DCB

Coupling choice is something of a minefield. I understand Halsey is interested in freight shunting so the various Tension lock couplers and sprung ramps are never going to provide a satisfactory solution. There are various tweaks with magnets and modified couplings to give delayed uncoupling but it is always going to be labour intensive to fit them. Sadly the best of the tension lock couplings seem to be the 1970s all metal Triang which is robust and easy to adjust for height and the 1980s Airfix which works well and is reasonably unobtrusive The Peco Magni Simplex with some hidden electro magnets could give good results but it would be a lot of work to fit them, though the ability to lift any individual wagon in a train is invaluable in a limited clearance hidden siding If I were starting again in 00 I would consider either Kadee or the standard N gauge coupler which seems pretty good and reasonably unobtrusive in 00.

I have been running on board battery powered 00 scale locos in the garden for 20 plus years and apart from my earliest experiments recharging locos has never been a problem. My locos are all diesels and the biggest difference between battery and track power is the way the battery locos plough relentlessly over even the roughest trackwork, no hint of hesitation whether they are in the goods yard, on the main line or on the kitchen floor. Nothing track powered comes close. Added to this you can follow the loco with the controller, no leads to trip over, no busbars. Brilliant!

A feature of the B3 was the very short connecting rods and very long piston rods, I guess Triang Princess rods would be pretty close. The long Triang Hall rods look wrong to me. What was it hacked from? I quite fancy building one (or two)

Has anyone tried taming a PWM controller by putting a big capacitor across the output?

That's a great picture of Hockley. Look at that track spacing. no way is that 50mm, in 00. 44mm maybe. The 0-6-0 thing is interesting, they were almost unknown on the ex GWR in Cornwall post war, and I'm not too sure the SR had any there either. Exeter had a 2251 which was photographed on Kingswear locals but that was pretty much it as regards the far west. It may be that some small classes of unsuccessful Diesels are modelled, but things like the D600s were seen by lots of people as they travelled from Old Oak to Penzance. Think of a Summer Saturday at Dawlish 1958, maybe 3 X D600, 8 Kings 20 castles, Halls, Granges, 70000s but No Panniers or 0-6-0s and probably only 1 Prairie all day in daylight. Almost all on long distance passenger, with a very rare parcels, no goods almost no local passenger. If you want to model that (and I would prefer Stoneycombe Quarry) then you need the D600 and don't need any panniers, 14XX etc. That said I would still probably want a Dean Goods if it could pull a 10 coach train, run on uneven code 100 track and had loco drive.... The Dean "Goods" in reality more a mixed traffic loco, were decimated by the war (not literally, not 10% more like 40%) as they were called up for military service and never returned, their duties going to a variety of other locos especially the surviving outside frame 4-4-0s and presumably panniers. The last few were retained for diversions over the Severn Bridge when the tunnel was closed, the need disappeared when it was strengthened to allow 43XX. The Deans were drafted in from other sheds when required to work Hereford to Bristol trains over the bridge.

You could always put a wall or fence around the turntable where it is near the baseboard edge. A few 2" nails with the heads filed off and drilled to take strands of N/S wire bashed into the baseboard supports makes a good solid Gordon proof restraint. One advantage the modeller has over 305mm / ft is that our locos have infinitely variable control. Gordon with his stiff pull out regulator,restricted cut off and slow acting brakes (Did he have steam brakes or was it Vacuum?) would have had problems stopping in the right place to balance the table. Was Gordon 2 cylinder like the RHDR locos? And was the tender a group standard 4200 gallon? It is very hard to tell from nearholmers picture.

The track is set track which is more rigid than flexi. The last few sleepers are removed and the rail ends are soldered to copped clad circuit board, the board is held to the turntable with 10 BA screws, One end is fixed. the turntable placed on its pivot and one of the "Exit" roads aligned with the rails at one end of the turntable. Then the turntable is then turned 180 degrees and the other end of the turntable rails aligned both sideways and vertically. When both ends are within about 1/2 mm with all the screws tight then you can line up the other exit tracks My method for electrifying the tracks is the left hand rail has a post soldered to it passing down through the plastic to a long 10" wiper contact, both L/H rails contact sprung wipers which make contact through about 180 degrees with the middle 90 degree segments dead (so the left hand rail makes contact at one end and the other rail makes contact at the other end) My motorising is still at the planning stage but involves a motor on a lower level driving the turntable deck through a 50mm dia pivot (With a big ball race at the pivot) which also houses the wiring.

I cut one "bay" from Dapol turntable and it still turns GWR Kings and my LMS Duchess, I think you could cut two bays from it and still turn 0-6-0 and 4-4-0 locos, probably small 2-6-0 and even ex GER 1500 (B12) 4-6-0. See pic of Turntable in pristine Dapol grey livery with elderly Hornby King. (I just realised it has GWR lining and a BR Totem)

Why would the layout work better reversed? I believe in later days after the 517's etc operation was by non auto fitted locos such as 74XX 58XX and 16XX. Swindon had several 58XX which did Highworth and Tetbury branch duty as well as shunting around the station. I am not aware that Swindon had any auto train work but auto trailers worked to Tetbury without auto fitted locos, possibly because of low platforms which their steps made accessible. Mixed trains were common but I believe the only connection with the Branch involved setting back into the down side bay. I did research Kemble the Junction and it was very unusual in having no goods sidings. There were marshalling roads for the branch traffic for Cirencester and Tetbury branches but the goods sidings were almost a mile north, north of the A429 Foss Way. No signals at Tetbury and just a ground frame, one engine in steam, not that exciting,less so than Ashburton traffic wise, but quite pretty. The trackplan is probably a better basis for a pastiche generic GWR station than a faithful representation. Especially as it was intended to be a through station, like Fairford and several others...

I have a Wills kit inn process of restoration, bought in error (EM gauge no motor) and being rebuilt and I intend to mount the coupled chassis as a power bogie able to pivot vertically within the chassis while the leading wheels keep the body level Motor will come from a Computer disc drive with romford gears and axles and Hornby crankpins. I failed to realise all the medium Metros went so early and that the big ones were so different (and ugly) as I model BR

K J Cook's book Swindon Steam gives an explanation of some of the variations in locos. To understand the GWR didn't treat locos as a complete unit. Locos were serviced at set intervals dependent on Mileage and records were kept. It was somewhere around 80 000 miles for a works visit. If a Boiler needed to be taken off the frames it took twice as long to overhaul as the chassis, so the chassis was overhauled, new or reconditioned parts fitted and an overhauled boiler fitted, very likely not the one it arrived with. The GW had 10% more boilers than Locos as a policy. 30 Kings 34 King boilers. Painting was done while the repair was in progress, there was no paint shop. The loco was then paired with a freshly overhauled Tender and off it went. When new cylinders were required, when they had been rebored past their limit perhaps, On an outside cylinder Churchward loco it was quicker to change the entire front end than just change the cylinders. To explain, the two cylinders were identical and together formed the smokebox saddle. They bolted together at the centre line of the loco. The main frames ended at the motion bracket which could support the front of the boiler while the cylinders were removed if suitable packing was inserted, Extension bar frames went from main frames to the buffer beam. 42XX etc engines had the slidebars closed in by sheet steel at the inside so the lack of plate frame between motion bracket and cylinders was not obvious. The Standard boilers really were standard, there may have been variations in firebox end mounting plates but we are basically talking well over 600 Std 4 boilers which could be rotated among 600 or so locos, So a loco could get a brand new boiler at overhaul, which might do 6 or 7 years without coming off the frames, or an overhauled 30 year old one which might be in trouble by the next year. That's where the randomisation comes in. One variation of the 42XX is the sectioned one in Swindon works, later cylinders with straight frames, the footplate valance flame cut away to clear. If you work from a photo you can't go far wrong for that date, however that condition may be only valid for one year

Probably the key thing to making a GWR type turntable look authentic is getting the length right, 65 feet seems to be the usual size for major depots whereas most RTR models tend to be 75 ish feet. 65 feet will turn a King or an LMS Duchess. I chopped one "Bay" out of a Dapol turntable which is basically GWR in design to reduce it to 10 ish inches and made up a circular support rail and weird locking device and it works quite successfully though hand pushed. It is surprising how much difference a couple of inches in diameter makes to the space in a loco depot.

I habitually feed points from the heel end, it can save yards of wire, just connect + and - to the two outer rails of the four, it is exactly the same as feeding from the toe.

To "solve" the problem you need a double isolator between 6 and 7 if the fact 2-7 and 3-6 are live bothers you. Personally it would not bother me. as you would then need a feed to the lower rail beyond point 7 to allow running round as otherwise setting the crossover will isolate the stub beyond point 7 2-7 the top rail is fed from point 1, if 1 is set left (1L) then 2-7 is isolated, if set Right (1R) 1 feeds the top rail of 2-7 If 2 is set left (2L) 2 feeds the bottom rail of 2-7 so 1R 2L and 2-7 is live. If 2 is set Right (2R) and 3 left (3L) 2-7 will be dead until 6 is set left (6L) which will feed 2-7 through point 7 (lower rail) and point 1 (upper rail) 3-6 The top rail can be fed from 1R and 7 when 7 is set left across the crossover 3-6 the bottom rail is fed from 3 when 3 is set left (3L) irrespective of the setting of 1 and 2. The headshunt feed 4 should be between 4 and 5 electrically but I can't see it affecting 2-7 or 3-6 It is all good fun and simpler than electrofrog where back feeds from stabled locos can cause even weirder effects It is much easier with Radio Control (Or Clockwork)

Just off to Calne tomorrow and looking for my own speed measuring post and failing miserably, but all these speed calculations are backwards for a model train. How do you measure the length of a piece of track and more important how do you see both ends to use a stop watch? (Or see a wagon speedometer?) You can't. However you can measure the length of a train to within about 5%and then time it passing a fixed point. 7 X 60 ft coaches is around 420 feet 7 X 64 ft coaches around 448 feet 6 X 75 ft coaches is around 450 feet 1/12th of a mile is 440 feet 1/12th mile + or - 5% is 420 to 460 feet. As 1/12th of a mile is covered in 1/12th of a minute at 60 mph and 1/12th of a minute is 5 sec you can simply time the train past a set point. You just need to measure the time. Either by stop watch or second hand, counting Nought, One Two etc (Don't start the count with "One" and count one second too few) 2.5 sec = 125mph 3 sec =100mph 4sec = 75 mph 5 sec = 60 mph 6 sec =50 mph 7.5 sec = 40 mph 10 sec = 30 mph, 15 sec = 20 mph 30 sec = 10 mph. This works with all scales from 300 mm/ ft to 1 mm/ ft Halving the length of train and halving the time gives the same result. Wagons are more difficult, most are over length in 00 and N but roughly 3.5 wagons = 1 coach so 24 wagons per 1/12th mile so you can extrapolate, 12 wagons need 5 sec to pass at 30 mph.

That is one of the best 8X4 layouts I have ever seen, decent length platforms and a great period feel, an object lesson in what can be done by mixing streamline and set track and using every square inch of the 8X4.

A drawing of a go/no go back to back gauge for 14.5mm nominal back to back. I have only done the 14.25mm end so far but will file up the other end(s) tomorrow evening, I only thought of this thanks to Halsey's posts.

Another cause of derailments on second hand coaches is where they have been lowered, old Triang/Hornby coaches sat 1mm too high and many people lowered then by cutting the bogie pivot tower down, the coupling rivet then fouled the headstock making the bogie stiff to turn on uneven track.

It sounds like you have back to back problems, I use Peco code 100 with a bit of set track and a bit of ancient Grafar. I made a back to back gauge which is a bit of wood almost square section 14.25 mm wide (Measured with a micrometer) with an axle slot in one end and I check all new wheelsets for a sliding fit before fitting them. If they are loose I close them up to a sliding fit. The old Hornby dublo moulded nylon wheelsets are 14.25 mm sliding fit and I have 400 or more so I'm not changing them! Some mainline /airfix plastic wheels on shouldered metal axles cant be adjusted and the old Triang Hornby plastic an shouldered axles and the metal tyres on plastic axles are just a joke, Curiously the really old two part ones can easily be adjusted with a spacing washer between the two halves. The old Airfix and Mainline wheels, Auto coach Centenaries etc had knife edge flanges which were really nasty. I rewheeled one of mine with nice split axle disc wheels whoch I used for electrical pickups for the lights but have never managed to find any more since The problem is tolerances, 14.25mm sliding fit is around 14.5 mm actual, Judging a tight fit with a digital caliper is just too complicated for me To really do it properly (GWR style) make two gauges one 14.25 mm and one 14.75 mm, if a wheel set fits the 14.25 and does not fit the 14.75 it's fine.

If is a 4ft dining table could you go to 4 X 2? I doodled a U shaped 8 X 4 in OO on anyrail with peco streamline and set track points which could be adapted for 4 X 2, Its sort of a terminus fallen on hard times, platforms shortened, some tracks ripped up and the goods yard arranged for DMU stabling. Disused junction with ripped up tracks. The bridge is half arched and half girder as many were when additional tracks were laid, This allows the carriage washer under the girder bridge which gives an excuse for shunting The outer line should be nicely ballasted as a passenger line and the inner not well maintained as a goods or shunting line. Obviously the fiddle yard is at the back An ocasional gronk or 66 or similar red box on wheels could turn up occasionally propelling a few wagons on the goods line or maybe topping and tailing. With two single lines two trains can run in the same direction at different speeds which always looks good, a Passenger and a shunting move. Layout could even accommodate 2 operators

Worth a try?, with locos so cheap at the moment.... Personally I find PWM noisy and not friendly to motors and would not touch it with a barge pole, but I use a rotary switch and loads of diodes to provide a voltage regulated power supply with 11 steps so my views are very much in a minority. I suppose you could always put a capacitor across the output with an on off switch to get both PWM starts and smooth running at line speed.

Looks like a thoroughly bad idea, a line in a cutting. anywhere between Didcot and Acton where the line is on an embankment or viaduct would be better, or North Wales coast, of (double track only) Dawlish, line against a cliff, sea wall in front masking baseboard edge would be better but line in a cutting is about as bad as it gets visually. An overbridge at the right hand end so you view the line over the parapet would help, or a video cam to film the line CCTV style and project it on a screen butm you might as well watch a DVD Sorry. I have a great helicopter view of my middle station "Goat of Barton" from my bedroom window and a loft layout which ios about impossible to get a decent view of through poor thinking at the initial stage so please think again.

It looks to me like Oxford have gone for long term reliability with a high quality open frame motor which appears to have replaceable brushes and an almost indefinite life span rather than a cheap and very nasty can with no serviceable parts which I have a pile of from dead computers and a pile of dead ones from a certain manufacturer of 00 scale locos. Can't the Oxford motor mount be slimmed down to improve the appearance while keeping the same motor. The flywheel / UJ set up takes all the end loadings off the motor bearings rather like the old Airfic14XX chassis and those motors ran for ever ( sadly far longer than the chassis and pickups did) All in all it looks like Oxford have done a superb job in making a loco which will stay on the track and still be working in 40 years time, long after the Hornby versions have been consigned to the scrap box or back of the loco shed. Maybe Kernow should have a careful look to see how it osdone.

There is plenty of room for a double track layout

I think you need a continuous run if it is for small people, and there is sort of nowhere for trains to go, I suggest reversing the crossover so that trains can return to the platform as a minimum