ColinK

Thanks again everyone. I’ve tried putting a red label under the loco and it works. Both the IR emitter and reciever have two wires, but they may not be easy to see on the photos. I actually got an invitation to exhibit the micro layout on Sunday. I was showing my Zoo Railway at Carnforth exhibition all weekend and had enough space to show the 009 as well. The exhibition manager was happy for me to bring it along on Sunday, but I decided it was better to test it at home first. Good decision as attendance on Sunday was very low due to some football match.

Spotted at Carnforth station today.

After using my airbrush I dismantle it then clean it in the recommended way, then put all the parts in a ultrasonic bath to clean it again.

A couple of pics of my model railway taken today at Carnforth exhibition.

It’s this weekend at Carnforth station/Heritage Centre. I’m exhibiting my HOf Zoo Railway

Thanks everyone for you help, it’s helped me keep going to try and get this working. On previous layouts I’ve used the Heathcote Electronics IR units successfully and had no problems. They have always come as a circuit board with the IR emitter and receiver fitted to it - drill hole in track, fit circuit board, job done. This application is a bit different, it a 009 micro layout just 38cm x 32cm with track on two levels. The simple station stop is for the upper track, just a oval of Kato N gauge unitrack. As there is no space to fit the Heathcote boards with the emitter/reciever already fitted, I’ve had to use a board with the emitter and reciever on seperate 18” long leads. The problem appears to have been getting the emitter bouncing the IR signal off the loco so it is detected by the reciever. I tried taping the two together, taping them together with a little wedge between them, taping them together with a carved wood block between them, the aim being to angle the emitter & reciever so the IR gets back to the reciever. None of these worked, well one did for 5 minutes. So last night I glued the emitter & reciever to a piece of plasticard with the tops angled together. This morning I pushed this up through the whole between the rails, so it was vertical. It didn’t detect the train going over. After lunch I fiddled around with and discovered quite by chance, that having the unit at a angle, perhaps 25 degrees from the vertical, it worked and has kept working. I’ve no idea why this works, but it does. So I’ve now fixed the simple shuttle unit in place. It has a large red LED which flashes when the train is stopped, this is now inside a factory building to give the impression of work taking place, as well as doing its intended purpose. The shuttle unit also has small red and green LEDs that indicate other things, I’ve used these for a two aspect colour light signal. Thanks again, I think I deserve a pint for persevering.

Thanks Nigel, yes the sensors do work. In the past I’ve used the Heathcote IR units which come with the emitter and reciever built into the circuit boards and they have worked fine. For this micro layout I’ve had to use units where the emitter & reciever are not mounted on the boards, but are on long leads. It’s proving virtually impossible to get them angled just right so the beam from the emitter is reflected back to the reciever. It’s not helped by the lack of space where they go. I’m going to have one last attempt by glueing the emitter and reciever to a bit of plasticard at hopefully the correct angle and slotting them into place. If that doesn’t work then I’m stuck. Any alternatives which are reasonable simple to build and fit would be appreciated. I can just about build things circuit boards. Perhaps a different solution would be to have a magnet under the loco (or wagon) and a reed switch in the track, so when the loco passes over the reed switch a latching relay trips in and switches track power off for, say 60 seconds. Even better if a second set of relay contacts changed a signal to red while the train is stopped. I’ve no idea how to make this though.

Hi, I'm building a micro layout in 009 which I want to leave running automatically. It has a circle of Kato track which is covered by a building at one end. Control is analogue. The plan is for a sensor in the building to trip when the loco reaches it, then stop the train for a short while (say 30 to 60 seconds) after which the train sets off until it reaches the building again. As the train will be moving slowly a simple track on/off is fine and there is no need for gradual braking or acceleration. Ideally the sensor would turn a signal to red while the train is stopped, green when it is moving. Even better if a LED flashed the the train is stopped, but this isn't critical. The Heathcote Electronics Simple Station Stop does everything I need, but despite several weeks of trying and help from Heathcote, I just cannot get the IR sensor to detect the train. A surprise as I have used these detectors before. I've only got 10 days to finish the layout, so I need a different solution. Can anyone suggest anything please. It needs to be ready to install and switch on.

That’s going to be an interesting one to sort out. As a coach, especially a tri-axle like this one, turns right the left rear corner swings to the left resulting in accidents like this. Structures like canopies should be set back far enough (or high enough) to prevent this kind of event happening. So while the coach driver will get part of the blame, part of the blame should be down to the building designer (or failure by whoever specified the design to allow for rail replacement coaches), maybe if there was a rail replacement co-ordinator present he/she told the coach to go there. The key point for everyone is be very careful when passing a bus, coach or lorry that is going to turn left or right as the tail will swing out possibly into your path. Much to the anger of motorists, some drivers of big vehicles will deliberatly block both lanes when turning to prevent other motorists squeezing past and getting hit by the rear corner of the big vehicle. Of course there is always the stupid person on a cycle or motorbike who will try and squeeze through the gap and put themselves at risk of getting squashed.

D1015 made it to Kyle-of-Lochalsh in 2009 (?), great trip.

Here is one I made a very long time ago. The loco is an Airfix Evening Star kit.

Hornby have some great running locos, wrong type for you, but the Hornby 08 shunter is a superb slow speed runner. If you can find a Model Rail magazine Sentinel, it’s a fantastic slow speed shunter, and despite only having 4 wheels it picks up well. I’ve fitted mine with a 0-16.5 scratchbuilt body and its run for hours at exhibitions without ever stuttering.

Play banjo music on the pa at unstaffed stations and that will soon drive the anti-social elements away,

Used them a lot recently for Kato N gauge bits. Excellent service plus useful advice.

When stations are destaffed, the station toilets will close eg Hebden Bridge. How will people who only have cash buy a ticket?

I had a Heljan 27 with a similar problem. Turned out that one of the resistors on the circuit board was kaput. Tested each resistor individually with a meter and one was , IIRC, not letting any juice through. The kind chap who suggested that could be the problem even sent me a replacement resistor.

Job done. Started with a layer of DAS, that wasn’t too level and had a few cracks, so topped it with a thin coat of finishing pollyfiller. Left it several days to dry out. Today I mixed a concoction of various muddy colours plus some old black and brown weathering powders (too course to use for weathering stock) that I found under my workbench. Brushed the paste on the yard surface. Then sprinkled some very fine weathering powders of different shades in various places to break up the single muck colour. These were not sinking into the paint as I hoped so rubbed the surface with a bit of kitchen roll. I’ve got bits of plastic channel filled with the mucky paste to go between the rails, once the paint is dry. I’m happy with the result - it’s a brickworks yard hence the choice of shades. I think it will do. Lots of detail yet to be added.

I used the recommended Lilliput O&K shunter chassis obtained secondhand. However, it is to a newer design than that used in the instructions as it has lighting, a working roof beacon and DCC socket. A fair bit of work was needed to the chassis to make it fit, as a result I didn't narrow it as that would have made it difficult to fit to the body.

Tall ships at Hartlepool today.

On Thursday I attended a music session in Newcastle at lunchtime and another in Hexham in the evening (both a long way from home). I needed some model railway scenic bits and spotted that we had time to go to Durham Trains of Stanley between the sessions. Great shop, lots of stock, well laid out, friendly and helpful. Got everything I needed. Excellent. Might be a few more diversions where we are back up in the North East.

I really don’t believe what the operators say. For example putting staff on the concourse might happen at major stations, but I just can’t see it happening at smaller stations eg Morecambe, I anticipate these will become unstaffed eventually. While it might in theory save costs, it becomes a barrier to travel, so fewer people will go by train (lower income and more savings follow by cutting services), but increased costs repairing all the vandalism. Furthermore, our trains are all too frequently replaced with buses, who is going to help passengers who find there train is cancelled.

I went over to video and photograph the remaining BnM lines earlier this year. Had an excellent time and made very welcome by the staff. I’ll post a link to the video once it’s edited - will be later in the year though. I’ve also made one of the Narrow Planet Waggonmasters, but really want a 7mm scale version.

I’m building a 009 micro layout which includes a factory yard which I’ve made using DAS. While I could just paint the yard surface using various dark and dirty paints from tester pots, this doesn’t have any texture to it and looks ‘flat’. Hence I was wondering if anyone has tried using weathering powders to add some texture. I was thinking of first giving the DAS a coat of dark and dirty colours as a base. Then give it a second coat, but adding weathering powders. Has anyone tried this? Did it work? I’m not sure how best to add the weathering powder, do you mix it into the paint then apply the paste, or do you paint the surface then sprinkle the weathering powder on? Thanks.

And its neighbour, uses a window and doors off the Scale Model Scenery kit.

The building is finally finished on the third attempt. The first one was a Scale Model Scenery kit, but I messed up the paper overlay so it ended up in the bin. As I still had the windows and doors I tried scratchbuilding one, but slightly larger, that’s the one at the start of this thread, but I wasn’t totally happy, plus some of the windows had vanished, so that got scrapped. So for the third attempt I bought another Scale Model Scenery kit, but instead of using the paper overlays, I covered it in embossed plasticard and painted it. To make the arches over the windows I used microstrip cut into individual bricks; they looked a bit rough until painted. To give it more relief I made the centre section stand out using a bit of 6mm balsa. So here is the completed low relief warehouse. If you are wondering about the name (made from Slaters letters) it is inspired by Friden Brickworks in Derbyshire, but not a copy of a real building there. All I’ve got to do now is complete the 009 micro layout it is going on.