cypherman

Hi,

I am like you. I do not have a layout set up. My wife and I are hoping to move to a bigger house just after I fully retire. This will give me a railway room. Like you I have been repairing and restoring engines and rolling stock for at least the past ten years. Here are a couple of mine. They are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But I am happy with them.

14 hours ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

Not exactly sure what I was trying to replicate, just saw an eBay listing and thought “hey that’s cool, I want that”

 

Found a photo of the model I sent to a friend before the listing ended, like I said, I didn’t end up winning it, but I thought it was a nice custom and wanted one for myself, hence my shoddy attempt at such

 

That's a very nice looking conversion. Similar to one I did back in the 1970s. But it looks a far better job than I managed all those years ago.

7 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

Yes, Mazak aka Zamak melts but not in you household oven.  Crystallisation temperatures are around 400C, so you are going to need a Furness going to at least 500C.  I think that probably means the other questions are irrelevant.

A pity, Unless you happen to know a local blacksmith or metalworks. The blacksmith would be easier to find.

Hi all,

For your cupboard door problem why do you not try an accordion concertina door. You can also use them for the main door into the room. Therefore you do not have to sacrifice the area that a normal door takes to swing. They are quite cheap at between £40 - £60 depending on the one you buy. Look on Amazon to check them out.

Hi all,

What's wrong with using an isolating fishplate in the gap?.

Is it possible to melt down mazak?. Is it possible to buy mazak on its own. How easy would it be to get some decent wheels. Make lost sand moulds from them and recast your own?. Just a thought.

1 hour ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

One last find before I look like I’m rambling:

 

 

I saw a custom model on eBay earlier this year, sawn-off Princess if you will, I wanted to try and get it but someone else won the bid, a few months later and I’d bought another broken Princess to use some chassis components from, the body went unused, so I tried to shorten the body, which I did! …Crudely!

 

Might come back to this model some day and finish it off…

Hi,

What did you have in mind for it. A Black 5, Rebuilt Patriot, Royal Scot or a Jubilee perhaps.

Hi all, Does any one know where I might be able to get the black opening side doors for this wagon. Whether original or 3d printed.

1 hour ago, ISW said:

Mine came off AliExpress, and were consequently much cheaper (~£2 each). The Batch I have details for came from 'Sourcing Map' in Hong Kong back in 2017. I've order twice more since from AliExpress with different suppliers without problem. However, Strathpeffer does provide a nifty 3D printed 'spacer' to properly install the CD-ROM motor, whereas I used 'eyeball alignment' and hot melt glue!

 

Don't forget that you also need to purchase the 8-tooth plastic cog to fit on the CD-ROM motor.

 

Ian

Hi Ian,

With the Straphpeffer motors you get all that as part of the kit.

I am not sure if the Triang and Triang/Hornby wagon chassis were made of Mazak. But I have never come across one with the dreaded rot. But saying that i never thought I would find a Triang  engine chassis with it until i bought a 3mt 2-6-2 chassis for its valvegear that had it.

Hi,

I concur with ISW. I have swapped out quite a few old Ringfield motors in both Lima and Hornby locos. This where I have got most of my replacement motors from.

https://www.strathpefferjunction.com/product-tag/cd-motor/

This video from 00Bill on Youtube shows you just how easy it is and the upgrade in running you get.

Hi,

I am assuming that the squares are 3insx3ins going by the size of the points. Is that correct. That would make it just under 3ft plus the fiddleyard. How long is you fiddleyard going to be?. Is it going to be a single line lift out cartridge type. Or multiple sliding cartridge type?. If not  and it is a multiple sliding fiddle yard I cannot help but think that you are going to waste some of your limited space by having the overbridge. That perhaps turning the area you have in to the more traditional shunting puzzle layout might be more effective. Something like this first layout. As suggested earlier by The Johnster. The second trackplan is a little larger but allows more operational variety. As I can only guess at the room you have for the fiddleyard. This is the best I can think of.

5 hours ago, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

I've moved on to the tender, the body has gone together fairly easily, bit of flash and a couple of wonky bits. I'm using Hornby 'RED' wheels, but the tender is set up for pinpoint axles, so a sub frame is being made, I've made one for almost every GN tender I've built, but this is the first eight wheeler, not much different. Still a little ways to go.

 

manna

Hi Manna. 

What sort of radius will that tender go round. It looks like it has very limited side to side movement.

Hi Eddydde,

You can have a lot of fun doing up the old Triang/Hornby hall. They are cheap enough to have a go upgrading them. Here is one of mine that I upgraded a little bit. Plus a picture of what it started out like. It came with no tender but luckily I had a spare one.

Hi Johan,

You could try Peters Spares. They have a lot of older spare parts made for them. So it is worth asking.

https://www.petersspares.com/

9 hours ago, Jademalo said:

 

Thank you! This is interesting - one of my super early ideas when I was testing TT was that exact sort of figure 8 reversing loop. I had envisioned the station complex across the middle of the layout like this, with the running loop around the outside. I ended up binning the idea because I couldn't figure out how to make it work electrically, since from what I could tell it was too short to reliably detect and switch. It also had issues with reversing, since the platforms could still only be accessed in one direction around the loop.

After looking at this for a bit though I think this might actually work, so long as the outer terminus platforms are only ever directly connected to a single loop at a time. It's tricky to conceptualise though, especially when slips get involved. I like it though, especially within my want of "More interesting than a simple oval".

 

In terms of platforms, My current thinking is to have a set of express platforms and a shorter set of regional platforms, in some manner. Those wouldn't need to be particularly long, I'm thinking sort of Pacer length. It's a shame the reversing loop can't cut across on the opposite diagonal, that would give a perfect place for those.

One possibility could be to have the regional platforms on the right there, with access to the yard via those by crossing the reversing loop. I'm not sure how good that would look though.

 

 

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm definitely leaning towards code 55. It's not too much more expensive at the total length I'm looking at, and the crossing and turnout options definitely let me do more in the space I have available.

 

Yeah, I appreciate that a 1:1 scale copy isn't exactly feasible, it's mostly just an example of the vibe that I'm going for as opposed to something like Kings Cross. One day I'll buy all of peco's crossing stock and recreate the full might of the diamonds as they were in the 60s, when I end up making a fortune in music and have access to a cathedral like Pete Waterman, lol.

 

Oh, that's a good point! I won't lie in saying I totally hadn't considered that at all. Hopefully they've been practicing their parkour!

 

 

Thank you for these suggestions! I really appreciate it, and the things you bring up are the exact sort of feedback I've been looking for.

I'm not sure what scale you're thinking however, there's no way I can fit 4th radius curves by Hornby in the limited width I have. At this point I'm leaning heavily towards N, so Hornby is entirely out of the question.

 

The answer to Steam Or Diesel is both, as annoying as that is. My goal was always to try and make something more interesting than a TrakMat that I can run trains that I like on, and at the end of the day I like both modern era MUs and classic steam. The modern era of heritage steam does at least mean running them on slightly more modern feeling layouts doesn't feel too anachronistic, at the very least.

 

With regards to moving the back scene, since I'm limited on height for the sake of storage there's no real way to separate them. Having the back lines diverge as in my example was an attempt to break up that toy train set oval look more than anything else, while still having the double track to be able to run more than one train.

Hi Jade,

The layouts I have shown are to show you some ideas. To get the best out of the for the size you have TT or N would be the best scale to go for.

21 hours ago, Jademalo said:

 

Oh wow, that's absolutely gorgeous. Oh how I wish I had the space for something like that, lol.

That's a fair thought, but as I said above it's just not the era that gets me going.

 

 

Oh wow, that layout is absolutely gorgeous. It really uses elevation well though, which I unfortunately don't have the luxury of.

Good to know the secondary market is solid, I'm not averse to buying so long as I know I'm not just throwing away money. I hate whenever I have to get something that I know will immediately lose a lot of value, but it's why I tend to spend more on good stuff I can sell rather than buying cheaper stuff I can't.

 

 

Oh wow, these ideas are absolutely fantastic, thank you so much! I genuinely really appreciate it.

I particularly like 2 and 6, I'm going to have a play with something along those lines and see if I can get something ideal. Unfortunately my door probably isn't deep enough for a turntable, as much fun as that would be. These have definitely given me a load of great ideas though!

 

The original reason the diamond crossing was there was for a double loop, but I couldn't quite get something I liked with it. I had the idea of being able to run it either as two opposing loops or a figure 8, depending on how I was feeling, with some sort of feature at the top.

 

Do you have any particular recommendations or ideas in terms of where to put platforms and how wide to space things? I'm actually wondering if it could work to sort of mirror the internal section of 8, and run the diagonals as platforms in addition to the ones outside of the loop. It's actually reminding me a bit of Newcastle in the 80s and earlier looking west, with some straight terminus platforms where the car park is now and the curved through platforms next to them.

 

 

Obviously I want to be careful to not make it too busy, but I feel like there's the seed of an idea here!

 

 

Hi Jade.

The two layouts you liked 2 and 6 would have the platforms on the left hand side2 lines with an island platform between the 2 tracks and in the middle of the layout the platforms would be on both sides of the middle 2 tracks. Thus giving you a possible 3 platforms or 2 platforms and parcels platform. the other 2 sidings could be used for goods. All the layouts use Hornby 4th radius  curves. So it should be able to run any of the newer Hornby/Bachmann engines. You do not say what era you want to run. Steam or diesel. All these layouts would work well with modern image. For steam I would be tempted to put points in the 2 main platform lines to allow running round. This would mean moving the island platform on the left to the outside of the tracks.  Sorry I could not do this as I am using the free version of Anyrail and am limited to 50 pieces. All the layouts are 50 pieces. 

On the layout you showed there are several major problems with it. once you get on to the inside line you cannot get into the inside station line without reversing your train. You also have a diamond crossing in the station throat that leads to just one line. Giving it very limited use. If you replaced that with a double slip you would be able to get rid of both the points and the diamond crossing simplifying the area and making it much more usable. But as has been mentioned the platforms would be rather small. I have revamped your idea a little bit to make it more user friendly so to speak by swapping the direction of entry and using a double slip to replace the 2 points and diamond crossing. I also added an extra set of points to allow movement between lines a little easier. The left hand side tracks will still have either an island platform or if you want a run round platform on the usual places. I have also included 2 more simplified versions that does all the same movements but includes a passing loop where a train can be held whilst other movements are done. One has the double slip and the other uses 2 points.

I personally think that it might be better to move the back scene forwards and have  perhaps a 4 lane fiddleyard  set up behind it. 2 tracks per line. so you can store a limited number of trains out of sight. I must admit though to my mind having a double track mainline in the space you have may end up making it look more like a toy trainset rather than model railway. The idea of moving the back scene forwards though can be done with any of the layouts I have shown. So you could theoretically have a single line working with a 3 or 4 track fiddle yard behind it.

Hi Six,

Oscar Paisley might consider buying it off you. Due to its great condition. You can find him on YouTube. through his channel. He collects Triang railways. He has one of them on his current layout. This is his latest video.

On 19/09/2023 at 07:01, Jademalo said:

I mean, at the end of the day you aren't wrong and I appreciate the advice, it's just that what interests me and what I want is to watch some trains I like run around a track. I could just buy a starter loop of whatever and set it up on my floor, but I figured I could get a bit more intrigue out of a different scale and a bit of clever track planning. I could just build an N or TT loop and be done with it, but that just seems a bit boring. This is ultimately something to have while I'm limited on space that I can pull out and watch trains I like go around.

 

I think you might also be overestimating the size I have available vertically as well - This layout has to be stored between a settee and a wall, so it has to be pancake flat. Any buildings and scenery I include will have to be removable no matter what, and I can't even begin to consider things like wired signals. Decoration can't go much further than a grass mat and maybe some ballast, with some removable buildings placed on top.

My goal here isn't really to create a highly detailed scene, when I eventually get the space to do that and have a permanent setup I'll almost definitely do it in OO. It's entirely to have something a bit more compelling than a circle on my floor.

 

I'm not bothered about sticking to a perfectly prototypical ECML, I mostly said that to give a rough sense of what I like which is generally speaking passenger stuff that has been run on the ECML that I fell in love with when I was little. I always used to see Class 91s crossing bridges, and I have so many memories of falling in love with Mallard at the NRM. With regards to sticking to an era, it's sensible advice but honestly there won't be enough detail on this layout for there to really be anything era defining. I could pick one or the other, but the fact is I love both.

 

 

I've been considering a non-loop layout since the start, but I like watching trains run rather than just shuttling back and forth so I've been trying to figure out a way to make a loop that works. I'm also hesitant to spend space on things like fiddle yards when it's so limited, it seems like the space would be better spent on actual running track.

Can you elaborate a bit on the specifics of what you're envisioning here? I sort of understand what you're thinking, but I'm struggling to come up with anything in SCARM.

The only sort of thing I've been able to come up with so far is along these lines, with a terminus station on the left with a through track for running. Technically this station should be able to accomodate a kato class 800, but honestly I'm out of my depth planning here. This is obviously just rough, ignore the points mess etc. As I said in my OP, the exercise is ultimately me trying to make something more compelling than a trakmat.

 

 

 

Hi Jade,

Looking at your initial single track plan made me have a play with it in Anyrail. I came up with these eight variations on it. I kept the diamond crossing in some of them as you had put one in your plan. I used Hornby standard track geometry to keep it simple. They nearly all allow end to end running and continuous running and a passing loop. Hope this helps. 

Hi all,

Are these a K's kit.

Hi all,

Back in the day I ran a small N gauge layout. Mainly Minitrix with a couple of Grafar 0-6-0 tank engines. They were great as a 12 year old they were robust and worked. I was not interested counting rivets. They looked like the engines I wanted and that was enough. 12 year olds today probably are still the same. So I believe there would still be a market for them if targeted at the right people. I mean if Hornby thought they could make money from the awful abortion of the steam punk range they may consider it. But now they have reintroduced the new TT range it is less likely to happen. I must admit that I quite like TT scale. I personally think it is the best possible gauge for scale and space. But I will not be swapping my 00 for it. Too much invested in it.

1 hour ago, paulstephens said:

Thanks everybody, yes it is a split chassis model. I'll try the plastic insert exchange, if I read the response correctly that is what you are proposing?

I will also make sure the back to back on the wheels is correct. I did muddle with the quartering but it wasn't easy. I have corrected the wobble abit but not quite enough to my satisfaction yet.

Hi Paul,

There is no problem with the back to back as the wheels slot into the axels and need to be fully pushed in. Once pushed in they are at the correct distance. One thing that was not mentioned is that these older engines are prone to splitting their axles. I believe replacement axles can be bought from Peters Spares if needed.

https://www.petersspares.com/

But with a bit of luck yours will be ok.

1 hour ago, Il Grifone said:

The dreaded pest is caused by impurities in the alloy and can be accelerated by vibration, which is why it shows up frequently in wheels.

 

Rivarossi Memory claims a cure, but it invoves nasty chemicals and I have yet to try it.

http://www.rivarossi-memory.it/Tecnica/Peste_Zama_cura/Curare_peste_zama.htm

Sorry it's in Italian - Google translate.

Hi  Il Grifone,

I could really do with that fix for my Rivarossi BigBoy. The chassis has crumbled away with the dreaded rot. But some how I cannot see my wife letting me near her new cooker to heat up the chassis with such toxic chemicals for as she puts it a toy train......... :(

Hi,

I use a very soft 1/2 ins paint brush to remove dust.

20 hours ago, Halvarras said:

Is this of any use?

 

https://www.ekmexhibitions.co.uk/home/BR-4MT-4-6-0-WHEEL-SET-Split-Chassis-p257692995

Hi Halvarras, That's an excellent link. I have added it to my list of suppliers.