Dapol OO SECR Wainwright D Class

Kit: MX658N18; Rail Exclusive Baby Boomer 26X20X08-1W speaker OR StickyGasket 15x11mm speaker (NOT BOTH SPEAKERS!)

I have a soft spot for all things SECR, especially lined-green and brass-domed, so Dapol's Wainwright D is right up my alley! The model looks lovely, and is well thought out, with identical electrical mechanisms to Dapol's GWR Mogul in OO. Next18 DCC socket on a slide-out PCB in the boiler, provision for SugarCube speaker in there, or larger bass speaker in the tender, so should be a piece of cake to install.

Like the Mogul, the tender clips onto the loco with a 4-way electrical bar. We've had a few reports of this causing issues on some Moguls, but all of the models we've seen have worked well on this connector.

The boiler door pops off - a special tool is supplied with the model for doing this, but just as easy with a fingernail behind the hinge. Inside the boiler reveals the slide-in PCB with Next18 socket and clip-on for a SugarCube speaker (Sticky Gasket 15x11mm using the supplied box).

Next18 blanking plate removed, we simply plug in the MX658N18 sound decoder and insert the StickyGasket 15x11mm speaker into Dapol's enclosure, which clips onto the PCB.

The slide-in PCB is a very neat solution, and the sound levels are reasonable with this speaker, so it certainly provides a very simple option for sound.

As an alternative to the StickyGasket speaker in the boiler, wiring is provided for a larger speaker in the tender. Since the Zimo MX658N18 supports 8 ohm speakers, you cannot use both speakers, as they are joined in parallel and would result in 4 ohm - this would damage the decoder over time. We'd suggest just going with the tender speaker which offers much improved sound levels compared to the StickyGasket in the boiler.

A Rail Exclusives Baby Boomer is a simple fit in the tender, providing excellent sound. The provided wires in the tender need to be stripped and soldered to the speaker's terminals. We secure it in position with some double-sided tape. Width-ways, it is a perfect fit, and there is plenty of length available. This also means that the sound can easily escape through the base, so no need to drill any holes out. The larger Big Boomer (40x20x07mm) could potentially fit, but you have to file a little off the end of the speaker, as it is half a mm too long for the space and doesn't really offer much performance improvement over the 26mm speaker anyway.

So, overall, really easy DCC Sound installation and a beautiful model. Our example ran flawlessly, though the gearing was unusually low so we had to set the chuff rate CV#267 to around 42 on the Zimo to get 4 beats per revolution. Nice model - well done Dapol!

Please note that these guides are provided as useful resources for you, as-is. YouChoos cannot be held responsible for errors in the information, or for any damage caused to your models or equipment if you choose to follow any of the steps detailed here.