N Gauge Forum

I'm curious if this group would be interested.

I had a 6-pin decoder installed. She's run-in only, and has very little additional track time.

I have other N Gauge locos (dapol and Graham Farish) but I've not been around for a while to have a grasp of the current market.

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/3376-170126160115.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157373)

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/3376-170126160136.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157374)

Union Mills stuff goes for stupid money for some reason so you are in luck on that one.

Unfortunately I've just bought a house instead :beers:

That's got to be worth £200+ in the current market (i.e. EBay)

Why?

1. It's Union Mills
2. A rare non-black prototype
3. Mint in box
4. DCC fitted

Don't settle for less.

Quote from: scottmitchell74 on January 17, 2026, 04:03:51 PMI'm curious if this group would be interested.

I had a 6-pin decoder installed. She's run-in only, and has very little additional track time.

I have other N Gauge locos (dapol and Graham Farish) but I've not been around for a while to have a grasp of the current market.

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/3376-170126160115.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157373)

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/3376-170126160136.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157374)

So I'm bumping this up for another query.



I've decided I want to keep her. She's beautiful and meaningful to me.

My new interest: Restoration.

But I'm tired of sinking cash into it.

So I'm offering barter.

 For fixing my UM Prince of Wales and returning her (if possible) to origial DC operation, I offer both of these locomotives below:

Life-Like Santa Fe Switcher SW9/1200

Arnold N Scale ADIF Serie 321

I also have a lot of extra American wagons that could be included if I need to sweeten the deal further.

Most of my wagons are in the B&O/C&O/Chessie road names.

This would of course be contingent on any of these things being of interest.

@Will_J  - you extended an offer once that was both heartwarming and wise,  and I deeply regret not taking you up on. So I have you in mind... but anyone who is willing can let me know.

Both of these are excellent runners, decent haulers and come with boxes, papers, etc...

They would be tested again immediately before shipping. 

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/160/3376-180626164318.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=160345)




(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/160/3376-180626165056.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=160350)

It's not clear to me what you're offering. Your UM loco (which doesn't work), and the US stock? In exchange for what?

Quote from: njee20 on June 18, 2026, 07:19:26 PMIt's not clear to me what you're offering. Your UM loco (which doesn't work), and the US stock? In exchange for what?

Corrected for clarity (I hope).

An interesting mixture - an American and a Spanish loco  :)

I guess for the majority of folk here in the UK the unknown is the cost of postage etc. to return your UM loco once fixed.

Quote from: ntpntpntp on June 18, 2026, 08:04:36 PMAn interesting mixture - an American and a Spanish loco  :)

I guess for the majority of folk here in the UK the unknown is the cost of postage etc. to return your UM loco once fixed.

I'd cover return cost.  It's 17.99 pounds Royal Mail when I buy from TMC or Rails... or sweeten the barter.  :hmmm:

I know this is a long-shot but I'm rolling-stock rich, cash-poor.

Yeah, it's a weird offering. I don't trust fellow Yankees with her anymore. 

Hi, Scott:

This is Ian from California.  You may recall we worked together on a Union Mills J39 issue earlier this year.

I am not a repair expert but I do understand how a Union Mills loco is wired for DC operation and can perform minor repairs.  (I understand from above that you want the DCC chip removed).

If you are willing to take the risk, I will take a look at repairing your loco.  If you use the USPS "Click-N-Ship" service, you should be able to ship the loco to me in California for around $6 or $7 (around $10.50 if you use Ground Advantage).

If I cannot repair the loco (and even if I can), I will ship it back to you FOC.

I am not interested in the locos you are offering so please keep them in your collection.
 
However, if I am successful in repairing your loco, you may want to consider making a modest contribution to the NGF funds.

If you are interested in this offer, we can communicate further by PM.  Let me know

Best regards,

Ian

Scott just sent me a PM accepting my offer to attempt a repair on his Prince of Wales loco (<gulp>).

Pressure's on now!

Ian

Well done, Ian. Yours is a magnificent gesture and it's not the first example I've encountered on this wonderful forum.

Quote from: icairns on June 19, 2026, 12:04:57 AMScott just sent me a PM accepting my offer to attempt a repair on his Prince of Wales loco (<gulp>).

Pressure's on now!

Unless the motor itself is what went FUBAR, it should be as simple as I posted here;
https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?msg=884867

Scott said that he'd tried that, without success, but hasn't posted any photos of what it's like now so you'll have to see when you receive it.

An excellent gesture, Ian, and shows the NGF is a good resource for N gauge modellers.

Good luck with the repairs! :thumbsup:

Quote from: Bealman on June 19, 2026, 08:37:10 AMAn excellent gesture, Ian, and shows the NGF is a good resource for N gauge modellers.

Good luck with the repairs! :thumbsup:

Wot he said

Quote from: icairns on June 19, 2026, 12:04:57 AMScott just sent me a PM accepting my offer to attempt a repair on his Prince of Wales loco (<gulp>).

Pressure's on now!

Ian

You can do it Charlie Brown  :beers:

@scottmitchell74  @chrism

Scott's Union Mills Prince of Wales model recently arrived at the repair shops here in California.  I have to say, it is a wonderful model and the crimson livery is excellent and very striking.


When I opened the box the coupling from the rear of the tender was loose in the box along with what looks like part of a standard Graham Farish coupling spring that had been compressed out of shape and was no longer usable.  Also, the area near the top of the handrails on the front of the tender on both sides had small paint chips. 

Carefully putting the coupling aside for later. I unscrewed the rear keeper plate screw from the loco to disconnect the drawbar and the motor wire. 

I undid the keeper plate screw from the front of the tender to release the chassis from the tender body and then replaced the drawbar screw and held it in place temporarily with a small nut from my spares box. 

Then I got a surprise! 

This is what I was expecting to see when I took the tender top off.  I copied the photo from the post linked below: 

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?msg=884867


But this is what I actually saw.  Can you see the difference?  From a previous post on this thread, I did think that something had been changed but I did not know exactly what.


Well, the two photos are very different in one important point!  The blue wire was now soldered to both the tender pickup motor terminal and the loco pickup motor terminal.

Surely, it couldn't be this easy?  As long as the soldered joints were good, and the motor had not been damaged in the previous work, all I had to do was cut the blue wire. So, I did cut the blue wire, connected 12V DC to the loco pickup wire and the tender pickups, and the motor ran as sweet as a nut. 

The soldered connections to the motor terminals appeared to be strong so I then cut the ends of the blue wire off as neatly as I could and the completed repair is shown in the photo below. 


To be honest, I was quite glad to be able to put my book Soldering for Dummies back on the bookshelf as I had not exactly shared with Scott that my soldering skills might be described as rudimentary (they have actually been called worse).  But I was confident that I could repair a Union Mills loco, even if I needed to solder wires to the motor terminals as I have done similar repairs to a couple of UM locos before. 

Because the wiring modification was so simple, repairing the coupling on the rear of the tender actually took me longer because it was so fiddly.  The UM coupling pocket is very short so I had to cut down a Graham Farish coupling spring to about one third of its normal length to enable it, and the coupling, to fit into the pocket. It is not a good design. 

After reassembling everything, I then cleaned the tender pickup wheels and gave it a good test run on Ferryhill.  It runs very smoothly in both directions, drawing about 75mA, albeit a little noisily compared to more modern steam loco models (but typical of Union Mills' locos).  The two traction tyres on the tender looked to be in good condition. 

I know Scott has a 4% grade somewhere on his layout but I was not able to test this on my layout as Ferryhill is a founding member of the Flat Earth Society. 

I will post some videos in my next post. 

Ian

Here are a couple of quick YouTube links showing Scott's UM Prince of Wales Class No. 5604 "Enchantress" in operation on Ferryhill. 



Apologies for the quality of the videos but I just wanted to quickly demonstrate forward, reverse, slow running, and haulage capacity. 

As I do not have any LMS coaching stock, I paired No. 5604 with a rake of seven Graham Farish "Blood and Custards."  I think the train looks rather splendid! 

I will be mailing the loco back to Scott in Texas this week.  I hope he is pleased with the result.

Ian

Well done, Ian! I'm sure he will be over the moon. :thumbsup:

Quote from: icairns on June 28, 2026, 11:17:32 PMHere are a couple of quick YouTube links showing Scott's UM Prince of Wales Class No. 5604 "Enchantress" in operation on Ferryhill. 

Apologies for the quality of the videos but I just wanted to quickly demonstrate forward, reverse, slow running, and haulage capacity. 

As I do not have any LMS coaching stock, I paired No. 5604 with a rake of seven Graham Farish "Blood and Custards."  I think the train looks rather splendid! 

I will be mailing the loco back to Scott in Texas this week.  I hope he is pleased with the result.

Ian

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/160/3376-280626235536.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=160576)



 :bounce:  :claphappy:

Can't wait!! :NGaugersRule:

Well done, Ian. I suspected that it'd be an easy fix as the UM wiring is very basic.

With two traction tyres and the weight of the tender it should cope with Scott's gradient without much trouble, the haulage capability of UM models is outstanding.

Top work sir.
Nice layout too.
PW