Les1952

You do have an operational issue that you can't get a connecting coach from one side of the station to the other, or get a loco from the top two roads to the turntable without cluttering up the centre road and the exit past the signal box with an extra loco shunting move. If the layout is to be portable, would it be an idea to have your two rectangular boards the same length? Makes it easy to transport as they could then be bolted face to face. If it is a fixture that doesn't matter.

Look nice. I can see some of these finding a home on Broken Scar. Any chance of an NER 20 ton wooden hopper? Les

For those wanting to add a Kof shunter or even something a bit bigger, the Arnold section of the Hornby website has a promotion on at the moment. Sign up for their e-newsletter and you get sent a code that gives you 10% off any Arnold products bought there for a month. As I found out some time ago, if you sign in to the Hornby TT Club first and are registered for points then you get Hornby points as well, as I found out when I was given 3910 points for buying my sound-fitted 2-10-0... Les

I've now remembered where I had posted that I was waiting for Dapol magnets to try out the Easi-shunts. Tried out on the shortest wheelbase stock I've got. Uncoupling and recoupling is much more reliable than using the same couplings in N gauge. Given that N is a poor scale when it comes to reliable shunting first impressions are encouraging. The bump at the far right of the screen is a blob of solder on the track (since removed). The layout is now packed away so I can get NO PLACE ready for South Notts show in 2 weeks time, followed by Bregenbach at Syston Club's show then at the National Railway Museum in May. After that I have a month or so on this layout and some time for further experiments. I might even have some UK outline wagons by then.... Les

Thinking of traction tyres- as well as Bregenbach im Schwarzwald being almost entirely run by traction tyres Croft Spa had a huge number- 17 A3s, 14 A4s, 6 each of A1 and A2, 9 B1s, 4 WDs, 6 J39s and so on... Again not a single tyre shed in 19 shows with this layout and 20 with Hawthorn Dene before- the two had much the same fleet. My locos all used to run an actual mile (1760 real yards) in the course of a 2-day show, and regular performers knocked up very high mileages. If a loco started to get a little lumpy it was a sign that the tyre was ageing and the loco probably had about 25 to 30 miles under its wheels (a lot for N gauge). That meant time to send off to DCC Supplies (usually) for a strip down and full service. The trick with traction tyres is not to let locos run fast into a dead section, and not to drag them forwards by hand, both bad practices I see to often on other layouts at shows, and which I grot at my operators about if I catch any of them doing it. Les

Unless it is TT;120 scale I don't want one.... Les

I run almost exclusively locos with traction tyres on my N-gauge Bregenbach im Schwarzwald. No issues with residues and only one shed tyre in 2 years of exhibitions so far. The only problems with pickups on the layout have been the N Gauge Society Hunslet diesels, and these don't have traction tyres, but have a wheelbase short enough to ensure they stall on Fleischmann points and are geared low enough to ensure the stay-alive won't get them as far as the next juice.... Les

I'm currently disposing of significant quantities of N and OO gauge stuff, and Hornby are providing me with a steady supply of boxes to ship it in.....🙂 Les

I've lost the plot as to which thread or forum I was going to report back to with Easi shunts and TT:120 stock. At the moment with Hornby and Peco not yet having got round to issuing wagons I've had to play with Tillig wagons and a Piko diseasal. First clip shows the ensemble going round Bregstadt, which is at the soak test stage. The curves at the end are Hornby R2 setrack and the points in the fiddle yard are Hornby. Note the stuff handles these well- OK for Bregstadt. the tunnel mouths are still approximate but show more or less where the bit the punters will be able to see ends. The second one is a juggling with too many hands job but shows the uncoupling. The wagons are bouncing up and down at the right hand side because of a blob of solder that had dropped on the track when I was soldering in the power feed... The long wheelbase DB wagon has a long arm to reach the coupler socket, and it is less reliable than the two shorter couplings on the other two wagons- the only ones I have that are that short. Early results are encouraging- Broken Spa will be largely an 0-6-0T plus short wagons affair, and it looks as if all stock will be able to work magnetically. Les

Oh good. The Victory will most likely miss NO PLACE's next outing at South Notts show on April 1st and 2nd, but it will have arrived by the following outing in October...... Les

I think I fall under all three 1. NO PLACE (OO) has a firm booking for September 2025 so there is still development there and Bregenbach im Schwarzwald (N) has bookings to November 2025 now, so the upgrade due to take place before it goes to the NRM in York in May will have a shelf life of at least 2 years. 2. Bregstadt is my new Continental TT layout- and as suitable Hornby and Peco stock arrive it will be run in on that, and given occasional spins to keep it from siezing up. 3. Based on what I'm learning with Bregstadt I'm now planning Broken Scar, also TT:120, for construction in about 2 years time at my present rate of building. The aim is that Broken Scar will eventually replace NO PLACE on the exhibition circuit. Les

Narrowing a chassis from another scale probably defeats the object of TT:120 being a correct scale:gauge ratio- if you are reducing a 3mm chassis to 2.5mm isn't the wheelbase now also going to be 18% out? Just a thought Les Hornby's designers said quite categorically that reducing CAD from one scale to another doesn't work- clearances fail and bits become so thin they can't be made. That also seems to be why locos chassis can be converted from OO to EM or P4 but not the other way round.... Wouldn't upscaling from N and finding chassis blocks there that are the right length be more profitable? L

I'm looking forward to a pair of Dapol easi-shunt magnets arriving. I thought I had some in stock left over from Croft Spa but I haven't. I've already tried fitting Easi-shunt couplings into the nem pockets on Tillig wagons and my Piko Class 290 and had no trouble with them on Hornby Radius 2 curves either pulling or propelling. The next step is to try the auto uncoupling. For fixed rakes I'm going to stick with the Tillig couplers supplied on (most of) my stock but I want to shunt without the hand in the sky appearing on the front of the layout- the side seen by the punters. Backstage a home made uncoupler stick is fine for these. I agree with the description of Continental modelling having much more emphasis on kitbuilding the scenery. Having done two Continental layouts in N and gone much further than most on both occasions I've been happy to stick with the pattern. My brass kits inhabit the OO shunting plank NO PLACE, though hardly any punters spot that they aren't r-t-r. This latter isn't because I don't talk to punters. The complaint I get is that I talk to too many! I see TT:120 in the UK leaning more to the Continental pattern with kitbuilding for buildings- more so as people discover the laser-cut and 3D printed ranges from Igra and DMToys on the Continent and as West Hill Wagon Works and LCut Creative amongst others get their ranges expanded. The main thing is how many will have the patience to wait anther 9-10 months for Hornby to get a tank engine off the blocks or a few years for Peco to get its wagon range up to speed. When we have the Class 37 and the small tank there should be the opportunity for bodyline kits to be 3D printed, starting a pathway for those newcomers to move towards more complex building. Until then we are still in the realms of speculation as to what proportion will follow that path. Some will, but I think most who want to engineer will already be happy elsewhere. Les Building up the courage to weather a £400 Roco loco......

I'm wondering about this concentration on building kits and scratchbuilding.. Looking at the various TT:120 forums on Facebook, the combined membership of which (at least the ones I know of) is over 5000 members, the vast majority of active members seem to be newcomers to the hobby. Indeed the majority of pictures posted show layouts that are little beyond train set ovals with short trains running at unrealistic speeds. Technically the most common question after "better controllers" and HM7000 appears to be "will Peco track join to Hornby?", followed by "what make of track pins should I use?" On at least one of these groups having come up with answers to a lot of these questions (repeatedly) I've been called a guru. This might be flattering but is far from correct. I think the majority of scratchbuilding and fine quality kit building will remain in the scales where it is now- 4mm and 3mm scales. That would mean 1:120 scale will tend to mostly use r-t-r stock which may be weathered and renumbered. The impetus for scratchbuilding and kitbuilding I believe will be on the scenic side- though an awful lot seem happy with ready to plant. Personally, I'm moving up a scale from N gauge. I spent about two hours yesterday struggling to persuade an N-gauge Hobbytrain coupling spring to go back into the ridiculously small enclosure it came from so I could sell the loco as a runner rather than as spare parts, so I'm not regretting moving upwards. I have mild dyspraxia which helps explain why OO gauge loco chassis I built in my younger days never ran well enough to satisfy me. I also now have repetitive strain injury and have arthritis developing- I often need a wrist splint. Those like NCB who "don't see chassis as a problem" I can only admire. But these gents are a minority in any scale, and becoming more so. Les

demonstrators Cardboard Works - John Fownes and team showing how to make magnificent model stock with the cheapest materials. Tony Wright Loco Clinic MERG- Model electronics for railways. 3D Printing demonstration, another stand from MERG. Weathering - Roger Garrett (subject to availability) Les

It won't look a lot like the real Broken Scar. It also refers to an injury I picked up in 1967 on what later became St Cuthbert's way when I hit a parked Mark 1 Cortina on my bike having flinched when someone roared past within a couple of inches of my pedals.... Les

Just about to get NO PLACE off the bench to get it ready for South Notts show on April 1st and 2nd. It will largely be without me for the weekend. Since I'm doing club sales the layout will be in the capable hands of Geoff Warren and Eric Beech, with Alf Hodkin on Saturday and probably Pete George on Sunday, allowing three new operators to be trained (Eric, Alf and Pete). Just as well as the layout appears to have a longer future than I'd planned for it. With bookings now to September 2025 that means I think that Broken Scar will be the eventual replacement, some time in 2026. The show will be 100% sound with stay-alive, the last non-sound locos having now been laid aside for sale or upgrade. The latest one back from Digitrains was the Hardy's Hobbies Hunslet 16", which will take its turn on the passenger side, replacing the 1361 and the IOW O2, which are up for sale together with the railbus. It is likely that the Janus will follow them, together with the 56xx and the 57xx, but I've not yet decided what to do with these. The indulgence might well make an appearance. Yet to be photographed is a second Lambton WD, this time using a 3D printed cab from an eBay purchase swapped onto my ancient Dapol WD Saddletank. The rest of the eBay purchase with a flowerpot chimney is in the queue for sound fitting, with an appropriate Walkden name applied. The front of this one is in the first pic. First priority after getting the layout set up is to check that the uncouplers all work properly. After that I'll investigate the use of Hornby point clips to see if I can get the front shed road back into use. There might not be time. More later, in about 10 days or so. Les

"or you can wait until we've made it and read the excellent reviews of the real thing...."

Worth looking on the Modellbahn Union site- apart from their own 3D prints they list Igra (laser printed building kits and sheets of doors/windows etc) and quite a few others. Rather than complete scratchbuilding I'm up for the next best thing, assembling kits in the wrong order and cross-kitting with bits of several in one structure. Les

That justifies my decision to do the German Bregstadt layout before the UK Broken Scar - too much risk of having a completed exhibition layout and no appropriate locos to run on it. Broken Scar will need up to seven J94s and a couple of other 0-6-0 locos (08 or Jinty most likely). With R1 planned for the end bigger locos are out. Les

There was a packet from Peco this morning. The two points returned to me repaired rather than replaced. There was a note in with them. "Dear Mr Richardson. Our apologies for the delay in returning your turnouts. On examination we have found an issue with the tiebar, so we have now fitted the new version, strengthened tiebar. Kind regards..." Looking at them I can't see a difference between these and the unused one I have of the second batch of four. Perhaps my second batch have the strengthened tiebar already. The two survivors of my original four are fixed down. As the layout is now complete I'll keep these in reserve in case of another failure- though I'm going to be ballasting them when the layout gets re-erected in mid-May, so sod's law says that if those are going to fail they'll wait until then... I suggest that if anyone else has points that fall apart like those two they return them to Peco for replacement under warranty- I made the mistake of not asking for warranty replacement so got them back repaired. Les

Traders (with apologies if I leave anyone out) Malc's Models (Ilkeston) Sherwood Models (Nottingham) A2B Models (Matlock Bath) Book Law Publications (Nottingham) Rocket Railways (Coalville) Starlight Models (Wellingborough) Railstuff (Cheadle) J&C Models (East Goscote) Railway Correspondence & Travel Society plus our own Club Sales stand (which I'm in charge of this year despite having my own layout there....) Les

Two more views of the track plan. Today has been spent first going to town to Access Models to cancel a TT gauge diesel that they had on pre-order with Gaugemaster after the latter shifted its status from "new item not yet released" to "not in stock but can be ordered" - the same status as a Roco 4-6-4 I had pre-ordered direct from them which after a long wait turned out to be out of stock at Roco (yet was still in Gaugemaster's catalogue last time I looked). I've substituted an order for a pair of Minitrix sound-fitted locos that Gaugemaster reckon they have in stock. These will form part of an upgrade to Bregenbach's fleet. Why go through the Local shop for stuff on Gaugemaster's website? Doing it this way I get 10% discount that I don't get from Gaugemaster, and the shop makes about fifty pounds on the deal. Worthwhile doing it. Les

First of a few new locos- a Roco Taurus by Fleischmann. Even sounds like a Taurus.

The different way that model shops operate in Europe. These big shops expect to keep the whole range in stock, unlike in the UK where dealers choose which bits they think will sell. Les