (shortness of breath carrying models up the attic stairs)? I now pronounce you modeller and paint brush cleaner, you may now airbrush the bride.

IRM's warranty service is top class, I'm sure their service team could fix this. If spare parts needed they might arrange via Murphy Models I'm sure. I understand 'normal' retailers may not stock spares, but IRM are not 'normal' retailers, they are extraordinary and make things happen.

Problem is modelling railways set in Ireland means almost exclusive use of diesel locos, therefore prime movers for GM/EMD diesel engines employed in 12,141,181,071 and 201, and Irish diesel loco horns, none of the Hornby nor budget US sound decoders facilitate this combination. Unfortunately perhaps not a game changer. In the mean time purchase ESU decoders direct from Germany for €95 and upload free diesel sound projects onto them using a LokProgrammer rather than paying €120 for a pre-programmed ESU decoder. Its not rocket science. I don't see the benefit of bluetooth for control data comms, when through track works just as well and offers almost wire free control of DCC accessory decoders for point control, signals, etc, rather than having to buy bluetooth hardware accessories. A game changer with be an ESU LokSound quality decoder selling for €50 with an open NMRA compliant standards for programming and integration. Vanilla sound projects just don't cut it for Irish Diesel locos, perhaps 260 and 460, and 060 steam locos assuming half decent whilst sounds might get away with it.

Superb

Model Craven standing at Gort Platform 2 after passengers added to reupholstered coach with lighting added. Later that evening Lady in Red seems in a hurry to find the right seat

Green upholstery added with headrest covers, passengers and lighting. Next up weathering and Kadee's Standing platform 2 at Gort awaiting 16:45 departure to Ennis Opps its dark. Inbound train from Limerick must have been delayed. Have to wait here to pass once the token has been secured.

As a piece of electronics, DCC decoder production never reaches what one could call volume by comparison with consumer electronics or automotive components. Model (Toy) trains is a tiny tiny market by comparison with consumer mass markets unfortunately not with enough scale to mass produce decoders where economics of scale could kick in. I wouldn't trust Hornby with a barge pole when it comes to DCC or a proprietary alternative. Their track record complying with NMRA standards, compatibility and interoperability is not good, nor has the quality of their budget motor only decoders in the past. TTS has had some success in the train set market segment. Budget decoders fall down on clever motor control tech that makes average locos run more precisely even on train set track. Some of the Hornby Decoders don't even have a CV3 and CV4 setting. Everything to do with TT120 seems to a a grab at direct sales model cutting out the traditional retail distribution channel, and especially taking the box shifters out of the game who have now morphed into competitors producing their own models from time to time. Proprietary tech like the HM7000 seems designed to keep the competition from selling compatible components and leaving Hornby 100% in control. Not sure all of this going out on a limb will end well for them. Words like Betamax and Kodak come to mind. Hornby is an iconic brand name, that probably launched most folks from childhood who are now n todays model train hobby. Would not like to see anything bad happen to that brand name whoever ends up owning it in the future.

@Sean you are correct. The default volume on most sound projects is far too high. I generally reduce the volume by half on my locos and they are plenty loud enough. The MM sound projects have excessively loud default out of the box volume level, sometimes leading to speaker distortion (eg 121, 071).

AS going from strength to strength. Modellers in GB will love this product.

Seating Test colour no 1 When the seating is installed back in the coach it won't be possible to see the remaining blue on the sides of the tables. Next sample I might try a darker matt blue/grey mix.

Craven upgrade mini-project. I have long hated the fisher price bright blue toy like colour seating inside the Craven models. So today finally got around to starting the project to correct this and upgrade the interiors by: Seating colour - Repainting the seating a less garish colour. Might not be exact prototypical, a darker blue, or grey with a pink hew (ie simulating checked pattern), or even a mid green colour as used in the laminate era. Install passengers. Install lighting (might be rail-tec motion sensing lights powered by CR16 battery, or my own DCC pcb with bogie track pickups, bridge rectifier, resistor, and capacitor for flicker free, with resistor pot under chassis so brightness can be adjusted externally. Replace tension lock couplings with Kadee knuckle couplings using adaptor for incorrectly positioned NEM pocket. Weathering Will post progress from time to time. The painting of the interior seating by hand is fiddley. Some trial and error iterations might occur with different colours, it won't make much difference looking at them through the model glazing as long as that garish blue us not visible. Don't think I'll need to paint the floor as its impossible to see through the windows, but I'll know that awful fisher price blue is still hiding in there. How to open up a MM Craven coach. 4 friction lugs. Wooden ice cream sticks and wiggling with a few wooden cocktail sticks did the job with a thin flat jewellers screw driver. The seating easily clips away from the chassis once the upper body is prised away from the chassis.

For programming the Hornby DCC command station have a look at pal 25 of this. Connect the two 'prog' outputs to a separate short piece of test track so you can place the loco on it and you can enter programming mode for just the decoder on that track. The loco won't move so the track only needs to be as long as the loco. Its just for programming the decoder. https://support.hornby.com/hc/en-gb/article_attachments/360015937139/hornby-elite-manual-v1.41.pdf The Hornby Select does not have the greatest reputation for compatibility with decoders or ease of use. If you run into problems perhaps try reprogramming the loco on a friends layout or a club layout.

First thing is I recommend you out the loco on the DCC test track and put your DCC command station into test mode (ie programming mode) and see if the decoder responds with its manufacturer ID and model ID. If not then the decoder is faulty (or possibly the loco's own on board PCB). You can eliminate the latter by trying the suspect decoder in another loco. (ie by process of elimination discover is the problem is the decoder or the loco). Not if you just write 8 to CV8. But remember after you do that the loco address will revert back to the default of 3. Otherwise the loco will appear dead as you might be trying its previous address. As long as you don't use a LokProgrammer there is little risk of corrupting the sound file with just a decoder reset CV8=8). Hope this helps. Fortunately in 10 years I've never been shipped a faulty decoder.

Had some fun finishing some more of these old MIR kits recently, more to come from Gareth's resin body's on Dapol Chassis. I've enough kits from MIR, Silverfox, Provincial Wagons and brass conversion kits JM and others to keep me going for years in retirement. Next plan is to add about 40gm to all my CIE era 2 axle wagons so they are NMRA recommended weights of about 75gm per wagon. Should improve operation of Kadee couplings with uncoupling magnets, avoiding axle jump and breakaways when passing over the larger hidden under track uncoupling magnets. I could never go back to operating stock with tension lock couplings that are commonly supplied on most RTR rolling stock (eg Hornby, Bachmann, MM, IRM, Dapol, Silverfox, etc).

For those who choose to operate sound on both model locomotives, WheelTappers offer 3 variations of each of the 567 and 645 prime movers (ie slight change in pitch) so the two locos do not sound the same if both 567 or 645. Personally I only operate one loco with sound at a time on my layout because 2 (or worse 3) sound locos running at the same time, sounds just an awful confused cacophony of irritating noise. They blur into each other, but that's just my personal experience. It's impossible to simulate the classic doppler effect as a train approaches and passes a scene using an onboard speaker. Don't get me wrong I love DCC sound especially 567 and 645, but don't like when it sounds like a group of wasps stuck in a jam jar screeching to get out like the 071 or 201 primer movers.

As far as I know they were not always matched in service, hence running a 141 with a 181 class in consist is normal. For DCC sound models, recommend sound only on one of the locos, and that the decoders be the same type with the same sound projects, and same motor CV settings (eg two Lenz Silver+, or two LokSound V4, or Lovsound V4 with a LokPilot V4.

IRM might surprise us perhaps - now that they've launched their first steam model in the GB market. It would be fantastic to have 460 steam loco to complement and haul laminate flying snail green stock alongside the upcoming 22k sets. Full circle.

Thanks. I am relieved the loco can run over all the track work and points at speed step 1 crawl without stalling or juddering. Too slow to make useful video, but glad all the work with electrofrog points worked out, especially after the rails got part covered in PVA during ballasting, and covered in acrylic spray paint when weathering the track beds, the track cleaning must have worked after ballasting. Last year when debugging the track work for smooth running it was amazing how many hidden micro artefacts caused temporary loss of electrical continuity (eg. Tiny grain of ballast on inside rail chair, or between point check rails, or a single mm or sleeper grime paint, or 1/10th mm of solder projecting above rail height. If this ever gets exhibited it will need to be reliable and have perfect running. Zero tolerance for derailments or juddering at slow shunting speeds. My thanks to colleagues at WMRC for their guidance and advice.

My concern is Betamax?