Proposed plan.

    Finally getting some traction on the build and have been playing around with how to fit the stations from Glenorchy to Murtoa, including a couple of branch line stations, one from Lubeck and one from Murtoa. The current idea is Marnoo on the Bolangum branch and Beulah, or Sheephills or Minyip as the location on the Patchewollock line. The size is ~10.5 metres by 7.35 metres.

Trainorama S Class Decoder Install and Gear Change.

    Trainorama released the first models of the Victorian Railways and  V/Line S class locomotives back in November 2009, along with a Freight Australia liveried unit in the December of the same year. Trainorama do not offer DCC or sound in their models but they are fitted with a board and an 8 pin socket, with later runs able to except 21 pin decoders. The model numbers from observations were:

    S 300, S 301, S 303, S 306, S 311, S 312, S 313, S 315 and S 317 in VR blue and yellow.

    S 309 and S 310 in V/Line.

    S 303 in Freight Australia.

    Of which I had ordered S 301 and S 315 in VR blue and yellow and S 309 and S 310 in V/Line.

    Trainorama then finally released a second run in 2017 with new numbers.

    S 304, S 305 and S 313 in VR blue and yellow and S 308 and S 312 in V/Line, with these five units on the order forms. Once the models arrived, extra units S 300, S 302 and S 311 were available in West Coast Railway livery and S 306 and S 317 in V/Line were also available online.

    I did not purchase any models from the second run.

    Trainorama then announced another re-run which would be the third, due the end of 2022, with S 300, S 302, S 307, S 308, S 309, S 314 and S 316 in VR blue and yellow, S 310, S 313 and S317 in the V/Line livery and S 301 in Freight Australia livery, S 306 in Pacific National livery and S 311 in CFCLA livery. This was then expanded to include S 300 in CFCLA livery, S 317 SSR yellow and grey livery and also S 317 in SSR yellow and black livery. The original pre-order price was $270 each, this has now increased to $335 per loco. These units are now due 2026, probably towards the middle of the year. I have preordered seven models.

    As these units are not DCC or sound equipped I added an ESU LokSound V5 58420 model decoder with an eight pin plug. 

    The above image shows S 301 with the body shell removed and the original speakers at each end, eight pin dummy board and the two magnetic read switches to control the headlights.

    The eight pin dummy plug is removed and the decoder hardwired into the model, A DCCSound pair of speakers replaced the originally fitted speakers and then an S class sound project from DCCSound was downloaded to the decoder along with my usual tweaks to sound and bass levels and functional light outputs.

    I kept the original LEDs front and rear and installed a 2.2kOhm resister is series with each light output and also fitted a small piece of heat shrink to each LED to reduce the amount of light bleed.

    The above image shows the heat shrink applied to the LEDs, the in-series resistor, aftermarket speakers, the ESU LokSound decoder and the ESU power pack. The original board has had most of the large components flush cut off the board to allow the decoder and power pack to be installed on top. I did refit the drivers seats after removing the crew from them, but didn't take a photo...

    All up with the decoder, speakers, sound file and power pack the cost was $320.85 on top of the original purchase price of the Trainorama S class S 301 model of $295.00. 

    Upon testing of the model it was noticed that the unit had the infamous split gears on the drive axles, so these were subsequently replaced as well and then the model run in on the rolling road.

Picture shows the split shafts of the gears.

Below is a video showing the binding action of the split axles as they run before replacement.

Enjoy!

Auscision's First Run V/Line N Class Decoder Install.

    It has been a bit of time between posts, account problems and some health recovery has seen several work fronts come to a stand, which are only now starting to get back into seeing some action.

    The V/Line N class HO scale model was released by Auscision back in late 2010 with a pre-delivery price of $275 and an after delivery price of $295. A re-run is due very soon which also now includes built in sound, with the pre-order for DC still at $295 and DCC sound at $425 and includes a couple of extra liveries.

    Back in 2010 the models were only 'DCC Ready' with a motherboard and an 8 pin socket for a decoder to be installed, but the markers were operated with the headlights.

    

    I chose to install an ESU LokSound V5 58420 decoder in both my conversions along with the DCCSound sound project file and some DCCSound speakers. I also installed a homemade keep alive which slides in between the radiator grills inside the hood body. Hard wiring was chosen to allow the separation of the marker lights from the headlights.

    DCCSound have an easy to follow guide on the install process which can be found on their webpage at: https://www.dccsound.com/post/n-class-by-auscision

    First up, which such an old, never opened model, the poor quality plastic wrap had deteriorated quite badly and was also stuck to the plastic body of the models in several spots.

The poor quality plastic film which the model comes wrapped in, it has been cocooned in this for nearly 15 years.

    Here the warp has stuck to the hood around the exhaust outlet and needs a bit of effort to release it.

    

On one model it also stuck to both sides of the fuel tank, I am still mucking around trying to remove it.

    With the body removed and the cabs now free, the motherboard is removed, I also removed both crew from each cab, and the wiring replaced on the bogie pickups and decoder wired direct to the motor.

    Also the keep alive series connected super caps were slid into the hood with the radiator grill panels providing some support.

    The green and red wires, in the red rectangle, were for the headlight switch and will be used to switch the keep alive on and off to allow programming via a programming track. The DCCSound speaker is also installed at the No.1 end.

    Bogie stripped down to allow the replacement of the track pickup wires to run back to the decoder.

    Above image shows No. 1 end cab refitted and lighting now wired across the top of the speaker  which is wired 'in phase' with the decoder sitting on top of the motor plate. The green and red headlight switch wires are used to switch the keep alive which is soldered onto the uncovered pads on the top left of the decoder. The No. 2 end was completed in a similar fashion.

    My two first run N class units are now equipped to operate with the newer additions to the N class roster when the re-run models arrive, some time in October 2025.