Jabee

That was going to be my last resort. How on earth people get sound and stay alive in there without major surgery is beyond me!

I'm trying to fit a decoder and when you take off the body, there is very little space in there and I'm struggling to squeeze one in....Does any one have any hints or pictures of how they've managed this? Thanks

I was going to replace the walkways but decided to stick with the originals. I will be replacing the ladders though....I have a load of etched ladders I bought a while back when doing the same thing to a rake of Lima TEAs.

I have a large rake of the old Hornby TTA wagons. I've stripped them all down to fill and sand the seams on the tanks ready for detailing, repainting and new transfers. I will also be replacing the wheels and couplings. Are there any options out there to improve the look of the underframes?...not looking for superdetailing the areas that can't be seen, but would like them to look a little less toylike when running on the track.

Is there an ETA that anyone is aware of for the new digital MTB motor. I'm down to my last box of 12 IP Digital motors and need to install 13 motors!

Does anyone know a resource for drawings/plans of railway stations? I'm planning to build a station in OO scale, based on the modern station at Newton-le-Willows, near St Helens. I have photos etc, but can't find any plans

.

In the configuration below, on a DCC controlled system, how would I power the frogs of the crossing? I'm assuming that they should somehow be 'slaved' to the frog switches on the point motors on the slips (SPDT switch on Cobalt digital machines) but I'm struggling to work out how. Is there another option, such as switching power to the frogs of the crossing automatically using something like a Gaugemaster DCC autofrog (DCC80)? Thanks

I'm not sure if I still have any of them. I'll have a dig around this weekend and let you know. If I have, I don't want anything for them.

I set this project aside some time ago, mainly to get on with the completion of a loft conversion once the contractor had finished the structural/building controlled work and subsequently decorate and fit out and start construction of a new layout, but also because I just couldn't get happy with the replacement bogies I had....I tried the Y25CS2 ones I had which were ok, but not quite right. Also tried some options from Cambrian but still not right. I then noticed that Olivias Trains were listing both Heljan GPS and Gloucester bogies at £5 per pair, when previously I've seen them on sale for £8 each! I've got 30 wagons to do, 20 Lima TEA and 10 Hornby TEA so snapped up enough bogies to do them all.

Don't count on it....I'm also a sea angler and I have upwards of 50 rods, half of which I built myself, a similar number of reels of various types and sizes and easily hundreds of hand tied rigs to cover different species, from small gobies to large Porbeagle sharks, and to cover various conditions as well as allowing for quick rig replacement if damaged. And don't get me started on the miles of line, thousands of hooks, swivels and other terminal tackle I have. And as far as modelling goes, I dare not count locos, rolling stock and all the other paraphernalia one collects while constructing a decent sized layout 😁

The important measure of profitability is operating profit as post tax profit or loss is impacted by significant movements in the value of investment properties as well as changes in deferred tax balances, largely arising through fixed asset and other timing differences. The year ended June 2021 showed an operating profit of £449k against turnover of £12.4m (3.6%), which, although I have no retail experience, I would suggest is a little low...my expectation might be more like something north of 5%. In the year to June 22, turnover fell to a little under £11m and showed an operating loss of £400k. Looking a little deeper into the accounts, once the cost of stock recognised as an expense in the year is excluded, it appears the business carries a 'fixed' cost burden of something like £4.5m. If the forecast for the current year is showing a further deterioration in turnover, the decision to cease operations to minimise the corresponding reduction in net assets becomes easier to understand.

Look at their accounts....this is a healthy business with significant net assets. The fact is that the last set of accounts shows an operating loss of £400k compared to an operating profit of £450k a year earlier. The directors have decided that market conditions do not provide for Hattons to remain a viable business in the longer term, so have decided to exit the market....they have not gone bust and have significant reserves and ample net current assets to facilitate a managed wind-down including the settlement of all outstanding creditors.

Yes, all turnouts are fully isolated😊

All track feeds are 16/02 and bus wire is 16awg (1.5mm)

As the track is already laid and droppers connected, it will be straightforward for me to splice into the droppers close to where they come through the board to feed the frog via the SPDT switch.

And I'm now concerned about the length of some of the dropper wires......I have tried to be logical with nothing soldered to the bus, instead using connector blocks and labelled wires......but some of these are up to a metre in length...do I need to rethink this too, especially before I start building the fan at the other end of the yard!

Thanks for all the advice so far.....very useful indeed. So assuming I ditch the switch feedback in favour of occupancy feedback via the built in SPDT switch....can I simply splice into the track feed for the point to provide input to the SPDT to power the frog? I've had a go at drawing a diagram of the wiring including occupancy detection....does this look right?

So, just to check my understanding, I still need the two connections to the 'DCC in' terminals on the point motor, these connections being from the accessory bus, but to isolate the motors onto a separate bus, I have to run separate track power feeds to the SPDT switch, from the main power bus, powering the frog from the common terminal....is that correct? In which case, regardless of whether I 'need' to feedback the position of the point to ITrain, could I stick with a single main bus, properly protected, powering the track and the motors while accepting the whole district will shut down in the event of a short, therefore requiring me to manually correct (moving a train by hand if running against a point)?

In due course, through Loconet to Itrain using YaMoRc YD6016LN ground sensor.

Oh.....I am using the SPDT switch for the feedbacks.

I have tried to be as neat and logical as possible and everything works. The only thing I have not done yet is wired in a separate bus for the point motors (blue and brown wires). Red, green and white wires from separate switch on point motors are for feedback. Red and black wires labelled in yellow are the power feeds for the points. Red wires to drop down panel on right with white labels are to facilitate block detection. Main bus wire is 16awg (1.5mm), droppers and power feeds to points are 16/02 wire and feedback is 7/02 wire. It all works, is all labelled and will all be accessible from below once the board is in place but it all looks terribly busy.....am I missing a trick here?

Thanks all. Iain's point noted about the MTB motor which I will have a look at but I took the opportunity last year to purchase 3 x 12 packs of IP Digital motors when they were in short supply! I am using a Digitrax system and will consider the booster option.

Good morning and happy new year. During the Christmas break, I finally started construction of a layout in my converted loft. Layout will be approx 4.5m x 4m, with 12 lane fiddle yard down one side and four running lines in the scenic section. There will be approx 40 point motors (DCC Concepts digital IP), including eleven in each of the fans to each end of the fiddle yard. I've built and laid/wired the track on the first board, this being the left hand fan to the fiddle yard. Wiring, although logical and all tested ok is quite 'busy, as every piece of track, including the points has dropper wires connected to the main power bus. I also have feedbacks wired from each point motor, making things look even more busy. My question is, whether there is any advantage and therefore would I be well advised to power/ control the digital point motors from a separate dedicated bus, rather than drive them from the main power bus?

Brilliant.....thank you. Off back to Anyrail. Realistically to will be the weekend after this before I get any real time upstairs. Will keep you posted. Thank you again!