Harlequin

This meter is the cheapest I can find in the RS Pro range that would correctly measure voltages at DCC frequency. I think it would do everything you need for the rest of your life. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/multimeters/8732360

The disastrously awful conflict in the middle east might be affecting shipping from China: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67731853

Yes, I agree, bolts are far more likely in any era. The drawing I'm using doesn't make it easy to distinguish between bolt holes and rivet holes.

On the Metro drawing there's a 2 1/2 inch gap between the boiler and the tank. Whether that's an air gap or filled with "lagging", I'm not sure. The top sheet of the tank stops 3 horizontal inches away from the boiler and then a thin sheet of metal covers the gap. The gap is also covered in the same way at the front of the tanks and you can see the cover strip on many photos. I noticed that the strip is represented correctly on Accurascale's new Panniers too. I need to add a load more rivets to my model! The cover strip shown in the photos of the 14XX that Jason just posted seems to be a much beefier affair - as is the cross-tank strap.

Tank top. Have a look at the plan drawing of the Metro in GWRJ No. 4. The strap is shown below the centre line and you can see five fixing points connecting the strap to the tank top. Like this (if I've drawn it right):

The problem is the lack of space and then the normal urge to splay the station out towards the buffers in the standard way, which eats up that space. (You could seriously think about changing scale. TT:120 was designed for you! 😉) If you stick with 4mm scale then you could possibly make a different station plan that optimises the use of the space and solves your backscene problems: Have the goods handling on the far side, splay some of the goods yard into the corner, where there's space and keep the buffer end of the station tightly packed to fit your long thin main board (three tracks in parallel, from the back: goods siding, run round loop, platform line). That would have the advantage of producing a unique plan with more SDJR "quirkiness". It might even be possible to squeeze a small engine shed on the spur off the run round loop, Lambourn-style. Hmmm...

You need to find out what went wrong before trying to "fix" things. Have you got another, non-Fleischmann loco you could test? I.e. one with a completely different motor that you would be willing to sacrifice if it too has a problem? If so, try it with different decoders in. What are the flashing lights from the ESU decoder about? Is that an error indication, perhaps? When you get inside one of the Fleischmann locos that has emitted smoke, how about posting some photos here for us to look at?

Bruno has been allowed out since Saturday and that seems to have relieved the tension with my other cat. He was out all last night but he knows that the good things in life can be found back at home:

Looking at the photos on page 18 and a photo of the preserved prototype earlier in the thread, I think RM are correct. But it's not a deal breaker.

In addition to all the above, another factor is whether the 0-6-0 wheelbase is rigid or partly compensated. if the wheelbase is rigid then slight undulations in the track can result in the loco only having three corner wheels in contact with the rails and if the pickup from one corner is impaired by dirt or by standing on an insulated section then the loco may stop. Even when locos are partly compensated, the axles sometimes don't have enough vertical travel to take up the track undulations and so the loco can end up in the same situation.

Hi Jools, Sounds like a great project! Very scenic. I assume this will be OO 4mm scale? If so, your space is very tight, still. If the layout is to be a fictional version of the Cumbrian coast you could perhaps run two circuits on different levels to add interest and make the most of the space. (There's probably not enough room to connect them with gradients.) And you may have to use some clever tricks like modelling half of a station's passing loop with the other half being in the fiddle yard so that the station doesn't dominate the scene - if you have one at all. Phil

My Win11 update to 23H2 has been stuck for weeks like this now: I was having router problems earlier so maybe they contributed to it getting stuck. (Router might have been zapped by lightning...!) I tried some of the suggested methods for unblocking Windows Update over the weekend but nothing changed. Looks like I'm going to have to clean things up manually - stop the update service and delete any files.

No. DCC control can’t do everything. But it can do a lot more than DC…

How do you shunt a train that is connected by magnetic couplings (i.e. detach and attach vehicles)?

And/Or stagger the rail joins by a couple of sleepers. And don't use pins to hold the track in place because they allow the track to move slightly after you thought you'd fixed it. Get everything lined up nicely and then glue the track down.

It's not difficult to curve flexitrack to 60cm radius while avoiding kinks at the joins.

Zimo is the best choice, IMHO too, but just a note that the MX series has been superseded by the MS and MN series of decoders. They are a little more expensive but since you're interested in standardising it might be worth going for them rather than the MX series, which may become harder to buy over time. MN170R: 8-pin, 0.7A, 6 functions MN300R: 8-pin, 1.0A, 6 functions MN330R: 8-pin, 1.2A, 10 functions

I know you're concentrating on tender locos but, FWIW, the contemporaneous Metro's inside frames were continuous front to rear and the apparent outside frames for the leading wheels were outrigger extensions. So I suppose the leading wheels were, in effect, double framed. The cylinders were entirely inside the the inner frames and the only help that this arrangement gave to cylinder placement that I can see was that the axle of the leading wheels passed under the slide bars and piston rods. Phil

Another factor which could have affected the appearance of Locomotive Green is the "lead paint act" of 1926. The original formulation of the paints involved quantities of poisonous white lead and we know that even before this time the GWR were mindful of the hazards of using lead in paint because of the minutes of the "GWR Paint Committee" (who dealt with the fixed structures only, not rolling stock). They were actively involved in reducing the amount of lead in the Standard Tint paints. It's reasonable to assume that a similar process was undertaken for the paints used on locomotives.

Hi John, Welcome to RMweb. The factory fitted speaker is tiny (that is to say, its sealed enclosure is tiny) so the chuff volume and/or the master volume may already be set to maximum. If it is possible to increase it you may get distortion but obviously it's worth a try. Search for other threads about NCE power cabs not being able to read decoders - it seems to be a frequent occurrence. Hopefully someone will be able to offer specific advice.

My take is: They are the colour of the surface they are fixed to up to (and including?) the lamp supporting lug and above that they are natural metal.

Here's Laddie/Bruno/<ABetterNameYetToBeDecided> feeling a lot more at home a week after the previous photo. It's been a stressful week because he has been stalking my other cat, Louli, relentlessly and she has not been impressed. Having said that, there have been signs that the tension might be subsiding and they are both snoozing in the living room at the moment not worrying about each other's presence. Fingers crossed! The vet said he might still have testosterone in his system after being "done" but that will tail off and he'll be able to go out at the end of next week, which will help a lot. The local cats who think my garden is their territory will have a nasty surprise, though!

I think the answer is to get a young kitten. They are fearless and playful so they just naturally make friends with anything or anyone they are introduced to. My sister has managed this with two kittens and her two dogs. They are now all best friends and even sleep together.

I think this topic is in the wrong area. It would get much better visibility in Layout Topics. Please consider asking the mods to move it.

That looks so bad! In every possible way! It would be a travesty to couple up this rubbish to the new Dapol autocoach.