AndrueC

It's not a distinction I'd used to denigrate someone's efforts but I would consider anything that is normally kept stored in a cupboard and only comes out for special occasions is a trainset. Also (or perhaps because of that) I would say that anything anyone spends considerable amounts of time working on is a model railway. Pulling bits of track out of a box and clipping them together then calling it good is a trainset 🙂

Thanks @ITG. To be honest I'm still uncertain whether I want to go with current sensing. My layout is at an advanced stage and the thought of cutting track concerns me. I might yet decide to go with spot detection instead although of course that means yet more wires under the board. It also raises some questions of efficacy. My layout's running is straightforward though - just tail chasing - so I'm hopeful that it will be more amenable to spot detection. Once you know a train has gone into a block you'll know it'll eventually come out. The only exceptions are the sidings and I'm going to have spot detection there anyway so that the computer can 'reset' it's knowledge of position when a train parks up.

One option that helps with layouts that want to have two levels is the concept of a mezzanine. I have one on my N scale layout. I have a diamond crossing on my mezzanine which is 25mm above the baseboard. On the west side the outer loop spends 2.5m dropping down from 50mm whilst the inner loop uses the same length to rise up 2.5mm. On the East side the outer loop rises back up to 50mm while the inner loop drops back to board level. The outer loop crosses the inner loop shortly after both flatten out. This results in approximately 1% gradient which combined with a 90 degree curve for half of the distance is a reasonable gradient for trains. I have no problem pulling 1 metre long rakes around either loop. For what it's worth there is no shunting on my layout. I went with N because I enjoy watching trains run through a landscape. I have two yards with four sidings and can run four trains at the same time. If I'd wanted to shunt I wouldn't have modelled in N 😉 If you want to go the automation route then I'd suggest that when you come to laying track: Plan track sections for occupancy detection. Isolate sections Provide sections with individual power feeds. You can do this without automation and it has diagnostic advantages. I powered every section via droppers but didn't bother to isolate them so now I'm looking at cutting track or using spot detectors.

Thanks for the replies. I originally wanted to go RFID because as a computer programmer I want as much detailed information as possible. Unfortunately having planned out sections for half of my layout (the inner loop, the upper yard and its loop) I've realised that I'll probably end up with at least 60 sections by the time I'm done. That means I need to for the cheapest sensors for the most part although I accept that at either end of a siding there needs to be something more accurate for exact positioning. So continuing my plan I think what I need is this: JMRI - that can run on my existing mail/video server. Option 1: Run cables for monitor/keyboard/mouse into railway room. Minimal expense because the server runs headless normally so just needs holes drilling in a wall. Option 2: Dedicate notepad using JMRI webserver. Additional cost but could be more convenient. Replace my NCE PowerCab - I'm thinking of going with MERG as that will probably be cheaper. Current sensors, IR sensors. For sections/sensors I'm thinking that on the main runs there should be a sensor covering every couple of metres (my rakes are typically about 1 metre long) as that should allow some tail chasing and improve the resolution/timing for the computer. Am I overlooking anything? Current section plans (coloured track):

I'm sceptical about the nose pieces. They look like those on one of my headsets. They aren't particularly comfortable to start with and now the rubber 'socks' have fallen apart and dropped off they are even more uncomfortable. My preferred pair are these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083LY7WCG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They don't have a nose piece and are a lot more comfortable. Being able to just push the lens up and away is a benefit especially since they also allow me to use them whilst wearing my glasses. Plus you can't fault the advice given by the manufacturer: 1. Avoid falling from a high place to causing severe impact. 2. For your safety, please do not wear a magnifying glass to observe the sun. 3. To prevent fire, do not xpose the magnifier to sunlight for a long time. Safety Instructions: Please take off the head mount magnifier when you’re walking to avoid falling off and collision. Wise words indeed 😁

Luckily I'm using fixed rakes so no shunting required. It did occur to me that splitting the longer runs of track into multiple sections might allow true tail chasing (perhaps two trains on each of the outer loops). I could have phrased my description better as I'm actually only using frog juicers on the diamond. All other turnout frogs are powered from an appropriate motor controller.

I have an established layout that is currently at the scenic stage and I'm thinking about adding automation. It's a fairly complex layout with two yards, each having four through sidings. There are four loops all of which can be run separately or in conjunction with other loops. Three of the loops are connected by double slips so require constant turnout switching when joined but the outer two loops are connected via a diamond crossing so can just be left to run from one to the other and back. I already have turnout motors installed and live frogs juiced powered from controllers (mostly - there's a couple still to do, lol). All sections of my track have droppers already so I'm thinking that I just need to isolate track sections and add detectors. Do I need multiple detectors for each run of track between turnouts or can I just have a single detector (in which case a lot of sections might already be isolated sufficiently because of the turnout frog)? What I'd like is to be able to just fire the computer up and tell it to 'run stuff' while I watch. Before I retired I was a computer programmer so I have no worries should that be required for the project.

I never have had either. You'd have to install the motor either badly aligned or configured with far too much throw.

How do you do that when trains can pass through the diamond from either direction without any turnout motors changing? My crossing has only two modes - both lines straight through or both lines crossing. The latter requires that the frog polarities be changed by something unconnected to the turnouts.

Yes, if the diamond can be set to allow trains from both directions to cross over (as used in a figure of eight configuration) then a juicer for each frog is the most practical solution.

It seemed to be a banned file type when I last tried (No idea why - security perhaps or just an omission in the web site configuration) but there's nothing stopping you exporting your plan as a JPEG and uploading that.

Usually with Dapol I just grab the body with both hands from above and use my fingernails to bend the body outward. The chassis typically falls out at that point. Others at my club just grab the body and pull the chassis but I have at least one loco - a Class 43 HST - that just pulls the under floor away.

Lol, I don't have much else to do. The rain is making it difficult to get onto golf courses. Funnily enough though I did think today that perhaps stringing wires for my telegraph poles might be next. Trouble is that'd interfere with track cleaning.

Fencing..there may be another way. So the method described above does work but getting the fence wires taut/straight is a bit hit and miss. The problem is that if you insert the fence post by post this requires the wires to be out of alignment while you get the next post in. Sometimes you can bend the fixed post and it will spring back but other times not so much. I've discovered that you can straighten the wires by putting a dab of glue (not superglue) between finger and thumb and running them along the wires to gather the slack then holding the slack against a post. It works fairly well and if there's too much slack you can put some flock down to hide it. But it's a still iffy so I decided to try a different method. For this method I inserted and glued the posts first then wove the wires along the post line. If there is a curve or corner then run the wires outside the posts. The idea is to ensure that when you pull the wire it pulls against every post. You can then add a dab of superglue. This method results in a straighter wire but can be fiddly and irritating. I've so far strung two wires along a dozen posts with reasonable success. I think I'll be able to string the third but in N scale it might be less aggravating to just run two wires with this method. It does look better so this might become my preferred method but it can still be a pain. But whichever method you use don't forget to go back afterwards and dab some paint on the top of your posts 😉

Building a fence. Too much rain, not enough golf. That means more work on the railway. So I decided to try and make a lineside fence. I've tried and seen different fences but they rarely look all that good and some (I'm looking at you, Peco) appear to be manufactured to annoy and confound. I mean..why did they pick a type of plastic that is impervious to every known type of glue? UHU - Nope. Superglue - Nope. Plastic solvent cement - Nope. They have small plastic lugs on the ends of the cross bars that are supposed to plug into holes on the adjacent piece of fencing. A reasonable idea in a larger scale perhaps but in N they won't stay in the holes by themselves. I learnt all this on my first layout and then on one of our club layouts because we wanted to tart her up and I (funnily enough) had lots of fencing that I no longer needed. So I decided to build my own. My first thought was to use matchsticks and silver cotton. Unfortunately I need very thin matchsticks and the thinnest I could find were still two thick. So instead I went for 1mm styrene rods. Still a bit too thick but I think at this scale you sometimes have to compromise. I created a jig out of card. This consisted of two arms where the cotton could be fixed and a long gap for the posts. I cut three notches in the ends of each arm and slotted three stands of cotton in place. I later on learnt that it was wise to glue the thread in place. Sadly this means that the jig is single use only but it's more secure. I'm using A4 card so the maximum practical length of each section of fence is 250mm. I painted the posts brown and worked out that making them 20mm long would allow for them to be inserted into the scenery leaving approximately 12mm visible. I also decided that 18mm spacing (give or take) would be a reasonable distance apart. The spacing might be a bit too much but it makes the fencing less tedious to install and doesn't look bad. It's just another compromise. So know place each post under the wires and carefully spot glue them with superglue. This sounds fairly simple (and often is) but occasionally a post will decide that it doesn't like being glued or you'll nudge it before the glue has set. I've been getting better at it but it's still one of those things that will occasionally make you sigh or even swear 🙄 But eventually you end up with a line of fence posts sitting in the jig. So now just cut the fencing out of the jig et voila: Installation is simple..but again can be irritating at times. It's not just a matter of drilling holes and dropping the fencing into place. The fencing needs some tension otherwise it won't look right. I've mostly been getting away with it but I'm going to do some searching and see if I can find silver elastic thread. I know you can get it in black but I feel that silver looks more visible. Anyway here's what I've done so far. And as a bonus I've also thrown in some of my glorious RevolutioN TransPennine Mk5a coaches.

That's why modern golf instruction advises against a reverse C finish 😉

I agree with that and in such cases I'd try and find some way to show my appreciation. However for me personally YT is just somewhere I occasionally end up after clicking on a search result and frankly if Google took to removing it from search results to non-payers I wouldn't miss it. I detest all forms of advertising and have done for as long as I can remember. I'll pay to avoid them but that still requires me to actively want the content.

UBlock Origin continues to block them for me. I occasionally have to refresh the filter cache but that's all. I don't watch many YT videos anyway. Just the occasional one that a web search suggests.

Anyone for a game of bridge? I've been wondering what do about the land between the golf tee (not yet constructed) and the branch line loop. It's a bit of a conundrum because there are three sections of land and I don't think they should be left empty. Between the golf tee box and the outer main. Between the outer main and the inner main. Between the inner main and the branch. The section next to the golf tee box isn't problem as it connects to the backscene but other two are completely cut off and neither main line could possibly have a simple foot crossing - that's ridiculous. So instead I decided to scratch build a bridge. And because it connects the two cut off areas it has to have three exits. Backscene. Land area one. Land area two. Unfortunately unlike my previous bridge this one has to start off on top of the scenery with an arch that stands above the land whilst the second arch spans an embankment. I tried a few different designs and eventually came up with one that didn't seem too outlandish or two large. This is the story of the building of Farmer Gile's Bridge. Stage one: Creating a template for the left side. As with previous scratch builds I chose to go the eyeball route rather than use careful measurement. I'd worked out the the road bed should be about 20mm wide and knew that the vertical loading gauge had to be 40mm. Beyond that..cut trim and adjust to suit 🙂 Yes, that wagon fits under there: The next stage was to print out some stone texture and glue it on. I also added the road bed spacers and the side exit. Then add stone effect to the inner walls and add tarmac effect for the road: Then I added concrete parapets. I cut the strips out of 3mm card then scored slots so that they could be made to follow the contours then sprayed with the concrete effect spray I've used before. I've also added some strategic bushes to hide the join. It needs a the stone effect around the arches trimming and I haven't yet decided how I'm going to do the bit where the exits touch the ground but it's mostly done. Eventually there will be gates on the visible exits and the backscene will show a lane heading off into the distance. Oh and one warning. I began to run out of glue stick toward the end (do they go off? the last couple I've opened have been a bit solid and difficult to use.) so I tried sticking down the road surface with UHU. That has made the ink run a bit. Luckily it's just produced some green blotches so a bit of weathering powder and I think it will be fine. This is a bridge that cattle use so odd blotches on the road surface are to be expected 🤮 It is slightly more 'bodgy' than I'd like and might eventually be rebuilt but for now it looks okay and seems like a reasonable addition to my layout. Given my lack of artistic ability and craft skills I'm pleasantly surprised by what can be achieved with card, glue and an inkjet printer.

I agree with the OP. I also started with a Tri-ang Princess on a layout built for me and my brother by my Dad. Well two Princess' actually. A black crude one and a more detailed green one. I've tried to recreate the latter now that I've returned to modelling but sadly in N scale the closest we have is a Queen Elizabeth. Oh well. I'm modelling the modern scene anyway. Or mostly modern. Or..well frankly I buy stock that looks interesting. The QE is the only steam loco that has a permanent place on the layout. I enjoy the modelling and I occasionally run trains. Since I have a roundy-roundy realism has already taken rather a large knock. I've often wondered how much would a ticket cost to ride on a full size train with half a dozen coaches for about half a mile only to come back to where you started? And why would CargoWagon offer a service that stopped and started at the same place? However I do like to have some logic to it. I'm currently scratch building an unusual bridge - a stone 'humped back' effort that straddles two separate lines - therefore two distinct arches - and an exit half way along. That's because I can't just put sheep on an inaccessible embankment and nor do I think it likely that the land would be left wild. Not that close to a station and civilisation. I'm also making sure that all my signals and turnout motors are linked with trunking. It's also funny that the fastest loco on my layout is the QE. The second fastest is a class 122 (realistic speed is with my PowerCab control set to 5, lol) and my HST is only the third fastest. But it's my layout. It wouldn't exist if I hadn't built it and that makes me proud.

I've already ballasted and laid trunking but am still interested in finding what else is likely to be seen alongside the track on a modern layout. I have both station areas and open countryside.

Similar deal here. Other joints on curves are nearer the start in the easement area and are fine but I got lazy on one curve and rather than make two more cuts I chose to join in almost the middle of the curve. Unfortunately mine is on a line nearest the wall and inclined using a technique that means I'd have to rip out a lot of good scenery to relay. Most of my rolling stock was okay with it but I've had issues with new stock and a few months ago I managed to improve it slightly. So I got away with mine but for sure I won't be doing that again.

That doesn't sound right. I once ran my 4-6-2 Queen Elizabeth with decoder fitted round my first layout using a 9v battery. (Sorry about the dodgy camera work).

What's the current situation? ... About 0.6A since you ask 🙂 Today I took delivery of my eagerly awaited Trans Pennine Express Mk5a coaches from RevolutioN. They are a truly gorgeous collection of coaches. Unfortunately I have yet to receive my Dapol Class 68 TPE. It's hopefully going to arrive within the next couple of weeks since the status on the Kernow order page now says 'Temporarily out of stock' rather than 'Pre-orders welcome'. But of course I had to run the coaches to test them. My initial impressions were that they ran 'okay' but were not very free running. If/when the 68 arrives I'll revisit them but I gave them a lengthy outing this afternoon (towed by my manky looking class 53 because that's all I had spare). Once that was settled in I got my class 122 running. Then I thought what with the coach lighting on the TPE it'd be interesting to get a third loco running so I set my DRS Class 68 circling pulling the also slightly poor running hoppers. I made sure that all the loco headlights were on then checked out the NCE PowerCab's current reporting. It initially hovered between .57 and .64 amps but eventually settled down a bit (coaches / hoppers running in? Locos warming up?) to .52 to .58 it seemed. I've attached a video here and you'll notice I don't have the signals on. That wouldn't make any difference to the reported current draw anyway because they have their own DC circuit and supply. I will post a video of the coaches being pulled by a cleaner, better looking 68 when I can. I'll also post some better stills for you to enjoy the sheer beauty of the TPE.

Just arrived. They look very good and are a great addition to my layout. I might have to rearrange my coach yard though as currently the building wall obscures the coach lighting. I still don't have my TPE Class 68 so I had to do a test run with my weathered class 53. I won't post a video because having such beautiful coaches pulled by a loco that has been weathered to the point where it looks like it was dragged out of a swamp is cruel. On the subject of running the loco pulled them well enough but they aren't very free running. My other coaches when pushed will continue on their own for a metre or more whereas these come to a stop within a dozen centimetres. I'll take another look when the TPE loco arrives and check the advice here. I'd like to stress it's not a problem just perhaps needs a little adjustment to avoid unduly stressing the loco. Thanks, RevolutioN!