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Oh yes I use all the others, slips, 3-way the lot, but never the curved points. I couldn't visualise how their geometry would fit. You have done it amazingly. A designer's eye I expect!

I really like that! Are they really Streamline curved points? Wow! Never seen them used so effectively before! That is so good it hurts. S...t, I wish I had seen that 2 years ago when I was designing my layout!

Excuse me? Where are these R1s? The layout is all R2 or larger and as for not working try watching the video.

To be blunt - what is it? Why are there 2 sets of tiddly sidings at the top? Do you need the crossover at the bottom? Why the kickback? This is using points and rail without thinking "why"? The point several people are making is that you could have station one end and fiddle yard the other on a 1' or 18" plank. There are lots of designs for such a thing. Look at the Minories threads, three carriage trains in 10ft should be achievable.. RJS's post is about using one form of fiddle yard which you could put at one end of the plank or another with the station at the other end. As I tried to point out - if you have 4ft width you can pull forward an 18"/2ft plank and have room to operate it from behind, that way you can have a station to the left, some sidings at the front to the right and a fiddle yard behind them. Try looking at the Bradfield Gloucester Square layout for the idea (search on this site). And if you want a roundy roundy there are plenty of ideas and you could do worse than look at thread about an 8' by 4' family layout.

Oh so true. I agree, mimic panels give you a much better haptic (tactile) feedback than these awful glass touchscreens. Half the time I touch and it doesn't do anything. Press a real button or turn a switch and you KNOW something has been done. My computing colleagues think I'm mad.

A TMD is certainly a matter of choice. A friend has something similar, and I have seen many of them. Loco comes in, maybe gets fuelled and then stands waiting its turn. Loco comes out of shop fuels up and waits to go out on line on test. First loco moves out. A loco which has failed is towed in. etc. For my money absolutely boring. My friend really gets his kicks out of detailing inside and outside of shops, sheds etc. fitting lights and so on. Not much operation there to my mind. But each to his own. If that's what you like there are plenty examples in threads on this site and in every modelling magazine. They are without exception beautiful examples of the modellers art. I prefer operations to timetables rakes of coaches, freight trains to move about and shunt. Each to his own. You need to decide what you want! Once we know we might be able to help further ...............

If that is what you want go for it. My question is what is it, what is its function, why is it there, where does input come from where does it go to. As you have probably guessed i like my railways to serve a purpose, and if it's purposeless why do you shunt that wagon there and not somewhere else. If you can identify industries etc. you can give yourself reasons for moving things about. You need to have some idea of source and destination for some form of timetable or movements schedule - but maybe that's not your thing? I would honestly suggest you keep clear of huge amounts of track - unless that's what YOU want. This is your railway after all. 10 ft by 2ft is a good space - lots of people would give their eye teeth for such space. You could get a Minories into that (look at the Minories thread). Look at http://www.carendt.com/ for small layouts. If you can halve that "table" (not if it is a dining table I suppose) and put wheels on it so you could pull it forward, you could operate it from the back. If you could have another board which you could move at right angles to the main board doring operating times you could have an "L" shape with a "fiddle yard" as Harlequin suggests. What do you mean by table - do you have to use it? If it is solid you'll have a problem putting wires through it to power points and signals - though I suppose that depends on what you want. Most of us have baseboards which are easy to move and have thinner tops for holes for wires etc. You need some more thoughts on your actual layout baseboard type size, location and configuration.

Sorry, but you cannot hope to reach over 4 ft and have buildings and scenery items, you will keep knocking things down or damaging roofs etc as you try to reach over. It is usually said that one should limit these things to 2 ft. The other way is to have a dog bone (or a spiral?) which gives you a circle at both ends and (minimum 3ft probably) with a narrow bit in the middle. That would mean only 4ft for a station?. You might need a head and hand hole in the end circles for when the stock comes off the track (and it WILL!). Does it have to be roundy-roundy? The type of track is immaterial - I would keep what you have and use it unless there are spare funds around (unlikely after moving?). If you WANT to change the track the possibilities are discussed elsewhere on this forum. I think we need to know the free area (including operating space) . Some form of diagram would help.

You may be able to have a short but full station in the space you have - depends where you can operate it from. The "Piano Line" has been an inspiration for many - see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/24517-time-to-tune-the-piano/ post#9. In essence the greatly admired Bradfield Gloucester Square was a much bigger version of this idea with a swinging traverser in the fiddle yard to allow the storage of trains behind the backscene see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28198-bradfield-gloucester-square-br-1962-ish/ Bradfield was 15 feet long I believe No reason why this couldn't be adapted for any kind of traffic. 10ft could still do 4 coach mail trains or similar? A 47+ 4 MK1s is about 4'4" long in old money.

I haven't heard about this "Digital Crispin" before (I don't think so anyway). Is Cleklewyke around on this forum or can anybody give a reference so I can look at it please? [Edit] Aaargh! now who feels a twit - it's Peter Denny's "Digital Crispin" for when his son was otherwise engaged! Is there a proper description? I have the book , but it isn't explicit.

I do hope I haven't clumsily traipsed over this thread. My intention was merely to show that there were other methods of control without trying to simulate the issue of tokens - which I thought about and discarded. Since most often there is only me operating the layout I also looked for a way to do away with bells - since I would feel a little foolish signalling to myself. The idea of using a computer so that you felt you were in the middle of a "proper" railway system had escaped me - but then I only have an end to end system with 2 control points (block posts). The ideas are interesting and worthy of more discussion - please ignore my ignorant interruption and continue ..................... sorry.

This may be of absolutely no interest, but I went one stage further and imitated a form of Tokenless Block. But then I only have a station and a fiddle yard. The main line is single (of course) and entry is controlled by signals interlocked with the (button and light simulation of) Tokenless Block instruments. Signals are replaced by passing an IRDOT, so it all looks the thing - though no real railwayman would recognise it! A photo of the layout diagram is attached. Since there are only 2 block posts the whole thing is consolidated into one panel which sits between them for join operating when there are two or more operators. If there were more block posts then there could be more control boards and the Tokenless Block lights would then be repeated on them. The panel is single button route setting (just in case you wondered?)

Ditto BUT they are off set - i.e. bigger to one side than the other. One would NOT fit into a Bachmann Class 20 - had to use a Zen Nano - or a Bachmann 108 - had to use a Zen 218 (but then I think only a plug and loom would fit in the space available). So whilst satisfactory they won't necessarily fit everywhere.

I had thought of having some shorter ones - do you cut in the middle? I find the "railer" ends very useful to get locos properly loaded (push on) from the storage roads. As an aside I loved Sheffield Exchange and I'm dead jealous! Hope you get things back together again soon. I have seen your big new one in your thread. I must say I prefer smaller - but I expect that's 'cos I don't have room.

A couple of photos attached to show how robust they are done "my" way (this is somebody else's idea of course - but I cannot remember whose or where I saw it). This arrangement is foolproof and means no touching of locos after they are loaded up. I have a lot of these things and load my locos with a duty number attached so I know what goes where for my WTT. I have a convention that everything drives in forwards an out in reverse - since everything is late 60's Scottish diesels - hence the arrow showing "forward".

"The cassettes and the hidden spur allow locos to be turned and coupled to the front of a different set of rolling stock without appearing on the scenic part of the layout like this: Train runs out of station on the Up line to any traverser line (T1-T6). Loco runs onto the cassette at the end of the traverser and uncouples. The operator moves the cassette (turning it around if required) to a clear traverser line. The operator connects the traverser to the hidden spur and drives the loco across the traverser onto the hidden spur. (Remember to keep the warehouse doors closed so that the loco can't be seen from the station!) The operator connects the traverser line containing the desired rolling stock to the hidden spur and reverses the loco to couple up with it. The operator slides that traverser line across to connect with the Down line and the new train is ready to depart. That way a loco can run around rolling stock on any of the lines T2-T6 but unfortunately not on T1 because that line can't be connected to the hidden spur. It would be possible if the traverser only had 5 lines but I think it's best to have as much storage as possible. There are lots of way to work around this problem, including manually repositioning the loco but the most interesting is this: In the dead of night, when no-one's watching, open the warehouse doors and drive the loco from the hidden spur, through the goods yard onto the headshunt and back up the running lines to either Up or Down connected to T1. :-)" PhilM" (somehow cutting down this quote made posting underneath as usual impossible) Phil, maybe I have misunderstood something or missed something in other posts. I am in a similar position but I have 4 fixed roads not a traverser (beyond my skill set). What I do is use Peco LocoLifts - they are 29.5 cm long and sit ON the track. I have cut approx 4mm thick and 40mm wide strip wood to replace the silly floppy sides supplied by Peco, it's a force fit in and this makes a good solid construction. In my usage loco runs on to the lift at the left hand (in your case) end of the siding, it is uncoupled and the whole lift moved either off the fiddle yard or to the head (the right hand in your case) of this or another train (turning if required). In this way the loco does not need to move, the fiddle yard operator moves it to where it is needed. The stock can easily run through the loco lift when it is at the head of a train, it just pushes down on the rails, and then it can be moved to the far end of the next appropriate incoming line. You need a few loco lifts of course. You can have a whole set of them arranged on a single siding if you are using DCC, just lifting them around as needed. In this way I manage to run quite an intensive service. This also means you can use your goods warehouse as a source and destination for goods to break up and make up trains - the stock is propelled in and disappears onto a traverser road to be brought out again later.

Thanks so much for the suggestion, but I don't think I'll bother!

Thank you everybody for your help and encouragement. There is a happy ending after all (apart from DCC Concepts generously replacing the damaged chip). Having had this experience I am very wary now of what I do and how I do it. I have now re-fitted the Lima 37 chassis with a Zen 360 Direct and its stay alive.and it works very well just as the original one did. This one came from another source as decoders seem to be becoming scarce - or at least DCC Concepts ones are. I was scrupulous about keeping the chassis on the bench, wearing a static lead and insulating EVERYTHING. I could probably have covered the full size one with all the electricians' tape and Kapton I used (I exaggerate of course, but only a little!). The weight is well stuck down and all the wires tucked away and stuck down, except for the orange and grey ones attached to the motor bogie which requires freedom of movement. Only when I was sure that eveything was well insulated and stuck did it get anywhere near my programming track, which was pre-set into program mode. The result is that the Zen provides a very controllable model with a response which is far better than I expected given that it is only an old pancake motor (and I am aware of the slagging off they receive!). Now I hope it has a long and useful life ahead of it.

Thanks for the ideas. I will I think put a Sprog in some form or other on my Christmas list. I must think what I really need as opposed to the all singing all dancing possibilities! Your views on The PowerCab are interesting. I am about to try to refit a decoder into my Lima chassis and program it - I'll bear your views in mind.

Thanks for the link. SPROGs seem to have moved on a lot since I last looked - the Pi-SPROG system seems to be a complete replacement for the PowerCab (if you are not frightened of Linux or computers) with the addition of JMRI if you are in to all that complication.

Wow that threw me. I don't know why I doubted you but I went and checked it for myself. This is way off topic but it's the reason I like DCC sound - it makes you drive to the sound. Nothing is more disappointing at exhibitions than to see locos whizzing about and stopping abruptly. I'm not sure what to set the CVs at to get this performance but I'll redouble efforts.

You might have seen the other threads on programming track and a fried chip in which I have been involved. I too use an NCE PowerCab. I think you will find that Yard Mode is for PowerPro only. I have to say that in program track mode (not program on main - the fourth option on the Prog/Esc key) I have been able to read CVs 2,5 and 6 as well as change them.

That's some good thoughts. DCC Concepts say the stay alive shouldn't have caused problems, but I did nothing to discharge it before I took the chip out so maybe that's it. I have a chip remover which is plastic (kind of tongs), but it takes some fiddling about. As you say they are quite a tight fit. Maybe I bridged something - but that would mean I needed power about, as you say maybe the stay alive. I am going to have to be so careful next time!

I don't thing it can actually do anything about it of itself. I think it relies on you to remove the loco or whatever. The PowerCab when in normal mode simply cycles round resetting itself - and will presumably eventually fry. Mine did get warm as I sought the short on one occasion. In program track mode it is also up to you - but it does tell you and it doesn't get hot about it.

Darn! There you are I KNEW I had forgotten something simple. Thanks Torper - at least you made me laugh! Yeah - I will certainly be careful as to how I handle the replacement chip. Write down what you are going to do, read it through, check with a friend, do it under controlled conditions.