get some dummy oil lamps to use if the lights fail

in the olden days the lights were v dim anyway really and not that noticeable

it is still annoying when electronics fail on a new loco though so I get that

I'm perhaps being unkind, but the NGS doesn't seem the most forward thinking on such matters. That the 'official' forum is hosted on groups.io speaks volumes!

Quote from: Michanglais on Today at 07:36:03 AMI kinda think it would still be useful to have someone who had meetings and input with manufacturers

Something I thought The N Gauge Society might have the "clout" to do.  Can't say I've seen much online presence from them other than the web site.   I remember when I was a member of the Worldwide Group 20 odd years ago and looked after the WW group web pages for a while, there tended to be a lot of objection and FOMO to online content not being available to everyone.

Quote from: Cols on Today at 03:45:15 PMThe lights worked for only 3 months before going out on a permanent(?) basis, (fortunately, I am relying on headcode discs). ...it seems that Dapol's electrical connections are sometimes a bit "iffy" ...

It could be a wiring connection problem but I believe more common with Dapol diesel locos is a failed BAT54C diode which controls the directional lighting. It's not an expensive component and can be replaced if you're ok with soldering small components. A forum search should find further discussions about lighting failures. 

Quote from: Cols on Today at 03:45:15 PM(some of their tender locos have a very "delicate" electrical connection between loco and tender...).

They're not the best design, but I suspect some of the problems are down to owners not handling the loco carefully - always pick up and support loco and tender in one hand so the tender cannot swing about (that can also be a cause of the cardan shaft coming adrift).  There are usually spare/replacement connection wires in the detail pack.

Quote from: cmason on Today at 02:15:18 PM@Bealman
 is that van the Polizei visiting the club looking for you?

Sadly, no. I have it on good authority from the Wollongong Mental Health Authority that, far from George being released to go home he did, in actual fact, go AWOL when permission was given for a mercy visit to the bowlo. They haven't seen him since so have assumed George has gone on the run and a BOLO has been put out. The ambulance in the pic has been readied for a rumble on him being sighted loitering at a bus stop

The Dapol Class 22 is a very nice model (I'm strictly an analogue modeller, by the way...). I have had mine from new for around two years; it is a lovely runner!

However, I have found a minor, though rather irritating snag with this model. The lights worked for only 3 months before going out on a permanent(?) basis, (fortunately, I am relying on headcode discs). I have been told by fellow modellers that that is about "par for the course" with many of Dapol's diesel loco models, particularly this one: it seems that Dapol's electrical connections are sometimes a bit "iffy" (some of their tender locos have a very "delicate" electrical connection between loco and tender...).

Despite my little gripe, I would still recommend this model - it is a beautifully powerful, smooth, highly controllable, and quiet runner!

@Bealman

George,

is that van the Polizei visiting the club looking for you? I guess they have been warned about a Sunderland supporter being back out on the loose...

Seriously, its good to see that you are getting out and about - and are able to cast a critical eye over the work of (un)civil engineers :-),

Colin.

@Moonglum Love the Zappa quote but not, as you said, the tune shown

@kusojiji I'm OK with ELO in small doeses. If you want lyrical oddities try...........

The creek that runs right by the bowlo overflows regularly in periods of heavy rain, which in turn floods the club.

Work has been done recently to supposedly stop this, but don't ask me how this is supposed to work!



It seems to me that this ramp will facilitate the flow of water right to the door of the club!



...which is just at the top of the ramp. The ambulance is not for Bealman, incidentally.

Quote from: Michanglais on Today at 07:41:31 AMI was kinda hoping for more, being new to N gauge and wanting to add to my stock.

As I've posted "in another place" Bachmann/Farish can't win: they switched to quarterly announcements so that they were only announcing things that were to arrive on sale very soon, rather than an annual "everything" announcement of vapourware with long lead times, and they get criticised because the smaller quarterly announcements aren't exciting enough!

Also: the summer announcement is always small. This is a dead time for model railway sales. Normal people are spending money on holidays and DIY. They are better saving the bigger announcements until the "hobby season" starts in the autumn, and for N this also ties in with TINGS and other big autumn shows.

If you're looking to build up your stock quickly then it's the secondhand market I'm afraid.  New product announcements in the UK N market are going to be 2/3 new locos a year per manufacturer if we're lucky plus assorted rolling stock across all eras. Given modern batch production lead times, you have to plan over several years to build up your stock.

(It also means that for me, approaching my mid-sixties means that I have to accept that what has already been announced or in production is "it" as far as making future plans is concerned: there's no point waiting for any more of my wishlist to be announced as otherwise I'll run out of active life time to build the layout before they're produced.)