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Recent posts #51
N Gauge Discussion / Re: Double heading trains on D...Last post by EtchedPixels - February 06, 2026, 02:33:01 PMFor some locos (eg the old Farish 20/37/47 I think it is) there are resin replacement chassis kits originally done by BR Lines so you can just pick up a bodyshell, paint it for one end of something like the South Wales top/tail sets and avoid having to buy an old loco.
I've stripped the motors out of a few trashed models because busted ones are/were cheap on ebay. The plastic chassis ones like some of the Dapols are really easy to work with as you can just chop them about. The metal chassis ones often need more violence and it can be easier to just keep the bogies and build a new chassis out of plasticard then glue the battery box on. I try and keep the pickups because then you can fit sound and keep lights and stuff working. I've got an old Farish class 20 pair that's one sound, one motorised and a GBRF 73 pair done the same way but by adding back bits Dapol removed from the dummy version. Also a dummy hymek with sound and there's space to use cheaper OO gauge aimed sound chips. For both motorised providing they are similar-ish speeds it seems to work but DCC or DC you have the problem of one end stalling on dirt on a long train and the whole lot derailing. #52
N Gauge Discussion / Re: Double heading trains on D...Last post by Newportnobby - February 06, 2026, 02:25:06 PMQuote from: ntpntpntp on February 06, 2026, 02:17:49 PMTotally surprised. you say you've never had the body off a loco! I've been dismantling and servicing my own locos since my Triang OO days when I was about 10 in the early 1970s. Nothing to be scared of There is when you're a cack handed idiot with 'shaky hand syndrome'!! As a continental modeller, do the manufacturers offer 'dummy' locos? #53
N Gauge Discussion / Re: Double heading trains on D...Last post by ntpntpntp - February 06, 2026, 02:17:49 PMGenerally I'd say to create a dummy loco remove more than just the motor: also pickups and as much of the gearing as you can to minimise drag, plus any removable weights.
If your pair of locos are reasonably well matched for speed across the range then it's fine to double-head. Mismatched locos will of course cause bucking and dragging which is no good for the mechanisms nor coupling reliability. Totally surprised. you say you've never had the body off a loco! I've been dismantling and servicing my own locos since my Triang OO days when I was about 10 in the early 1970s. Nothing to be scared of  #54
N Gauge Discussion / Re: Double heading trains on D...Last post by Newportnobby - February 06, 2026, 02:03:54 PMThanks, Martyn. I reckon I could run a couple of class 24s as well
 , but other than that you've either remotored or removed a motor. I'm not capable of either.It's still a case of, if DC, do it the hard way  #55
N Gauge Discussion / Re: Double heading trains on D...Last post by martyn - February 06, 2026, 01:58:37 PMMaybe not quite what you're looking for, Mick.
I swapped Poole motors for Tramfabriek in my pair of Poole cl 20s, and they run fine together. Much more control, no speeding up and slowing down on gradients. I also run a split chassis 25 with a de-motored Poole one. I have also a pair of 24s which are pretty close and sometimes double head. And I did have a pair of Ivatt 2mt moguls which ran well together (one is now under an LNER L1). All on dc. Martyn #56
N Gauge Discussion / Double heading trains on DC â€...Last post by Newportnobby - February 06, 2026, 11:59:58 AMAFAIK, DCC users can 'speed match' locos using their gizmos so this really applies to DC users
Speed matching for me is putting two locos on an oval of track and seeing whether one catches up with the other. Even if they're close, it's still not something I tend to do. Just take a motor out of one of them, I hear you say. Simples. I've never had the body off a loco in all my 45+ years in N gauge. Having said that, an exception seems to be Farish's Blue Pullman which is awesome. Now Dapol, bless em, did produce a dummy Hymek and a dummy class 121 (both of which I have) so I could play out a scenario of a steamer rescuing a broken down diseasel (or vice versa in very extreme circumstances, you understand  )Let's face it, there have been some shockingly unreliable diesels manufactured in the past – witness class 17s and 28s to mention but two (real ones, I mean, not the models). Many moons ago, when Dave Jones was bringing out his class 17 he was actually going to sell them as twin packs, one powered, one not and I had my name down for that, especially having seen them in the flesh at the Stafford Show when DJ Models attended. That pack never came to fruition when EFE launched the class 17. We are told the price differential between a powered model and unpowered model just makes it not worth doing as the motors are cheap as chips and it's easier to manage stocks when there's only one version. That basically says to a DC user if you buy two powered units and they don't match – tough (or remove the motor from one) I would have loved a twin pack of the class 17 and the class 28, and I dare say if ever a class 21 was released so would purchasers of that particular class. Our models are all hand built so, potentially, every one varies from another in some respect. The chances of getting two that run close enough to double head are not high. I'd be interested to hear other views #57
General Discussion / Re: The angry threadLast post by Newportnobby - February 06, 2026, 10:37:49 AMWot - bawker??
  #58
General Discussion / Re: The angry threadLast post by Browning 9mm - February 06, 2026, 09:36:18 AMQuote from: thebrighton on February 05, 2026, 02:16:08 PMBarclays again! Following my fathers passing and removal from the joint account with my mum the solicitor recommended I get myself added to mums account as it would make paying ongoing bills etc after she passes easier. I already have a POA on the account but that would cease upon her death. I think you miss spelled the word banker think it should have a W #59
General Discussion / Re: Model Shop Directory - clo...Last post by cmason - February 06, 2026, 07:17:42 AMQuote from: Modelrailwayquest on February 05, 2026, 03:41:41 PMI interviewed the owner and founder of the site yesterday soon after the closer. Here is the reasons he has given Yes - thanks for doing that Dawn. Its a great shame Adrian has had to give up, however one can fully understand, Colin. #60
General Discussion / Re: Model Shop Directory - clo...Last post by sg - February 05, 2026, 11:22:37 PMThis is a shame as the exhibition directory was excellent.
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