Over the years I have spent a lot of time cleaning wheels and track. Carefully designing multi wheel pickups with exotic contacts. I do get good running but I have to keep on top of it, never found any quick solutions to it all.

I have also tried dcc and I just didn’t get on with it. Sure, I made it all work, the electronics is fairly straightforward. My issue was that I ended up watching the controller not the trains, all the button pressing to make the right light come on and remembering what it all was with which loco. Nor is it cheap, and it still has the track cleaning and pickup issues.

The answer is of course to go battery. I did it a long time ago for a friend, installed rc control in some narrow gauge stuff which ran on O track. Acoms 27 Mhz and a small lead acid battery. History now, no idea what happened to it all.

I have been very impressed by the rc models of Corbs, Giles et al. So last year when I was thinking about 1/50th I came across a 4 channel rc combo on ebay for 23 quid, brand new, not a bid thing. Bought one. I shop in Lidl, a while back they had packs of 4 AA NiMH batteries for 3 quid. Bought some.

Now I know there are sophisticated rc systems for model railways, and clever Lipo batteries to power it all. But let’s see what I can do with some cheap stuff.

The combo. It is kinda 4 channel. 1 and 2 are truly proportional, range, direction and limits can be set and it stores them. Ch 3 is a toggle, ch 4 is just a momentary pushbutton. Both switch from about 1.2 mS to 1.8 mS at the rx.

The control system. Two bits of vero, which can fold back to back. Ch1 is speed, Ch 2 is direction. Ch3 and 4 I have ideas about later.

So there it is in situ. Still needs a bit of tidying, but it gives excellent speed control, proper forward/reverse control and switches the lights. I’ll upload a circuit if anyone is interested.

As for the controller. I was very pleased with the simple way it came apart. The input potentiometers have been replaced with a  forward/off/reverse master handle and the power one with a better pot.  Interlocked so that power cannot be applied in the off position. A small wooden box some drills came in gave plenty of space for a rather nice control desk.

Works fine at 15 m, any further and I would fall out of the window into the back lane.