[Edwin]

QUOTE (smallman28 @ 9 Jul 2008, 07:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I dont know about the Farish version but the Dapol 66 I had had a small switch on the bottom so that you could change between the day and night setting.
Not sure which way is which but something like top light and left light was daytime and if you switched it to night you would get top light and right light.

I believe the above only applied to the original Dapol 66 (the non-DCC-friendly version). Don't think the low emission ones still have this.

As to the Farish, they have provided a light guide in the body for the third white light but the PCB (just behind the cab interior moulding) does not have the necessary LED. Someone with the facility to make and etch small funny-shaped PCBs could probably sort this quite easily - of course this would illuminate the second headlight not the marker light. I'd quite like to model the latest version of the lighting where the prototype has two red/white LED clusters which serve as both tail and marker lights, but as far as I'm aware the bicolour LEDs are not available small enough so some surgery would be needed.

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (upnick @ 9 Jul 2008, 19:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I was reliably informed the switch had been taken off the dapol locos to prevent problems with the dcc operations of the 66, shame really.

*** EDWIN *** have you thought of using plasticard painted matt black to box in LED's to lessen the light from them if space allows in the loco or i use heatshrink the right size to block in the light and concentrate it to the direction i need also painting the rear of the led black again to stop any light straying into the cab area.

I did some experiments with black Plastikard in a Turbostar a couple of years back, but never had the time to get it working properly.

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (harkins77 @ 10 Jul 2008, 09:45) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>OK thanks for the replies guys and Edwin I do apologise you are right about the Farish one I noticed that when I had a chance to run my 66952 and noticed there was a very dim light on the right hand side of the loco.

No apology needed - I must run mine in the dark to see if they also do this, as a dim light on the other side is exactly what I am looking for to represent the marker light that should be lit opposite the headlight. Mind you if it's only visible in the dark it's not much use! I wonder if glueing a fibre optic to the PCB would channel a bit more light over to the other side?

QUOTE (harkins77 @ 10 Jul 2008, 09:45) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>In the 66952 is a loco I got from Chris at Chuffers for a Christmas present last year and he also chipped it with a hornby 4 function decoder so does that mean I can turn the back lights off on that one independantly of the front lights being on then? Or will the hornby chip which is working fine in the loco not be able to handle it.

If you take the body off you can see five wires between the main PCB and each lighting unit. If you cut each wire E where it joins the main PCB and connect the loose wires to your two spare function outputs then you have independent tail lights. You will need a bit of shrink wrap to insulate the soldered joints and you may need to alter your decoder CVs to assign them to the correct function buttons. As someone previously suggested, I can now confirm that this mod leaves the series resistor in circuit so you don't even need to find space for two extra resistors.

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (Martin71 @ 10 Jul 2008, 15:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi

Just a question on lighting on English diesel loco's. Is there a set of rules that they must comply with for day and night. I have noticed that the seem to differ and no set format is followed.

The 66 mentioned here what would be the correct lighting for it? Would it run 1 big 1 small during the day and night 2 big 2 small.

Just interested as I have seen so many different setups.

Confused

m

It used to be in the Group Standards but I've just looked and it doesn't seem to be there any more. I think I heard something about the relevant standard changing.

In summary locos run with one main headlight lit - recent ones carry one each side and although they look the same one is adjusted for day and one for night. I think if one headlight fails the other can be used in an emergency. If the lit headlight is to one side then the smaller "marker light" on the opposite side must also be lit, if it is in the middle then marker lights both sides must be lit. All trains since about 1994 also have a third white light centrally above the cab windows, which is always lit when at the front of the train.

All the above applies to the front of the train only. The rear of the train must carry at least one lit red tail lamp - locos, multiple units and most surviving hauled coaches have two (non-flashing), but can continue in service if one of them fails. Everything also has a lamp bracket, which carries a portable flashing tail lamp on freight trains or any other train where the built-in lights are not in use, and occasionally carries a portable headlight (most often on main line steam locomotives). All these lights must be removed or extinguished on any vehicle end which is not the end of the train (hence loco tail lights should not be lit when hauling a train). When shunting, marker and tail lights are often lit together on both ends of a loco.

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (harkins77 @ 11 Jul 2008, 13:39) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Martin with regards to the rear red portable lamps I have seen some on ebay in N gauge but they are not lit up. Me and Upnick were thinking of possibly ways of being able to light up a bulb in the lamp and make it flash and the only way of doing it in N gauge would be to fit the lamp to the back of a coach/wagon and then put pickups on the wagons wheels that feeds chip that would be hidden somewhere in the rolling stock so that you can program the cv settings on the chip so that the light has a flashing effect by utilising one of the strobe effects/settings.

Another of my incomplete projects does just that.