metijg

I'm having a very haphazard play with Tillig track at the moment, mainly because of their mixed gauge (HO with HOe) range. It's like all projects, started off with enthusiasm but then reality of time and space kicked in. The track is very cool though, quite different to the standard UK offerings. I've make a few observations in this blog: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2566-why-dcc-not/ I hope it's of use..

Amazing track plan! I saw this and had instant regret i didn't plan something similar. Looks like so much fun

Amazing, inspirational stuff!! Can I ask, did you scratch build the hopper, or is it available as a kit? thanks!

Just had a look at this thread. Wow! I thought i was being persistent that you take it to another level.. Will follow your work, it looks very thought provoking

I wanted to embed some of the narrow gauge rails in cobbles, but unusually for the internet i couldn't find a method which seemed to provide an effective end-result. The most common ways are either to use embossed sheet or modelling clay to fill between the sleepers. As far as i could see neither method provides a clean edge to the gap that the wheel flanges run in and often leave the sleepers visible, which breaks the illusion of a buried rail. Therefore, i wanted to add an additional rail next to the running rails to simulate the tram-like look and give a clean edge. Testing showed this to be impossible as the chairs block any close contact between the rails, so the gap is back and the sleepers are visible. I therefore tried the following.. Detached some sleepers and filed off the chairs Glued them to the board upside down to have a flat surface Super glued rail to them, using the normal sleepers as spacers to keep the gauge Destructively remove the normal sleepers to leave the rail glued to a flat sleeper Added a second rail in contact with the running rails Without a doubt this was the most patience testing modelling I've done, but the end results exceeded my expectations, visually recreating those tram-like rails. My only problem is to find the enthusiasm again to do the rest Final thought - Super Glue is the devils invention.

4 new points were added to the board - two mixed gauge points and two narrow gauge. The board is like a swan, it looks pretty calm on top, but all hell breaks loose underneath with a maze of multicolored wiring. So far the running reliability is good, but with the stay-alive in the loco's its hard to tell if it's down to my track and wiring or not...maybe i need a 'normal' loco for fault detection? The Tillig track has been interesting to use and the transition from standard gauge to mixed gauge to narrow gauge is something different that brings a lot of interest. The track plan is evolving as i put the pieces down and along the way the aim may have changed from an isolated test board to a building block for a small layout. In the meantime, i will try and find a way of completing a continuous circuit with temporary loops, at least for the narrow gauge, to allow some more running sessions. Lets see where it takes me.. The biggest challenge so far is fitting the Cobalt point motors, they are really nice pieces of kit, but the alignment is difficult and always takes a bit of jiggling.

Just saw this little snowplough loco in Les Diablerets station. I found it quirky and interesting, so sharing in case you do as well...!

As a proud owner of some Tillig track, but no layout plan i spent a moment deciding on the next step, which should be a simple, self-contained one to maintain some momentum and to get some more insights into the complexity of DCC. I plumped for installing a single HO point, which i would have to make from a kit and then mount on a small board where it could be controlled by a DCC driven point motor. The point was relatively simple to build mechanically with the rails sliding into position and some simple trial and error bending, however the real challenge came from the electrical connections which were a bit out of my league, so i resorted to soldering wires to the bottom of the rails. The complexity of locating the Cobalt IP digital motor was managed by following this tutorial from Chadwick and only required a small bit of rejigging once the holes were drilled; the wiring was very simple and worked first time. Not sure how this builds into a next step, but this was a satisfying one!

I got hold of some Tillig HO / HOe track and had a play around with it. First impression is that It's very different to the standard PECO / Hornby settrack i'm used to, but it looks great and has an amazing variety of points, especially the HO and HOe mix together. Also had three locos (Peckett, Rushton and Baldwin) tweaked by Olivia's trains and they also turned out to be stunning, especially as it's the first time I've really experienced the full potential of DCC. It's a first step to build some understanding of what's possible and decide on the direction to take. Here’s a little video to capture my thoughts of these novelties for posterity Cheers! Tim

Maybe a stupid question, but if a loco with a stay alive capacitor crosses an auto reverse controller does the world end? Does the charge stored in the capacitor Have a direction or can it still be discharged once the rail polarity has changed? thanks!

Hornby have just taken payment for the pre-order. I guess this means they are on the way?

Hello community, I've searched the forum and found only negative comments on Olivia's trains in regard to customer service and cost. Not to open that debate again, but is there another similar supplier who can provide the whole service in a one stop shop (DCC, sound, lights, cab crew, weathering etc..) which people can recommend? I'm going to move to DCC and would like to push the boat out on one or two locos to see what is the full capability of the system. Thanks for your help!

This is brilliant. I'm also using Peco 009 setrack with a Bachman Baldwin and find 100% reliable running difficult. Like you, I've wired up as much of the points as possible to avoid needing point-to-rail contact, which works to keep momentum going but it doesn't eliminate the problems you get if you stop a loco in the wrong place, frog especially. I'm inspired by this and everything else you have achieved. Thanks for sharing! Tim

I'm not sure if anyone is following this any more, but just in case i worked out some more detail for the sidings in the middle. I'm pretty reassured the whole thing will still fit in 3m x 0.8m, which is a dimension i will have to negotiate with the other occupants of the house!

Followed the link from your comment on my blog. I see what you mean! We have a lot of similarities, i like your track plan a lot, especially that you managed to get both a continuous run on the NG and a reversing loop on the SG which give a lot of space to your sidings. Will spend a bit of time looking at the rest of your posts!

Hi everyone, I'm living in Lausanne and have the pleasure of taking the Lausanne - Neuchatel - Neuchatel Serrières CFF trains every day and after 10 years i can attest to swiss trains reliability. I also regularly use the non-CFF narrow gauge trains to go to Blonay / Les Pleiades, Leysin, Les Diablerets, Gstaad and Champery and i'm a semi regular visitor to the steam museum in Chamby above Vevey. If anyone needs any local materials, maps, photos etc of anything near here then just let me know. Cheers Tim

This has been fermenting at the back of my mind! I realized that the shunting into the buildings was more of my priority than the tipping. Killing the NG to SG tipping removes the need for steep gradient changes and makes the whole thing less complicated. Also, i was following another thread which mentioned Tillig three rail track (NG and SG combined), which would be very, very cool and i'd love to integrate if possible. These shifts came to me at work, hence the quality of drawing has now dropped... In explanation, the top section is the same as before other being at the base height (maybe a touch up..) and trucks from the mine can still be reversed into the buildings. The SG is on the other side of the river, which is necessary to explain why the NG loop is needed, and there is an exchange siding across a low platform. The three rail track could be gratuitously used to provide the run around loop for the SG. The head shut for the NG would go off scene and would then provide an excuse to have a continuous run. To hide the entrance to the scenic break a bridge of some sort could be used? Although it could be quite small, maybe even a rough footbridge. The siding at the front doesn't really bring much other than scenic quality and could even be modelled as relatively disused. Finally, if tipping was still required, then it could be from a conveyor from the buildings to the SG. This also gives each gauge an independent mission, NG raw product for processing, SG the finished product which is more satisfying. Also i think the conveyor is harder to model, but maybe more reliable in the long run? Quite excited, hence the quick drawing during a meeting, but ready to have my bubble burst!

Yes to all of the above. The change of river location can open up the back space better and the mine entrance could be almost parallel to it. It will also make the loop make sense as it stays on the high ground for as long as possible. Definitely right to discard idea 3 as the gradients would have been impossible and the scene too busy I'm disappointed to lose the railway access to the buildings as this would give a lot of operational interest. Maybe I'm being too naïve about this though and trying to squeeze too much into too small a space? I'll try and find time to draw it up. Thanks!

So three possible ideas based on the discussion (thanks BTW..). I also moved up to the smaller radius NG points with no adverse impact on the board size. Idea 1 - The SG is moved to the bottom so that there is a single gradient flow from high at the back to low at the front. It gets complicated at the end of the bridge where the NG is at the same level as the road level, while the SG goes under. Also there needs to be a clever way of hiding the entrance of the NG to the scenic break. Dummy engine shed? While this fixes a lot of problems it is not a good use of the space in the middle. Not totally convinced Idea 2 - Same principle as before but the NG crosses the gap between the left hand curve and the bridge on a trestle bridge to not break the view too much. Again a clever way of entering the scenic divide is needed. There is also possibility of using some of the space at the front for scenic stuff. Still maintains the original concept but somewhat fixes the view Idea 3 - The tipping is part of the main mine area and the loop descends to allow the NG to reach the same height as the SG by going up and down the head shut. Fixes a lot of problems but creates a lot more, the gradients will be complex and can the line be justified at all? Idea 4 - Built on Idea 3, but loose the loop and just have clearly separated NG at the top and SG at the bottom. It would be simpler, smaller, but losing the continuous run would be a shame. Somehow there is no perfect solution..

Very agreed! However, I'm struggling to see a way to re-align everything without increasing board width? The working tipping makes me nervous, other than the famous 'End of the line', which is incredibly elegant, I've not seen any solutions that look easy. It will be fun to try though. p.s. Ticks are a problem in Switzerland. Little gits, they deserve to be in cool boxes!

That's a great picture, as you say there is a lot of scope for hills! They also had a lot of interesting structures which were used to evaporate the separation water which i think is the building at the top of the picture. However, i was hoping to avoid that and focus on dry rock salt production which would require more generic mechanical separation technology. I need to do some research into all of this though, maybe another visit next week.

I know! My fantasy local model would be Cossonay, just outside of Lausanne, It's a mainline station with local industry (a mill), sidings etc., then interesting topography with a funicular which if you stretch the artistic license could be made to link to the meter gauge MBC line which is on the high level. If you had unlimited resources then you'd also add in a fore-shorted Morges station which has a very interesting siding where SG trucks are put onto NG bogies to travel on the MBC line. The whole combination would tick a lot of cool boxes..

Yes the SG is lower than the NG and i agree it's not perfect, the lowest ground in the middle it doesn't work visually and is quite hard to explain. I was thinking the SG level would be an old river bed, possibly with a small brook parallel to the track going to the river, while the NG would be built up until it arrives back to the road level. Moving the SG to the bottom does feel right, but presumable it needs more width? Something i was trying to avoid. The rough trestles i like a lot, it would be very fun to model and could be included regardless of the solution

Close!! Switzerland - the Bex salt mines about 30 minutes from Lausanne, however it's total artistic license; the real world is much more interesting, there is a very narrow gauge tram that runs into the mine, then a meter gauge railway that runs to the mainline station, which serves as a terminus (Aigle) for 2 other meter gauge lines, one of which has a cogwheel. It would be pretty spectacular to model in some compressed form. Agreed on this, I was already thinking of having the front section scenic and going the full length of the board. I'll post an updated version later. Yes, the NG does go over the SG and stay high all the way round, that was a mistake.

It's true, code 75 is just an indulgence to try something new. I actually took the bullhead dimensions, with the big points, so this could be compromised. I'll have a look later. Thanks for your input