NIK

Hi, As to how they could improve things for a possible next series: Not supply MDF baseboards as the dust may require hoovering up for safety reasons - more noise that the film crew soundpersons don't like and interrupts modelling. Have a venue where the filming is further away from noises such as planes from Heathrow, Peacocks in the garden and 1:1 steam trains (in the final). Be more flexible with the proportions that could be spent with each sponsor. Some teams had £100 for sundries whereas some modellers layouts the sundries cost more than the rest of the layout put together. Be clearer about the rules at the start of the pre-build if possible. Be clear about what rolling stock the teams can provide themselves - I've already seen rolling stock in the first show and the trailer for the second where I'm not sure if they were allowed by the rules. Bachmann and Hornby to hold back rolling stock so there is more choice for the teams. Have each team in a separate building so that there are less interruptions to the modelling in order to record the sound properly. It is not IMO bake off - bake off was largely suitable for cheap filming as there is not much noise. doesn't take too much time and the critical stuff takes place in ovens where the temperature is controlled unlike the venue used for the first GMRC series. Consider changing the scratchbuild challenge, if they are going to big up the teams that take part and encourage teams to take part in a possible second series they might want to take into account that a lot of the top layouts use the best raw materials not the cast offs of three legged relatives (did anyone else spot that?). Regards Nick

Hi, Going back to your great looking 6 REP - how did you do the sides - did MJT sell 4-REP sides in the past?. Regards Nick

Hi, In the first espisode it says the winner will appear at a major model railway show and then they showed a layout at what looked like Warley. I only spotted this on my second viewing as the editing is so fast. So if the aim is Warley then the final has to be aired before it (ie not too many postponements of episodes - unlike the Ryder cup clash which saw the series delayed a week - the second Radio Times edition to mention the series mentions the wrong episode). I don't know how the scaling of the forced perspective terraces was done on the Missenden team's layout but they may have used downloadable kit artwork such as Scalescenes and scaled accordingly. Or they could have scanned Metcalfe (one of the sponsors) kits when they arrive flat and done the same. Regards Nick

Hi, Possibly the stock was as it was due to suitable items not being available from the sponsors. Possibly if this show had been done twenty years ago when production runs of RTR were larger it might have made a difference but then again there would have been a smaller range of prototype stock to choose from. Regards Nick

Hi, Peco was one of the sponsors along with Hornby, Bachmann, Gaugemaster and Deluxe Materials. Might have been Metcalfe as well. Spoiler Alert: I probably misheard but didn't one of the teams say that the Ealing comedies were all about underdogs succeeding against the odds - what about the fate of the main male characters in the Lavender Hill Mob and the Ladykillers?. Regards Nick

Hi, They were in three pieces and the teams were not allowed to take the layouts home at the end of each heat. The layouts were released after the end of series filming. I guess the baseboards were split by the production company. They were sent by courier to the teams involved. As to resources for the layout for the heats each team was given the same budget with a maximum for each sponsor involved. The heat teams were given lists of what was in stock at each of the sponsors (not a lot with Hornby and Bachmann). As to visitors to shows Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society of which I am a member has had 4 potential members come along to the club after our open day. It may not be a club record and most of the publicity about the Great Model Railway Challenge was during the open day but at least two of them brought their kids with them when they revisited the club on an ordinary working session. The GMRC publicity courtesy of RMWeb may have helped with this. Regards Nick

Hi, The baseboards & legs were provided and in the heats were to be used to make a 10' x 5' layout. Track was not to my knowledge part of the six pre-built items. The theme for the heats was known in advance so the teams could pick items from the sponsors list of items in stock (not many in the case of Hornby and Bachmann). Regards Nick

Hi, I don't think they said in the first show what happens to the layouts. . The Basingstoke Bodgers layout from their heat (should be programme three) is to be at their Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society's exhibition 2nd weekend in March 2019. Its going at some stage to be repurposed as the clubs layout for children visitors at future exhibitions held by the club. I expect it will appear at the clubs future open days if there is room. That layout is currently being tarted up but I can't say what model railway exhibition its for yet. We couldn't show the layout at our recent open day because the heat hadn't been shown on TV. The club is rather full of layouts and tired modellers at the moment as we were asked to make a layout in 2 days for the Radio Times to publicise the first programme of the Great Model Railway Challenge. Regards Nick

Hi, What I thought was missing was showing what the 'top' railway modellers can achieve when they dont have a tight deadline. The show filmed participants layouts but little appeared in the first episode but then again it would contrast with the results of brave attempts to stick to the rules finishing the layouts away from home workshops. Admittedly the BBC one off documentary The Joy of Train Sets covered some top modelling. Regards Nick

Hi, I didn't have to hide behind the sofa for any of the first episode. Did I spot a Heljan GWR Shunter on one layout (I thought only locos from Hornby and Bachmann could be used)?. Also a Hattons or Oxford Warwell?. Regards Nick

Hi, I don't have any of these coaches but I thought I'd try and be helpful by offering to try and identify the designer of the decoder in the hope of finding extra features. With existing loco decoders I've found extra CVs and extra function outputs in the past. I guess brightness is one thing that some people might like to control as might be setting up in the decoder the direction the coach is facing so that the door access lights still turn illuminate on the correct side if the coach is the opposite way round. Sorry about the use of the word we - I stayed up modelling too late last night and I used we as a shorthand for people on RMWeb. Regards Nick

Hi, Having looked at the great (IMO) video by ThaneofFife is the need to have all the coaches the same way round in order to use the door access lights feature on the Intercity red stripe DCC variant going to cause any problems authenticity wise?. Also could somebody do a sharp photograph of the DCC decoder circuitry so that we can try and work out who made it in order to see if it has any extra features like brightness control?. Many thanks Nick

Hi, In my last post I mentioned a comparison between speeds on my test track and on a club layout. I've since fitted a local speedometer to my test track so I can see the speed over the seven inches between two Infra red detectors. The speed shown by the local speedometer is up to 10 mph faster than the average speed round a lap. I've checked the local speedometer with a stopwatch and an oscilloscope and the lap speedometer with a stopwatch. Both appear to be reading true. So it seems as though the train is going considerable slower round parts of the lap than it is where I put the local speedometer (towards the end of a 90 degree curve). When I have time I will try adding track feeds to every piece of set track rather than relying on any fishplates and see if that makes a difference. Also the club layout I compared my test track with has feeds to every piece of track so the similarity in characteristics may have been less than I thought. Regards Nick

Hi, It could involve the controller or the wiring to the track. I don't have any of the locos in the DCC Concepts high power video so I can't test the current drawn at medium speed. I calculate to power a loco drawing 100ma for the eight seconds the steam loco took to traverse the 4 metres of dead track would need a capacitance of at least 0.15 Farads. I did a simulation of the power being interrupted to a stay alive capacitor of 0.15 Farads and the capacitor on the bridge rectifier. If the stay alive capacitor is directly connected to the bridge rectifier in the DCC decoder then an interruption of 400ms could cause a peak current of 2 Amps to flow (the internal resistance of the capacitors could make this higher or lower). Perhaps the DCC decoder struggles to keep the speed under control as the current falls and the voltage from the controller via the track comes back up to normal. Regards Nick

Hi, This is a real long shot and you may not think it applicable but I have found a reference to cd tray motors having low current consumption compared to model railway motors. Looking at the DCC Concepts video of the high power stay alive powering a OO steam loco over a 4 metre long dead track I wonder whether your locos need that high power stay alive - do you have a small capacity stay alive you could trial instead?. Also the decoder's motor control algorithm may be fooled by the cd motors low power consumption but middling inductance - you could try varying CV#30 Impulse (stimulation frequency) to see if that helps. I haven't got a DCC Concepts high power stay alive and I'm not sure I've got a cd motor to test. Regards Nick

Hi, Have you removed the suppression capacitors?. I hadn't thought of that when I replied. Regards Nick

Hi, I've just watched a DCC Concepts video showing locos said to be equiped with DCC Concepts high power stay alive go over dead pieces of track without surging. It does say in the webpage for the high power stay alive to turn off DC compatibility mode in CV#29. In the CV list for DCC Concepts decoders on Gaugemaster's website I could see no mention of stay alive settings. I'm guessing some DCC decoders may need Back EMF feedback to be on and adjusted to suitable settings in order to cope with the changes in voltage on the stay alive capacitor and keep the loco running at a steady speed. My suggestion is to: 1) check CV#10 Back EMF cutoff is set high enough for the speed you are running your loco at. Values of 126, 252 or 255 might be suitable for testing. 2) check CV#61 is set for Back EMF is On. 3) check CV#136 check Back EMF control is not set to turn off back emf when a common function button is pressed or enabled on the DCC system. 4) Test the loco 5) check CV#31 impulse stimulation level is set to max (this is a total guess as Impulse may be nothing to do with Back EMF). 6) Test the loco again. You may need help to set up these CVs. If you have a DCC System compatible with JMRI Decoder Pro and you have a suitable computer then Decoder Pro might be useful in setting the CVs. Regards Nick

Hi, Another factor to consider is what DCC decoders do you have. There are a few types that offer little adjustment. There are some others that have a lot of variables that can be adjusted but not all of these are documented by their manufacturer. In the latter case JMRI Decoder Pro free software and a compatible computer & DCC device (a SPROG is also in this category) should be useful. What decoders do you have at the moment?. Regards Nick

Hi, Just for information according to the NMRA standards the default of 3 in the primary address (CV#1) applies to decoders prior to fitting. So maybe a DCC fitted loco doesn't have to be set to address 3 when its sold. Reportedly with a few manufacturers DCC decoders CV#1 go to a number other than 3 after a reset. Not being able to read CVs is a problem - but does it make them useless?. Regards Nick

Hi, Mr Petty replied by E-mail the next day to say the kits I wanted weren't available so hopefully your spares are on their way. Regards Nick

Hi, I noticed in an RMWeb topic on Silver Fox models there was a link about DC Kits being gradually reissued. I looked on the DC Kits website, saw that some kits I wanted seemed back in stock and ordered some. I've now received an E-mail from Charlie Petty of DC Kits saying those kits are not currently available but he hopes at some point to produce body only kits. The kits I tried to order were Class 206 Tadpole Unit, Class 119 Cross Country DMMU and Class 201 6S Hastings unit. So I guess if the webpage says an item is in stock but somewhere else on the page it says 'Body Kits will become available when time permits' then its not in stock. I've let Charlie know of my observation of this aspect of his website. Regards Nick

Hi, The train sets appear to be called Signature and the train pack Sovereign. Regards Nick

Hi, I think Train Controller does use track occupancy or position sensors to track trains around a layout unless Railcom track occupancy sensors are used. I haven't heard of it using sensing DCC speed step commands sent to locos but maybe that is in there as well. Is there an advantage if it does?. Regards Nick

Hi, Many thanks. I will go back to DC and with no coaches as a load. I just wanted to finish a series of comparative tests with DCC, full intensity BEMF at maximum cutoff and with a representative load. I would like to use the Class 16 chassis in a DCC 6 car Hastings unit (which had a top speed of 75mph) on a mainline layout. So I was interested to see how it would do with 5 Mk1 coaches. I take your point about liquids on pickups picking up dirt. Regards Nick

Hi, I'm hoping if I feed the loco directly rather than via wheels and pickups I can see what the maximum speed of the wheels is. There may be some drag from the driving axle bearings which may be plastic. Maybe I need to repeat the direct electrical feed test but on the rolling road where the drive axle bearings can be loaded up. I would have to oil the rolling road bearings well to reduce their resistance. I don't think I would use these tests to predict what a loco might do but just to investigate what causes the slow running in the hope there might be solutions. For this particular loco setting the back-emf feedback cutoff to maximum didn't help (when the loco was being given speed step 90). Perhaps conductive grease on the wheel backs will help via pickup improvement. Rail-zip didn't when I tried it just now. It stopped the loco running at all and it was a devil's own job getting it running again without taking the sideframes off. I noticed I got a nice steady current when a loco was running on the rolling road but a rapidly varying current on the test track (admittedly with a test train). So maybe the state of the track is a major factor for me. Regards Nick