Ray H

Previously (and of late) I had assumed that the only people to make money out of the privatisation were accountants and legal people.

I had overlooked that the ROSCOs had also made the extra buck (or several).

Off topic slightly (and apologies for doing so) is re-nationalisation or similar any kind of option? How would widely diverse TOC pay scales for similar jobs be absorbed without the understandable cries of unfairness from those grades having to face a pay cut to bring everyone back to a single pay scale per grade?

Likewise, the ROSCOs. How much would it cost to bring all the rolling stock back under a single umbrella?

Would either or both of the above become a price too high to pay for a unified railway system?

In the last 30+ years we have seen the gradual disappearance of the all round railway person - those that had gained all round knowledge of how the business (and its various departments) functioned.  That knowledge (and associated experience) wasn't gained in a few years. What would be the cost in time and money of restoring that desperately needed skill?

I too thought it was a good view. Let's hope it initiates serious thinking by somebody somewhere who has the ear of some politicians.

I never seem to get the "time" option to work correctly.

I must admit that it could be me as the matter in the op hasn't happened since. I suspect there could be an element of rounding to whole hours involved whereby 2 hr & 59 mins is shown ae 2 hrs that changes to 3 hrs from 3 hrs and 0 mins.

I frequently leave my RMweb window open when I leave the computer for a while putting said (windows 10) computer to sleep whilst I'm away.

Previously, when I returned to the computer and awoke it, the RMweb window is there. I refresh the window and start at the top pf the window to see which threads have been updated in my absence.

I can be away from the computer - where I'm using Chrome - for several hours and have never noticed being short changed in the time period that I've been absent for.

I've left the computer a couple of times today and have only been able to recall threads from the previous 2 hours, even though I thought I'd been away much longer than that. I've tried loading more but I'm told there's no more to view.

I'll pay more attention to how long I am away over the next few days and update this post accordingly.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Birch plywood is recommended by a lot of modellers although it is quite pricy.

Have you considered laser cut (to size) MDF although that's no good out of doors?

Possibly, the transmitter in the door bell moves slightly off frequency when the battery power drops and jams the frequency that the key fobs use. Is there an option to change the door bell frequency?

If nobody more local to you offers to help - give them a day or two to catch up - you can PM me and I'll do it for you if you're happy to post it.

Is there a possible case under the Sale of Goods Act especially if you could take a decoder, check/prove it is working in a different loco and then show it not working in the loco concerned? Could you find a Hornby dealer who would witness what you find?

Might just be worth checking under the socket to make sure that nothing is touching where it shouldn't. Presumably, as it comes with a blanking plate, the socket's wiring only needs to work initially on the pins that (I assume) when connected, link the motor to the pick-ups. If there's a short with any other part of the socket that wouldn't matter under dc operation.

Is it possible that you have caused the socket to move just enough when pressing the decoder into the socket that something that shouldn't be touching comes into play?

Is the 21 pin decoder a necessity? Could you remove the 21 pin socket and hard wire a decoder with a different type connection like the 8 pin decoders that come with a harness from which you cut off the connector? I assume that you only need the motor and track power pick-up connections - i.e., there aren't any lights and things like that which you want to use, so you wouldn't lose anything using few connections.

Do you have anyone near you that could help if you don't feel confident in doing these things yourself?

Can you screw L section angle to the baseboard edge to help stop it from warping? Like wise, could you secured said angle under the warped baseboard section. Yo can pick up the angle from many DIY stores. I've used aluminium angle but wonder whether steel might be better.

Is the board secured on one long edge - in which case you should only need to cure the other long edge.

Also remember to set CV 4 to a high number - I use 80 or 100 - if you're assigning CVs 309 & 349 to give a faster braking rate.

Changing CV 4 to a high value should (will) leave the loco to coast to a gradual standstill with the speed set to 0 (unless the key defined in CV 309 is pressed).

A word of warning though. It is surprising just how far a loco will coast when you don't press the key assigned in CV 309 to cause it to stop more quickly.

Presumably there'll need to be some room (time wise) for freight as well.

1 hour ago, KNP said:

Thanks

Just for clarity they are Parkside kits made to look like Rapido ones!!!!!🤥

Can you do something similar with notes of the realm? I'm thinking of changing £10 into £50?  😃

I suppose the thrill of Andy's live music gigs and their audience is, in a way, not too dissimilar to showing and operating your layout at a show, something Andy no longer does, which might be where the lack of modelling mojo comes from.

12 hours ago, Grovenor said:

Ray,

I think you are adding confusion here . . . . . 

Apologies, I missed the "which has five sets of single pole double throw switches on them" bit of the initial post, possibly thrown by the reference to "(they mimic prototype levers)" in the same post and the reference to ON/ON in a subsequent post.

Nice, easy, etc., the various suggestions may be but the way I read your first post you were looking for a way to operate whatever system you choose to actually operate the signals.

It needs to be something like a switch, something to change an electrically state either directly or indirectly. You can, for example, have an all singing means of make the signal arms move but you still need something to initial the system (like servos) that will make the arms move. As good as AI is at present, they haven't yet got a system that works without some kind of human intervention (even if that's just initial data set up).

You indicated earlier that your switches/levers were ON/ON with no centre off. If there isn't even the slightest moment when the switch changes from one ON state to the other, the switch isn't actually doing anything. There doesn't need to be a centre off state that could pause the lever's movement momentarily and that the operator can detect, but there has to be a point in the lever's travel when it changes state with the possible exception of a make before break device which, itself, can still be electrically detected.

Somewhere on my O gauge layout thread - see link in my signature - there are pictures of my lifting flap. It too has two levels and none of the tracks are at right angles to the board edge.

Its a single board, more by virtue of how to do otherwise when its folded back when not in use than for any other reason.

With the benefit of experience in operating the layout I'd probably have preferred two separate boards so that I could just operate one level if I wished to.

I do have a portable backscene that I can fit to the board if I feel like it but think that I've only done that a couple of times so far. Two different level boards might require you to have two different backscenes if you want to go that far.

The layout is in a garage and the access flap is across an inwardly opening door. I will never have the flap in place when the door is closed - and the door's seldom closed when I'm in there as it is - the garage being an integral part of the house.

My question about centre off was intended to ascertain whether the switch was either ON (when switched one way) or OFF when switched the other, or whether the two travel extremities of the switch's travel were both ON in which case there had to be a mid point in the travel where the switch changed from one ON state to the other ON state and thus had at least somewhere in the travel when both ON states were ON or was momentarily in an OFF state.

A switch that doesn't change the ON state to another state isn't technically a switch as it might do something mechanically but it doesn't electrically.

Is there a centre off position on the switches?

I believe that more modern RTR locos have shallower flanges so they should be OK.

I managed to effect a repair on one PowerCab (having not thought of using IPA etc) by overlaying small squares of the adhesive copper tape on the underside of the (then) poorly keys. It still seems to be working.

I also picked up a few rotary encoders from RS a while ago. I know it took me a while to work out how to make the replacement but it turned out to be quite easy in the end (but I can't remember now how I did it 😗)

There was an IC upgrade to version 1.65 several years back that, if nothing else, I believe allows you to have six locos on the recall stack.

You can also get a new membrane which should resolve all your button issues and the thumb wheel can also be replaced reasonably easily.

I know both can be bought direct from NCE but there's a chance you might be able to order one from a retailer over here to save carriage/tax.

Have had a quick look at the Lenz Silver manual but didn't see anything there that might help.

It might just be worth trying each of the function keys in turn - with F0 on - and see if that does the trick. Other than that you might need to play around with the decoder's wiring if you can work out which wires go to the tail lights.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but I've not had any dealings with Lenz decoders.

Is that with the light function (F0) on & off?

Do they change ends when the direction is reversed?

What decoder are you using?

Had a visit from Jim this morning. He brought his class 13 here for a run.

He did have a small problem with the rear loco's coupling rods jamming at one stage but we think we managed to resolve that issue.

The locos were photographed near the top of the LR gradient up to Gawcott.

I'm 99.9% certain that A stock never (routinely, if at all) worked beyond North Acton towards White City. I'm equally sure that it would have been out of gauge at White City.

I disposed of my old WTTs some while ago so I can't check but I think the otherwise midday 12 minute interval clockface departures from Ealing Broadway were adjusted by 2 minutes twice a day to facilitate the A60s (and any other surface stock) reversing at what was, at that time, the sole eastbound platform.