Dungrange

DCC Concepts produce a set of modern end of train lamps https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/end-of-train-lamp-with-all-electronics-3-pack/ I've not used these - just know they exist.

Thanks Jules, If Railtec are willing to do a custom order for you, Steve can sell me the same transfer pack if you are doing 394829 in this condition -

Does anyone produce transfers for the MHA? I have a couple of the S-Kits resin bodies to paint up and put on the Hornby chassis, which will require transfers - I was hoping that Railtec may do them at some point.

Josh, I started a similar topic last year - There is a better market for smaller layouts than large ones, so you may have a reasonable chance of a sale, but you still need to find someone who wants what you have built and has the space to accommodate it. I agree that advertising a layout for sale at an exhibition is one way of doing it. Ideally you want to find someone reasonably local to you. However, as has been said, RMWeb is a large group of potential purchasers. Do you have a layout thread on here? If so, highlight that you are looking to sell and see how many people contact you.

I understand that the postponed event is now going to be held on the weekend of the 4th/5th May.

Is the 8 thou difference in height noticeable when mixing these track ranges or is there also a difference in sleeper thickness that means that the top of the rail heads align?

I'm not a fan of layouts with the operators out front unless the layout is a relatively small fiddle yard to terminus type layout and the single operator is situated in front of the fiddle yard - ie not blocking the scenic area. I'm not sure I that understand why the 'Shunter' has to be out front - I think this role could just as easily be performed from the rear and would avoid blocking the audiences view unnecessarily. With regards the 'Signaller', I think you are only placing them out front so that the public can see the NX Panel. Would it be possible to have the layout at a height such that the operators would be seated behind the layout but that the signaller would have to stand behind the layout with his back to the audience. The NX Panel would then be separate from the layout, but mounted at a height such that it could be seen quite clearly above the height of the back-scene. The downside is that the 'Signaller' would not be able to see operations on the layout (which would be behind him) but this would be prototypical. Most signalling staff do not have any knowledge of what is actually happening on the track beyond what is relayed to them through the track circuits etc. This would then avoid blocking views for those interested in the scenic area, while also allowing those who would like to see the NX Panel being able to do so by looking above the back-scene. It may not work, because I'm not entirely sure what this NX Panel will look like, but that's my two pence worth.

I'm hoping for one or more of the SPT Carmine and Cream livery to work alongside the Barbie unit that I already have. I suppose that's a problem with so many liveries to choose from. Hopefully SPT Carmine and Cream will make the category of 'Further Planned Liveries'.

Well, I take your point, and if anyone only wants a few wagons, that would make sense. However, shows three triple packs worth of PFA wagons behind a pair of Class 20s but if purchasing your three DRS packs, I'd be three containers short and whilst they may not add much to the cost of the PFA, I'm sure that if you decide to sell the containers individually they won't be free! Unfortunately, I really like the British Fuels containers, but the DRS ones would fit better with my era. Decisions, decisions.

Out of interest, how long did the British Fuels livery remain in traffic? I've seen plenty of pictures of these in various EWS Enterprise services in the later half of the 1990s, but I'm assuming that this traffic may have been lost when EWS became a lot less enthusiastic about wagon load traffic around 1999/2000. Is that correct? Presumably the loss of traffic around this time was the reason why surplus PFA wagons were available for DRS to acquire.

What I don't understand is why three empty wagons are the same price as ones with a container?

That's correct, although it's probably worth highlighting that cross fall can be greater where the curvature of the road is sharper than normal. TD9/93 is online at http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/vol6/section1/td993.pdf and Table 3 is the most relevant to this discussion. If you take a design speed of 50 kph (30 mph) as an example, any curve with a radius of more than 520 m may be designed with a camber, where the carriageway falls at 2.5% from the centre to the edge. For curves down to radii of 360 m, it wouldn't be camber but a cross fall across the full width of the carriageway from the outside of the curve to the inside. Tighten the radius to 255 m and the cross fall (super-elevation) should be increased to 3.5%. Tighten the radius to 180 m and the cross-fall (super-elevation) should be increased to 5%. Tighten the radius to 127 m and the cross fall (super-elevation) should be increased to the maximum of 7%. In model form, all of this will likely equate to a difference of less than 1 mm in N gauge across the width of your traffic lanes. It shouldn't be that noticeable, but probably worth doing. However, as has also been pointed out, there should be a longitudinal gradient as well, although this may be as little as 0.5% (and even less on 'sag' and 'crest' curves - ie a dip and the brow of a hill.

It appears that this weekend's exhibition has been postponed rather than cancelled and will hopefull happen later in the year. The following has been issued by the Newlands Centre. **POSTPONEMENT** Due to the issuing of a South of Scotland Yellow weather warning tomorrow and the localised expectation that the probability of heavy snow is 90% forecasted, we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the Model Rail & Layout Exhibition this weekend. Our Centre stands at an elevation of around 200-270m above sea-level so any snow forecast is likely to impact here. Exhibitors were expected from all over Scotland & the North of England so we felt it was prudent, after last years snow, to give all as much warning of this decision as possible. A lot of preparation has been undertaken for this event which we are understandingly reluctant to lose. We will therefore seek to re-schedule the event for a suitable date in the future. We will advise you of this in due course.

Fred looks as good as any ready painted figures and certainly better than the bulk packs from China. However, the fact that the locomotive looks like it's about to take off, distracts me from admiring your workmanship. You just need to paint Fred's fireman now.

Peco have recently announced Medium Bullhead points, but not sure when they will be available - they will follow on from the slips and crossing.

I notice that the original request for which 'diesel locomotive' people would want has simply become an 'item'. There is still plenty of items that I'd like that are not diesel locomotives.

My wagon recognition skills aren't great, but are these sandwiched between the same type of wagon produced by RevolutioN Trains? That is the VTG Red versions that were originally on the Murco flows out of Milford Haven, but have since been displaced elsewhere? If so, I'm assuming it would be okay to mix these with other types.

Admittedly I visited my local Maplin's several times, including on the very last day that they were open, when I picked up some random cable drums for a £1 each. That wire's not suitable for a DCC bus, but I was sure that once stripped, I'll eventually find a use for several hundred metres of telephone cable - most likely to wire LEDs into buildings. I suspect that the branch that was closest to me was one of the last ones to close, because I frequently went in during the preceding weeks and they seemed to have new stock (which I think had probably been transferred from another store).

Thanks everyone for confirming that there is no colour standard for DCC bus wiring. In some respects that seems strange, but for a layout with multiple power districts, I can see that it makes sense that a different colour pair is used for each power district and it would therefore be easy to use up the limited range of distinct colours highlighted earlier rather quickly if say red and black were used for power district one, grey and orange for power district two etc, etc. In my case either the track bus or the accessory bus will be red and black because I've already bought some 2.5mm cable for that purpose. I'll therefore just order a couple of different colours for the accessory bus. I'll probably stick with frog wires being green since I think I have quite a bit of green 16/0.2 wire that I picked up cheaply from my local Maplin's closing down sale.

I've not used these, so I am only guessing, but since you are not using a DCC decoder, you must be relying on the Hall trigger to turn the EOT control on and turn it off again. My reading of the instructions is that if a magnet passes within a couple of millimetres of the Hall trigger it will turn the circuit on and that you would then remove the magnet. That is, the magnet should only be close to the Hall trigger for a short period of time. When the same magnet passes within a couple of millimetres of the Hall trigger for a second time, it will turn the EOT control off. That is, I think the Hall trigger should toggle between two states. However, when you say about a 'constant connection', I'm wondering if you have interpreted this a when the magnet is close to the Hall trigger then it should be on and when the magnet is removed it should go off. I don't think that the position of the switch on the EOT matters as it seems to just control the flash rate. Hopefully someone who actually knows how these work will be along soon.

Schmalzberg, a German narrow gauge layout owned by one of our club members, will also be attending this event in a little over two weeks. Layout details are on our club website at http://www.elmrc.org.uk/memberlayouts.php#schmalzberg

Gordon, According to the company website linked to above, the business includes "the servicing and maintenance of rail fleets, hire of wagons and the supply of Trackmobile road/rail vehicles". It also states that "the Company strives to provide a quick turn round in maintenance and modifications conducted in one of our 3 covered workshops. On-site repairs are easily catered for by our mobile squads which can cover the whole of the UK, each carrying a wide selection of spare parts and brake testing equipment". I'm assuming that the three covered workshops referred to are the three rail lines that enter the building in Hamilton. However, it is possible that more of their work is now undertaken 'on site' using their mobile squads rather than rail vehicles having to be brought to their premises. Perhaps the onsite work is now largely limited to modifications rather than simple repairs which can be done by a man and a van. Interestingly, looking at other photographs on Flickr following Simon's post above, it looks as though Colas may be or have been the only recent suppliers of motive power to Earnock sidings. However, at least I now know that the train engine seems to shunt the wagons into E G Steele's premises, although it looks as though they probably use one of their Trackmobile units for on site shunting.