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Hi David, These may help. I hope the photos insert OK. Sorry that some are not so sharp. Geoff's gear train has three gears, the top is on the motor/gearbox output shaft, the middle one is an idler in Geoff's original design, the bottom one engages with the crown wheel on the axle. My chassis replaces the idler with a gear that drives a shaft running to the other end, under the motor. Then there are two (not three) gears on the gear plate at the other end, the top one driven by the layshaft and the bottom one engaging with the crown wheel on the axle. The system is very efficient in that there are no worms anywhere so less friction. Hope this helps. Frank

That looks a very neat little chassis Nigel. The motor has a very good reputation, it will be interesting to see how it runs when all assembled. I recently completed a radio control Class 31 based on the Triang body but with new bogies as it's 14.2 mm gauge. Nothing particularly exciting to look at but here is a photo of the power bogie half built. The motor is an N20 motor, the drive is via a Geoff Helliwell drive train to a crown wheel on the front axle and a layshaft running under the motor to the rear axle driven by a similar drive train. The centre axle is not driven, so true A-1-A. It runs nicely, I have two LiPo cells driving it, nominal supply voltage is 7.4 v, and control is by a Deltang Rx6 series receiver. Frank

Freerails is good. There is quite a lot of radio control experience and advice on the http://ngrm-online.com website, but you have to register for it. It's a narrow gauge modelling site, but the radio control information is quite general. Frank

The main Deltang UK supplier is Micron Radio Control Micronradiocontrol.co.uk If you have any queries I suggest you contact Micron. They are very helpful. Deltang is also usually very helpful as well but curently I believe is closed for holidays. Frank

Kato do N gauge 150mm turnouts but only electrically operated and only in their unitrack. Frank

Bluerail may give you what you want, although it is still being developed and I am not sure of its availability just yet. https://www.coastaldcc.co.uk/products/bluerail/ Frank

Nigel, If you are anywhere near Mansfield on Saturday 13th there is an 009 show at Portland College and I will have my demonstration of radio control there. Come and have a chat and a play! Frank

Hi Nigel, I think the Deltang receivers are probably the only ones commercially available that will do what you want in the smaller scales like 4 mm. They are pretty widely used both in the Uk and Germany for this sort of thing. They use DSM2 and some use the later DSMX as well, as has been said. DSM2 is fine. You need a compatible transmitter, the Deltang ones are relatively inexpensive and will do what you want. Some aircraft ones are also compatible but you will be driving the vehicle with joysticks which may not be as intuitive. Most aircraft ones are more expensive, they have a lot more bells and whistles that you will probably not need. There are one or two very basic ones that are sometimes available and cheaper than the Deltang units. The choice of receiver depends on, first, what voltage you want to run the motor on. Up to 6v ie one LiPo cell, you can use the very small Rx4 series. Higher voltages , ie two or more cells, need the slightly bigger Rx6 series. After that it depends on what additional controls you need - do you need servo outputs for steering, logic outputs for lights, horn etc., or another motor output for a winch, for example. Looking at Deltang transmitters, you might consider the Tx22 and similar which have the ability to control up to 12 models for little extra cost. Micron are very good, and usually pretty responsive, give them another try. Hope this helps Frank

I have been interested in the Transadnino for a while. Metre gauge, part rack part adhesion, Kitson Meyer locos, wonderful scenery, what's not to like? In terms of modelling it, there is quite a bit of information on the locos and a little on the route and stations, but I have not found anything on the passenger cars. Does anyone know of any information anywhere? The cars were I think Pullman cars so US built but apart from the odd photo which has a car or some part of one accidentally included in a shot of one of the locos there seems very little if anything available. Does anyone know of any information on the passenger cars? Frank

More info on the flexitrack here https://sites.google.com/site/3mmpublic/products/kit-reviews/a-1 Frank

If you join the 3mm Society, they sell flexitrack kits for 14.2 mm gauge that make up easily, with moulded sleeper base sections and rail to just slide onto it. They are also working on kits for points, not sure yet what the technology will be for those. Hand built points can be obtained from a couple of suppliers. Frank

Hi Mike, Interesting idea! I work mainly in 4mm narrow gauge (009) and have been using BPRC there for a number of years. I have recently returned to 3mm and am currently modifying a Triang Class 31 to 14.2 mm gauge and BPRC, using an N20 gearmotor. This involves building a new motor bogie for it. As you are probably aware, the narrow gauge modellers do use Atlas bodies, mainly of the trams, with commercial chassis under them, and they seem pleased with those so I would say its worth a go. The N20 motor I am using is a bit different from what you are considering, but for what its worth, my setup seems to work OK but currently I am trying out motors from different sources to get the best slow running as they do seem to vary a bit. Good slow running is one of the delights of BPRC so its worth spending time getting it right! It will be interesting to see how you get on with this. Frank

Hi Robin, Thanks for the info on the IR system. Definitely something to think about. Frank

Hi Dave, This looks really interesting. I have thought about uncoupling for a while but not yet worked out a system that is effective and not too expensive for widespread use. So I'm really interested to see how this works. Robin, I'd be interested in your ideas for IR as well. Frank

Hi Robin, I think the only option is to delete the text, you cannot delete the entire post. What was the test? Frank

If I remember right, the change was mainly driven by Google updating its search algorithms to give priority to simple sites as these were easier to read on mobiles. So simple sites came out higher up the Google results list. Any site that wanted to be popular had to follow this, so the underlying forum software was updated to produce it, so they are all like it now. Frank

Just a quick reminder as not long to go now! Two shows for one entry fee of £3.50 per adult. Rainhill MRC layouts. stands and trade on the ground floor with the Narrow Gauge Show upstairs in the Teak Room. Refreshments available all day. Parking outside the hall and surrounding roads. Rainhill Station just a few minutes walk from the Village Hall. Great layouts, Trade, Sales Tables on show. Come along and spend a few hours with like minded modellers. You will have a great day out. Frank

This begs the question "Which was the right way round?" Frank

Some of the layouts you will be able to see at Rainhill NG on Saturday 24th November 2018: Tan Yr Allt, Llanrug,, Pennant, Llanlechid, Fablewood, Matthew & Son, and Bob Barnards L&B stand and small layout. I will be there with my Radio Control Demonstration. A1 Models and the Sales Tables. And the Rainhill Club's Christmas Model Railway Show downstairs.  Put the date in your diary, travel by train, Rainhill Station just a few minutes walk away. Car Parking around the Hall. A great day out for model railway fans. Frank

Rainhill Model Railway Club Christmas Show including Narrow Gauge show-within-a-show. Sat 24th November 2018 Rainhill Village Hall, Weaver Avenue, Rainhill, Merseyside L35 4LU OPENING TIMES: 10am-5pm ADMISSION: Adults £3.50 Children £4.00 includes admission to Narrow Gauge show and for children a visit to Santa and a small present. This is a family themed show utilising mainly club and club member's layouts in various scales. There will be trade support, club shop and a full refreshment service. All children will have the opportunity to visit Santa and receive a small present. Admission price includes free admission to the OO9 Gauge Society Railway Modelling Show - Layouts, Traders, Demonstrations, Society Stands. A free vintage bus service will operate throughout the day between the exhibition and the North West Museum of Road Transport, Hall Street, St Helens. Admission to the museum is payable on the door.

Hi Dale, I have put battery powered radio control into a number of small scale locos, mainly 009 but also OO, O16.5, and 3mm. It is surprisingly straightforward. The place to start is the motor. Ideally you need a motor that does not take a huge amout of current. Modern motors are very much more efficient than the ones from ten years ago or more and use much less current. Modern n gauge /009 locos will typically run on 100 mA or less and OO / O16.5 on not much more. Your 2.5w 6v motor will draw about 400 mA which is a lot. Mainly this will result in short run time or the need for a bigger battery. A 6v motor is OK and will usually run quite happily with a 1S (single cell) LiPo to power it. A 12 v motor would probably need 2S (two cell) battery pack in O16.5, which make charging slightly more complicated. If you have space (maybe in the tender) you could use more conventional lithium or even NiCad cells which would be more flexible in terms of voltage and easier to manage for charging. If your motor draws say 100 mA then a 240 mAh battery will give you two hours continuous running, and longer if the loco does not run all the time. If you can fit them in then your current system will be OK but if not then the Deltang system is the usual one people use, it is designed for railways and the receivers in particular are very small. There are two basic variants, the Rx4 series runs up to six volts so is OK for a 1S battey and the Rx6 series runs happily at higher voltages and you will need it for a 2S battery. Deltang uses the DSM2/DSMX system which is compatible with some but not all aircraft systems, so you might be able to use you existing transmitter although the Deltang transmitters are much less expensive than aircraft ones. The reason there is no standard way of doing this at present is that the locos vary so much in size and available space, and most people start off by fitting radio control to a kit built or RTR loco that already comes with a motor, so they use that one or change the supplied motor for a more efficient one that will fit the space. Its not like radio controlled cars where there is a standard "space" left for the motor that most motors will fit. Hope this helps Frank

Hi Corbs, I've not tried it, but I don't see why it should not work. If you wire the two motors in parallel, which is generally the recommended arrangement, then the thing to watch is if the Deltang Rx will handle the total current. Wiring them in parallel doubles the current compared to a single motor. The smaller Rx4 series receivers will handle up to half an amp, the slightly larger Rx6 series ones will handle up to 3 amps which should be plenty. Provided the Rx can handle the current, then both motors will then run at full power, but of course the setup will take double the current out of the battey compared to a single motor, so you will probably need a bigger battery. Wiring them in parallel means they both have the same voltage as they would individually, so you do not need extra volts because of having two. You only need the step-up circuit if you need the higher voltage for the motors anyway, this is not affected by doubling the motors if you wire them in parallel. You could set up two completely separate circuits with a motor and its own battery and receiver. You could then bind both receivers to the same transmitter and drive them together. This seems an unnecessary complication, not to mention the cost. Hope this helps Frank

Many thanks for posting this, I had not come across this source before and it looks very useful. Frank

Hi Nigel, Just had a look at the website, not checked it for a month or so and there has been quite a bit new added recently, very impressive. I was particularly interested to see some of the smaller suppliers mentioned including some Modern Image suppliers I was not aware of. Good to see progress being made. Frank