Dapol O Gauge Class 122 DMU - DCC lights and (some) progress

This weekend I finally managed to set up the DCC test track to get the Dapol Class 122 DMU ready for running on the main layout. The O gauge Dapol class 122 was incorrectly hard wired in the factory, meaning that the DCC sound chips were programmed using a different wiring layout to the DMU units. The upshot of all this, was my internal lights were not working, nor were the destination blind lights. All in all, very disappointing.

Destination and interior lights working. Note the bespoke destination blind.

I had fitted my DMU unit with a Howes DCC sound chip. After several weeks of trying to work out what to do, I phoned Howes and was put through to speak with Bryan, their DCC sound specialist. He was a top bloke and gave me some CVs to change. 

The list for the DCC chip I installed was:

• CV31 = change to 16 (already was that value)
• CV32 = change to 9
• CV385 = change to 64

By making these changes the internal lights now work on F19 and the destination blinds work on directional lights at one end. However, the destination blinds and the directional lights at the other end are still not working automatically in the direction of travel. So another email to Bryan has transpired to try to finish off this programming. Hopefully, not too long until this project is finally finished off.

The interior lights ablaze! The contrast to the slightly weathered finish show up well in this shot.

This photograph was taken using a digital SLR - what a difference to the phone shots above! I am looking forward to the DMU running into the platform in the dark on the layout.

Which brings me to next weekend. Next weekend I will finally have the time to set up the layout. There are a long list of tasks to do, including running some trains but also installing various details on the layout such as some signs, people, benches, etc. I also intend to sort out the quay front water at the same time, alongside installing some buildings. So hopefully plenty of progress to follow over the next couple of weeks.

O Gauge GWR Toad Brake Van

Over the last few weeks I have managed to finish off the build on a GWR Toad brake van. This brake van is destined for the engineers fleet at Kimington Quay and will be finished in the drab olive green engineers livery. There has been a lot of work pressure recently that have left precious little time for modelling, so this build seems to have taken an age. The model is constructed from the Parkside kit and whilst I am a big fan of the Parkside range, this was one of the trickier wagons to get square when building.

Finished Toad brake van. Note the shortened handrails on this side.

Other side of the toad, with the standard handrails.

The kit went together reasonably well, after a bit of trial and error to get the body to sit squarely on the chassis. The handrails were a bit of a fiddle and the close up photographs show the handrails to be somewhat uneven across the body. I am not too worried about this, as this model will show the brake van at the ends of its working life, after taking a fair few knocks and scrapes, etc. One of the sides has the hand rails modified and shortened, which was inspired some photographs of toad vans found on the web in the 1970s and 1980s. There is also one join on the handrails that the close up photographs highlight as not great - so I will attempt to reset this later on this afternoon. The wagon will then get a wash and head into the boxes for painting. At this stage, the roof is not fixed, as I like to paint the body / interior and roof separately, before glazing and final assembly.

I am looking forward to getting some paint on this model in the coming weeks.

So another wagon, heading for the growing engineers fleet. This is one of several engineers wagons that I am planning for the layout. I also have a Heljan PMV van in olive green to dismantle and head into the paint boxes at the same time as the GWR toad and the Slaters BY van that is currently being constructed will also end up in olive green, although this van has a way to go on the build. Hopefully more to follow soon, as I am planning a few more weekends where I can focus on modelling and even get the layout set up!