Installing Windows XP on newer hardware

To install Windows XP on slightly modern hardware like I am (Ivy Bridge, SATA hard drives, etc), you will need to use a different program to that usually recommended; Rufus. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to create a bootable USB drive with the XP SP3 iso I was using.

Instead I had to use: https://www.winsetupfromusb.com/

And after mounting my XP iso, simply pointed it at the drive and let it do it's thing. After about 10 mins the flash drive was ready to use, complete with any drivers XP might need to recognise a non-IDE hard drive. Neat.

My next task was to find drivers, or their XP equivalents, wherever I could.

The Vostro 270s was released in 2012 with Windows 7, so Dell don't even supply XP drivers. It's a case of identifying the hardware, and then finding the XP drivers individually.

Fortunately it didn't take too long - 

That's intel chipset drivers for the B75 Express, Realtek GbE LAN drivers, Realtek Sound Drivers, Dell nVidia Quadro drivers, and the last are drivers for the Dell Wireless 1506 card included (sidenote, they don't actually work - if you try to connect to a wireless network, XP bluescreens, one to try and fix at some point).

Initially I installed some later nVidia drivers (321.01) but these gave me weird artifacts in FS2004. The Dell drivers are 270.71 from 2011 and work much better.

With these ready on a couple of USB sticks it was time to go; simply plug the XP SP3 USB drive in and let the install run as normal, it's just a case of using the Auto-detect option (1) in the GUB4DOS menu that appears before XP installation will start:

 

After that it's plain sailing just as we did 20 years ago.

  

Heatwave Diversions

Whilst it's been hot, I've not had much interest in model railways - but another hobby has taken hold!

From an early age, I was obsessed with another mode of transport - airplanes.

I remember going many times to the visitor centre at Manchester Airport growing up, watching planes arrive and depart. Classics like the PIA 747,  Delta 767s, BMI 737s and everything in between. I was obsessed.

Naturally when we first got a computer (a big beige box running Windows 95 gifted by my granddad), one of the first things I installed was Flight Simulator 95, and with some horrible late 90s Saitek joystick, I was hooked.

New versions came and went, and I remember one Christmas getting FS2000 in the big box with that amazing picture of Concorde on the front. Then FS2002, followed by FS2004 and later FSX.

Of course, MSFS 2020 and 2024 have come and gone. And I enjoyed them for a while, when I could stand the problems with mapping controls, internet connectivity, making my PC sound like a hoover - but they never quite captured the enjoyment that came with the earlier versions. Not to mention the cost of all the addons.

So I recently bid and won an auction for a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick. I was never lucky enough to have one when it was contemporary, I had made do with the inferior Precision Pro 2 for many years before upgrading to a Thrustmaster T16000. Sadly I recently discovered that was basically broken (throttle slider didn't work, no rudder).

After giving the FF2 a good clean up, tested that it all worked, I set about picking a new simulator. I tried MSFS 2020 and 2024 again but they were a pain in the ass. X-Plane 12 looks great these days, but again makes my PC go into overdrive even with FPS limited. So back to FSX I went initially, until all the problems with that came back to. Then I found my boxed copy of FS2004 again. 

Installing it on Windows 10 was surprisingly straight forward, and within minutes I was enjoying flying again.

Then I started installing some addons I had from decades past, which were less than happy with Windows 10.

So within a few days of that, I'd bought some more stuff from eBay to build a FS2004 Windows XP machine:

• Vostro 270s (i3-3220, 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD) - £25
• NVIDIA Quadro 600 (1GB DDR3) - £5
• New Dell USB keyboard + mouse - £10
• New Philips 19" 5:4 LCD - £15 

It later turned out that the Vostro actually had 8GB RAM and a 500GB HDD installed, but neither here nor there for these purposes. Most of the above has arrived, but I'm still waiting on the monitor to delivered - when it is and I've set everything up, I'll be reviewing some of the classic addons from the time that I own.

I may also do some reviews of my other XP-era games from my collection: C&C Generals, Rise of Nations, etc. I was big into strategy games around that time! 

Converting N Gauge Couplings to NEM

Here's how to convert N gauge couplings from Peco/Graham Farish/Dapol to NEM pockets using the Dapol conversion kit.

In my case I converted some Graham Farish wagons but the process is much the same for other brands. 

First you'll need the Dapol Conversion kit which includes the outer box, inner pocket and some shims to alter the height if it's too low. It also includes a tool with multiple uses, including height checking the pocket, wheel back to back, easishunt pin height, etc. You'll also need a length of track and the wagon you want to convert.

Step 1 - remove the couplings already on the loco. In my case these are the older spring loaded Farish mechanisms, which pry out of the wagon will relative ease. Mind the spring so it doesn't fling off into the abyss!

Next use a suitable knife or scalpel to remove any plastic nubs protruding from the underside of the wagon so that you're left with a flat surface to adher the outer coupling box to.

The photos above show the process of locating the coupler to the underside of the wagon. This is all covered in the instructions which come with the Dapol kit, but you simply line up the wagon with the tool until it won't move, then place the guide over the top against the buffers. Then you place a coupler (take care to make sure it orientated correctly, thin side up) in the space on the tool, apply glue to the top and the bottom of the wagon. Then place the wagon over the top and press down taking care to ensure it's a good fit and the glue starts to bond. It's recommended to use an epoxy glue but I stuck with cyanoacrylate which works fine. As you can see in the pictures above, there is a difference in height which meant the farish wagons ride up to go over the coupling box. At first I thought this would present an issue, but as you can see below, it matches the height of the newer NEM-coupling fitted Farish vent fine.

Here's the final result before fitting the couplers - 

Three down... 20 to go!
 

 

Peco Plan 2: BR Branch Line Progress Update May 2026

A quick update for the bank holiday weekend - 

The wagons and 3d printed loads I mentioned in the last post arrived to add some more variety:

They're nicely made and can be easily swapped between wagons. You can also see another new addition above - a Sonic Models 56xx.

Unfortunately this arrived with some damage, which the seller was quick to part-refund to account for, but in addition I also found it had a slightly split gear. Sam at Sonic Models was quick to reply but unfortunately they don't have any spares for these now. So I've glued it with some AC and it seems to be holding for now. We'll see how it goes.

I've also decided I need some more magnets for the easishunt couplings - one in the fiddleyard, and one here in the runaround -

This will just make operations easier in the long term I think for shunting wagons back into the two sidings.

Otherwise that's it for now - I have a list of NEM pockets and couplings I need to buy to convert the rest of my rolling stock so that's my job for the rest of May I think whilst the weather is improving. 

Peco Plan 2: BR Branch Line Progress Update April 2026

It's been a while since I last posted - but some more progress has been made, albeit not as much as I'd have liked.

 

 

First I replaced the cheap 12V power supply with a Gaugemaster WM1 - this is a 16V AC supply which splits into AC and DC feeds which powers the blocksignalling CDU nicely!

I then replaced the PWM controller entirely as I wasn't happy with the slow speed performance and didn't want to faff about adding in diodes etc to try and improve it. I've since obtained a handheld AGW-built Graham Farish controller to replace the W in the picture above (which lives on my shelf OO layout).

In the above I have fitted the magnets for the Dapol Easi-shunt couplings... so you know what's coming next.

Fitting them to all the rolling stock of course - of which I have ordered a few more pieces. I decided I needed some plank wagons, so I have a 3, 5 and 7 plank coming in BR grey with some 3D printed loads to add variety. I've also ordered an insulted van and a conflat.

 I'll need to order some more easi-shunt couplings to say the least! And Dapol conversions packs to replace the Peco and GF coupling pockets. 

 

Peco Plan 2: BR Branch Line More DC Wiring

After a couple of weeks away on holiday, today I completed the wiring of the point motors and Peco PL26 switches -

 

This was straight forward but a bit fiddly. However, despite adding the CDU, I then found when testing that there wasn't enough oomph being delivered to throw the point motors far enough. At first I thought the CDU wasn't powerful enough, but having tested instead with a Gaugemaster 16V AC supply, it worked perfectly. So, my 12V DC PSU clearly isn't enough.

That leaves a few options -

• Replace the DC supply with something higher voltage - however this would then require some resistors to limit the supply to the track as 16-18V DC would too much for N gauge.
• Replace the supply with a Gaugemaster WM1 - this seems like the best choice as it provides 12V DC still (0.75a) AND 16V AC concurrently, much like the typical train controller (Gaugemaster Combi etc). It would be relatively simple to swap out.

I think I'm going with the second option.

My next task is to glue down the track securely as it's still loose in a few places and undulating in height. 

Peco Plan 2: BR Branch Line DC Wiring

Today I made a start on the wiring - after getting the track down with the Peco PL10 motors attached - 

I use some 3D printed covers I got off eBay to hide the massive holes that this method creates - I could've gone with Seep motors or similar and not had to make massive rectangular holes but I already had these PL10s from my old Ffarquhar layout. 
 

Here are the components I'll be using -

• PSU - 12v 2amp adapter
• 12v PWM speed controller from eBay - I've been through a few of these and this model delivered the best results, although would still benefit from a couple of diodes on the output to improve the slow speed control
• Rotary reversing switch 
• Couple of 12v LEDs - amber to show power is connected, and red when power is being delivered to the track
• Peco PL26 passing contact switches in a PL27 switch bank - two red levers will move pairs of points, the rest are black for single points

I've also ordered a small CDU which I hope I can use with the same power supply to deliver a bit of extra oomph and reliability.

First I located and installed the fixed components - speed, direction and power with the two LEDs in situ. The bank of point switches will sit on top neatly.

 

Wiring is fairly simple, just two wires after the PWM and rotary switch using chocolate block connectors to split it to the 3 track feeds. I'm waiting until the CDU arrives before I wire the points up.

But otherwise it's all tested and working.