ColinK

Many thanks for your post, it was the Cambrian axle units that got me to try the etched brass routes - the Cambrian ones snapped. Now the dust has settled I’m glad I tried, I’ll have another go sometime as I gave a second kit. You are correct, the units reallly need to be fitted as part of the build as there are bumps under the floor (which I did manage to remove) and the solebars have to be placed further apart than designed. The etched brass parts are amazing. I’m starting to wonder if my 25W soldering iron needs replacing; I was helping a friend wire his layout and it was struggling to solder the wires together - they were heavier wires than I would use though.

Fascinating thread, many thanks for all the posts. Has get me a little annoyed though - had I known these locos were still working while I was in my youth, I could have gone and seen some of them.

Looks great, well done.

Would HO work? 3.5 mm to the foot with 12mm gauge track. Track, loco mechanisms, buildings and people readily available.

Surprisingly I did. Our club chairman set up a challenge for members to build a small diorama to exhibit at our annual exhibition. There were 10 entries. A brilliant idea as it got several people building something for the first time. I cheated a bit as I built a two sided working micro layout in 009.

One of my friends has background sounds on his layout. The actual sounds are downloaded free off the internet (just search for the sounds you want). Drop them into Audacity - free sound editing software (I put together my radio shows with Audacity) where you can alter the volume of individual clips, join tracks together etc. Export the Audacity file as a MP3 file, download it to a old mobile phone - play the sound from the phone. All the best for 2024.

Reminds me of this song.

When the Heljan 104 arrives I will have everything I need for my layouts.

Many thanks Brian. Given that the diode board will be very difficult to access once the layout is finished, I would rather go with the higher rated diodes to be on the safe side.

Fascinating stuff about the railways on the little islands, many thanks for posting it. Did you see any of the narrow gauge ‘user worked’ line to some of the even smaller islands?

Thanks, excellent range of locos and stock.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-india-67843833

Thanks Brian, is there a particular diode number I should use that has a 5 amp rating eg 1Nxxx?

I’ve just been researching almost the same problem, but for points that are DC controlled using stud and probe control. There is info on solving this for DCC on the DCC Concepts website. Also have a look at Brian Lambert’s website as there are solutions for this on there too (I only looked at the DC solutions).

Brilliant, I never expected to see a working model of it. For the remounting, perhaps ypu could put a flange on the top of the ramps, a bit like one of those plastic rerailling ramps, with the flange getting narrower and narrower until the pivot lines up exactly.

Many thanks for your replies. The first suggestion seemed to be easy, just add an accessory switch onto one point motor, so the second one could not be changed if the first set of blades were in the wrong position. But quite by chance I discovered detailed instructions for the diode method on Brian-Lambert’s website. I’m tempted to try the diode method first as it doesn’t need any physical switches. Only concern is that it uses 1N5401 diodes which have a maximum current of 3 amps. Wonder if diodes with a 5 amp rating would be better? No idea what those diodes would be though.

Hi, one of my friends has asked me to help him with the wiring on his layout. While track power is DCC, points control is by Peco solenids powered by 16v AC using a probe and stud. I know how to modify and wire up the normal 2 way electrofrog points. When I come to the symetrical three way points, I think I know how to wire the actual frogs, but do I need to modify the points by cutting links between the rails and adding jumpers? To avoid damaging the points in use, ideally the two point motors would be switched in the correct order so that the one furthest from the toe end can only change when the first set of blades are facing the correct direction. There is a very useful explaination on the DCC Concepts website on how to achieve that on a asymetrical three way point using DCC control, but is there a way of doing this when the points are controlled by 16v AC using a probe and stud? Thanks PS the layout is dual 16.5 and 12mm gauge including a short section of dual gauge track, but we’ll come to that in a few months time.

I’ve got a tube of liquid insulation, apply it just like glue. Bought at a model railway show.

December has been a bad month, my Dad ill, wife ill, I'm ill. Gutted to miss performing on stage with the band. Best wishes for 2024.

Ok thanks.

Can I ask what colour paint you used for the Weimar crane?

Still not got any.

Looks brilliant. At the rate you are turning out excellent models you could be nominated for ‘manufacturer of the year’ award.

Looks nice in blue, just Tcut the NCB off and put a double arrow in its place.

Yes you can find out about an individual train, but Northern used to list all the cancellations for each line.