Ray H

Shhhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell Kevin and ruin his Easter, but one of the blades of grass is upside down. 😒

Take a look at my Puzzel Yard layout. The track plan was copied from one of Andy Peters' layouts and provides endless fun if you like shunting. I had about two dozen wagons and a couple of locos on it and operated it as a shunting puzzle (hence the name). A quick Excel spreadsheet to randomise the wagon placement is all you need for hours of fun.

I ordered something via the well known electronic auction site at the end of last week. The seller advised me that it had been sent and provided a tracking number. So far, the package has failed to arrive but that's not unusual. I think it should go through our letter box but I want some idea of when it might arrive so that I can try to be here, just in case it doesn't. I used the Royal Mail tracking utility. It doesn't indicate it has even got/had the package, shows no transit details and adds: "An update will only be provided when we attempt to deliver your item" I wonder if they realise that a good majority of people actually know when something has been delivered because they have it in their hands? I don't quite follow the "when we attempt to deliver your item" bit. Does that mean when the package leaves our local depot en route to us or when the postman is about to pop the package through the letter box?

You can tell its a model as it hasn't been raining! Hat, coat & umbrella - I'm gone!

We have a similar problem with one of the locos on the club's O gauge layout that's fitted with a Zimo sound decoder. We tried a few ideas out but as the only loco on the layout fitted with lights we eventually gave up. I only asked the make of yours in case it was similar to ours and might have provided us with a solution to our problem.

What decoder brand are they?

Is that the final weathering job Kevin? 😄

I shall probably have to duck for cover after saying this but . . . I think a lot of the trouble with the Circle line and the tracks it uses is with the computer control, although I have no knowledge of it these days, the previous system being just that, a system, couldn't work in the same way as a signaller could. The signaller could often see where the trains were when they were still some way away and could mentally hatch a plan as to the order in which the trains would merge together. Equally, smart platform work by staff and (often) passengers also cut platform dwell times. Modern signalling overlaps are greater than before too. Add all them together and even a minor glitch can have a large ripple effect. Even as late as the 1960s trains on the south and north sides of the Circle were running at or near to 38 trains per hour. As far as I am aware, they're not even scheduled to run at 30 tph these days.

I lost my dad from kidney failure when I was just 12, 64 years ago. I know he was in a Railway Convalescent Home at Dawlish although I don't know if it was this one. We mentioned it at home recently to the surprise of some family members.

Silly (?) thought. Close two adjacent level crossings and replace each of them with a footbridge that isn't too bike unfriendly and build a new road bridge between the two (now ex) crossings. Would that be an option anywhere?

There was a short comment on this (early) evening news that there's some money been allocated in the budget (?) for work on the section between Bedford & Bletchley as part of EWR. It didn't say what the money was actually for.

You don't necessarily need a computer but you do need to know which decoder make/model you are working with so that you can download the (free) manual for the decoder. Its then a case of working out, from the manual, which CVs affect which function, reading (and noting down) the relevant CV values and swapping them around. For example, each Zimo decoder (generally) uses 3 CVs per function. Find the three CVs that assign the sound you're interested in and note their value. Then do likewise with the function key you wish to transfer the wanted sound to. You can now swap the three CV values for each function so what was assigned to button F now plays when you press button G and what was assigned to button G now plays when you press button F. Obviously you can do several swaps at the same time but you do need to note what's where at the start and then decide which CVs the relevant values need to be transferred to. I'm not that familiar with ESU decoders so won't try to explain how you'd need to do them.

The widder the supporting frame the greater the support towards the ends of the turntable board, especially when that is at 90º to the frame. I'd still be thinking of something thicker than their usual 9mm (?) baseboard top material. I have their boards on my static layout and can vouch for their build.

I'd suggest something like 15mm/18mm thickness for the turntable with handles that fold down to prevent trains from running off the edge. Don't forget that you can only be at one end of the turntable as it turns so that could impact how much weight you can have at the other end.