modelman14

THANKS NARROW PLANET...

More progress over the past few weeks,90% of the track and electrics are installed and all 4 points are operating very well with the Peco Powerswitches and Powerfrogs. Control panel is 90 % finished as well. The fiddle yard is 99% finished,just need some handles on the cassettes. The cassettes are individually switched on each of the 2 to keep the wiring across the boards simple. And a view down the layout,which for some reason is displaying in landscape..?

Hi. They are OK,like I said above,the quality is dire,but they do do the job. Can take a little effort to install with smooth operation,but I eventually got them operating like I wanted. Not sure about the semaphore bounce with these,but I have seen it somewhere,DCC supplies maybe?. Thanks.

So,dosn't look like much has been done above,because it hasn't! All focus lately has been underneath with the electrics. Peco smartswitches have been installed on 3 of the 4 points,along with smartfrogs. Took me a while to figure out why the double slip was shorting on the frogs,then realised I needed the opposite frogs switched with the opposite points..doh.. Must add that the quality of the Peco smartswitch system is appaling,it nearly went back but as it's all out of sight I can live with it. It functions as expected,I have used them before,but the components must be quickly chucked together in a shed somewhere,if I was overseeing Pecos quality control the system would have been rejected. Anyhow..progress so far.. More soon..

Got some track down,some electrics installed and control panel built ready for switches. Coming along nicely.

Track laying has commenced and we have a few wires in place. Had a couple of locos stabled to see if everything fits. So far so good,apart from a failed soldering iron.

Hello all. So,after a recent house move and the sale of my previous N scale and O scale layouts I now find myself with the time,space and inclination to build a loco fueling/stabling point in 7mm. With the constant release of modern locos and stock now is the time to get started. The layout is only approx 3.5m long and only 55cm wide,but has enough space to site a good few diesels. The idea is that the depot/fueling point is at the end of a medium sized marshaling yard so will see many different locos coming and going and the odd shunter with a few freight wagons for attention in the workshop. It will be analogue for now,but I may go DCC in the future. Here's a few piccys of the progress so far.. As I progress,I'll keep updating,it will be a slow journey mind as I fit it in between work and my other interests.

Thanks,yeah,DCC is simpler to wire up,the cost of the DCC equipment and decoders for my current stock level is kind of high,so I will eventually get round to DCC and sound. I'm not new to the hobby,So I am familiar with all things,just want to make sure I use the correct wiring for future expansion/equipment change.

Hello all. I'll try to keep this simple. Building a small stabling point,layout is 3.5m long. It will be analogue for now but in the future I intend to equip the stock with DCC and sound. What track power gauge wire should I use,I have 24/0.2 or will this be overkill? I'm thinking the gaugemaster 7/0.2 will be too small? Thanks all.

I would just like to make it clear that when I started this thread with a simple ' is shawplan still trading' it was not to end up dragging Shawplan through the mud. It was a genuine enquiry regarding the lack of response from Shawplan based on the excellent previous service I have received from Shawplan. There is some interesting reading through the thread and I would also like to take the opportunity to praise Railtec and djparkins,two other companies I have recently used and am more than happy with the service and products received. Keep up the great work guys.

Same situation I found myself in. If Narrow planet plates are as good as I'm expecting,then they will now have any future orders. I do like Shawplan plates and it's a shame it's came to this,but what else do you do?

Order placed. Thanks

Just had a mail back from Fox,very prompt aswell.They can add the plate to their range,but there will be a 4-5 month wait..... Think I need to get an etching machine.

Interesting comments from a simple question of a company still trading. I'm sure that pretty soon these small one man companies will disappear as the next generation turns to the online world,I am sure more companies will start to appear and grow online as the 7mm trend takes hold,and the generation forming these companies are more than able to run a company online. The current availability of RTR 7mm models is growing at a decent pace and I'm sure that other companies will appear as the market continues to grow. And as commented,the generation that is currently entering or in the hobby are more than likely to use online 'click and collect' companies as it is all they know. I myself am a big fan of searching the internet to find what I want,order,use PayPal and wait until the item arrives. We are all guilty of killing the high street and local shops,but with lower prices online and the convenience of things like click and collect,times are changing. However a company is ran,there will always be customers but eventually they will need to adapt to the ever growing online environment or face extinction as the generations change.

Yes,that's fine,if you want to run old school,so be it. But when you email and call several times and get no response,that tells me that I perhaps shouldn't be sending cheques (if I had a cheque book) because the likelihood of recieving items could be slim,has trading ceased,the owner ill,away on holiday,the list could go on. From past experience with shawplan i have had responses within 24 hours and when the items have arrived,normally in a couple of days,the items are superb in quality and accuracy. It's not the inconvenience of ordering old school,it's the fact that I had no response that raised this question. If anyone has received items in the past couple of weeks through postal ordering,let me know and I will try and get a cheque off a family member/friend,whatever,and send it to Shawplan.

Any,yeah,I've completely overlooked Fox...Cheers.

Oh right....a cheque book,what's one of those,is it like PayPal? Only joking,in these modern times of electronic payments etc,it's something I don't possess. Oh well,I'm sure I'll find somewhere/someone else that can supply plates. Thanks all.

Yeah,after several phonecalls and mails over the past 5 weeks I give up. As you say,quality plates,I've ordered in the past with replies within 24 hours. Looks like I will give your suggestion a try. Thanks for that.

Still no reply from Shawplan,whether it be email or a phonecall. Does anyone know of any other 7mm nameplate manufacturers? Thanks all.

Ah right,I'll try again at the end of next week if I don't hear before then. Thanks for the quick replies all.

Hmmmmmm.....So who else manufacturers 7mm nameplates then,needing 37180 sir Dyfed/county of Dyfed in red? Thanks.

All. After nearly 2 weeks,a couple of emails and phone calls I am still trying to get hold of Shawplan for some nameplates. Are they still trading? Usually get a response in a day or 2...

Well,apart from nameplates,that's 37180 complete. Couple of detail errors and I'm not happy with the brake levers but overall I'm very happy with this one. Mind you,the chains come off very easily if I need to remove the body for any reason,I hope I don't need to,the screws to the body are in an awkward place,Heljan please put the body screws in a more sensible location. Let's hope Heljan do a good job of the forthcoming 37/4.

Yep,it's on the to do list...I'll update soon..

Well,the 37 is back together,only the windscreen wipers,couplings,MU cables and handbrake chains to install,oh and nameplates. I've made a couple of errors on the front for this particular loco,but this is what happens when you change your mind and you've already started the process. The colours and weathering look a lot better in the flesh,but you'll have to take my word for it. It was a pain to put back together mind.