Class 86 1st Decorated samples

[Crepello]

Great pics Railsquid. The 86 is a really good model in my view. Now if the bogies could be re-tooled to represent as-built condition, the early 86 livery was rather attractive--I have in front of me a shot of E3169 in February 1968 in Rail Blue with white windowframes, red bufferbeams and the cast lion logo. Wouldn't it be great if Dapol produced this version?

[JeremiahBunyan]

JR_P you get some good DCC controllers for newbies for £100-£120 from Hornby, Bachmann and Gaugemaster.

If you're only just entering the world of DCC, I suggest going for a budget one. Especially if you want a simple layout (oval, double oval, circuits with a few sidings etc)

[JR_P]

JeremiahBunyan and Andy Dapol thanks for comments and advice - much appreciated. I think I’m just gonna have to ‘bite the bullet’ and purchase a DCC system and get a test track set-up.... £200 on a controller isn’t nearly as fun as £100 on a new loco.... I hope DCC proves as fun as all the claims ;-) !

[Joel Dapol]

No, it will not void the guarantee, newly produced models should not really require lubrication. A common sense approach is needed, the problem being that we do not know how long these models can be in shop stock rooms. Our advise is to oil if required and don't if all looks good

[Andy Dapol]

JR_P This sounds unusual, certainly the locomotive should behave as a standard DC only model would. I would expect it to move at about the same time as the lights illuminate. Assuming this is a factory fit DCC model I suggest contacting the supplier for a replacement.

[JeremiahBunyan]

From what I've read up online, this is what I concluded...

- IIRC the address assigned to the DCC chip to work on DC must be 0. Most if not all decoders are programmed from the factory and the default address is 3.
- DCC locomotives will run on DC, however the decoder will not work as there's no signals being sent to it.
- It has been widely reported that trying to run a DCC loco on DC can result in extremely slower acceleration and/or absolutely no movement at all.

[JR_P]

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can offer some advice; I recently decided to start purchasing new locos as DCC fitted in advance of swapping over to DCC at some point ‘soon’.... my first DCC purchase was Peter Pan / Les Ross - lovely looking loco. So I put it on my DC test track - simple oval, using a Gaugemaster Combi controller.... no other locos or rolling stock on the track.... turn the power on and the lights come on, but no movement - am I doing anything wrong? The paperwork with the loco explicitly states it will work on DC as it is NMRA compliant.

so the question is; am I missing a trick, or is it a dud?

thanks in advance all :-)

[JeremiahBunyan]

Looking absolutely superb!!!

[railsquid]

My BR Blue one finally arrived (after a 5 year wait


Dapol Class 86 (86216) by Rail Squid, on Flickr


Dapol Class 86 (86216) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

Overall I'm very happy with this, in particular the blue looks convincing. Occasional uncoupling issues with Farish coaches, but that's nothing new...

I did place it in my locomotive cradle with the intent of a little light oiling, as recommended in the instruction, but blobs of grease were clearly visible on the gears so I omitted this step, hope it doesn't void the guarantee...

[JeremiahBunyan]

Ahh well, it is truly subjective. Sorry for the rant. Really wish I lived near a model shop.

[Joel Dapol]

We did actually go the bother of getting another body shell made up with a slightly darker colour and it looked wrong, so in the end we went with the original. This colour business is so hard to get right and so subjective if using photographs as a reference.

[JeremiahBunyan]

Well then I think I'll buy one if any remain once I can save up for it....If only I lived near a model shop and could see the model in the flesh. Studio photos are often over-exposed and so far that is all I've seen of it.

[Neil Dapol]

Thank you for your comment Jeremiah and i am glad that you have ordered the Caledonian sleeper 68. With reference to the Les Ross model, the gentleman who does our bespoke weathering (amongst other) who has an extreamly keen eye for colour has commented that the shade of blue used is extreamly accurate, sorry it was not to your liking.

[JeremiahBunyan]

Glad to see these have finally hit store shelves...

I initially wanted the Caledonian Sleeper one and Les Ross, but the shade of blue on Les Ross looks extremely light, so I'll have to reluctantly decline. Order placed for the Caledonian Sleeper one.

[Keith Ware]

Thanks Neil, order about to be placed!!