MarshLane

There's should be an rating button for 'holds head in hands and crys' hehe!! TO be honest, I had a couple of years with N gauge about 20 years ago .. but found it too small for my liking - but each to their own! Rich

Ah thanks for the update Michael - sorry I may have mis-read your original post, I thought a 7mm version was being made available during 2016? Is there a 7mm on the cards? May have to look at going for an 0-6-0 Sentinel in the short-term if not! Rich

Thats a good point actually, will have to keep my eye open. The other option is my NE Brake Van may become the guinea pig once I've painted it - if it goes wrong, I can always repaint it! Noooo! Paul, please don't go putting ideas into Andy's head. Time on rmWeb looking at Beale Street and Bristol Vic 65% looking at other layouts and threads 35% ... I couldn't handle needing to keep up with a third layout from the talented AP! Hehe Rich

Thanks Andy, really am going to have to buck up the courage to have a go at weathering. Might try powders first, then dry brushing - something else for the Bristol list! Rich

Haha! Not done my 40 yet, it's in the queue for audio and DCC! If you get stuck with Templot, just shout - or if you want anything tweaking on an existing plan thrown me the box file over and I'll have a look. Yay! Another Digitrax user! Just a thought, know it's a trek from you, but if your Mrs fancies a shopping day in Lincoln, pop into Digitrains as I think they have various different makes and models rugged up that you can go try. You can. Keys 1-12 are direct, then press OPTN which is latched then 1-10 now gives you 11-20, press OPTN again and you get 21-28. So if you wanted F24 and then F26, you press OPTN twice, then number 4, then number 6. Then exit. Nice and easy!

Hi Michael, Are plans progressing at all for a 7mm 'Janus' shunter (i.e. BSC Scunthorpe variety)? If so, any idea on timescales? EDIT: As I forgot to also enquire..... Are the Normanby Park Hunslet 0-6-0 diesels available yet? Rich

Only just seen this! What a superb steelworks setting and simple, but enjoyable track plan. Really well done. Any plans to extend or add to it at all, or are you exhibiting anywhere this year? Rich

See this is what happens in Liverpool ... you leave an 08 innocently sitting on a worktop, five minutes later those local raskells have have got it up on blocks!!! Paul's audio really is superb, in the words of Arkwright I'll be jerr...jerr...jiggling about with them for the four 08s that here! I like Andy P's way of same chip (ver 1 and ver 2) and different speakers, trouble is I like Jinty's speakers . Just wait till you power that 40 up Which reminds me, I must ask Paul if he does a Protodrive chip for a 58 How are your plans for the layout coming on mate? Rich

Hi Andy, Like the weathering - is this all done with powders as per your weathering thread? As for the answer to your question over the two 7mm '47s' I've acquired - at the moment one is BR blue, weathered with its pre-TOPS numbers, minus 'D' prefix, but is DCC sound fitted, while the other is a second-hand but untouched, new, two-tone green version. The former will stay as it is for now, as it will allow me to do some 1970s era pictures on the new layout in due course, but the green one joins the queue for being reliveried. There are now three green 47s sat here waiting the paint shop!! One will gain Railfreight Grey (no red stripe), one in BR blue with a Tinsley name, and the other will either become 47079 G W Churchward in GWR 150 Green, or 47522 Doncaster Enterprise in LNER Green with Parcels branding. In the long term, the 1970s blue 47 will have the weathering and numbers removed, head code panels plated over, and emerge as in BR blue as 47222 Appleby Frodingham - which I did have a few years ago and stupidly sold ... and regretted it ever since! If I can acquire another blue one at some point, then the penultimate one will become a Stratford example with silver roof, while the aim for the final '47' acquisition is 47380 Immingham in Railfreight Petroleum livery. That will give Arksey a fleet of eight 47s, which is more than enough! Really must stop spending money until I've sold my O gauge Western and Hymek now. Need to let the bank recover! Rich

And another voice added to the mix - emailed Skytrex this afternoon! Rich

Simon, Many thanks, interesting food for thought there. I'm of the same opinion as you on the juicer - especially as the 'BIG' layout has 40-50 points including storage yards!!! I'll take another look later on and re-read Jinty, Miss P and your posts. On that note apologies to Miss Prism (and thanks for the input and drawings) I'd read the post this morning on my phone and thought the drawings were Simon's apologies all round, but many thanks to Miss P for the input, very useful. Rich

Hi Junctionmad, Well I decided against the Lincs system in the end as I need the delayed action to avoid a large number of magnets. How did your S&W tests go? I'm going to acquire a test pack in the coming weeks. Rich

Ah! The penny has just dropped, thanks Simon, that second drawing is superb. Without the extra cuts, there would potentially be a short when the wheels on the switch blades hit the vee wouldn't there. Doh! Rule 101 of electronics, follow the path! Thanks guys, I'll go take another look at that this afternoon, but yes, it makes more sense now. Rich

Don't drink tea? Pah! What kind of railwayman are you! I know some people that if you walked into a box, or climbed onto a Loco with coffee, would sling you out! Glad your track has arrived and your enjoying the 08. I remember the first time I put a 37 on a meter-length, think it went all if six inches and got to the end of the rails. Remember thinking wow this is BIG! Fun times ahead. Rich

Hi Jinty, Thanks for the suggestions - ok, I'm missing something here, I was looking at two cuts, your looking at five (is that instead of my two red ones or in addition to?) so what haven't I worked out or realised? Rich

Evening all, Well managed to get about 90 minutes tonight to move the pointwork on a little, I'm not doing too much until the Bristol 7mm show, as I need to acquire a range of things for both the scenic pointwork, but more immediately the copper clad pointwork for the loft storage yards. However, there is still work to finish on the crossover, and the brake van to complete, so those are the focus for the next couple of weeks! The brake van is also likely to become one test vehicle for Spratt & winkle auto couplings, which I'm proposing to use for the 'BIG' layout - they seem the most unobtrusive and easily fitted auto couplers on the market, but having never used anything like that before, a couple of vehicles will become test beds. So a little more work on the pointwork: If you haven't already guessed, the soldered connections have started to go on. I originally wanted to solder these under the rails to keep them out of sight, but just couldn't achieve it with the card backing. I dislodged four sleepers and chairs while trying to cut the backing away, so resorted to side soldering next to a sleeper. I think once its been sprayed and fitted to the boards it should be fine an mostly unnoticeable. However, while doing this task I suddenly realised one major c*ck up. On the nearest line, the far side rail down to the distant vee, returning on the near side rail of the farthest line is all one piece, yet it if both points are set for straight on (i.e. not crossing over) then a dead short will appear as the DCC will be trying to feed both positive and negative onto the same rail! Oops! So the rail is going to need cutting with the Dremel to separate the electrics. The power was always going to be microswitch controlled through the servo. The question therefore comes, where do people generally break the rail when building a crossover? As the picture below shows, my original idea was to split where a pair of Peco points would be split, but because of the sleepers that makes it difficult to get a straight cut. So I then thought about offsetting them, as in my view it doesn't matter where the break is as long as its past the point of electrical contact with other rails. Does anyone have any views or comments? Rich

Good point - note to self, ensure house is in one name ... mine! Rich

Hi Duncan, This is great, many thanks - I went for the informative/useful option on the ratings, but really wanted to click clever/craftsmanship as well! Im currently all three-link at Marsh Lane, but the new layout will have covered storage areas and sidings that can be reached to put something on/off the track, but not good enough to couple, so I'd just about decided on sprat & winkle auto couplers, but I'm keen to find out all I can (both fitting and operation) about all the various types at the moment to reach a decision, so would be interested to hear more on your outcomes with the buffer springs. Rich

Can totally agree with your view, and I think a lot of modellers forget that all these things are businesses that don't work on 'nice to haves' they have to generate the income to return the investment. That's why I suggested a Kickstarter idea for the RTR 7mm option - gives the community the opportunity to safely put their money where their mouth is. If it works everyone wins, if it doesn't, its answered the question and nobody has lost out. Just my two penneth anyway! Rich

Damm! Here's me thinking nobody would notice if I snuck that in Rich

Haha! Like it! What a shame the layout operators won't use them, Arksey won't give you the option! Don't ring the bells through, nothing moves! I'm keeping my eye out for a working GN or GC block instrument and bell, as Arksey will need three in total. Love the door bell - I'd have gone for testing bells (16) to remind her to take the key out!! Rich

God this is getting serious, two posts in an hour, let alone the same day! I spent a bit of time this Christmas scanning images, and while I'm not proposing this becomes a photo thread, I thought given the current discussions on various topics on here about weathering 08s, these might be useful! Only one is the same batch as the Dapol example, but still - rare to even see one on the National Network today. Hope you all enjoy Rich Class 08 No. 08244 is pictured between duties on Tinsley Depot on 28th October 1984. Class 08 No. 08954 is pictured arriving at Wenford Bridge on 3rd July 1980 with two empty China Clay ‘hoods’ and a brake van in tow. BR Class 08 No. 08599 ‘Gorton’ is pictured at an location believed to be Longsight shunting vacumn-braked bogie bolster wagons on 18th July 1982 And to conclude ... one just for Lee and his love of '40s'... Class 40 No. 40055 passes the platforms at Guide Bridge on 1st July 1982, heading west ‘light engine’.

Nice plan mate - and achievable without too much hassle, which I think its a good thing, but with potential to expand. Do I foresee the bottom two sidings being at a slightly higher or lower level than the others? What have you used to weather your 08 btw? I assume its powders? Rich

Jon, You were talking about block bells - heads up to all ... if your not into signalling, then this may be a boring post, if you are .. read on! This is one of the two block instruments that was obtained about 18 months ago for Arksey (which for those who may have fallen asleep, or even been away munching too much turkey over Christmas, will be the permanent, long-term layout in the loft). Im not totally sure which box it came from, but is (I believe) a standard BR design, fully working and within a few months will be back controlling trains again, admittedly 7mm to the foot, rather than 1ft to the foot! It obviously interfaced with Derby North Junction, but I'm not aware of the old boxes around there. Its had a trial connection to power, and all indicators along with the bell work and function correctly: Not the most exciting of videos, but shows that it works. I think I've got the programming done for the little PICAXE processor that will interface between the DCC system and this, so just a case of putting the electrical circuity together with the relays to work things now. Im quite proud of the software (or will be once I've proven it) as it can count and decipher the bell codes entered by the human on the tapper, and relay those to the DCC system, to allow the automated part of the layout (i.e. the train driver) to proceed. Also have worked out how to interlock the section starter lever on the miniature lever frame so that, like the real thing, it can only be cleared for a train heading back into the storage yard, once the proper bell sequence has run through, and the 'Up Main' indicator (in this case) is showing line clear. Mind you, if all of this works when its wired up, it could be a minor miracle! Rich EDIT: I'll get the hang of linking these videos correctly yet - just wish I could get the video box a bit larger!

Rod, Love the latest photos - looks even better than before now. Those house backs are superb, they just need the odd full washing line out now Rich