Ray H

A slightly late delivery of some critical parts for the Arduino related items has enabled me to clear the bench enough to accommodate the laptop, the Sprog and the only piece of track I have left so I'll have a crack it things tomorrow.

The loco arrived today, complete with the Econami documentation that came with the decoder. It is strange to find that sound is normally on and uses a mute function (F8) to quieten it.

I'll let you know how I get on.

That does sound odd. It almost seems that the stay alive takes a long time to discharge and is, thus, keeping some kind of power flow to the decoder - which is what it is there for in a roundabout way.

Similarly, it sounds as though there needs to be a certain (time) amount of current flowing through the decoder (and, possibly, warming the decoder) before it'll work.

Could it be a dodgy solder joint on the decoder itself? I'd be tempted to refer the problem to the place of purchase if that is possible.

Thanks Nigel

I can either use the PowerCab or DecoderPro but the latter isn't currently set up and the bench is covered in Arduino stuff at present.

I presume that I need to shove some of the other key allocations to fit the old F2 function somewhere else.

All understood about the F11 key's position, I'd just prefer to have the same key for the brake. 

I have just bought a loco fitted with an Econami decoder. It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

I use the Active/Dynamic brake feature on all my locos. I use the NCE throttle F2 key (plus the Horn/Whistle key which will "apply" the brake whilst pressed) for braking .

I've had a quick look at the Econami documentation which seems to indicate that CV 117's value affects the brake rate and the F11 key is used to apply the brake.

Has anyone modified their Econami decoder settings to use the F2 instead of the F11 key for the brake function?

Andy, I suspect what I'm seeing could be tied up with it as well.

There's a white bar across the bottom of the window with the back to page/window top arrow now on the left hand side. The white bar has had what I class as micro advert icons (and, I've just noticed, the word Advertisement greyed out in a micro small font at the top of said white bar.

I don't need a reply, just thought I'd pass on what I'm seeing as I type.

That looks correct. In  many cases the usual lay for a point that is Normal is the straight route, the curved route being the Reverse state.

I wouldn't hold too much store on No. 16 signal, especially if you were planning to take the signals away. In a lot of cases the loco release crossover had a local ground frame which the fireman would work. Some (all?) had a release lever which had to be reversed/pulled to release the point's/crossover's lever to change the point(s). The fireman would then restore all the levers to their original (back in the frame) position before the fireman re-joined the driver on the loco. I could also envisage a situation where having left the lever to work the ground frame, the fireman would not re-join the driver/loco. Instead the fireman would walk to the front of the train whilst the driver was moving the loco and await there for the loco to arrive whereupon the fireman would couple the loco to the coaches before returning to the loco.

Some of the (loco) release ground frames would have had a release lever in the signal box which the signalman would have pulled to allow the fireman to operate the ground frame.

I think that an even slightly curved layout looks better, possibly more so at a terminus, but that is a personal opinion.

How about the following suggestions if width is an issue?

Move the Goods shed to the siding adjacent to the loop and reduce the length of the siding where the goods shed was so that it stops (just before) it gets to where the goods shed has been relocated to. You could have an exterior loading platform on the country end of the goods shed which the (now) truncated siding could serve, probably for no more than a wagon's length.

The cattle dock would stay (roughly) where it is, save that that the gap between the two sidings could be slimmed down a bit. I'd also add a coal merchant between the cattle dock and the end wall of the goods shed.

The loco release crossover could be moved further away from the buffer stop requiring the loco off the arriving train to set back the detrained coaches, uncouple, move forward again clear of the release crossover and then run round, propelling the coaches back towards the buffer stop prior to departure. That would allow the dock siding to be lengthened to offer a further location to shunt.

I'd also move the loco shed to the end of the headshunt.

I don't know how important having signals is to your friend but if there is to be only one loco on the visible part of the layout at a time then all the signals could be omitted with the "railway" being worked under the one engine in steam principle.

Their MODERN BRICK (BM006) sheet is worth checking closely before you order it. I was a tad disappointed when it arrived as the repeating pattern is a little too obvious. However, having applied it to a building it doesn't look so obvious.

Hope that helps.

Facing points are largely inevitable in and around a terminus so don't go too mad trying to avoid them for this type of layout.

It isn't clear from above whether this terminus has one or more platforms, which is the front & which is the operating side. Is it supposed to be double track?

I'm not a GWR man so whilst I might be able to suggest some signalling I doubt I could confirm which side of the track the signals needed to be as I believe at least some GWR locos tended to be right hand drive. It might be helpful to know the era that the layout is designed around, e.g. pre-grouping, pre-nationalisation or later.

Scalology do some as well in N, OO & O. I've been pleased with the ones that I have had in O, 

My visit to the garage this afternoon was intended to facilitate a start on some of the Arduino associated hardware for the club layout. Somehow and I can't remember exactly how, my eyes lit on a bag of balsa wood bits from, I think, Hobbycraft a fair while ago. I think I must have stashed said bag under the Westbury station part of the layout recently when clearing the bench and a chance look at that part of the baseboard resulted in a start being made on the foot crossing at the Gawcott end of the Westbury island platform.

The track on the left is the BR line with the LR platform track in the middle alongside the LR run round loop. The actual station building, a kit by 422 modelmaking, arrived over a week ago and is still in its box. This will eventually occupy the space where the mock-up is in the above picture.

I also bought a set of platform ramps and two platform wall pieces from the same source. They're just right for the halt platform at Tingewick with a further order to be placed in due course for enough to be used for the Westbury platform walls.

The foot crossing has been made up of numerous strips of balsa from the bag of bits as I don't have any balsa sheet material. It took a while to glue all the bits together but I think it looks more realistic than pieces cut from a wide sheet.

29 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

Drifting gently down-grade through the station approach with the regulator closed... ? 

Ah, that possibly explains the lack of visible emissions of smoke and steam. 🙂

1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Shock horror, I actually did some modelling today. SO, that means there could be another Video out on Friday. 😃 👍.

And a new layout started on . . . . . . 😀

8 minutes ago, KNP said:

S & W couplings fitted, paint touched up and ready for varnishing.

 

Wot? This year? That'll be the . . . . . . 

23 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

This is dependant upon the decoder brand that is in use.

We've managed it with both Zimo & ESU sound decoders, we've not had cause to try it with any non-sound ones.

There are CVs that let you determine the physical length of the braking distance.

We've used this on our club's O gauge layout and a colleague has done similar on his layout.

It takes trial & error and can be great fun as you wonder why altering a CV's value by just 1 can make a noticeable difference when the previous alteration by a similar amount made no apparent difference.

Seasons Greetings Andy. Hopefully your health will improve as the year progresses.

Could you have a 6ft diameter turntable as the fiddle yard. It would need to have its centre a shade over 3ft from any wall. It could be an alternative to a return loopp.

Here's the Mk. IIa version with the loco shed area widened and mock front doors added. A door and window have been added to the end of the workshop area and, just visible to the left of the coach, is a horizontal rail the length of the structure and about a scale 3ft from the ground.

What can't be seen is the vertical posts that I've added to (theoretically) support the single (high level) corrugated iron sheet on the outside of the coaching stock shed road.

I haven't added the roof yet and am not sure that I will on the mock-up.

Fortunately, the loco shed road only holds 3 locos so I hope I'll be able to remember which order they're in when I need to extract one.

Here's the Mk. II mock-up version of the loco/carriage shed at Gawcott following a suggested made to me by a visitor yesterday:

The external walls and roof of the actual model will be clad in simulated corrugated iron sheets.

There will be a workshop to the right of the shed's loco road.

I think that I'll move the wall between carriage and loco roads a few millimetres to the right and adjust that side of the doorway accordingly.

The internal wall to the right of the locos will probably be set back 20-30mm with only a slight move to the right of that side's door pillar. I'll add an ordinary door in the end of the workshop and may even include a window!

I didn't intend to start on the outline of Gawcott Shed yesterday but, hey ho, I did and this is the result:

A thick card production some 75cms long. I had to re-align the track (in the shed) nearer to the camera so that the shed could have parallel side walls - the two tracks originally diverged slightly as they headed for the buffer stops.

There's room for four locos therein (almost buffer to buffer) but I think one won't be staying/being used as the motor noise above a certain speed deadens the sound from the on-board speaker. Besides that, three locos ought to be enough to run the limited LR service.

Consequently, I plan to shorten the shed length by a little over 15cms which should allow the coaling stage - a recent purchase via ebay - to move a little further away from the main's socket that can just be seen in the top image.

Also on the cards is the conversion to a single track loco shed with a lean-to affair over the adjacent track that will provide some vestige of cover for the coaches - it will also make it easier to see the couplings for coupling/uncoupling.

The shed building itself will be clad (on the visible side and roof) in Slater's embossed corrugated iron. I'm not too sure what to do with the lean-to roof - clear or conventional corrugated material. There will also be a single row of corrugated iron sheet immediately below the "roof".

As time stands still at Little Muddle does this mean from today forward it will always be Christmas Day in Kevin's 12:1 house?

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (whenever it comes).

I tried several - well, about 3 - other locos on my RHTT without success so I had a word with myself and gave the Class 15 a try with great success. The first image shows the train descending the bank from Gawcott towards Tingewick.

Image 2 shows the return working having just passed Tingewick and on its way back to Gawcott. I ran the train successfully over both BR & LR tracks in both directions.

The Class 15 looks to have found a job and the Victory's days (on this layout) could be numbered (provided that the Light Railway can come to some arrangement with regard to borrowing the diesel from BR).

39 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Merry Christmas Kevin, hope you have an enjoyable festive time.🎄

 

Re the deliberate error…. Is it the top feed on the Pannier? 🤣

Or is it that the loco is actually moving?