Noel

Hi Guys.

If there are any NCE Pro Cab users on here you may be able to point me on the right direction.

Background: I'm new to this system, but so far it seems if I want to access decoder functions above the first ten (0-9), with the Pro Cab I have to use the 'option' button as a sort of shift key to access function 10-19. Unlike the Power Cab which uses the shift key. This is a awkward when trying to regularly use functions 18 & 19, too many button presses.

Here's the question: With Pro Cab is it possible to reassign or map functions to other keys?

For example so I could activate functions 18 or 19 by pressing only one key if I can map cab buttons to other functions?

Is there a show on down in Portlaoise on the same day? (i.e. Sun 14th Sept 2014)

I've a pair of Lima class 33s in CIE black and tan livery which I've had in storage probably for 20 or more years, possibly even 30 years (my memory is unsure when I bought them). Question is are there any bits I could install, modify or change to make them run more smoothly like modern models (i.e. all wheel pickup, smoother drive, slow speed and creep, etc)? Or should I just retire them to my 'nostalgia' collection, or even sell them? Lima sold them as CIE 001/C class look-a-likes, but the three windows on the Lima's look all wrong compared to the two large inset windows on real 001/C locos. Has anybody modified them with more modern Lima drive chassis, or drive bogies?

Typo - Title should read 'PAIR of Lima ....'

Possibly the largest selection of Irish model railway items in the country

Including NIR locos Railcars & Rolling Stock

GNR & CIE Railcars

MK 2 & Mk coaches in Supertrain & IE / IR

All Murphy Model issues to date

Autoballasters & Plasser Tampers & much more

Thanks for the heads up. I had got dates confused with a show in Cork.

Sublime - absolutely top class modelling. I love the subtle colouring and weathering.

Personally I leave the railings on and just release the tabs from underneath as aclass07 said.

Thanks that worked a real treat on 182. I used wooden ice cream sticks to pressure the sides through the railings.

Noel - you will notice that the cab is no longer a tight fit and there is a noticeable gap between it and the chassis but there is nothing that can be done about that.

Yes I noticed that Seamus. Were the cab ends glued with some sort of flexiglue, or is there some other reason? Looking forward to putting some Belfast models sound chips in them.

Glad you got sorted... Don't worry, we were all in the same position with the 141 bodies...especially our first one

Thanks guys. Hopefully some day I may be able to get a few more 141/181s.

Yep, they're a b**ger and no mistake! Personally I leave the railings on and just release the tabs from underneath as aclass07 said.

That's what I'll do next time. The handrails clip on and off ok, but the thin end that returns to the body base plate was glued on the B141 I got a few weeks ago.

The lugs are clipped to the underframe. If you turn the bogie a little you'll see them from underneath. Your loco, having a black body makes them more difficult to see, as they are the same colour as the body. The orange ones can be seen much easier. Anyway, prising them from underneath with a small screwdriver or something should release them. Taking off the plastic bogie frame will give you more room if you need it.....

Thanks used a block hammer, crowbar and stick of dynamite. Kidd'n. Got it off with some more force.

I need a microscope to get the railings back on.

How in the name of all that is good about WD40 does one get the blasted body shell off a 141/181?

I am trying to fit a 21pin decoder. I have done the following as per recommendations:

1. Removed the side rails
   
2. Removed the end cab
   
3. Gently and not so gently squeezed the body sides but it seems almost glued on!
   

I afraid of damaging the model if I use any more force. Are the pressure lugs clipped into the under frame, OR inside onto the metal weight?

HELP!

Some material I have read and studied, but no joy, it is stuck fast. It's a brand new MM 141 Black preserved B141.

Mag piece: http://www.murphymodels.com/files/Class_141_Sound_DCC_MR130_058-061.pdf

How to on MRF: http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17970

Service sheet: http://www.bachmann.co.uk/pdfs/mm_141_181.pdf

Hi there I have a small problem I am debating to use foam underlay from woodland scenics r don,t use any on track plan I am to build & is flexi track any good

Hi bhoulihan

I've used peco foam underlay under our layout (i.e. 'Old New Layout'). I has worked out well so far and I am a bit fastidious about smooth track joints and smooth running. I had planned when I had finished the scenic work in a few years (hopefully), to replace the underlay with cork and ballast, but I'm not so sure anymore. I may just fill the gaps between twin tracks with ballast the same colour as the foam and run it right up to the edges of the underlay. It means future maintenance will be easier as any dodgy points can just be lifted and the sound insulation of foam from baseboard vibration is very good. It's very much a matter of personal preference, there is no right or wrong.

Cheers

Noel

How did it go?

Tried both RailModeller and AnyRail on my MacBook (AnyRail on Windows 7 via VMware). Both good, but I just found AnyRail a lot easier to pickup once I understood the difference between layers and heights. Layers it seems is NOT about track levels, just layers of scenery that can be turned on and off. Height determines track levels. Specifying heights to each track element that is on a higher level is a PITA. Anyway nice simple software. I'm almost certainly going to stick with AnyRail as I can't spare the time to read the manual and learn other more powerful tools. If I didn't have VMware on my Mac I would have been ok with RailModeller though.

This is great info guys. Any idea which corridor compartment coaches might have been used on the Dublin Amiens Street to Galway line in the 1962-1970 era? Bredins, PR, or Laminates?

Yes but I just can't as yet bring myself to cope with the appalling visuals of peco track. It just looks all wrong

Harumph!!!

So you didn't like my trackwork then last week? Will I rip it all up and relay 21mm then? (i.e. when I've won the lotto and can employ a team to make all custom the trackwork and points so that I will have time to run some trains before I'm 90)

N gauge would enable a scale track plan for LJ!!!

Thanks for all that advice and suggestions guys. I hand cleaned the track last week with a coarse cloth bound around and old hardwood model aircraft sanding block, damped with spirits. It has done the job and only a few spots needed more than one rub. I only plan to use a CMX cleaning wagon once every few months for maintenance. In the old days I used to run the loco wheels upside down in a cradle with a mildly abrasive wheel scraper or ice cream stick with spirit damped cloth. I found if I didn't keep the wheels of locos and rolling stock clean, the track wasn't long collecting the dirt off the wheels. I run a vacuum cleaner with a small circular soft brush fitting over the track after cleaning in case any debris was generated from the cloth snagging on track pins, rail joints or points. Its a far cry from when I used to lay Hornby-Dublo tracks on my bedroom carpet as a child (a dust, dirt and hair magnet).

What a realistic looking scene. GMs whirring away. Nice.

Bang on snapper. A report in 1880 suggested building another station 400m south for the W&L such was the disharmony between the two, hence why there are sidings so far south - or were. They could marshall their butter wagons which came from tipp without interfereing with the GSWR. They could then be readied for the the dublin line for transport onward.

 

There was another scheme in the early twenties under GSR to sort out the layout, culled by cost and the Milne report under CIE suggested something similar. "The inquiry team were of the opinion that whilst there was strong justification for improving the layout there, it was recommended that the plans be reviewed and a modified, less costly scheme be prepared" . This resulted in the direct curve to limerick and some other alterations, but the reversing lark with the waterford train remained.

 

Ernest Ahrons, a well respected railway engineer referred to Limerick Junction as being "one of the most extraordinary junction stations that ever existed, which may also be described as typically Irish". The man was right.

Thanks for that explanation. That's classic.

You can buy chip harnesses very readily, and to my mind they are a great way to 'future-proof' your dcc upgrade. You will be able to replace the chips down the line as needed.

Thanks. The more I learn about DCC the more I learn how much I still have to learn.

Thanks Dhu Varren. One thing I was wondering about for my old non DCC stock; might I be better installing decoder by using plug harness types and then plug them into a bare wires harness that is soldered onto the loco (or 21/8 pin direct decoder plugged into a bare wires harness). That way I could remove or replace decoders by just unplugging them rather than desoldering or cutting wires. Appreciate there won't be enough space to do this with tank engines, but there should be enough space in diesels and steam tender engines.

Probably just as well, ugh.

The Great Train Robbery would have to be filmed elsewhere...nice model though.

 

http://archiseek.com/2014/1970s-proposal-heuston-station-dublin/

Uggh! Another 1960s/1970s mad architects 'concept' in concrete.

As to stock, I have the advantage !! of starting from ground zero with irish stock. The only advantage I see is 00 would allow friends stuff to visit.

So does that mean I can call around with my die-cast metal Hornby-Dublo GWR 'Castle' class - where's the turn table?

I don't ever recall anything coming in off that up line until it hit the scissors and then met the platform, but it's one of the most inelegant track layouts I've ever seen - possibly what makes it so fascinating.

Agree the curved points off the main line on that could have been constant radius curves placed slightly future south rather than reversing angle for higher speed ops. The whole track plan with all the reversing and shunting to get on and off the waterford platform seems crazy, not to mention the scissors instead of a down mainline platform on the other side. I wonder why the Limerick-Waterford line was not laid to converge parallel to the mainline and then diverge again rather than an almost right angle cross over. The time saving on operations would have been so much easier and with a less expensive track layout. This was the practice at most UK junctions where two counrty lines were crossing at right angles to each other.

It's probably the best track cleaner out there, all brass construction very heavy. Comes with Kadee and MEM couplings if bought in the UK.

Thanks guys. Its expensive but seems worth it.

Q - What solvent to you normally use?

i.e to avoid damage to plastics, especially peco flexitrack. (white spirits, acetone, etc). Acentone is not plastic friendly.

Thanks guys. It looked a nice product, but good to get a positive recommendation from folks who have actually used it.

In the end I decided to go with NCE for the DCC conversion. I like their HH cabs and price for what you get.

The only feature the NCE lacked that might have been nice was to have a database of locos with alphanumeric names for recall by number or from name lists. The Ecos 50200 had that, but wasn't taken by their HH cabs. In the future NCE may probably end up with a more modern base controller which supports iOS or Android tablet apps for configuration and setup rather than rather dated two line mono LCD screens. I believe the existing NCE setup can be used with cab/throttle apps on smartphones, but only indirectly via a separate PC running JMRI. Hopefully future controllers will have a more elegant direct WIFI or BlueTooth interface for direct use with smartphone DCC apps (i.e. not needing a PC in the mix), or perhaps I have missed something.

Q1 - Any recommendations for 'wires only' DCC loco decoders for about 40 of my old non-DCC steam locos (Bachmann/Hornby) none of which have any lights. (To be fitted gradually over the years)

Q2 - Do 'keep alive' versions work or is it better to stay away from that option?

Thanks again for the advice received so far.

Hi Folks

Has anybody used the 00/H0 CMX track cleaning car? Is it any good on Peco 100?

Thanks

Noel