RobinofLoxley

Don't know whether to comments as Im a bit of a duffer here. But the SEEP Pm's I have require a pulse to activate either coil which corresponds to a position of the frog - provided the coil actually fires the frog. Can that pulse be used? I know its a random burst of energy.....

Blimey. i read the info on the link attached and it mentioned a 10A transient peak load. Would blow everything in the house!

Also note how the 22.5 degree points allow you to get 2 tracks parallel between adjacent trusses

its 111 cm between inner trusses, which lean in. Then 55cm between truss sets. The outer ones lean out. Has implications for how close the track could be to the trusses. I needed every last mm in places and will again. There will be scenery. Setrack is what I had, in some cases going back to the kids layout that we built on the loft floor. I have more long (express) points than I have shown and they are preferable, (I assume you are thinking about Streamline) but its a lot of points to throw away.....

I recognise that its an ambitious layout. The existing layout is the same size, if you go by point population. Everything is on display currently, which is how I like it. I have a few sidings with isolated sections so I could put more than one loco on a siding, but its much easier to store locos that way in DCC working. When I built the DC layout I put down too much track without fully testing, this time I plan to test everything as I install it with a variety of stock, so I will have to rig up to run DC somehow in order to check some of the more tricky locos (assuming I go DCC which is not a given). The tender drives run over everything but some of the Bachmanns are very temperamental. Or it could be my track laying. You are right about the diagonal reach, I can crawl around the back in an emergency. I installed track that way on the DC layout, I dont mind doing a bit of crawling for one-off installation tasks but not to do track cleaning for example.

Thanks for that. This is the kind of simple clear informaton I need as a novice with no DCC experence. I am sure I can find out for myself, but how are individual blocks identified? I visualised them as in DC as just track elements separated by IRJ's but if they are all connected to the 'Bus' anyway they arent identified?? This is important as I want to do all the wiring onle once! So to be absolutely clear, when a loco enters a block the time and distance calculation starts at that point.

Thank you for the comments so far. A lot of jargon unfortunately for me. One question, within any given block how does the system know where the loco is within it, in general terms? Given that the position can be known to a high degree of accuracy according to posts above.

I have reluctantly decided to abandon my existing DC layout and rebuild. So here we go.... I had quite a good layout concept with good operability but access to some parts is poor and I have been doing too much crawling underneath as I mounted a lot of board across the loft space. So I have decided to rebuild with access a priority. Either I will build on a U-shaped board plan, or a circular format with a single lift-out section. I have developed one possibility of each, based on a track plan from ‘Free track plans’ that utilises a 3 station set-up with 2 termini and an intermediate station, for either end to end or continuous loop running. This was the plan entitled Branch Line Border (I don’t know why) 12’ x 9’. Just for the principle, not for the track layout itself. I’m interested in any comments on the operability of the layouts, less on how prototypical they are or aren’t. But any suggestions to improve are welcome. I have severe constraints in the loft caused by the presence of 4 roof support beams every 60cm up the space. The actual space is quite large but it’s only possible to stand upright between the central supports. All supports are shown in the correct positions and the grid is on 60cm squares which suits the loft support spacing. The U-shape design I haven’t tidied up but you can see the intention of the plan. There are common elements between both of course, with the terminus at the left being elevated. I have 18 trusses worth of room along the loft but don’t want to use all of them. The ‘dumb-bell sections do require going outside the best installing space to get the loops, but I will have access from the ends to the loops to build them. I know one or two elements are not in the best places. Personally I favour the simpler layout which is the circular type. As I use steam era stock I will need to do a lot of loco turning and don’t have a turntable and don’t intend to buy one. I have one reversing loop but it’s not in the best place. Any thoughts on that, or even a second reversing loop, most welcome. I am strongly contemplating going to DCC as I rebuild. I couldnt find a way to display the Anyrail files except as pictures, dont know how that will work out.

Just spent an hour composing some questions, only to be told I was timed out by the site when I clicked submit, thereby losing the whole lot. It’s never the same second time around, but here goes.... I am rebuilding my loft layout and thinking of going to DCC control as I build so I want to install what I need as I build, assuming that I am working towards PC control in the end. So no retrofitting stuff later. First question though is about points – I understand there can be some problems with shorts and I have 40 Insulfrog points that I don’t want to throw away or spend a lot of time modifying. Is shorting a serious problem? I have a mixture of steam era Bachmann and Hornby (tender drive) locos that I plan to modify as appropriate. Matching the 40 points I have 40 PM2’s that I plan to install and wire in to command modules later. I can stand to run points manually at the start, one reason I am rebuilding is to put everything in easy reach. Any issues with this? I have a number of semaphore signals that are basically just layout decor. Can these or similar be integrated into the control process? I would want to be able to select a route through the DCC involving setting a route via point control then running the train through it manually. To go to PC control I understand that it is based on a block system but that it’s possible to put sensors in the track to pick up a passing loco. Can that cater for automatic stopping at a terminus, if for example some of the onboard sensors were in a tender and others in the loco body depending on the model? I should add that my proposed layout is end to end with 2 termini and an intermediate station, able to continuous run at the same time (2 main lines). Given the end to end I will have locos facing the buffers and have a reversing loop planned in the layout – I would put in 2 but cant find the room. I understand that there is a digital switching device available but my question is, does it maintain loco orientation when the polarity switches? Any general comments gratefully received. I am also starting a thread in the layout and track design section.

I'm not a DCC'er yet! I am going to do a rebuild and once I've got the layout design I will then get to decision making time. I'm expecting to get better results if I retain DC working, just from improved track building and testing. But if I go DCC I will never see that as I will go all-in; the idea of switching in and out of DC, in effect building 2 control systems in parallel, does not attract me at all. But a coffee at some point would be good.

I would expect to be browsing some of the time. If I have to drive 2 hrs each way Im not spending 20 minutes in the shop !! But obviously to get the most out of the visit I need to be beyond beginners questions when I go in.

Thanks. I guessed this would be the case and thought I would store the coaches on an isolated siding. I have room for all the rolling stock I have to be on-track. I wondered how much power the coaches would take when active, in relation to the total available and how many things might be running at the same time. I havnt had a problem on my existing layout with a 5-coach train - there could be two of those.

Would you mind if I piggy-backed onto this topic? I have the same basic question but my layout, (which I have just decided to re-model but thats another story) has about 2x 16M of double loop with passing loops, a reverse loop and extensive sidings. There are 40 points, all Seep PM2's - very basic. There are 12 locos at the moment, probably 10 available at any one time. All steam as my era is late 50's early 60's. So for the sake of argument if I could operate 10 locos together, run all the points, and control 1 or 2 reversing loops (I have no turntable and not intention to get one) where would I be in terms of system spend? One specific question - I have some Pullman coaches with operating lights - standard Hornby. How do these go on a DCC layout? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the replies. Bit surprised that Worcester is the closest except they are closed. Digitrains website isnt clear on the subject so I will have to call. Coastal the same. So it looks like the mail and telephone route unless it turns out sites havnt been updated.

Could anyone please reccommend me a couple of good DCC specialist shops reachable from the Northampton area. I want to go and spend several hours going through all the topics (having first posted a question or two here.....

I have Coronation type locos and they don't struggle with any of the 2nd radius curves that I have. In fact they often speed up on the curves. Maybe some bits need replacing

Yes got that now

A bit of an eye-bender this. It turns out that there is no continuous running capability on this plan, as far as i can see, which is a lot of layout to have no loop at all. One could be introduced fairly easily but what the operational consequences would be I have no idea

From what I have seen, you will get literally deluged in advice fairly shortly. Most folk only get to build a few layouts in a lifetime so no-one passes on the chance to put someone else's on Anyrail and play with it. I would say this is a pretty good start, but both the lower station and its passing loop opposite can be improved. Can you get a 4-car set in the top station without fouling the points?

Actually I meant camber, not banking. Im not a professionnal in this world, sorry. It seems reasonable to me that the ouside rail should be slightly higher than the inside one to distribute the loads better, although it would be speed dependent.

For some of us cost might be relevant too. You can get SEEP PM2's for under a fiver each, but some of these other options are much pricier per unit.

I have been looking for something similar but I want a pair of lights on each gantry if possible, for the same era. I understand its possible to paint the led's to yellow them - I am after the sodium light colour which is pretty orange in fact. Not absolutely happy with any of the sources above. I need about 12 gantries to light a block of carriage sidings with inspection walkways

The use of threaded bar to control the helix structure is an inspiration. But one question bugs me. Given the large change of level from top to bottom of a helix, what does this do for oversight of the layout? You have some at high level and some at a much lower level, however you cut it, or have you fitted hydraulic lifts into your stools? Finally and more generally, no-one has mentioned banking. Is it just not done?

I would guess, but I might be completely wrong, that the frequency of trains here might not be very high? They have similar things on the CPR and other American east West lines where huge trains run infrequently and are often stored on bidirectional centre lines. I think Freezer had an approach more like a Meccano planner. Here we have a box of bits, how many different ways can they be put together in a certain space. Thinking well, this is a toy, but adults will use it and many will treat it as anything but. I think the possibility of a head on crash on a model layout to be quite entertaining. Since I am DC its hard to organise, but I would have thought guys running DCC layouts would be able to set it up no problem. A way to use up dodgy split chassis models

This topic is a very interesting read. It might be considered as a tension between layout design as art and science. A pragmatist like myself will try and marry the two; I sketched my layout first (there is only one although I have a lot of left over first radius stuff to cook up something interesting later) then used Anyrail to check what happened to my sketch in reality - angles and so on. Then what actually happened to me was that when I tried to lay the track in my loft, having placed all the roof sections as objects on the Anyrail plan, that i had to avoid, I found the positioning of the roof timbers so inaccurate that I couldn't build what I had designed. I placed the objects based on measuring 2 A-frames! So I had to do a lot of improvisation. Anyway I wanted a difficult project, and it isn't even my number 2 hobby. By the way the house was built in the 90's and could have been done on a drawing board or a PC. My house documents look like they are copies from a board, but anyway, when the builders got to it, it didnt much matter.