zilog

Hi, I'm new to railway modelling but experienced in 3d design/print. I'll ultimately be building a TT:120 layout, although am still waiting for stock/track availability before taking the plunge. In the meantime I'd like to try to produce some of my own wagons etc. I think these Tillig wheels will be suitable, can anyone confirm that please? https://www.goldenvalleyhobbies.com/tillig-08818-8-75-mm-metal-wheel-sets (they also do 8mm ones) What (off-the-shelf) couplers can I use? Would something from this range (appreciate they're N-gauge) be ok? https://anticsonline.uk/Category/Dapol-Easi-Shunt-Couplers_N1687 They're magnetic which seems to be an advantage? As I understand it, there's a standardised fixing (NEM pocket?) for couplings, so ultimately could I replace the couplings on Hornby TT models with these also? Thanks,

Got given a 00 starter set Christmas before last and, apart from setting up the usual basic starter oval & buying a few more bits of track and rolling stock here and there, haven't made much progress due to severe indecision over which direction to take. (The announcement of TT didn't help either as I wanted to see how that would pan out before committing too much to a 00 layout, that's a different topic entirely though!) Went to a local show recently though which spurred me on to do something so decided to do a very small layout to start just to a) get some techniques under my belt and b) actually get something started (and hopefully finished) My primary interests are modelling/building and electronics/automation rather than necessarily trains, not that I don't like them but I really don't know much about them or their operation but am interested in learning! Bit of digging online turned up CJF's Minories plan and specifically the variation on the yellow baseboard (6' x 2') which I can pretty much assemble with track I've already got (hence no interest at this stage in alternative track/points such as Peco although can see they're superior so don't need convincing of that 😃) Just need some advice really as to whether this layout is reasonable for a bit of "operating", and, what form that operating would actually take i.e. what moves etc would I be doing on a layout like this? I did wonder what was supposed to happen to the locos when they "left" the board via the top right, i.e. do people just tend to stop them, remove them by hand, or what? I did think that an auxiliary detachable or even foldable non-scenic fiddle yard (blue baseboard) could be used here? Also interested in some advice as to what to do & in what order modelling wise once track layout finalised. Is it worth making/buying a track bed? Painting the entire board (gray, for example?) prior to doing anything as it will mainly be an urban layout? I guess ballasting should be the first thing to do & hopefully won't take too long with a small layout! Thanks in advance.

No problem, that’s the sort of advice I’m looking for! This is the project I followed https://dcc-ex.com it’s actually really simple as these things go, and the documentation is pretty good (not perfect, but it’s all free so I’m not complaining!) you only need 2 things to get up and running - Arduino board (genuine Uno or Mega recommended for beginner, although a clone will work!) and a motor shield (clone is fine) plus wires and appropriate power supply/supplies. You can plug this into your laptop and control it with that. Optionally a Raspberry Pi which is a very small, cheap computer can be used instead of a laptop - although if you haven’t used one before there’s a little bit of a learning curve there. Happy to answer any specific questions!

Thanks. DCC was already on my radar as I randomly came across and read through the DCC++ documentation via an electronics hobby website a few years back. I actually had all the bits in my spares box to build a DIY DCC controller so managed to do that on Boxing Day while all the shops were shut! Have since converted the Flying Scotsman to DCC with a sound decoder but not the other 2 locos yet. The potential with this stuff is something I find really interesting! I like the idea of a mine as that gives potentially to have some kind of device to load cargo automatically. Yes, the run-around (had to google that as I didn't know what it was called!) probably is a bit short, that was a last-minute addition suggested by my dad who's a bit of a train buff (although he doesn't have any model railways) so I haven't given much thought to the logistics of it yet. The station building will probably be elevated though allowing the platform & track to continue right up to the edge of the baseboard.

Hi all, very new to the hobby (although did have a simple double-oval loop when I was a lad) and have recently been given the Hornby Flying Scotsman set and picked up a few additional sets of tracks for the trackmat, and a couple of extra locos. Been fun playing about with it but it's time to start creating a "proper" layout. To be honest I have no special interest in trains so my knowledge of prototypical operations is virtually non-existent! I'm not overly bothered about this aspect although some semblance towards realism would be nice, the priority is towards having interesting things to do with the layout... my other hobbies include electronics, automation & making things so I'm very interested in any overlap between those and this hobby! The prerequisites for the layout (for no particular reason) include: main continuous loop, double station platforms, some kind of bridge/flyover and some possibility for goods/shunting/manoeuvring etc - in as small an area as possible. (This isn't absolutely to do with lack of space, as the garage where this will be stored is quite large, but there's lot's of other stuff in there too and I think if I can keep it as small as possible that will give me the best chance of getting the layout "finished" i.e. all areas filled in with basic scenery, in a reasonable time-frame) I've got hold of a couple of CJ Freezer books as recommended and have been looking over them for the past few days & playing around with layout plans. Most of the smaller layouts seem to involve lots of R1 curves but I found by stretching the layout vertically from 4' to 5' I was able to have everything minimum R2 which I think will be fine (actually, I was also able to shrink the layout horizontally from 8' to 7' without making the curves any tighter!). So this is my provisional 7' x 5' layout based on SP10 from the "Small Layouts" book. I haven't quite worked out which bits of track will be what height yet to take into account the bridge, also I'm not sure what to do with the goods-shed area bottom right nor the points coming off to the left after the bridge - which will probably be on a hill - some kind of farm or other industry? Have no idea though what sort of arrangement of points/tracks etc would be beneficial for realism/interest in terms of shunting etc so would appreciate some input in this regard! Also have absolutely no idea about placement of signals etc. Any thoughts?