LittleWesternModelRailway

Loving the progress on the Jones Goods! Even as a GWR modeller, the LMS Lined livery really peaks my interest. One thought, are these early decorated samples with refinements to come? I not the lining on front 2 splashers are off slightly and there is a notable band running the length of the boiler just above the handrails. (I could only really see this on the black examples shown so was just curious :) Really impressed with the running and sound!

So I am back, having made little to no progress on the layout in the last month, due to good weather and several family visits.... and if I am honest, a lack of Mojo.. But I managed to knuckle down and create the first of 6 turnouts for the layout: A recreation of a 10ft Old Type GWR turnout with the main branch off to the right heading up the incline and entrance to the brickworks on the left. It was a difficult build and is not "perfect" but it (so far) runs smooth with current rolling stock and locos. A combination of Exactoscale/C&L plastic chairs and Masokits brass chairs too (very fiddly indeed) but gave me an enjoyable 2 days on and off to build. Definitely a learning curve when it comes to creating crossing vees etc and I still need to attach check rails and some of the last chairs but structurally it seems sound. So for now I am satisfied and ready to get on with it! The turnouts are the last trackwork to be completed before I can lay the track permanently. So the push is on!

Appreciate your thoughts Kernow, there may come a time where I have to rewheel etc but when that comes I hope to be more knowledgeable and prepared to do so :) With all things, there are unforeseen circumstances, the best we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst! An example is the Heljan 1366 I currently have, I am in the process of sound fitting and the performance is awful, the pickups were bent out of shape, one of the axles looks bent and getting replacments from gaugemaster is not possible, they've ran out! All in good time though, plenty to come! Thanks, James

Found it, seems it was directly on the line with access also coming from one direction on a single line. Good to know

Many thanks Nick, I will take a look! If there is a prototype then I feel a bit better. Perhaps I can research and copy their practises!

Many thanks for your input, I must admit "So I don't have to rewheel everything" is a bit naive in this industry :D I debated P4, I really did, but I have a friend locally who is building a very large Coventry - Leamington Spa - Nuneaton section of the LMS with OO RTR trackwork.... this clinched it for me as I can still go there and play trains while having my own more typical project at home. I may dabble in P4 later on but for now I am set. As you say different manufacturers have different standards etc and I completely agree! I plan to test everything over and over again to get it right. Even locos that wouldn't be seen on this branch (like the accura manor, Hornby King and such. I'm quite lucky that these points are relatively simple and copy/paste so as long as I keep to my own exacting standards I can minimise the risk on my end. Right now I plan on using Hornby Ruston 48ds, Heljan 1366 and Heljan/Kernow 1361 (But anything will be used and tested exuberantly before any scenic work will start) Some great food for thought that will for sure come in handy when it comes to Brent! the west junction is a spaghetti of double slips, turnouts and catch-points! Cheers, James

Hi Nick, Some very valid questions! 1. Honestly not sure this kind of yard would exist on a short branch like this. it's more Rule 1 than typical in terms of its operation and location but I have thought about "correct operations" My idea would be that on the given day, the brickworks would have it's own engine shunt wagon around and then hope down the 3 mile strech to Garabridge where the only 2 line section is, allowing wagons to be added to the "Up" train. Then it would return. Or the "Up" goods would halt at Gara bridge (where there is a rather large goods siding on relative flat ground), leave it's train and light engine up to the yard, grab ready wagons and return. 2. I put the run around in as there is a kick back coal merchants and and down goods specifically for the yard might need to reverse in and then shunt coal wagons into the siding. Plus it was more a scenic element. I did think weather it was required or not and honestly I am still debating it! 3. Typically, no i doubt it would have it's own shunter.... in my world yes! :D a small 48ds/1361/1366 or other industrial will always be on yard. There are many non typical elements on this layout, but for me, it's just a proof of concept into track building etc and some fun :) Thanks for your comments, really appreciate it! James

So wenare almost at the end of August and little has happened and I dare say a slight step back has occurred, for the better! I'll start with Exactoscale sleepers.... I painted 500 of them and I think they look the part, needing a slight grey-white drybrush when insitu. Now I have started trackwork but I am not ready to share that, just yet... 😁 Next I stood back and tore up the foam board I had installed... I want to create individual scenic elements and work on the off the layout and the affix them in place, so back to bare baseboard it was... Next, the biggest change, the incline. The Kingsbridge Line had a range of rises and falls, maxing out at 1:50 at two points before and after Sorley Tunnel (according to my book). Between Avonwick and Gara Bridge (roughly 4 miles down the line) the max it hit falling was 1:100.. If I did that you wouldn't see it! So I did 1:64 instead 😂 Imight even bump to the 1:54 for more visual change. I also tested the scale height from yard rail to branch rail... Works out a rough scale of 11'3" or 3.45m which is pretty good I think. Putting the top of the 28xx here about half way up the 57xx... Pretty good I think and subtle... What do you think? Next month I will aim to get all the trackwork down, including my first turnouts... I have created the V-Crossing and Switch blades for all of them, just need to get to grips with the Masokits Brass Chair Frets! Onwards and Upwards!

The T3 Wagons look fantastic! Whole thing 3d printed and just sprung buffers, bearings, coupling and some wire added? Amazingly well detailed! Where do I get one :D (Spending far too much on looking for Rolling Stock rather than actually laying my trackwork :D )

Some progress over the weekend was made... First Siding of the layout was laid (preliminary as I still haven't pre-painted sleepers) But it went well Taking a few hours slowly but surely I managed to get a smooth run with bogie and wagon so I am thus far happy. Using the C&L chairs with poly cement works wonders, a small dab on the underside and held firm for a few moment and bam.. A decent connection that time and use will determined 😁 I used 2 TriGauges and 2 roller gauges... This section has taught me I need more so DCC Concepts here I come... On to the next task for this week. Get paint and mass weather sleepers! In other news I also created a Filing Jig for Switch Blades as detailed in a ScaleFour article (amended to GWR Old Type switch planing lengths) But I looked forward to my first Turnout... ToBeContinued...

So I recieved my decoder... will be attempting to fit over the next week or so. Will post :)

Thanks @gwrrob I've been following your thread in the background for sometime now and it's one of my many bookmarks! Eventually I will get to the junction but who knows when! :D Appreciate your cander, I will reach out for reference photos no doubt!

Well, the time has finally come to dip my toes back into the deep end. Here at the ripe ol' age of 30 (shut up I know :D ) I have set myself the life long task to recreate The Kingsbridge Branch aka 'The Primrose Line' in all it's majesty. Arming myself with endless piles of books, a mountain for forum pages and a sea of reference links I am to create as accurate a recreation of each station along the line as possible. (Although.... I'm not starting with a station this year). Having been umming and ahhhing over how and what to build for the past year and getting very little done in the process, I finally settled on a small industrial yard set on a small GWR run branchline somewhere in South Devon. Heralding back to my youth on the SDR and the Exeter to Dawlish route, it had to be GWR and range from grouping to nationalisation so I can run whatever I want and it still fit. After several hours reading, scouring google maps and references I settled on Brent - Kingsbridge, the short 12miles or so with plenty of modelling potential and a plac along the line my fictional industry could sit comfortably. Now to get building! Reading material currently includes: GWR Switch and Crossing Practise The Kingsbridge Branch - Ken Williams and Dermot Reynolds An Historical Survey of Selected Great Western Stations Layouts and Illustrations Vol2 Any other reference books, please comment and I will add the to the list! Specifically on trackwork practice along the branch and Brent Junction itself! So, my industry will be a fictional brickworks roughly halfway between Avonwick and Gara Bridge stations in the place of the old Oakenham Quarry (which I believe didn't last long past the 1910s so seemed the right place. of course with a small bit of compression and terraforming (artistic licensing and Rule 1 com into play in this case). Using Templot, I came up with a short 2600 x 600mm trackplan and using the amazing tools at it's disposal set it up using predetermined GWT Old Type turnouts for the yard itself and a short incline to provide context of depth and the area once being a quarry. It's far from typical but I like it and think it will fit in with the overall picture quite nicely. As above, the main branch moves along the back and from the turnout on the right side will raise slowly to around 35-38mm above the main yard. I plan to hand lay everything, and I mean everything on the branchline, so this small section will be a test if I have the patience and can develop the skills required. Following guidance from others more knowledgeable than myself (and I admit, some curiosity on my part) I have opted for the following to comprise all trackwork: OO-SF measurements - So I don't have to rewheel everything :D C&L NiHi Code 75 Flexi lengths C&L/Exactoscale 2 Bolt Running Chairs Masokits Etched Turnout Frets (including Tiebars) Oh what fun I'm in for! The idea is to try and follow GWR practices and odd differences and such as much as possible. So plenty more research to be conducted, but for basic trackwork I feel comfortable to start! This weeks job list: Follow Scalefour Magazine article and create a Turnout Switch Blade and Crossing Filing Jig Lay the Sidings up to the turnouts Cut the foamboard to make the incline! Any suggestions, questions of comments, please voice them I am here to learn and if you thing I've made a booboo of got my facts wrong on the line (I will try to reference these where possible) Many thanks! James - LWR

I am currently setting up to attempt this myself and will try to follow the same process and document with pictures and video. I will update accordingly

So, after a quick call with my friend, I was mistaken, the locomotive is Hornby but it has a MX645D again purchased some time ago. So it could still well be a sound file commonality

So I will up the ante then in my next series of test at home, but wouldn't explain his issues while having 15v 5A on his layout. (the arduino setup is still very much in progress and has alot of things to sort out before actually operational :D )

So, the 10v 2A is just my test setup, my friend has (and I have too) measured his at 15v at the track. I'm going to increase mine soon as I'm still in the process of setting my system up. :)

So, an update, I took one of my friend locomotives and decoders home with me to my layout and on 3 different types of track, same controller and power setup, the same issues occur. After multiple suggestions I spent hours combing through BEMF CV's and settings but for the life of me couldn't see a difference, only hear the motor straining more and more, so I reset it. I disassembled, cleaned regreased and checked the B2Bs myself, nothing seems to be snagging or otherwise. What's more is my pannier tank seems to be showing the same issue now after running again on my friends system. My system is DCC-EX and currently a 10V 2A PSU feeding the track, readings on voltmeter were consistent and no major resistance was noted. Other than buying a New decoder and loco (I plan to buy an ESU Sound Decoder for my tank loco soon) and seeing if the issues persist with a different one, I am lost..... I will be contacting Zimo in Vienna (a hour's drive from us) to see if a firmware update might be a cause, or even if they can take a look and see if there is decoder faults. Could this simply be dirty or micro marks in the Steel DCC Concepts track? I've cleaned both layouts to the best of my ability it IPA. Honestly, I don't want to give up but we are running out of ideas...

So an update, and I am leaning towards either bad decoders or firmware: Checked with a new OOTB Bachman Patriot - DC running is perfectly fine at all speeds - DCC shows the issue, on Digitrax and DCC-EX controllers - We tried on Steel and Stainless Steel track and see the same issue (have no nickel-silver to test with) - I personally disassembled each, checked B2Bs, quartering, degreased and re-oiled... everything checks out. - Decoders are on stock settings and haven't had CV's touched - He is trying a StayAlive to see if it helps, but I'm not sure - I see information about BackEMF and changing that etc... but I'm reluctant to try it because being stock.... It should work.... - He has a Hornby Princess with TTS decoder that does the same thing, but is a lot less noticeable - My tank loco with different non-sound decoder ran as smooth as butter (but this hasn't been retested in maybe 2 months) - The capacitor has been removed as this was my first thought - The Digitrax system is giving 19v to the track iirc and we checked and confirmed this at the time I think I still need to spend some time and tweak back EMF but, it's frustrating out of the box it doesn't work. I have suggested to contact Digitrains (source of the decoders) and see what they suggest.

I believe he is trying with DC today to see if the problem replicates itself. So once I have more infomation I can report on it. As for the the mechanical side of things, I cannot say if this is the case but something to check in on. Still very strange it seems to be the 4 locos only though. I will pass on the findings. Many thanks

Actually this was the first thing we thought of and removed them... Still an issues. But thanks :)

Hi all, A friend of mine is having some issues with his Bachmann LMS Jubilees, Compounds and Patriot. All are running the same MX644D decoder loaded with the same sound files, have recently been fully serviced and should be in great condition as they are well looked after. The issue is between speed steps 20-45 there is noticeable 'hunting' even when no CV's have been changed we can visibly see each locomotive (some more than others) instead of being smooth seem to pickup speed 3/4 of a rotation than slow the last 1/4 and repeat. (next time I see him I will try to get some footage). We have tried following methods for setting back EMF and such and although we can see changes to the loco(s) performance, mainly incredibly long start up times, the issue doesn't seem to go away. This was noticed first on a Digitrax system and new and old track, stainless steel and nickel-silver a code 75 bullhead. So we tried using my DCC-Ex command station and witnessed exactly the same issues. It also doesn't matter if decoders are swapped between locos... it still occurs. so I am even less inclined to say its track or controller.. His Hornby Duchess runs and sounds much better and again is completely stock. I'm beginning to wonder if the motors on all of them need a rigorous cleaning or replacements.... or maybe he just got bad decoders? I am truly stumped, having spend several hours on several days tweaking and checking everything I can see for changing settings for smooth running. and now I'm at a loss. Has anyone else experience something similar? Has anyone got any more suggestions? Many thanks, James - LWR

Hi Richard! No need to worry about raining! It was a simple idea for an industry in itself, not neccesarily a colliery I originally had plans for a Brick Works! Point being, it will be to create traffic as export of something and import coal loads for useage not export, after some considerations from other posts here. I've actually spent this weekend learning how to use Templot and also more time looking at other BLTs and have sort of tweaked my layout accordingly, after some more research I will post the results here for discussion. Thank again!

Thank you for your input, It's greatly appreciated. I have amended the design (as per the above comment) to move the Run-Around loop closer to the entrance point of the layout. Considering I have decided to go into the deep-end and plan the point-work and build myself using Templot as a guide. This has given me more time to get familiar with that program. There was always going to be an outside influence for the layout, 9/10 it was going to be Coal production/Usage (a powerplant or something on those lines) so a lot of the traffic will be Goods or mixed trains with tailing coal loads etc. A few merchant wagons and of course colliery wagons. I've taken your thoughts into consideration and believe the above plan now accommodates more a more realistic track-plan and allows for better operations given an industry in the area. Spending so much time trying to perfect a layout while looking at real life examples has been difficult in my space. I hope that this iteration is relatively realistic but it also helps when it comes to expanding the branch later (having an industry scene off to the left)

Thanks for your input, yes I meant colliery. I gathered as much, considering the space and such beforehand but now I have a little more to work with. I was going with the "kickback" could extend to the left off scene as an industry, be it what ever, and have the main line pass it on route to the station (a future scenic project perhaps). I've since also extended the sidings with the aid of a curved point away from the goods area and added the run-around coming off of the entrance to the station rather than the platform. I appreciate the honesty and criticism, it allows me to better understand the workings of a BLT. I see so many different configurations of actual stations and other peoples layouts, it's hard to settle between reality and Rule 1. However I feel very close to an end result.