Solli

The bit in red is intended to be a bit of a runaround, but only for 1 or 2 wagons at a time. The reason I put it there is because when I was mentally attaching milk (or similar tail traffic from the general goods/dock siding or dairy siding), with coaches sat in the station/runaround, I couldn't figure out a shunting move to get the tank into the dairy. I guess that in reality they would use a horse or something to complete the move, but pending the release of the working 00 gauge horse, its going to involve too much pushing by hand really. I'm happy with that as a compromise as its a move I want to be able to do quite readily.

Lots of food for thought there! Those links look like good inspiration for the main junction area, and I'm intending to pop to the local model shop today. They have a library of books so I will see what they have there for inspiration before I look online (help the local shops, particularly given the hard year they've had!). Rob D2, the reason I've placed the sidings where I have is because I like the look of crossovers and double slips! I have a mental image of the final result where the branch runs along the side of a slope. In my mind, the sidings would have been placed on a plateau, and are naturally restricted to being where they are. In the backstory that I am just starting to form, the sidings started out with the 3 on the left side, but they built more on the right when traffic increased (or the other way round, I havent yet decided), and had to build them in slightly awkward space as they couldn't build them where they wanted to. The sloped terrain also explains (in my mind) the reason that the mainline is running alongside, slightly higher but not connecting (until further around). Based on the comments I've received on here, I've developed the plan through some further iterations, and I'm a lot happy with the results. The mainline and approach line locations are approximate, but the slightly curvier lines look a lot better than the straight lines. I may also slightly curve the station and some of the sidings, but I'll work on that when I'm laying them. I'll use topography to justify the curves. I've also swapped out the small points for medium ones, except for the Y that splits the dairy and general goods/dock (I haven't settled on the purpose of this one yet), as Peco don't seem to do one. What I think I'll do now is get some track, lay it out on a board and see what it looks like for real. It shouldn't be money wasted if I make changes, as any track not used will almost certainly be used elsewhere. Then I should be able to think about baseboards. At the moment I'm thinking open frame should help get away from the flat earth of train sets but that's for after a track plan is pretty much finalised. Cheers, Olli.

Thanks for all the replies! I will have to have a go at changing the points over for medium ones. The original reason to use small ones was an attempt (based on no knowledge whatsoever) to help give the feel of a smaller line but I don't think it'll make much difference in that sense if the Small are too small. You are correct Joseph_Pestell, its a Welsh name. It's taken from Eglwysilan Common which is near Pontypridd in South Wales. Its so out of the way I'd been living in the area for 7 years before I stumbled upon it. At the moment, I haven't given too much thought to the region and the name is just a name which sounded nice... That said, I'm always drawn to a Western Region/GWR layout, so the name may be my subconscious telling me what I want. The alternative is somewhere in the Westcountry, where I grew up. The reason I have tried to keep the BLT part smallish is that I am conscious to have the train approaching the BLT run though some scenery. This said I drew up the plan without setting a length constraint to see what size would come naturally. Whilst playing with medium points, I'll have a go at bending the mainline and branch line approach to make them more wiggly (technical term). In my minds eye, I feel like having the lines stepped up on slope (think lines clinging to the side of a hill/valley) would look nice, and give a reason for the mainline to be higher up than the branch, so some undulations in that could give reason for the curves. This has certainly given me some food for thought, and some direction to my fettling of the plan. I may even get to the point of being able to source some track, and see how it looks in the flesh by the weekend! Thanks again for the help and advice. Cheers, Olli.

Hi All! I have been a somewhat silent follower of this forum for a while and have been in awe of the quality of the modelling, and helpfulness of the users on this forum. It now seems to be time for me to start my own topic, with the planning of my own layout (at long last!). Following a recent house move, I have acquired the (almost) complete run on the 22'x11' garage. Having not had a layout since I had a Hornby Trackmat style roundy-roundy in my parents conservatory as a kid, I would class myself a complete novice in layout building etc. I have given the layout the working title of Eglwysilan Junction, the name taken from a nearby common which never had any railways, but I think just sounds nice, though this may change dependant on if I think of anything better. The junction bit comes from the basic plan that I have developed; consisting of a large 2 (or more) roundy-roundy, with a station along one edge able to take a 7/8 coach train. This is intended to be broken up by having one end covered, to make it appear that services run into a tunnel and into the rest of the world. The station will also function as a junction to a branch line. This Branch line will run towards the tunnel but will branch off before that to continue around to the other side of the board (uncovered) and terminate in a small station and goods yard. ideally I'd like a small dock here to give the branch a purpose, but I'm finding it hard to not make it look contrived. The Mainline will be the datum, with the BLT sitting a few inches lower. I am planning it that way as its much more likely that a short branch service will have less issues on a gradient than a longer mainline service. Given my novice status, and the scale of the project, I've decided to take the project on in stages, each focusing on a section of the plan. This way I will get some sense of progress, not need to exhaust funds in one go, learn techniques and have somewhere to "test" my stock when the mood takes me . I've had a think about where I want to start, and feel like the branch terminus would be the best place. A few conventions that I have set already are: Peco Code 100 track (I have an amount of vintage stock I wish to run) Large radius points on the mainline, with medium or small radius points on the branch DCC control (though points and accessories won't be DCC, probably controlled through a mimic panel or something like that. Era should be BR in the 50's and 60's, though I will be running out of era sometimes when the mood takes me. Now I've rambled away long enough about the background (which probably as clear as mud now...), onto the main reason I've actually gotten around to creating a topic. I have started by planning the track layout of the terminus, but am struggling to get something I'm really happy with. I think this is largely down to the disparity of me wanting lots of track to allow plenty of operations for "testing", and the art of simplicity that seems to be a common theme of all the great layouts on here (and an art I have yet to master). This is what I have been able to come up with so far (assuming it attaches correctly). The 2 red lines are a placeholder for the double track mainline that will form the roundy-roundy element of the layout. For the section, I intend to have the 2 lines sat on an embankment. I may connect them up as a programming/test track temporarily, but if not they will be a scenic shelf for display of mainline stock until I build the mainline loops. The black line that underneath them will eventually connect to a low level fiddle yard below the station. The fiddle yard will probably be the next section I build, but for now, it will be a dead end. the grey lines are a temporary fiddle yard to allow "testing" and will be made from some setrack I have hanging about, pinned down. Onto the actual BLT. On the main running line, there is a station able to hold a 2/3 coach train, and a run around. The sidings on the left from top to bottom are intended to be: head shunt for the run-around (to include a water crane, and maybe a small coaling platform), a short holding siding on the end of the runaround, a slightly curved coal merchants siding (adjacent to which will likely be some kind of coal stathes or similar), below that is a goods siding (including a good shed), and a headshunt for the kickback sidings/general goods siding, potentially with a cattle dock. The 2 kickback sidings are intended to be (from top to bottom): a creamery/dairy for local milk collection (1 or 2 4-wheel tanks), and another general goods siding (a possibility to have some kind of dock here). In the middle of all this is a small run-around, as I found when I was shunting wagons in my head, it made things easier to operate (particularly if returning an empty tank as tail traffic on a passenger service, as the coaches would block the run-around (I guess this would prototypically be solved using horses, but until the advent of the 00-gauge working horse, that's not going to work for me!). This is where I need a bit of help from those who know better than I do; Is this something that would sound prototypical or does it look made up? Are there any particular snags in operation that you can see and I've missed? Can you think of anything better? Is there something obvious I'm missing? Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and getting this far. All comments, criticisms and suggestions are welcome. Also, if I have missed any crucial information in the planning, please let me know and I will do my best to fill you in (if I know the answers, as there is probably a lot I haven't considered!). The last thing I want is to build a layout which won't be good to operate or will look so contrived I won't be happy with it. Cheers, Olli.

I'm a 00 modeller myself, but I'm inclined to agree with TheQ and Derekl. You probably could squeeze 00 into that space if you had to, but you'd be using smaller curves which will likely cause problems with longer wheelbase locos. Using 2nd and 3rd radius curves to avoid that problem (for a double track mainline) gives you a minimum width of about 3 1/3 foot, according to my Peco planbook... I also agree with Derekl about heading to an exhibition. There is so much inspiration and experience there, even at a smaller one, and you never know you may pick up a bargain or 2 to get you started!

Just to close this one out, Oxford agreed there was an issue and asked me to go to the retailer for a replacement, or they could supply a replacement PCB. Rails of Sheffield agreed to replace the model without any issues. I just hope the replacement doesn't have the same issue...

Ah ok so it's not just me having issues. I would assume that if that's what's happened with mine is also need to swap out the socket PCB as I wouldn't trust that resistor any more. I've written to Oxford so will see what they have to say for it. This is my only Dean Goods but I have an Oxford Adams Radial on the workbench to do. I hope they haven't used the same motor in that....

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping it was something simple but evidently not... I've had a good run of largely trouble free conversions so I guess something had to go wrong soon! Thanks! Olli.

Hi All, I've been lurking on RMWeb for a while gaining inspiration for a new layout (to be constructed following a house move planned in the next 12-18 months, planned to give me a whole room to play with ), though this is the first time I've posted something. Seeing how much knowledge and experience is out there, I figured there may be someone out there who would be able to help me with a bit of a problem with my Oxford Rail Dean Goods. In brief, as my planned layout would be DCC, I'm scratching the modelling itch by converting my existing stock to DCC. The turn came for my Dean Goods which, being DCC ready, should have been simple. I tested the model on DC initially to check all was well, then opened up the tender to expose the socket, and made the conversion with a DCC Concepts Zen Nano Direct. When i tested it again, it initially worked, then stuttered to a stop. Every time I checked it it just stuttered after that. as part of the troubleshooting i reinserted the blanking plug (the only one I've ever seen with a 100 uF capacitor soldered onto it...) and ran it on DC again. After a slightly rough run, smoke starting coming from a resistor on the PCB and smelt of burning plastic. Its here I am stuck with whats wrong because once I put the plug back in, that's how it left the factory! I've no idea now why I've fried a resistor. I've not yet tested the decoder in another model to see if that's survived. Does anyone know what may have happened, and what the solution may be? I'm tempted to pull out the PCD and hard wire in the decoder, but then I don't want the same thing to happen to the decoder! Really appreciate the help in advance!! Cheers, Olli.