Noel

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?

Looks more purple than ex-LMS maroon. EDIT: PS a few years ago an RPSI chap told me 3173 was due to get repainted to match the craven stock with Royal blue and cream, or all over Blue.

RPSI's GSV looks well. Roof repainted recently?

Staggering. I know a 'man' who is interested in doing this in 00 for south wexford line stations including the barrow bridge.

I was curious looking at old photos from the day of delivery of laser cut baseboard ply from WoodWorkers in Terenure, to construction, painting and finally layout building. The boards were constructed using the WMRC method pioneered by member and technical director Dave McCabe. No screws nor nails needed, just hot glue gun. I made the first two 5ft x 2ft boards in an hour, an other hour to paint the glass fibre reinforcement in the undersides, and two hours to paint both boards. Boards are light, portable, easy to work on stacked vertically for wiring and fitting of point motors, single servos, accessory decoders, no more crawling under baseboards. Cross members positioned not to interfere with Cobalt point motors under the base boards. THEN - Ply collected from Truck in local village Stored in Workshop before construction using hot glue gun and fibreglass tape Before Fiberglass tape was added to the underside joints with PVC Glue rather than resin to avoid the smells of resin Glass tape added Painted top and undersides of baseboard to seal from long term moister for stability and easy of working on baseboard gluing track bed, foam blocks, static grass, etc. Transposed track plan onto surface using a roll of grease proof paper. Track plan transposed to avoid cross bracing under boards Dry test track laying before track bed closed cell foam added. Last chance to check everything fits Rotate board on their sides so its easier to work on the undersides standing up rather than crawling underneath. Much easier to do the wiring Baseboard sits on its own back scene as a stable stand on the trestles Much easier to install and test wiring and point motors Hot glue used to freeze self adhesive cable ties in place. Screws used to secure servos and accessory decoders, with foam separation pads to avoid vibration noises when trains pass over head. NOW - End Result (so far) Thanks to WMRC for the helpful guidance and inspiration and especially Dave McCabe.

Hornby, Airfix, Scalextric and Corgi. Notable guest appearances by Kathy Millatt, Pete Waterman and Jenny Kirk amongst others Two seasons available online. Fascinating to watch some of the fly on the wall stuff, the design process and manufacturing steps. I used Chrome and a VPN (to pretend to be in the UK to watch online). Watch online here: https://uktvplay.co.uk/shows/hornby-a-model-world/watch-online Or Wed nights on ch 'Yesterday' FreeSat PS: Will we see Accurascale on TV - the empire strikes back season 1? (ie Bachmann build a death star)

Agree BYD could well be the new Toyota within the next 5 years. We'll all be driving Chinese car brands before soon. The manufacturing quality of the worlds smartphones, tablets and model railway toys manufactured in China are truly top class. Mr Putin has accidentally advanced the rate of transition to clean energy more than anybody else could have. BYD have just appointed Irish MDL to sell the cars starting Q2 this year. Lots of chance coming down the tracks.

Oh I don't know. I wouldn't buy any car that lacks Apple Car Play. £500 would have bought a house in the 1950s, nowadays folks spend €1000 on a portable telephone that you can watch the telly on.

Your right about the clean up of electricity grids. Ireland's electricity grid is already well on track for 80% by 2030. And the new Celtic Interconnector will enable us to import up to 700 MW of CO2 free French nuclear electricity. Robert Llewellyn is a bit of a EV buff evangelist but this is interesting clip dispelling a few popular OPEC myths: PS: I presume the canaries are well ahead of the game with Solar and Wind generation. Ideally located for both. Ironically the Chinese seem to be transitioning from fossil cars to BEVs faster than USA or Europe. The Chinese are the biggest manufacturer of BEVs.

If problems persist IRM have excellent warranty service so perhaps send it back to them for repair or replacement. They will pick up the cost of collection/post.

Unfortunate luck luck. No better modeller to put humpty dumpty together again.

This was my favourite livery for ugly DMUs here. Bright and visible.

Did the 29k not get that new all green livery a few years ago before the pandemic?

https://www.rte.ie/news/2023/0222/1358120-train-catering

Baby MM GMs, especially 143 are so rare, you might even get one and a half A classes in exchange!