devondynosoar118

I saw our current BARV this week, it's definitely out of gauge. The Sherman was already very close to the limit if the loading gauge, you wouldn't get a taller version through it, unless it was on an ultra low riding wagon and even then the BARV looks too tall. The Marines told me the BARV in nicknamed the bullet magnet! The REME developed a BARV, with a Sherman chassis. For once it's tall side profile was an advantage!

I would have thought, given the HUGE housing development about 300m down the road that the sensible thing to do with the very end of the line would be a new platform and connection to a Devon Metro type set up, as currently the road from Kingsteignton to Newton Abbott is a total car park most of the time, especially at peak times. I don't see the value in a heritage line on such a short section, but given the continuing development a metro set up would at least provide a useful service.

Is Washwood Heath the yard visible from the traffic jam of the M5/M6 interchange?

Acceleration is more important to set, so that locos don't do 0-60 like a rocket, hence discussion of speed curves. In setting the "top speed" by the power cab you are simply assigning a value to the CV, not setting any sort of scale speed. Top speed is done by driving the loco prototypically (well that's how so do it!) It can be done in settings but you should imaging the shape of the speed curve more when thinking of the simple settings off the cab, so on a shunter you would want the start value under 5 mostly, mid value about 50-80 then top whatever you like, as you won't be getting it to the top of speed curve if you drive it right. On a mainline loco you would still want a smooth, steady start, with speed building consistently across the range, the values set would only be a matter of how many times you want to thumb the thumb wheel to get up to speed. What you should be aiming for is good, smooth, controllable running. That's all you should focus on for now, getting each motor to not jump perceptibly through the first half of the curve. Most layouts only have room to get moving, with the full range of acceleration not being visible or always practical within the available space.

No, it's cheap chips, not age!

I found PWM settings from reading posts about specific decoders, they listed start values and what the factory preset usually was. Decent manufacturers usually have good documentation on what their decoders are set at and which specifics do what. I have a test track and spend a little time messing about with the basic motor parameters. I don't mind some variation between locos, as the real thing steamed differently so a little driving variety is great. Even diesels had to be driven differently according to their types and duties so having differing performance in minature isn't a big problem for shunting, I just want controllable running, which is far easier to achieve with CT, Lenz, Zimo and similar quality decoders vs lowest common demoninator factory ones.

New trousers please. That looked like an almighty mess! How did they derail? Surely the brake stops the load, keeping it on the track , or did the first portion get hit by the second?

Would that be the use of a "Bucky" uncoupler?

You don't need any of that for a shunting layout, use the powercab "setup motor" function, set start as 0 middle as 50 and top as 100, then look for a description of optimum setting for pwm frequency for your motor/decoder combination. A decent quality decoder will provide perfectly good control for anything, without the need to dig right down into individual CV's or set all the points on the speed curve. I have a VERY small shunting layout, in N, where it's much harder due to the limited choice of decoders to fit small locos, I have never needed Jmri decoder pro or a Sprog to get very good motor control, mainly thanks to Nigel's excellent notes on the CT decoder range and a little careful trial and error. Also running 128 step off the handset is ideal for close control off the thumb wheel. I am sure JMRI is very useful but not essential unless you have a very large and diverse loco fleet with a variety of motors and decoders from lots of manufacturers. It is also a myth that shunting was carried out at slow speed all the time. Certainly shunting carriage stock and special loads were (mostly!) done slowly and carefully, but regular goods wagons were often accelerated more sharply once the slack was taken up to propel the cuts of wagons along flat sidings to avoid extra work by the loco and to speed up sorting. I would recommend both "Railway Operation for the Modeller" and "Shunting and Marshalling for the Modeller" by Bob Essery if you want a great insight into how freight was handled in the steam age.

That is one of those pictures where the real thing looks like a model!

There's some great pics here, as I am still thinking about my next micro layout you just gave me some great ideas for line side buildings, thank you!

Also if you are having issues with dead spots then you should ensure you are not relying on the switch rail to carry the power, bond it like making two separate points "DCC friendly" as per Brian Lambert wiring.

Westerns have a "Devon" end and a "Cornwall" end, that's probably the source of your confusion. Generally clotted cream or a pasty placed on the locomotive will determine which is which.

I standardise on one chip maker if possible, ideally a single model, it makes setting easier. This is not so easy with sound or if you are buying manufacturer installed chips. I have N gauge so you rarely get a dcc fitted option,

PAG is paged programming mode, this from the DCC wiki- "Paged Mode Paged Mode introduced the term "CV" (Configuration Variable). It is very slow when reading back the CVs. To read a CV, a number is sent to the decoder. If the response is negative, the number is incremented by one, and the process repeats until a positive response is received from the decoder. This process can repeat up to 256 times. Reading the complete CV set of a decoder will take a long time. Every CV will be tested sequentially in this manner." I would bin that old decoder, newer ones from decent makers perform much better and are easier to set up in my experience.

I built a fully functional exhibition layout "Squeezebelly Lane" in a table that sits by my sofa in my actual living room when not in use. It's been at RMweb members days and Trac as well as several Dorset shows. I don't think size of available space is an issue, you can fit a perfectly interesting layout, even in 4mm, into the space occupied by a large flatscreen TV and stand, which most people manage to fit into their houses. I think the best shows do show layouts that fit in people's lifestyles, they aren't always centre stage because seeing huge subjects is a large part of the reason people go to shows. I wouldn't get to see Lime Street or Bath Greenpark or all the other beautiful club/group layouts without shows, neither would my kids, who hopefully see there's value in model making. I agree there's probably a silent majority of magazine consumers and armchair modellers waiting to start something and cameo or micro layouts surely make sense as a way to convert thinking about building something into building something. It's easy to forget that for many of our older modellers equipment and rolling stock was very expensive in the 50's and 60's and many people thus built smaller layouts with less stock requirements to reduce outlay. Many of those modellers may be enjoying the friuits of their labours now in the form of huge RTR choice but it's worth remembering that the hobby hasn't always existed in a land of plenty. My father bought railway modeller for years on and off, he never completed a layout, despite considerable modelling skill. He remained one of those who just didn't find the time or inspiration. Modular layouts- SWAG at Taunton did two years in a row of a modular set up as part of its Members Day, there was lots of great stuff in both. The solution to me seems clear, equal focus at shows on high quality, small layouts and continuing to make them family friendly. Exe MRC always get that right and the members are superb with all ages. Also Bridport and District MRC have always had a great cross section at their events.

Given mine were up at 4am on Saturday this may be a decision your little people don't thank you for. The fish market won't be able to leave open crates outside either! Looking great. Keen to see the big finished photo dump.

As someone who lives in 1:1 scale Kingsbridge I can safely say it would be better without any seagulls. God help that family when they get their ice cream and the nice shiny cars won't stay like that if your seagulls end up like the real ones!

This was timely, I am looking at my brass B set and deciding if I can face lining etc in 2mm. Interesting to see that the No2 set was in wartime brown, I am going for 1943 as my tine period, any ideas when the set was repainted?

As a total noob at DCC when I started, I got the Powercab after a false start with other stuff, it's been really easy to use despite development having seemingly stopped in about 2010. It is relatively easy to set up decoders with, the menus are not too labyrinthine and the throttle itself is also comfortable. I haven't found the relatively low power to be a problem but the Smartboister can ge added if you want later. It's overload protection is a bit basic, but not much worse than other systems. It's expandable and has good interfacing with a member of other systems. If CV programming is your priority then decoder pro with a computer interface is the simplest way to see everything, but if driving smooth running trains with quality decoders and a bit of tweaking is all you want the powercab delivers very well. You can't see every CV and if you have complex bi directional DCC in mind with automated layout operation, block detection and want to set more obscure parameters in your loco fleet then NCE will do all that, it's just a little more long winded vs a PC.

Primer is there to provide two things, a colour block to build on and a key surface for coloured paint to bond to. All plastic kits are poor surfaces for paints to adhere to. Primer is designed to overcome this by having a high particulate count and less thinners than topcoats. On large plastic pieces and oily plastics a toluene based adhesion promoter is also a good idea. This is not really a problem in N. Washing parts to remove moulding release agent and surface contamination is a good idea, In metal painting an etch primer is worth considering, especially on non ferrous metals like brass which oxidise quickly. I find Halfords grey excellent for general modelling, Games Workshop Chaos Black is good too and if you want a base colour and primer Army Painter coloured primers are great as well. Not priming is a poor substitute for proper prep in my experience.

I don't know if you have seen the book "Somerset at War" which contains lots of anecdotal and official incidents as well as some photographs? It's quite cheap to buy and may well be in libraries. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Somerset-War-1939-45-Mac-Hawkins/dp/0946159548

Hope you have a speedy recovery. When I had mine done I was able to sit in my chair at the modelling bench on about the 5th day. In the meantime plenty of opportunity for research for your new layout ideas?

Re- use as Tank guns- AA guns have barrels designed to fire at higher elevation, as opposed to flatter trajectory AT guns, the majority of designs would have required re design of the barrels, expensive. Rest as above. The 6 pounder AT was much better once it got the discarding sabot ammunition later on and initially performed well in the desert against the lighter Italian tanks of the early war period. Your yard may well have not had AA but it might have had barrage balloons, especially earlier in the war. They were cheaper and designed to counter both low strafing (how many trains were attacked on the move) and bombers. I have not seen these modelled and the crew with the lorry to deploy it would make a great cameo. Source- my grandad crewed barrage balloons in the SW. An example of the equipment truck used to deploy one- http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/barrage-balloon-its-crew-and-lorry-picture-id591979172

So the powercab doesn't show its start up screen at all? If you have the track power output disconnected does it load the regular screen? Please check both of those first. The Powercab DOES support loco programming on the main. You can check the Sentinel better by placing it on a fully separate length of track and trying driving it, as from the factory the chip should be default set to short address 1. The powercab, despite being a little aged now, is excellent and usually reliable for CV programming, mine has worked very well on the whole. As noted this may also be a faulty decoder, they do exist.