RobinofLoxley

Sorry mate I've used Marks. Can't use everyone

It's easier to ring up then you can discuss specifics

Marks trains offer a good service

I am just working through my locos assessing them for DCC conversion as quite a few have no socket being too ancient. When I revived my hobby I was given a couple of old mainline locos. Marks trains are currently reviving a 4MT and im puzzling over the 0-6-2T GWR pannier; it is a very noisy runner but there is space inside the bodyshell for a chip and what Im looking at is split chassis - I just have to intercept the power feeds and insert the chip, more or less. Take the motor apart and clean the armature, replace the brushes. Can I get a replacement armature? I would also like to replace the trailing wheels but havnt found a certain match yet, maybe someone knows the right supplier Im quite OK with this one being put on Ebay in due course however....

Its a fun fact that on my 65th birthday Mrs ROL took me to York to the NRM. At a certain time there was supposed to be a talk at one of the locos on how they worked, that is how the boiler used to produce motive power. The normal individual didnt show, so I volunteered to give the talk impromptu. It was quite successful.

That is why you need a steam table to find the total energy value of the steam. The energy holding value of the steam increases as its temperature and pressure rise together, so at 10 bars that you mention the energy in the steam is something like 2650kJ/kg and its corresponding temperature about 170C

I have got the maintenance app, thank you. Then unbelievably today I was looking for cables to link everything and I had only one ethernet cable so I had to prioritise the z21 to wifi router. I have acquired a white one second hand. I have a lot of stuff to buy and while in principle I could buy the lot in one go in practice I prefer to space it out and the cash will be going to MTB point motors, accessory decoders, etc.

I havn't checked the numbers properly but the latent heat value of water far exceeds the specific heat value. Otherwise there would be no point in generating steam. Maybe you have slipped a decimal point somewhere. Having retired I have binned all my source material...

Some dodgy numbers in there but the conclusion is highly plausible. Conventional coil boilers never extracted much more than half the available energy so factoring in everything else 25% could be right

I know I put the dunces hat on today but I do realise that, I didnt phrase the statement very nicely. I will be using DC locos of known performance to test the new track as I lay it, then will switch the controllers over and repeat on DCC. Its to make sure everything runs without problems going forward. BTW, the reason I selected the wrong app, or rather didnt notice, is that the Z21 manuals themselves have screenshots of the old version embedded. probably they are working on updated manuals but at the moment they are showing the out of date software shots. I feel vindicated... Got as far as editing the loco address and speed curve today. I notice that even comparing crawl speed in the 2 apps it was better on the newer app. What fun awaits.

This is what I have.

I am attracted to the method of control with the Z21 - wireless, with as many of the peripherals of the layout as possible controlled through it - no extraneous switches, sensors, mimic panels. I'm interested in operating a model railway and populating it with stuff, not in programming at all (except for automation related stuff). I had a large DC loft layout now being rebuilt, and as I convert locos I will be able to run it either DC (one loco at a time only) or DCC to check the loco conversions are effective enough for positional control on it - stopping at presets, uncoupling, etc etc.

Thanks guys, loco runs on address#3. Trying to run before walking... But Iain, no blue lights anywhere. In fact that was as far as I expected to get today.

having just done the comparison on the link, the screen shots on your link look nothing like what I have downloaded. Have i got an old version?

appreciate the sentiment. Idea is to learn before I have a layout running...

Yes. I have an old Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with Android v5 which is the oldest version of android that can run the app I believe

No. I put the loco number in which is 6937 which was accepted. You are right this is my first activity of any kind on DCC.

the smartphone screen, on 'Control Panel' has a wifi icon with a green tick through it at top right. No blue light I can see anywhere

I thought today would be an interesting day. I unpacked my secondhand Z21 and router, connected it all up My Galaxy note found the router and said hello I connected my test/programming track, all of one metre long on my dining room table. Turned on the Z21. Put Conyngham Hall (see yesterday) onto the track, Z21 flashed red. Hmmm. Reset the Z21, cautiously tried the Hall again, this time the Z21 stayed blue. Cautiously optimistic. Started to 'play' on the smartphone, put the Hall into the loco list, tagged its photo. Went back to loco control and cautiously reached for the speed button. Zilch. I am clearly missing something, but right at the start, I dont know what it is. Just logging a loco into the app doesnt guarantee the Z21 knows that loco is there and first time on, after an adventurous afternoon doing the first chip install, Im not sure where the communications faults might be and how to eleiminate them. Working through the manuals as we speak. One thing, I think that when a loco is 'active' if you look at the list the tick alongside should be dotted - but it isnt. Anyone knows their way around the Z21 I would be grateful. Also, my understanding is that I can expect some life from the decoder on its default settings - correct? I think that I may have to put some data in somewhere - for eample, 'Programming track' option asks for CV-address and CV-value fields but carries a message saying 'The loco have to be on the program rail track' - implying it isnt. Where I am so far.

AS this thread has become a current topic in another I thought I would add something. Having a long term background in steam generation amongst other things I would just point out that statistics for coal consumption would be pretty meaningless if they didnt address seasonality. The firebox is basically going to heat the entire engine over time and in the case of passenger stock, those too. Summer water from towers standing in the sun could be up to 30C where it would be just 3-4 in winter. All this would add up to a 30% differential in fuel usage winter to summer. Boilers require a large percentage of their fuel just to get to operational readiness.

Get the concept totally - I ask myself what (railway) operations you will be able to carry out and its usually my priority over aesthetic qualities - you choose your own

In case you didnt understand Johnsters point he is saying and I agree that a point is required off the bottom most siding giving a siding facing the opposite way. It will balance the layout and is more important than the third right facing siding in fact. Could be split to a loco shed for example.

Just to offer a couple of things - if you worry about how the trains appear on the curves, since you have only one zone where there can be any with enough turning angle to be a problem, you could think about scenery elements there to disguise by blocking the sightline - bridges, cuttings, etc. In this case they could provide a natural break between two different railway scenes, things I dont usually discuss much. The other is that the slim long board could lend itself to a hidden fiddle yard at the end - they can be done vertically or horizontally. As to the actual track you put down Ill leave to others as theres a lot of knowledge about shapes of this kind.... And welcome to the forum btw

Would have been correct solution but I didnt need it, this time...

I had totally failed to notice the channel. Weight out, and eventually decoder in. Had to remove a small plate holding something electrical in place in order to get all the cable through. Very very tight getting the body back on again, even so. Seems successful, will test tomorrow. Many thanks.