Lecorbusier

I couldn't agree more (I was there again this summer) .... interesting that he too was not religious.

I have not had the privilege to visit little Bytham ... though I am a huge fan and loved the article in the MRJ. However I do enjoy every now and then playing the various youtube offerings . I was running through these again last night and I would like to make a comment on the strength of these. Yes the modelling is fantastic, and yes the length and weight of the trains gives a reassuring feeling visually with a real sense of mass and inertia. However, ( on the videos at least) the sound of the trains running at speed over what has to be said is superb track work is quite noticeable and for me adds considerably to the overall impression. I hasten to add the sound is not that of the motor, but rather the sound of many wheels at speed over rails. The sounds certainly aid my imagination as a viewer. I would simply make the point that on a smaller layout where such speeds and length of train are not present the sound of the motor and relative silence of everything else can be a distraction rather than an aid - a negative rather than a positive.

As with locos ... endless are the debates - perhaps to be strictly accurate one should say France's greatest "20th century" Architect? ... come what may an interesting chap - love him or hate him!

I will be forever jealous! My earliest memory of Railway's (apart from the Talyllyn) was of walking the Monsaldale trackbed soon after the track was lifted

I might be wrong but templot appears to position rail cuts based upon both rail length and the complexity of configuration?

Scale viewing distance needs to be taken into consideration perhaps. When viewing a model from say 3 ft we are actually viewing from 76.2 yards away if my calcs are correct .... so presumably the sound volume should be as heard from 76 yards away?

If nothing else, that must have given real atmosphere to the session. I have a sneaking feeling that someone with an electronics bent will develop something which will sync things and a whole new level will be attained. Imagine for example a whole series of Bose style speakers dotted invisibly around Retford activated by a gamut of differing chips (based on proximity) over-layering the sound. On top of the locos, you could have different chips in each rake of rolling stock with all the right attendant clanks etc all gauged to the speed of the running. It would take someone/some people obsessed with this kind of technology to achieve, and would probably only be applicable at the top end ... but I think it will happen (though whether it will ever be commercially viable is another question). For myself the mark I imagination will suffice for the foreseeable future.

I think that the crux of the matter may be that .... where steam is concerned there are fewer and fewer people who can recall (and therefore imagine) the real thing as it used to work ... including the sounds. Heritage lines give some idea - but of course they don't have proper goods trains, proper shunting, and all the wrong locomotives are pulling the wrong trains etc, etc. It could be argued that in some ways it is through good, prototypically operated models that we get some kind of window through into aspects of a lost world and as such sound (even if just as a background) might have a place. Certainly when I was last at Pendon I learnt a lot from the operators when viewing the dartmoor scene ... but for me it would have been enhanced by the addition of sounds! In the end it might only be suitable for top end layouts that can tap into specific expertise, but I am still watching developments with interest. The thought of a realistic backing track to the train movements on Little Bytham would be a mouth watering prospect

Not trying to persuade ... not convinced myself .... just watching developments with interest.

I read somewhere that there is some experimentation underway where the chip in the loco talks to speakers set in the surrounding layout and in some way the proximity is read. This means that the speakers can be of a much higher spec and they are activated as the train passes. I understand that you can play multiple sounds through the same speaker (a little like having music playing on your computer at the same time as watching i-player etc etc). So the idea is that you can overlay the sound of the rolling stock on that of the loco and perhaps the background noises of the countryside. I have no idea how advanced any of this is or how convincing ... but for those who can be bothered it does sound interesting. Of course I may have got all this completely wrong ... the dangers of remembering having read something somewhere! ....Chinese whispers and all that

The danger comes of course when someone (not a model rail enthusiast) gently points out that you are not just imagining but actually quietly making a rough impression of the said sounds

Hi everyone, Never posted here before but have enjoyed reading the discussions. Probably a bit left centre and I know only really possible because I am starting out from scratch with no layout and no locos .... but I am currently dipping the toe in the protocab radio control set up. Needs a bit of ingenuity to house the battery and logic board, but in this set up you really do drive the engine. The track is prototypically dead (of course we are talking steam/deisel here), and shorting or cleaning becomes irrelevant. All very interesting ... just have to keep fingers crossed that the system lasts and doesn't go under in the next decade or so! Tim

Just from Curiosity, I was following the build of the Keyser Dean Goods 'outside frames' with some interest earlier on in the thread. I wondered what might have been the final result of this build? I currently have an old 'K's iteration of the kit built in the late 70s and I am currently considering disassembling and stripping it down to re-build (hence the interest). Tim

might be of interest .... I just received a reply to an e-mail from Dave at Craftsman On 6 Feb 2016, at 18:43, David Jones <davidjones5676@outlook.com> wrote: Hi Tim Thank You for your enquire, yes I am still in business but having just come out of hospital I am a bit behind with the orders, so would wait a few weeks to order. All the best. David