[berth44]

Yip Phil,but I'll get over it! Some good news re my 'Western', it's only good news because after removing the circuit board from the chassis (I just 'unsoldered a few wires) All I did then was to rejoin the latter,and join them in turn to the motor,I applied power and off it went, no problem, so the motor is fine... thank goodness!
So, the circuit board will be getting sent back to Dapol (DCC supplies) via Rails for new parts, they'll get the 'spares' from DCC,and they will post them back to me, so the problem is solved,meantime the Western can be 'run-in'......this has saved me a fortune in postage, yes me, I was up for the postage to and from the UK!! (some guarantee??!!) all I need now is a small padded envelope!
To be honest, I wouldn't be sending it back,not for another 100 bucks,no way, I would have just put up with 'no lights!'.......Dave

[SkyFire]

Hope no more booms with it. Had a look at some Westerns last night, then decided I wouldn't bother after yours went bang. Knowing my luck, mine would go bang as well.

[berth44]

I'm thinking I was just unlucky Anthony, it's really a great running loco,and there isn't a great deal of them around, I'd snatch one up before they sell out again, mind you, there is no problem getting a 'Heljan' one, again this is a great runner,and, it's a lot cheaper than the 'Dapol' and way easier to get.
The 'Dapol' definately is the better detailed of the two because it has the correct shaped 'roof bonnet' atop the front windows, but I actually think the 'Heljan' is better finished!
There are 'parts' on the 'Dapol' bogies for instance that have not been put in properly, plus the axles are too short because they should be flush at the wheel centres, you could push the wheels in, but this would probably put it 'out of gauge!!'
Anyhoo, I'm a lot happier with the 'Dapol' one now (as I've said) is a runner,but don't hold back Anthony, get one, no decent 'Western' layout should be without one, or two, or three ,or four!!!...I now have one (or two???) of each, Lima, Hornby, Heljan and Dapol....Dave

[SkyFire]

Right now I don't have the funds for one, so things will have to wait until visa is paid off.

[berth44]

I sent the 'dud' parts off the 'Western' to one of the 'managers' at Rails, she's dealing with it personally,so here's hoping it does not take too long. The Western was pulling its very first train the other night, no problems, goes like a bat out of hell!! Just fixing up 3 Warship locos at the moment, (Mainline) one has gears slipping on the axles (2 buggered), all I can do here is try superglue,one has a tire missing,otherwise the 'can motors' are running fine....

Dave

[SkyFire]

The one with the tyre missing would give the crew a bit of a rough ride. Think it's odd they don't have some sort of positive locking system for the gears in the center of axles. All they need is a flat bit on one side.

[berth44]

The gear is just 'slid' onto the axle, but I expect it's done like this. A long time ago I worked in 'Smiths Clockworks' (69/71) as a moulding machine operator, obviously making the various plastic components that went into making up a clock. One of my jobs involved inserting by hand 6 metal spindles into the open jaws of a small moulding machine. Obviously, safety comes into it, but that's another story, safety measures sometimes fail!!.
Anyway, once the 6 spindles were inserted, the built in 'safety measures' then allowed you to close the manually operated gate, the dies would close automatically and the machine went through an operating procedure, a minute later, the 'jaws' would open and eject the spindles with a small gear wheel attached! I reckon this would have been the procedure used...and then...maybe not, just thought it was a nice wee tale to tell!!
Well, back to the 'Warship', the super glue failed, resulting in the 'free spinning' of the axle and a loco was deemed a failure!!. So, I said I have 3 of these, all the early 'Mainline' versions. One of these belonged to my dear departed best mate from 'Soof Efrica', (I acquired it and a few more of his locos) Anyway, this was the one with the missing tire (it used to go 'tick tick' like a clock as it ran!) but it was still an excellent runner for its age, the only thing was, although I'd say my mate was great, there was nothing he didn't know about in the mechanical and electrical stuff, but I'm sorry to say Allan, you were not a very good painter!!
He had also 'Backdated' this Warship to an earlier 'disc code' version, so the simple solution, mine was stripped of its gears and the motor and associated parts were removed (for spares), it also lost a tire!
So, what I did was a simple change of bodies,the 'Soof Efrican' bogie got its tire, and my 'yellow warning panel version was 'morphed' onto the brilliantly running 'Soof Efrican' , I found out why it was a better runner than mine, Allan had fitted another set of pick ups!
To finish,I still have 3, but one is now a 'free runner' and can now be used to 'double head' , nice wee job I thought.....Dave

[SkyFire]

Ahh the good, (bad) ole days of manufacturing, when things were much simpler and there was no such thing as elf and safety, damn annoying those elves are too, odd thing I've never seen one around anywhere.

Looks like the fine crew in the repair shed are up to their usual standard of getting things going again, one way or another.

[berth44]

That's what it's all about Anthony......Dave

[berth44]

Good news, Rails have got my part from Dapol for the Western, and it's on the way alreadies, very good service I'm thinking!!...and..... I've got a '5 squid' discount on my next order!!....Dave

[SkyFire]

Very good news. Now would Hattons have done as well, somehow I think not!!!

I could be wrong of course.

[berth44]

It was rather a good service, Just lets you see that if a big company like 'Rails' is dealing with them, how quickly the spares were despatched??? I wonder how long it would have taken if were just, me and Dapol??
Anyway, I await the arrival of the parts and get the 'Western' up and running 'with lights', meantime, I've been doing this and that to it, like fitting a crew,(they transferred in from 'South Africa') I've got her nameplates, number plates and work plates fitted, I used 'clear varnish' instead of the usual 'Superglue',so far, they are still firmly fixed in place, but I won't 'annoy' them!!
I also addressed the wheel problem that I've mentioned previously, I solved that one by carefully using solder to 'fill the gap' and 'flush' fit the wheel centres with the axles, it has made a huge improvement to the way the wheel looks, it turned out great, very 'prototypical' for this class with fully exposed wheels, (except the centre one, it's hidden)
Lastly,I've located two 'Hornby' versions, boy, what a difference between them and the Dapol one, you can see just how good the later is!!!, but never the less, I've got one decent runner out of the two Hornby ones, the other will be a source of spares......... now where is the 'even worse Lima version??.....Dave

[SkyFire]

That one will be in hiding, knowing it's fate will be spare parts.

[berth44]

I'm trying to send a photo, if it comes through it's the latest DMU sidings, this is where the steam shed used to be, it's up to the left now, and the diesel shed is down the bottom and round the corner..Dave

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[berth44]

Ok, that worked, here are the 'Westerns'...the 'Dapol' is on the right, next to that is the 'Heljan', then the 'Hornby' with the 'Lima' in dirty Desert Sand livery...Dave

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