ColinK

Thanks Nigel and AndrueC, most helpful. I had never thought of using a rotary switch for points, but makes so much sense. Great control panel. I’ve started a seperate thread for the dual gauge layout I’ve got to wire up.

Hi, I have the challenge of wiring a friends new layout which is under construction. It is dual gauge with HO and HOm tracks, thats 16.5mm gauge and 12mm gauge. Track will be DCC controlled, points are Rails of Sheffield solenoids using stud and probe using 16v AC via CDU. His plan is to use two NCE Powercabs, one for each gauge. All very straightforward for me EXCEPT there is one section of dual gauge track. My plan was to have a DPDT centre off to switch the power on the dual gauge section between the 16.5 or 12mm gauge Powercab. Is that going to work?

I just stumbled into this thread out of interest. Thanks everyone for your contributions - I’ve learnt a lot. I really like the wiring diagram that shows which way the point is set using LEDs wired by the switches, didn’t know you could do that, far easier than having wires running back from the point motors to the control panel. All very useful as next week I have to wire up a friends DCC layout which has both 16.5mm tracks and 12mm tracks, including a section of dual gauge.

I agree, the Hornby 08 is an excellent and reliable slow runner. I’ve two Heljan 07s, one of my favourite loco types, but both are terrible runners, indeed they just sit on a shelf and never get used. All three are sound fitted, the 08 I did myself, the 07s I got fitted professionally. They are quite tricky to do. Unless you are really experienced at sound fitting I recommend you get it done professionally - fitting isn’t expensive, far cheaper than either wrecking the loco or destroying an expensive DCC sound chip.

I have a lift out section on my layout, It is constructed like a conventional baseboard. I’m finding it a bit heavy and clumbersome, plus I’ve nowhere proper to store it. For alignment I’ve got headless screws in the fixed baseboards with metal strips with holes in them fastened to the lift out board with the ends projecting, so when I put the lift out section in place, the holes in the metal strips drop over the headless screws. At the moment I’m working on the layout so the boards are out of alignment. As for track power, as its G scale you can get rail joiners (clamps actually) which are made for drop in sections. So the power just flows through the track. No use for OO though.

As my local model shops didn’t have what I was after, I recently used Derails for the first time. Very helpful on the phone and my loco was delivered on the day requested. No biscuits, so perhaps they knew I was trying to loose a few pounds. Lots of pounds on the loco, both in cash and weight (over 3 kg).

I do like your lights, they would probably solve the problem of lighting the railway room, but with the brackets coming down the wall, rather than pointing up. Please could you let me have a link to the batten lights you used? Thanks.

That’s a strange looking diesel.

Thanks DCB, that woukd be much neater, I might do that when installing the points on the layout.

I wonder what the impact of Hattons closing will have on the remaining ‘traditional’ model shop?

I like the loops, gives more options. You could add a short spur for a loco or 153 on the bottom loop, going towards to lifting flap.

Some interesting old coaches in those photos.

Doh - I’ve been so stupid (maybe I can be excused a bit as I’m recovering from shingles on my face). Of course with diodes it has to be DC - why hadn’t I realised that. Second, if you look at the photo close enough you can see my mistake, the diodes link the input and output sides on the circuit board, but I had missed off the link between the green wires which are the common return to the solenoids - so there was a gap in the circuit. Third, none of the power supplies I have are sufficienly powerful, so testing will have to wait until I take them over to my friend whoose layout they are for (I’ve got the job of wiring it, and it includes some dual gauge track). But the good news is, that the solenoids do buzz when current is getting to them, so hopefully everything is fine. Hope so as I’ve just made up another diode matrix for the other three way point. Thanks everyone for your help.

As always, it was a very enjoyable day.

Thanks, I’ll have to try and borrow one, or a CDU. Perhaps my transformer just hasn’t got enough grunt to move two solenoids at once.

Cheers, I was thinking off filling that area with Milliput asthat will take a screw.

Many thanks.

One three way point all wired up. I don’t have a CDU yet, but when I apply 16v AC (1.25A transformer) to the wires that go to the CDU and studs, nothing happens. Have I got the diodes the wrong way round?

Many thanks, any chance of a photo from underneath to see how you fitted Kadees?

Thanks Darius43, good to get tips for making models like this.

Looks brilliant, I’ll be ordering one. A single car unit would be nice. Edited to add one ordered.

Hi Keith, I didn’t realise it was you next to me. Thanks for the kind words about my little layout.

I do something similar, but no so neat. I have a solder tag strip on each board with all the terminals on each connected together with a bit of wire. The bus feeds into one end of the tag strip while at the other end the bus gous to the next baseboard. All the droppers are then soldered to the tag strip. You can now buy blocks with screw terminals that do the same job. I keep a note of where every wire goes from each tag strip to help fault finding. Whatever you do, NEVER SOLDER ABOVE YOUR HEAD if working under your baseboards. Doing that once (never again) a drop of solder missed an eye by milimetres.

I visited Peenemünde a few years ago, fascinating place. Went on that Russian submarine, how anyone went to sea in one I’ll never know, like being trapped in a tiny metal cigar tube with pipes and equipment all over the place to bang your head, knees, arms etc on.

I suggest options 2 or 3. But if you bulild the kit as intended, you’ll have something to run far quicker and have your layout finished too. Plus the experience from building it will be a great help in deciding what you need to build the loco you really want.