Kiwi_Ed

Seems like I've muddled up my scales.. I know perfectly well that 1:148 is British N-scale, for some reason seeing that the 3D prints come from Holland I assumes that it was the continental scale. That's great news (not that I am going mad and mixing things up, but the other part!)! This one is definitely on my wish list again! I don't model in 2mm finescale, just N gauge with mainly RTR. I don't think I have the skill (yet) to become a 2mm purist! Thanks for your replies! Ed

Hello Tom, Really enjoy seeing your project develop. I am very curious about the 3D printed Palvan. I've been in doubt of getting a few of these for a while, but according to the description on Shapeways, they are 1:148 (continental N-scale) and I am a bit worried that they look odd. How do you think they compare to 1:160 vans? I'd love to see a photo if at all possible of two vans together. Happy modelling! Ed

I was thinking of using card sleeves as pockets, you can get these at gaming (not the digital type..) shops or online.

Please do explain your trials, tribulation and thought process. Along the Chapeltown Loop has been such an inspiration and looked great in its unfinished state - it would only have gotten better if you had the time to finish it. Anything you want to share about your current project can only be just as inspiring!

Reading through the PDF I came across the first problem with this system: What is you have a train full of standard vans destined for several 'spots'? There is no way of telling which van goes where.. Obviously you could get around this by keeping the Car Order Cards in a certain order (don't drop the pile!) and pretend that the cars are in the same order, but to me it feels more natural to actually know which wagon to pick from the train to place in its spot.. Continuing on from this problem: What about cars that are placed 'off spot'? If there is a siding with several wagons on it that are waiting to be placed in their right spot it is also quite difficult to remember which wagon is suppose to go where. Besides this I don't really like the way cars are picked up again.. There is no random factor to this: you simply decide if a delivered car will be picked up during the next session or not. Obviously you could easily make this a bit more random by using a dice (even numbers = pick up, uneven = hold). Even so I like northolland's system where there is just a pile of outgoing loads for that specific day and you just have to find the wagons for it better. The biggest downside is that you need to keep your cards in order with the order of the wagons in a train or on a siding. If the pile of cards get mixed up there is no way to tell what load is in which wagon and what goes where. Does this matter for the 'play factor'? I suppose not, but I would like to pretend that my train is real and hate to think what would happen if a van full of meat get mixed up with a van full of paper for the local printer - I don't think they are going to be too pleased when they open the doors after the wagon has been stored in the yard for two days... All in all I am undecided.. The system is simple to implement and easily expended when there are more locations added to a layout. On the other hand I think it is more fun to actually follow a particular wagon around the layout and let the waybills decide where it goes instead of just picking any random suitable wagon for the load. Well, actually, that's what you're doing with card cards as well! I suppose it could be worth giving this system a go. The system easily allows to add car cards later on if it doesn't suffice so nothing is lost by starting off without them.

Glad somebody bit the bullet in re-awakening this topic.. My fingers have been itching for typing a reply and asking how/if a new layout was progressing! Very happy to hear that you are working on a layout again, northolland! This topic has been by far the best I have ever read (anywhere!) on operations. The way in which you semi-randomly split your waybills up in work days is really cool and this with all the different trips makes operation really fun without it becoming too much of game instead of a representation of prototypical operations. This 'orders without numbers' system looks interesting as well - saves a lot of hassle of making car cards. I'll have a good read through the PDF! I am looking forward on seeing more progress on the new layout and very curious how it will be operated upon.

Wow, Dave, excellent workon the TMD. It really 'fits' into place! Keep up te great work! Ed

Great Layout Martyn! Would love to see more picture. I'm especially impressed with the way you worked out a way of having an extra branch line running back into the fiddle yard, I do need to remember that one. It looks great!

Excellent weathering on your road vehicles. I'd love to hear how that is done. And over all a very nice layout, definitely will be checking in on this topic ever so often!

Kevin, thanks for the tour! Absolutely brilliant Really enjoyed following that train along!

Interesting arrangement on that roof by the way (some type of CCTV camera and quick response unit??)

Paul, That is absolutely brilliant, gives a good impression on how the different part connect. Judging by the pictures and videos earlier there is no passenger traffic on the harbour, so I'm guessing that these run behind the harbour layout with a branch somewhere into the harbour. Looking forward to seeing a detailed trackplan! Thanks so far! Ed

Kevin, Just spend a few days reading this topic front to back and back to front again! Absolutely brilliant work, great modelling and great operations as well; your trains actually have somewhere to go and do their things. Something I am missing on a lot of layouts.. The extensions really add to the 'value'! Earlier in the topic you drew a rough track plan of the original layout, but I am having some trouble fixing together the pieces of the extension. The three videos earlier give a good impression on how the different parts connect but I still cannot seem to figure out what is exactly where and how it all fits together. Can I be so bold to ask you for another updated track plan? Keep up the good work, definitely going to keep following this one! Edwin

Paving by hand in N! You're mad, mate! But brilliant work, an inspiration as always..

Brilliant that it's working for you David! I'll be ordering my motorshield and arduino soon to give this a proper go. Have to dig into the system a bit deeper to figure out how to make a (wireless) handheld controller..