topsy11

Any updates Maurits?

Absolutely superb, very impressive with all those trains running and certainly plenty to look at! Great work and videos!

Absolutely superb work mate! You seem to lay more track in a few days than I get laid in a month!!

The 60's look so good in COLAS livery!

Looking great! How much room do you have to play with??

I certainly want them to get it right and create a nice looking realistic model. I sometimes play Train Sim on the PC and know how infuriating it is to receive a brand new DLC that has stupid faults that should never happen!! Two years is still hard to comprehend but hey ho!

I'm not saying this to be controversial but I find it very hard to grasp how it takes 2 + years to produce a model! I'm guessing permission to produce the model and liveries was sorted before Dapol even announced they'd be making this model. With 3D scanners, 3D printers etc available now a days I'd expect they'd be able to make a pretty accurate model in a couple of months, max. I imagine it'll use an off the shelf motor and so I struggle to see why it really takes such a long time to complete. I shouldn't think the real thing took much longer to design and build from scratch.

Jim, From a drivers point of view is there much difference between the 66 and 70?

Could someone offer a little help. On doing my research I found that the masts would be fitted as long / short / long etc so the catenary lines run in a 'zig zag' pattern to prevent excessive wear on the pantograph. On a set of single masts on a double track line, would they be running as the same masts (i.e two long/short masts together on the up and down line) or would it be a long on the up and short on the down (opposite each other) along the line? I hope that makes sense??

That'd be superb Andi, if you can add a few build pics of the portals and hanging gear. Cheers Mark

Hi Clive, Thanks for the reply. I think it was yourself that pointed out to Dapol that their masts were the wrong type. My own layout is just for my own entertainment and I honestly wouldn't know the difference between a mk1 / mk2 etc etc mast. I just want something that's fairly standard and looks like it belongs in the UK and not Switzerland like I've seen on some of the HO examples I've looked at. The two portals/gantries/masts added by Dave above would be perfect for what I'm looking for at the moment just to break things up a little. There are definitely masts very similar to the Dapol ones on the line that runs through Smethwick Galton Bridge, Rolfe Street which leads to/from New Street. Thanks again.

If it looked like someone was going to bring out a decent set of OHLE for the UK market I would happily wait a little while but there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon. The amount of time it takes to get stuff to the shelves I'll happily keep researching to build my own as it'll probably be a lot quicker! Many thanks for such an excellent reply Dave, pretty much what I was hoping for. I know you're a very busy bloke but would you, or someone else with nice OHLE, consider doing a little step by step blog with some pictures of each step? I'd be more than happy to pay for the materials and a few beers (don't expect it to be built for me just for guide purposes). Your explanation is very good but a few pics always helps, certainly for me anyway. Thanks again Mark

You are indeed correct mate, whilst doing some research I cam across a thread where they'd produced some double track gantries but then told they were the wrong design and so they canned them!! I find it quite hard to believe that no one else has build some ready made gantries - the Dapol ones are very good but I don't just want a layout full of the single mast types!

Thanks for the reply. I'd like something fairly accurate if possible. I don't want working OHLE and don't want to mess around making all the pulleys working etc like I've seen on some of the stunning layouts. I would like something that is representative of the UK stuff used. My main loop is a double track approx 15ft x 9ft. I don't mind spending a bit of time constructing some gantries although would probably work on small sections at a time. Cheers Mark

I'm not modelling anywhere specific to be honest - but seeing as though I live in the West Mids - something around Birmingham / WCML. Thanks Mark

Hello. I've been deliberating whether to bother with OHLE on my layout as its my first layout and I already think I've jumped in at the deepend a little sometimes but I really really want OHLE on my layout (non working) to complement the modern scene I'm trying to model. So far I've done quite a bit of research looking on here and google. I've purchased some of the Dapol catenary masts, which I think look pretty good and some will certainly be gracing my layout. However from looking at the tracks around here they seem to use various gantry designs. So in my research it seems like I've certainly got to build the majority of my own gantries which I don't mind doing. I have quite a decent soldering iron and not too bad at soldering. However I'm struggling to get my head around what I actually need to build something to represent a gantry with all the bits n pieces (don't know the technical terms) I've found the N Brass website which seems to have the kits for the gantries / portal supports but I want other designs as per the Minsterly layout / Warren Lane etc. I know there are a few topics dotted around but I just can't seem to grasp what I actually need to buy to build what I want - unless someone reading this fancies building me a couple of pieces, I'll pay of course!! Many thanks

Another great video Dave. Looking at your class 60 and the rake of TEA's I'm sure we must of been locked in a couple of bidding wars on eBay in the past 12 months!! Nice to see I'm not the only one with squeaky wheels on my tanks as well! Stunning work as usual mate!

Looks superb and nice to see it actually progressing although I still find it hard to believe that the earliest we'll most likely see this model is Christmas 2015!!

Just a thought, but have you dropped Brian Lambert a message with the troubles you're having? He's helped me out pretty much from day one and with my very limited electronic knowledge and poor electrical terminology my end, he's helped me through even with me sometimes sending 5+ messages a day! Top bloke when it comes to electrical problems. Cheers Mark

Wow, what a superb room, layout and design!! I don't look at N gauge layouts too often but this caught my eye and looks fantastic already! I take it you've been building model railways for some time considering how quickly you've progressed with this and how complex the track plan looks!! Can't wait to see some more updates!

I'll certainly be pre-ordering one of these when available