Richard Lee

Possibly Bulgarian.

Shocking! I'll get my coat.

I decided to get into model railways about 5 years ago. When I started, I was on a budget, and I wasn't sure whether my interest would continue. I started by using DC, with the thought that I would probably end up using DCC. Since then, I have decided that I am happy with DC, and have no intention of changing to DCC. Others will have decided differently. Might I suggest that people choose what they think suits them and their circumstances best?

If Hattons sell the new Peco bullhead points at £25 each then they will be cheaper than Marcway. In fairness to Marcway, their OO and EM ranges of ready made point work have 36", 48", 54" and 60" radius points at £27.50 each. http://marcway.net/list2.php?col=head&name=Marcway+00+%26+EM+Pointwork

My guess is that if you want to use them for power routing (such as isolating sidings), the best bet would be to use them as electro-frogs with insulating rail-joiners on the 2 rails that come from the frog, then connect power to the rails in the sidings beyond the insulated rail-joiners from the frog. I do this with the ordinary Peco Code 75 electro-frogs and Marcway points, and been happy with the results. Must admit that I will be extremely interested to hear how people get on with them.

Sometimes I am happy to be shown that I am wrong. Thank you.

From the sample pictures, it looks to me as if there is no daylight under the boiler. My Hornby Terriers do have daylight underneath their boilers. If Hattons or anyone else do decide to produce a new model Terrier in OO, it would be a good idea to ensure that there is daylight visible underneath the boiler, otherwise the new model will be compared unfavourably with the old Hornby ex-Dapol Terriers.

I know that there are people doing live steam with radio control for garden railways, but are there any radio-controlled clockwork locomotives around?

Was it this one? Although some of Smallbrook's kits don't include a chassis it appears that this one does.

I believe that you might be correct. Recently I have had a look on Amazon for small solar powered pumps for ponds. A lot of them wouldn't be shipped to Bulgaria. The only thing that I found on their explanation page was that batteries couldn't be shipped to certain EU countries. As I don't require water features to work at night and I believe that batteries are likely to fail before anything else I was specifically looking at the cheaper ones *WITHOUT* back-up batteries.

Sounds as if was a vast problem. [Hat, coat, door etc.]

Probably not the best answer that you will get, but I bought a largish packet of Dapol NEM tension locks that included the NEM pocket. Whenever I do a kit (which isn't hugely frequently, I admit) I stick one on each end and replace the tension lock with a Kadee. Sometimes I have to muck about sticking bits of scrap onto the wagon or coach first to make a reasonable place to put the Dapol coupling. So far it has worked for me.

What I do for my smaller layout is to use batteries. I got my battery holder (with switch) from Kytes Lights because it was convenient for me; however, I suspect that you could get one from somewhere like Maplins very easily. The battery holder uses AAA batteries, but because LEDs don't use a lot of power, the batteries will last a long time. One advantage of battery power is that the voltage shouldn't exceed what it is supposed to be. I understand that LEDs tend to be killed by higher voltages.

You could consider getting a Gaugemaster 'electronic track cleaner' (HF1 or HF2), or even an old Relco. I found that slow running on my layout improved noticeably when I started using one. There are a couple of circumstances that would stop you using an 'electronic track cleaner'. Firstly, locomotives with DCC chips fitted shouldn't be used with 'electronic track cleaners' because the chips would be destroyed. Secondly, locomotives with coreless motors (such as the ones from DJM) shouldn't be used with them because the motor might be damaged. You need an auxiliary 16v AC output (such as is to be found on the Gaugemaster Combi and many other controllers) to power the 'electronic track cleaner'. Although it should reduce track cleaning, you will still need to do some. There is an indicator light on the 'electronic track cleaner' that comes on if there isn't an easy path for the current. I suggest that you clean the track if the light starts coming on frequently while you are running trains.

Not sure, but that joke sounds a bit familiar...

I ordered a Hornby Terrier and a packet of Kadee number 18s on Friday afternoon (07/07/2017). I live in rural Bulgaria. The Terrier is currently running round my running-in track and the Kadees have been added to my stock. I am posting this on Tuesday 11th July 2017. Again, a very impressive response to an order. Well done Kernow! Thank you.

Whoops! Sorry about that. Just shows that I don't always read the newsletter carefully

Kernow's newsletter and website say that they have received them. Presumably other retailers will have them very soon.

Not their flexi-track. Current price seems to be £46.50 for a box of 10 yards, so £4.65 per yard. The flexi-track is on thin bases, so may possibly be of interest to you. http://marcway.net/list3.php?col=head&name=SCALEWAY+TRACK As you have to ring them or visit the shop to do business with them, you have the option of asking them if they would consider selling less than a whole box if you want to. The same firm, Marcway, also do ready-made copper-clad points, of course. These are the same height as the SMP flexi-track.

I think that the issue of EM versus P4 domestic cats and other felines should also be looked into.

Langley Miniatures also do them in OO.

I use a Gaugemaster HF1 'electronic track cleaner' on my layout. It reduces track cleaning a lot and improves low speed running. I am very pleased with it. However, as has been said above, don't use them with either DCC chipped locomotives or coreless motors. (I put a switch in the AC power supply to the 'electronic track cleaner' so that I can switch it off whenever I want to use my DJM/Kernow O2.) I would suggest that you clean the track after you see the indicator light showing when running trains more than a very small amount, because although it reduces the frequency that track cleaning is required, it doesn't eliminate it. Edit: Having one of these doesn't stop you changing any plastic wheels for metal wheels, which I do on my layout.

I think the way to quote more than one person is to click the 'MultiQuote' button for each, then click on the little box that comes up 'Reply to X quoted post(s)' where 'X' is the number of posts that you have clicked the multi-quote button for.

An excellent idea! It so happens that I am considering doing a layout in a fantasy setting... Thank you.

This is an interesting thread for me. I used to have to run in locomotives by repeatedly going backwards and forwards from one end of the 'L' to the other. Recently I bought a Bachmann Branchline train set which included an oval that uses 2nd radius curves (between 17" and 18" radius). I stuck the track on a left-over piece of chipboard that I store upright. The loco and carriages were well worth what I paid for the set; the oval of track and a controller for it were bonuses. I have thought of getting a rolling road, but haven't up to now.