Damo666

Eh? A very good 'plain cardboard replacement' box at that. Even Amazon's boxes are prettier than that.

Thank you Paul, I see that I've already seen that video, so maybe that's the one I was looking for again, thank you. Strange how memory works, as my recollection is of a different board. Maybe it's a later board of Charlie's from his new layout, or just my memory playing games. Either way, that's just the thiing I was looking for.

Thank you all for your replies. Yes Michael, this is exactly the scenario I'm thinking of. I'd like to get a layout up and have some locos running so that I'm not spending a year in the fabrication / construction and having no fun. If this happens (all the electrics completed at the beginning) I can see a lot of motivation seeping away. My plan therefore is to get the main track laid with points. I can then alternate between running trains, scenery, more trains, structures, and adding more track. Easy access to the underside will allow signals to be added, feeders and point motors for new track and, if I decide, block detection or similar.

I saw a few YouTube videos some months ago on wiring baseboards and designing in easy access. I’m planning ahead for a new layout build, and one thing which I want to avoid is crawling on my back or working upside down on the underside of the layout, so am considering having the baseboards hinged at the back so I can tilt the front up 40, 50 or 60 degrees and work on it (adding signals / lighting or fault-finding). I know that this will introduce joints between the boards, but I’m sure I’ll be able to disguise this to my satisfaction. The other variation to facilitate easy access was a small panel under the front of the baseboard which hinges down and exposes for easy access any circuit boards or components. (Other solutions had this slide out on runners, but I liked the hinged solution as it had less wiring looms compared to a sliding drawer). The problem is, I cannot find these videos again, even after looking at my YT history. I’d have to watch most of the videos again as it wasn’t the central topic of the presentation. I watch a lot of Charlie at Chadwick, Larry Puckett @Cofga, Everard Jct, Dean Park, Little Wicket etc picking up great tips or knowledge (and watch too much politics and other rubbish to cancel out what I’ve learned), so trawling through YT videos going back to Spring isn’t going to happen. If I’ve explained myself clearly, I’m hoping this might trigger somebody who can give me a link.

Think they are DCCConcepts, not Gaugemaster

Cardiff is in whales, isn't it? Ahh, the aroma of Chippie Street after a Rugby match, and all that deep frying. (Better stick in an 😁 emoji so that all the pedants know this is in humour).

My son and Daughter says 'right now' which means in a hour or two, or perhaps never if you forget to ask again. An Example: Me: Hi xxx, can you empty the dishwasher please? Son or Daughter: Sure. Me: Great, thank you. When? Son or Daughter: Right now. Two hours later I empty the dishwasher myself.

Ha ha. Like what you done there. Spooky!

When I discover leaking batteries, after it's been removed and any crystals brushed off, I try to apply some white vinegar. This neutralises any of the remaining battery residue. Sometimes I have to be careful and apply the vinegar with a small brush if there are electronics nearby. Other times I can just drench the batter enclosure if it’s just wires attached. Glass fibre brush if any corrosion on the contacts Malt vinegar, for some reason, isn’t as effective in my opinion. Your chips will taste different after, so best not to recycle the vinegar. 🤪

Yeah, I made a special trip to Lidl this morning to get some of these items. Wasn't a loss though, came away with clamps and some really small heat-shrink tubing (1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm etc). Perfect for loco wiring.

Perhaps Mike. I think it all depends on the size of your layout, mine has 22 points and I'm starting to consider how best to add signals. Recording what I’ve done before for reference will, I hope, help me reduce the possibly of making a short circuit or creating some other fault. It also depends what degree of OCD you have in wanting to record things.

Thanks to all who replied, especially those who sent me PMs. This is what I've got (Layout board #1): And what I wanted to do was produce a schematic drawing so that I can easily fault-find later and understand how I've wired each board (it's been a learning curve, and I've had to go back and re-do stuff when I discovered a mistake or realised there was a better way of doing something). And this is where I often find myself, trying to remember how (and why) I did something many months / years ago. I started with this, using Photoshop, but I feel I'm usings a bulldozer to shift a bucket of sand. I'm not happy with this as it's too cumbersome and slow. I won't be doing this for the remaining boards. This is an inverted view, as if I'm looking down on the layout from above and seeing the wiring underneath. I think the image below is the type of info I need to capture, so I know how everything is individually wired (image taken from a DCC Concepts manual - I wouldn't need all the notes): I could of course use this for a typical point, but I'd also like to record the wiring for the Circuit Breakers, Signal controls, power supplies, USB interface, which point is connected to which signal on which control board etc The new (to me) piece of software I've started to look at is Microsoft VISIO, looks promising.

Thanks Mike, I think I get the ideal of what you are describing. Any chance of a screenshot please of a typical example, just so I'm clear?

Well, my layout is also DCC, but I've a lot more than just two wires. 😁 Track and Accessory bus (there's 4) is straightforward, but I've separated these into 2 zones. The points, with frog switching, is a few more wires. At some stage I'll probably add some signals, whether these are stand-alone for visual effect, or connected to the point motors I haven't yet decided. Depends how much of a muddle it's all going to get. I've looked at, with interest, some form of block detection, but I don't want to jump into the deep end before I know what I'm doing. This is a certain recipe for disaster and if I get lots of wiring problems, it'll be demotivational. I want to get clarity on what I’m already doing before I venture much further.

Question to those who like to document their work. What method do you use to record the wiring of your layout? And if you use software as opposed to written notes and sketches, what software please? Do you note each wire in a realistic fashion, or as a schematic (Think of an accurate geographic depiction of the London Underground verses Harry Beck’s map). As I started to wire up my layout last year I realised I could have problems in the future if I need to trace back an issue and don’t remember what I did (or why). So I started to draw lines using photoshop over a picture I took of the baseboard. Very laborious and I’m not convinced it’s the right solution. I’d be interested to learn from your collective thoughts.

@PaulRhB Thanks. I took out the DCCConcepts chip but the only spare ones I have was a Rails 8 pin and Rails 21 pin decoder. As these are both supplied to Rails by DCCConcepts I was reluctant to even waste my time, but I’ve no patience when there’s a problem to solve. The 8 pin wouldn’t fully sit as the chip is quite wide and the small capacitor on the motherboard was in the way. The 21 pin works via a connecting 8 pin harness. Loco runs smoothly now. I’ll have to check the DCCConcepts Zen 218 chip on another loco. Maybe it’s a fault or maybe, as your note, they just don’t like each other.

Hi Paul, Do you (or anyone else here) have any more information on this? I took my Heljan 58 out for a play earlier and it was having difficulty starting. I needed to push the throttle up to 50% before it would budge. Took it apart, cleaned the gears and added a light oil, but still the same. Eventually I removed the decoder (DCCConcepts Zen215) and put in a blanking plate, and it runs OK on DC. Googling brought me back to this thread. The thing is, I cannot recall if I ever had the 58 running on the decoder. I know I ran the model in on my rolling road (on DC) when I first got it. Then put in the decoder. But as I didn’t have a layout at the time, I may never have run it with a decoder, I just can’t recall. Running it today I came across the slow running and presumed it was because I hadn’t run the loco for a long time and it got gunged up. Google hasn't come up with any other links between Heljan 58 & DCCConcepts. Thanks

Resolved. Side bogie frame pulls out. This exposed two clips either side holding on the bogie base. Takes a little force to undo the clips, but then the gears are exposed (along with lots of milky grease).

Coming back to the Heljan Class 58, how do you access to the bogie gears & wheel axles? I have a very slow-start 58. Need to pump up the throttle to 50% before it'll start, then I can get to running. I'd like to check if there is any of the manu’ grease gunge on the axle bogies but I cannot seem to be able to expose the worm gear.

Where would I find information on whether a non-sound loco needs a 4 function or 6 function decoder? I am chipping a few locos and have a selection of non-sound 4 function and 6 function chips, but looking through the manu’s service sheets, they just tend to advise whether it’s an 8 or 21 pin chip. I thought that looking at Hatton’s website, where they suggest a suitable chip for most of the locos they sell, might help, but in a few examples where I know the manu’ says a 4 Fn chip is required, Hatton’s suggest a 6 Fn. The Model Rail Database is unfortunately silent in this regard too. I don’t want to use up all my 6Fn chips when a 4Fn will work. Also, a related topic, when adding a chip to a non-DCC loco, does this automatically disable any switches typically controlling Tail-light or Cab-Light options? I have a few locos with optional switches underneath. If these are disabled by the insertion of a chip, are they now fully accessible via the decoder?

That's what I understood, which is why I am confused as IRM have some MM locos on their website. What's the connetion there please?

I was looking on the IRM website recently and noted that the original Murphy Models Class 121 and Class 201 are there. https://irishrailwaymodels.com/en-gb/collections/murphy-models-class-121-locomotive https://irishrailwaymodels.com/en-gb/collections/murphy-models-class-201-locomotive Is Murphy Models now a part of IRM, or still a separate company? If MM are separate and they are now producing some re-runs of the Irish stock, @AY Mod is it worthwhile have a separate forum section for them in the Product/Trade area?

No worries, that's what we all love about Accurascale here on RMWeb, the professionalism. 😀 But back to my genuine question, I figure it's just a parallax issue and that both bodies are the same height.

Great news. Genuine question here. I can see the right loco in the image above is sitting slightly lower than the one on the left, but the roof seems to be considerably lower. Assuming they are both on the same plane (as they are similarly in focus) are some of these locos slightly lower in real life? (And nobody say it's a HO model 😀).

I bought a Bachmann Class 57 loco at auction. It came with an 8pin decoder installed. JMRI cannot identify what type, offering several suggestions. Can anyone identify the decoder please? Failing that, which one should I choose from JMRI (I'm new to JMRI, day 2 so steep learning curve ahead).