AntF92 Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Hello all This is my first post here, so I'm glad to 'meet' you all. I've been a model railway fan for years, but have not had a layout to use since childhood and one that my father built around 1999/2000. It was set in the 1970's on the Western Region and was a tail-chaser, so catered more for his tastes than mine. That being said, I can't stop the bug itching any longer and have decided to move ahead with my own modest layout, which will be my first attempt. I had originally amassed a collection of locos from EWS, Mainline, Loadhaul etc that comprised mostly Lima and Hornby products made in the 1990's, but I realised converting all these to DCC and DCC Sound would be impractical so sold them off (except for a couple of treasured models of sentimental value) and began from scratch with modern, RTR products capable of fitting with sound. To the layout; I intend to use a baseboard approx 6x2 ft, wired for DCC, hosting a modest TMD based in South Yorkshire in the 1998-2004 period - what I remember from my younger years when I was most interested in the real railways. The premise is that after the closure of my local colliery (Markham Main), the area where the colliery sidings once stood was bought by EWS and a small TMD set up to compliment Doncaster Carr depot and provide additional capacity for the area after the closure of Tinsley. (In reality it was partly turned into a wooded and grassed area, part into modern housing). Whether this is feasible or not I will leave to the experts to decide, but it's what I intend to go with! The depot is named Barton Lane, after a local public bridleway that runs the length of the opposite side of the slag heap from the colliery. The trackplan is something I have yet to finalise and would appreciate any feedback from more experienced modellers than I. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steggy1990 Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Looking forward how this turns out 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Interesting and following Ant. Looks like a big micro! Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry1975 Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Hello ant and welcome to the smaller side of layouts, Your plan looks good, will follow with interest. Jerry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntF92 Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 8 hours ago, Crisis Rail said: Interesting and following Ant. Looks like a big micro! Ian Thanks chaps, and yes Ian, it is a big micro I guess! My next challenge is getting my head around DCC wiring. Despite best intentions and with all the will in the world I will never be practically minded in an electronic sense. I vividly remember electrocuting myself with a home-made battery in my school days, so we'll see how this project goes! I understand electrofrogs are the best way to go with DCC, but I'm a little daunted by the prospect of wiring a 3-way turnout as in the above plan. If anyone knows anything about this I'd be grateful for some pointers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 5 hours ago, AntF92 said: Thanks chaps, and yes Ian, it is a big micro I guess! My next challenge is getting my head around DCC wiring. Despite best intentions and with all the will in the world I will never be practically minded in an electronic sense. I vividly remember electrocuting myself with a home-made battery in my school days, so we'll see how this project goes! I understand electrofrogs are the best way to go with DCC, but I'm a little daunted by the prospect of wiring a 3-way turnout as in the above plan. If anyone knows anything about this I'd be grateful for some pointers. Have a look at the PECO Code 75 Bullhead. Excellent Unifrog points which don’t need the extra wiring. Flexitrack has correct gauge sleeper spacing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Banger Blue Posted March 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3, 2019 7 hours ago, AntF92 said: Thanks chaps, and yes Ian, it is a big micro I guess! My next challenge is getting my head around DCC wiring. Despite best intentions and with all the will in the world I will never be practically minded in an electronic sense. I vividly remember electrocuting myself with a home-made battery in my school days, so we'll see how this project goes! I understand electrofrogs are the best way to go with DCC, but I'm a little daunted by the prospect of wiring a 3-way turnout as in the above plan. If anyone knows anything about this I'd be grateful for some pointers. May I ‘point’ you (pun intended ) towards this website, if you aren’t aware of it: https://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/index.html one of my major stumbling blocks was the electrics but after having a good read of this site, I was happy enough with the basics to wire my DCC layout up, (to be fair I don’t have to worry about points). if you are planning to have ‘droppers’ from every track, use two different colours of wire. One for the +, the other for the - connection to the DCC bus, just make sure that one colour always goes to the top rail (as you look at the plan), the other colour always goes to the bottom rail. Hope this helps but as I say I was (still am ) a complete amateur when it came to electrics but I got trains running and have installed working lights on the layout without blowing myself up (yet!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntF92 Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 18 hours ago, Banger Blue said: May I ‘point’ you (pun intended ) towards this website, if you aren’t aware of it: https://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/index.html Very useful Banger thank you, will put my studying hat on and take a proper browse at some point this week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntF92 Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 20 hours ago, Crisis Rail said: Have a look at the PECO Code 75 Bullhead. Excellent Unifrog points which don’t need the extra wiring. Flexitrack has correct gauge sleeper spacing. Thanks Crisis - that might be the way for me to go if it is simpler to wire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 1 hour ago, AntF92 said: Thanks Crisis - that might be the way for me to go if it is simpler to wire. No extra wiring - the frog can be powered if wished otherwise just cut the wire - easy - scale detailed points with Setrack style operation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntF92 Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Crisis Rail said: No extra wiring - the frog can be powered if wished otherwise just cut the wire - easy - scale detailed points with Setrack style operation. Anything that simplifies the process for my inept technical mind will be useful! This evening has proved pretty successful so far, as have also netted myself two Hornby Class 56's for £150. Not a bad figure I don't think these days. Helps grow the loco fleet! Edited March 4, 2019 by AntF92 Grammar 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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