Tag: Class 37

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Model Railway YouTube Community Group Coach Tour 2018

Mark Chapman over at Galgorm Hall OO Gauge Model Railway, in partnership with the Model Railway YouTube Community Group on Facebook, has organised a special coach tour of model railway layouts across the British Isles (and a wee bit further afield too) for summer 2018.

We were delighted for Strathpeffer Junction to be one of the first stops on the tour and the coach spent a week here, undergoing a little work at Fodderty TMD and having a quick run on the emerging layout. We’ve lots of footage to get through and edit down into a video, but we also took some photos too…

The coach has now headed off down the Highland Mainline, hauled by Class 37 An Comunn Gàidhealach, in the direction of Kirkton Road Junction in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland.

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TCS 21 Pin DCC Breakout Adaptor

We published a video in January 2018 describing how to convert an 8-pin Hornby TTS decoder for use in a 21-pin chassis.

In that video, we used a LaisDCC 21 to 8-pin adaptor, customised by removing the 8-pin socket, to allow the decoder to be plugged into a Bachmann Class 47.

While that method is still totally valid and remains the cheapest option (as of today’s prices), we have subsequently discovered a TCS-brand 21-pin breakout board which can be used for the same purpose.

These TCS adaptors are more expensive than the method outlined in our earlier video, but easier to use and require no real preparation. They only come in packs of five, however, and at about £20 per pack, if you only need one, they’re pricey.

We’ll probably do a quick video follow up in due course as we have another TTS chip to convert, but for the time being, as we’ve yet to find any instructions online, here’s a pin-out wiring diagram for the TCS 21-pin adaptor…

21 Pin DCC Breakout Adaptor Pinout Wiring Diagram