Dungrange

It's okay - they just sell them under a Fictitiouscale brand name.😁

I suspect that it's more likely that someone else has bought the modeltrainstuff.com web domain name rather than a resurrection of the MB Klein business (as the thread title presumes). Presumably there is some goodwill with the brand name, which I suspect has been sold. What is subsequently sold online through a modeltrainstuff.com website, we'll have to wait and see.

It does look as though no-one has anything useful to add. Even the title is misleading, as it doesn't appear that MB Klein will be returning. If the business is just shutting down, which is the case here, I seen nothing unusual in them contacting customers with outstanding gift certificates to refund the remaining balance. I'd consider that to be normal. It's only when businesses fail that the holders of gift vouchers tend to get nothing because they are near the bottom of the list of creditors and there is rarely enough money to refund them.

. Would have thought to properly comply individual communication would be necessary. Well, I received an e-mail from Hattons about the transfer, so I guess that does count as individual communication. The only problem is that there wasn't very long between when I received the e-mail from Hattons and when I got an e-mail from Accurascale confirming that they had received my pre-order details from Hattons, which means that if I hadn't wanted my details passed on, I'd have had to read the Hattons e-mail and responded right away.

There seems to be rather a lot of sidings that will only hold a two car multiple unit or a locomotive and a single coach or a couple of wagons, but not much else. Do you really just intend to run really short trains? It looks like you've tried to fit in as much track as you can, but I can't really see the purpose of your railway? Where are your trains running to and from and why? There are no station platforms, it's not clear whether there is a goods yard and you seem to have several places to run round, but in each case, you can only run round a very short train (ie a single coach). Such limitations don't bother young children, so if the layout is primarily being built for them, then okay, but I'd want something closer to reality if it was for myself. With regards running two or three trains on DC, that's relatively simple. You just divide the layout up into a number of different electrical sections and then use switches to set which of the controllers you want to drive the trains in that section. This is known as 'cab control'.

There is a thread on here about P D Hancock. If you've any specific questions @dunwurken is the best person to ask. So, do you want that page expanded with more written about the 1975 - 1987 period?

If you need quite a few, just be grateful that a reasonably accurate model is being produced. It would be an even more tedious faff to scratch build them because other companies are overlooked by the ready to run manufacturers.

Or perhaps more likely ends up in a skip because no-one in the family cares about your hobby.☹️ Testing as you go is definitely recommended, otherwise it will be difficult to track down a fault. The question is how many locomotives will be drawing power at the same time? Are the locomotives sound fitted (which will draw more current)? Are the coaches lit (which will also draw current)? Even a locomotive just sitting on the track will draw some power (albeit not much), as will any resister wheelsets that you fit if you go with a current sensing method of detection. How much stock needs to be detected? The amount of current you are drawing through the track will dictate whether your Command Station can provide enough current to operate the layout on its own or whether you will need one or more boosters. The layout that you are planning sounds quite ambitious, so you're probably looking at dividing the layout into one or more power districts and buying one or more boosters to power these. You'll therefore have more than one DCC 'Track Bus' (ie you'll have one from each booster). You may also look at splitting these into sub-districts, each fed through a circuit breaker, so that a short in one part of the layout doesn't shut the entire layout down. You could therefore have quite a few different 'DCC Track Buses', which are all isolated from each other. An 'Accessory Bus' or 'DCC Accessory Bus' is no different from a 'DCC Track Bus' (ie it carries exactly the same DCC signals), but instead of being connected to the track it is connected only to accessories. The advantage of a separate Accessory Bus, is that if each DCC Track Bus is fed through a circuit breaker, then when one trips, the accessories that are connected to the Accessory Bus can still be used. That is, the points can be changed, to remove the short without manual intervention from 'the hand of God'. As has already been said, point motors, etc will draw some current when stationary and usually more when they are being operated. If they are drawing power from your DCC Track bus, then this is power that is being taken away from running the trains. If you have lots of accessories, then they may consume so much power, that you need another DCC booster to meet your current requirements. If this were the case, then it's likely to be cheaper to look at using a separate transformer with an AC / DC output to power some of the accessories simply to reduce the load on your DCC buses. Not all accessories need to be powered the same way, so some could be fed from a DCC Accessory Bus, some could be fed from a 16v AC supply, and others could be fed from a 12v DC supply. You just need to take care to keep all these different power sources separate.

That's the conclusion I came to realise and shunting without a mainline locomotive wasn't what I had in mind originally. Nonetheless, it will be good to see how your plan develops.

I hear the NEC has a weekend free in November 🤣

It was an idea I had in the past, hence this thread -

I think all prospective members do - it's understanding what questions they ask themselves that is unknown. The issue for clubs is what can they do to attract new members. Of your list, this is one of the few things that club members can do to attract new members. I don't really like socialising with people that I don't know. I'm not a fan of conferences with their 'networking opportunities' because I don't really like trying to strike up a conversation with a stranger or someone that I hardly know. I tend to back away from these situations, because I'm not overly confident. However, as our current club secretary, I see it as my job to speak to everyone who comes into the clubroom. A prospective member is not going to come back if they feel like they've been ignored. They might come back if they feel that someone showed an interest in their interests. Of course one friendly person isn't enough if the rest of the membership just keep their head down and ignore the new arrival. It takes a number of people who are willing to be welcoming, but I think we have quite a few friendly members in the club at the moment. This is kind of outside of the club's control, but it does explain why some prospective members come back and some don't. We've had one gentleman who has paid us a visit twice, but he doesn't want to join because apparently he only does O Gauge. That's fair enough, but as a club, we wouldn't survive if everyone took that attitude. My primary interest is the post-privatisation period in 00. In the 20 years I've been a member, we've never built a layout that aligns with my interests, but I've been happy to attend exhibitions to runs trains on the club's O gauge layout, the club's O-16.5 layout, the club's former 009 layout and the club's former N gauge layout, despite the fact that I don't model in any of these scales. I'll be doing the same when the 009 layout that is currently under construction is complete. We have three 00 layouts at the moment, but all represent the late BR steam era, because it's been a dominant interest in the club. That doesn't stop me running my out of period stock on the layout in the clubroom, but I'm happy to think BR in the 1960s when at an exhibition. We have however decided that the next club layout will be a contemporary era layout. All good things come to those who wait. The point is that to fit into a club, you have to be flexible and willing to get involved in any project.

I think what people observe is part of the problem. Around 30 years ago, I first visited a model railway club as a prospective new member aged 22. A few of the members of that club were friendly enough, but I never joined because the younger members were all at least 30 years older than I was and at least half the membership were long past retiral age. I didn't feel as though I fitted in: I was at a different stage in life. I believe that club folded a couple of years after my visits I think I went twice. The next club I visited, I joined. I became their youngest member by about a decade, but crucially there were a few members in their 30s and 40s, so I didn't feel so out of place. Fast forward to today and I'm a member of yet another model railway club and this one has a really good spread of ages between early 20s to mid 80s. Whilst I was one of the younger members when I joined just over 20 years ago, I'm now around the median age. I'm now the second oldest member of our committee (the oldest retired from work a couple of years ago) and two thirds of our committee are now under the age of 35. Going to an exhibition, we'll have a range of operator ages behind the layout and because people see a range of ages, we get membership enquires across the age range. Any 22 year old walking into our club room today stands a good chance of feeling that they will fit in and I think it's that perception that really matters. There are still some young people out there who want to be part of a club, but it's rather off putting when they perceive that the existing membership all look like their father and grandfathers.

Welcome to RMweb @JohnGiusso. As for posting questions, it's relatively simple. If there is already a thread about the subject, just post a question in that thread. You've already done that with your first question. If your question is related to Manufacturer X's model of Y, then there is probably already a thread within the relevant section of the forum and everyone with an interest in that model will read that thread and therefore your question. If your question is specific to you, eg looking for feedback on your proposed track plan or you're looking for details about location X in the year Y, then start a new thread in the appropriate part of the forum. That's important, because some people only browse certain parts of the forum, so if you post a DCC question in a thread about track, the expert who knows the answer to your question may not see it. Also try to make the title informative. That is, instead of 'help required' state 'looking for information about Location X or Class Y' That helps those who just scan down all the new threads and they are more likely to look at a thread that meets their interests. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Mine haven't arrived yet, but they do look good in your photograph. Not modelling the West Highland, I didn't feel tempted to buy quite as many as you!!! 🙂

When I click on the Union flag, I find that it works okay for that page, but then when navigating elsewhere the site no longer works. I've taken to just browsing the site in German and using Google Translate to provide me with the English translation of the German text. Their trees do look more realistic than a lot of the alternatives on the market.

I agree that the page being left open seems to be a common trigger, although today's instance for me wasn't. I was actually reading a post, when the screen scrolled up and then the McAfee page replaced the RMweb URL. Obviously since it's unexpected, I suspect it will be impossible to identify the ads on the screen before the McAfee page pops up. In my case, it's a work laptop, which does have McAfee drive encryption, but not McAfee Total Protection, which is what the popup indicates needs to be renewed. I do have a folder for McAfee Endpoint Security, but it's now Trellix Endpoint Security that is now running on this laptop.

The above page popped up whilst I was browsing the thread below just a few minutes ago. I think this is the only time it's popped up whilst reading a thread - the other times were when I wasn't actively browsing.

I can't find the advert that you describe, but thanks to @doilum, I'm wondering if it was a Domestos advert? They seem to have a few adverts with the tagline 'millions of germs will die' - the one below is just an example of the style.

Yes Poles - refers to the number of number of wires / circuits that you are switching. Throws - refers to the number of 'on' positions that the switch has. A switch labelled On - Off would be called Single Throw. A switch labelled On - Off - On would be called Double Throw, because from the Off position, you can move it in two directions. The simplest switch is a Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) switch, which has just two terminals on the base. All an SPST switch can do is make / break a single circuit. A Double Pole Single Throw (DPST) switch would have four terminals on the base. It would do exactly the same as a SPST switch, except it makes / breaks two circuits at the same time (eg live and return). You can also get 3PST and 4PST switches that would do exactly the same thing, but make / break three or four circuits. The more poles the bigger and more expensive the switch tends to be, so although you can get large numbers of poles, they're not common. All of the switches in @Nigelcliffe's drawing are double throw switches (ie one way connects to controller A and the other to controller B). You could use either Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) or Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switches. The choice is really whether or not you plan to use common return wiring. If you connect all your, say, outer rails as a common return (eg black wire), then you only need SPST switches to switch your feeds (eg red wire). However, if you're not using common return wiring principles, then you'll need DPDT switches and you're switching both the inner and outer rails at the same time. Once you want larger number of throws, you're into rotary switches, so you can get for example three pole, four throw variants, which is what you could use if you had two transformers and were using all four control knobs.

But does it just about fit, or is there not a hope in hell of it fitting, even with 0.5mm removed from the inside edge of the rails? 🙂

Yes, I think that works (to a point) provided you are using Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switches (ie switching both wires simultaneously). You're just using two switches to control which of your four control knobs can be used at any one time. However, the 'cab control' system that @Nigelcliffe highlights is much more flexible as one of your control knobs could be used to drive a train anywhere on the layout without stopping. That is, you could drive it from the sidings to the connecting loop and then to the other loop without any issues. You just need to ensure that the required track section switches are all set for the same controller. The issue with the method that you are proposing is that when a train leaves your sidings (powered by knob 1) when you get to your first loop, it will then need to be controlled by knob 2. As it crosses your join between these two sections, it will either speed up or slow down (depending whether the speed on knob 1 is lower or higher than on knob 2). Alternatively, it will bounce back and forward if you accidently set the two direction switches wrongly. However, with a bit of practise, it should work okay (ie set both controllers at the same speed and same direction for the pass between one controller and the other). Where the method you're proposing falls down is passing a train between your two loops. Because you're proposing that only one or other of these can be used at the same time (because they are both powered from the same transformer winding), you can't drive a train across the gap in a realistic manner. You'd have to drive the locomotive through the crossover and then it would come to a halt once you were over the insulating joiners. You could then throw your switch and use the other controller. I'm not sure that stopping is particularly desirable, but perhaps you could live with that or with a bit of skill you could learn to throw the switch as the locomotive crosses the gap (provided of course you had set up the other controller to a similar speed and same direction in advance). However, the one problem that you wouldn't be able to overcome without the hand of God, would be if you have any locomotives where the pickups on one side are on the locomotive and the pick ups on the other side are in the tender (I'm thinking 1980s Hornby models here). With such a locomotive, it would stop once the locomotive passed over the insulated joiner and throwing your switch would do nothing, because the tender wouldn't have made it over the gap. The hand of God would become your only solution for these locomotives. I'd therefore follow the diagram that @Nigelcliffe has provided above, as it's the better solution.

I agree, but I'd rather spend £400 on something I actually want rather than £250 on something of limited interest (ie out of period / region). Looking at what Rapido might put in a box I'd say that they have a lot more in stock items that I wouldn't want than items that I would, which is my reason for passing. If the surprise excites some people fair enough.

I'm assuming the GER train pack is the analogue rather than the sound fitted version, but it seems good value. If I knew that was the contents I'd have been tempted (even although I don't really need a fourth tram). The problem as always is that there is the risk of getting a locomotive that I don't really want and even if I did strike it luck and get another tram, Rapido don't sell a DCC Sound upgrade. The wagons could be used on a club layout, but for me, BR liveried wagons are of limited interest.

Those sidings at Fort William were the inspiration for this kit from Goodwood Scenics to recreate an Oil Depot https://www.goodwoodscenics.co.uk/oil-depots. It's a bit pricy though.