russellwar

hi all, some great info here, thanks to all. Am I right in thinking a TRSB in Swallow is yet to be produced by Hornby. any ideas what options are open, so far I only found a blue grey 3 car pack thanks Russell

Also been getting the ECoS set up. i love the fact I can load the icons to make it very easy for to find locos. Setting up a.m track plan was a little challenge but once you get the hang of it, it’s fairly logical

The main scenic boards seen looking towards the station. The industry sidings discussed here will be based on the Cobra building at Wakefield. I am now slowly working on checking the running of all the lines into the station. Came across some dodgy wiring today so this week will be trying to debug and tidy the last couple of boards wiring. The last photo looks out from the station. Platforms are numbered 1-6 (from the right in the photo). 1,4 & 5 will mainly handle dmus. The gap between 4 and 5 will be a disused middle road. I wanted to have the center road but unfortunately the baseboard joint offered no possibility to lay the point. there is also a short siding for a station pilot as I have a large selection of 08’s. This will be used in conjunction with platforms 5 & 6 that will also have prxeös traffic. Platforms 2 and 3 have been modelled to take a cross country HST set or even have a loco run round or a new loco attached.

The board that links front to back so to speak has 2 short sidings. I had planned to make a small shed or stabling point, however I have run into a problem that the curve into the sidings from the fiddle yard is too tight for a Bachmann 37. I need to check a couple of other locos but I think co-co arrangements will struggle. If this is the case then I will most probably create 2 sidings for DMU’s there is a y point on the main as this was the only way I could get access to all fiddleyard roads. I would want this on an exhibition layout but as it will stay at home it will be fine hidden by the scenic break

All points are powered by tortoise motors decoded mainly by DCC concepts ADS decoders

So with the last year causing some restrictions in working and a workload from the past 10 years being a little less, it thought I would finally get something done over the past year on the layout that was thought about here the boards are from an old n gauge project and I added to it to take the layout round the room. The first photos show the fiddle yard during testing. The main storage roads are Peco flexi track but I linked them to Tillig Elite with the peco multi code joiners.

Interesting. Definitely a hobby business by the way it was packed and send but good to hear he offered the landscape ones. I never thought of it and have already posted +ve feedback. I need to look at the sizing in advance if I reorder and then would probably message in advance to be on the safe side

Very fast delivery actually from Greece, so not sure where the China part came in on the Email description. A nice bundle of A4 sheets, my only criticism would life would have been easier if they were landscape and not portrait orientation. However the colouring is great, a nice mix and I think fairly close to what I need. I will make up some test walls in due course. Now the interesting and clever part (it took me a couple of days to realise as I never looked at the back.) It is textured as the photos shows. So when you look from the front side you get some feel rather than some photo papers that I dislike. However it wasn't until I turned it over that I realised the pattern doesn't match the bricks and is actually just wallpaper (which is what the ebay description says). The great thing is you turn it over and as the wall print is so 'busy' you cannot tell from any normal viewing distance and you really have to stare to notice. Thanks @Ben Alder for the recommendation. Will post some wall pics when I get that far.

i really like the look and qty to price it was a no brainer. Will see what turns Up.

This looks interesting, just a little concerned about a seller in Greece and supplier from China, but at that price it may be worth the risk shame there are no pics, as the brickwork below looks good. The only issue here are the stones are uniform in size unlike the brickwork in Sheffield. will see if I can find some bigger pics, thanks I always wonder what the photo quality will be like on a big scale, whether it then looks to artificial or flat thanks not heard of there, will look at their site

Hi everyone, I like the look of wills SSMP200 https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/model-railways/wills-brand5/wills-ssmp200.html in order to recreate retaining walls like Sheffield (Shown here) However the sheets are only 13cm long and I am going to be needing at least 12 foot plus I intend to use the same material for the platform sides. Does anyone have any other ideas, either embossed or photo realistic options. I tried slaters and evergreen but could put really see anything suitable. I am not up to date with all the options or companies in this space. thanks Russell

Got it thanks. The point is actually more or less off scene so I’ve made it too complicated. In reality thinking about it, the point isn’t there and the 3 aspect is the first one In a series of blocks after leaving the station so the signal doesn’t really need to be linked to the position of the point. If the point is set against it (which want be seen) then in theory it’s just a red as if there is a train in the next block.

Hi everyone i am looking for the easiest way to achieve this: I have a Y point that allows access from fiddleyard to the up and down lines. I wish to place a 3 aspect signal prior to entry to the fiddle yard. I am planning to purchase an AD2FX as there are only 2 points on this board. If the point is set against, signal should naturally show red. When open it should then change to green. As train passes it should then default to red and then run through amber back to green unless the point gets changed again. My questions: 1: I assume I would need some form of detector? 2: Can the ECoS programme this sequence or will it need an additional module. Thanks to any experts who can help make sense of this Russell

Has anyone done a comparison of the Backmann and Dapol one? I understand the Dapol one is a few years old now, any pros or cons?

The Cobra facility at Wakefield is for sure looking like at an inspiration but I also like the photo above from Cardiff. Having seen the different amount of traffic that seemed to go into Cobra, this could be an ideal solution. Was there a kit or ready made version of this building? i seem to recall seeing it somewhere, no idea why however? Pikestuff unit seems to be similar

Both my rails and Direct orders arrived here in Switzerland. Stunning models.

Thanks for the ideas so far, I will be looking at all of the above for inspiration

Hi everyone, I am trying to get some ideas for one or possible two siding near a large town terminus. my layout is set in South Yorkshire and I have space for a couple of sidings in the approach to the station ( probably 4-5 wagons max) and a loco. I am trying to get prototype inspirations where wagons may have been unloaded as this is the only easy way to get freight traffic onto the layout. I have got rid of the idea of oil and departmental sidings, so in reality I am either looking at speed link / distribution sector workings, metals or possibly cement. I have all the stock so all could be feasible, but if anyone could suggest locations to look at anywhere in the country that may offer one or 2 sidings in this type of location then I would be greatful for the audience. thanks Russell

Got some in the way from the US via eBay. Thanks

Thanks funny I looked last week and found none so either I searched wrong or they are all new. Brilliant thanks

Hi all Just wondered if anyone had any news on the exact position of supply for tortoise motors. I understand the current situation may have affected things, but the only info I can see on the website is that they were supposed to update it in 2019 and everyone seems to be out of stock. So I just wanted to check before I look at alternatives. I did find a few Smails available so may go for them if not Thanks Russell

May I ask what you did with the 141 cab fronts, did you narrow the Hornby cabs? what did you use for the roof as well? thanks Russell

Thanks for clearing that up. do you have a link to this please so I can look things up myself. Checked Wikipedia and the DEMU Wiki and could find that text so wondering if there is a decent online resource. Thanks Russell

Thank for that. Am I Right in thinking the only use for Railcom is showing the loco number and it’s position?

Came across this while looking for exactly this question. Have read the thread but am a little confused so wanted to list My exact questions if that’s OK. i have ECoS and Tortoise and need a suitable Decoders, which i see from this thread is either the NCE Switch 8 or DCC concepts — which seems to be about 3/4 the price of the First. 1: can the DCC concepts AD8fx also handle crossovers — is 2 tortoise at once? 2: I assume 8 outputs means 8 points and not 4 points in 2 directions...... ( sorry been away from DCC for a while and want to be sure) 3: if I use the panel setting on the ECoS will both show how the Point is set on the Panel Display? (Read something about Railcom but not sure if this is a concern here?) thanks Russell