Tallpaul69

Hi All, Am I being unduly sensitive, or do others agree with me, in thinking that Hornby with a stroke of the pen have consigned to oblivion all the faithful users of their TTS Chips? As there seems to be little guidance from the company on making the transition, can I ask more DCC savvy fellow RMers for some guidance in words of one syllable on the 7000 chips and sound files, as outlined below? So, I understand that I now have to buy a chip and a download of a sound file? I have a number of class 37s and 47s tyhat I would have fitted TTS to over a period of time were they available. Is the only difference between the chips a matter of which socket they fit in? What format do the sound files come in and how do I get them from the computer into the chip? Can I control these chips/sound files from my existing NCE Power Cab? How do I fit the 7040 Legacy dongle to my NCE Power Cab? I think the above will do for starters! Many thanks Paul

Good to see things moving forward on your layout. Unfortunately most of us find that we could do with just that bit extra space! I likewise found that one end of my layout was a bit cramped and am currently wrestling with the best form for a road overbridge to act as a scenic break. Also, since writing my last response to your posting some six months ago, I have decided to forego the extra storage loops and merely connect Bradenham to Wycombe End at one end of the layouts as there is as much work as I can realistically undertake in the next couple of years in linking the two layouts and giving Wycombe End fiddle yard, the link board between the two layouts, and the front area of Bradenham scenic treatments. I just can't see me undertaking the extra work necessary to install and make workable the planned loops. You can see more of what is going on in my railway Room on my thread "Lower Thames Yard". Cheers for now, Paul

Further update! My A5 has arrived, but won't get looked at for a couple of days as we have a lot on. I want to unpack this one with care and plenty of time available given some of the comments on this site! Cheers all, Paul

Further update! My A5 has arrived, but won't get looked at for a couple of days as we have a lot on. I want to unpack this one with care and plenty of time available given some of the comments on the dedicated A5 site! Cheers all, Paul

Hi Folks! Just a quick update to say that I have this afternoon had an email from Rails to say that my sound fitted A5 69820 has been despatched, so hopefully ,as a uk delivery point, I should see it this week! Cheers Paul

Just had an email to say that my sound fitted 69820 has been despatched, so hopefully ,as a uk delivery point, I should see it this week! Cheers Paul

That's true Nick, however there would have to be a few differences:- a) The bridge would have to slope the other way as the main access to Bradenham station and yard is to the East of the line rather than to the West as per High Wycombe. b) I don't need to bridge the same width (4 tracks) as High Wycombe, so with only 2 tracks to bridge it would probably not need the two support girder systems of the High Wycombe bridge. While High Wycombe has lost two tracks, there is no room for this to be the story at Bradenham, However, with the road sloping towards the station the approach road might be easier to fit in. so it is worth considering. So...... Watch this space! Cheers Paul

Thanks Nick, The skew bridge is not a certainty yet. I am experimenting with different positions of the bridge and alignments for the accompanying road. The connection in the mock up between the piers and the deck is purely gravity, so it is easy enough to try different positions. There are two problem with bringing the bridge closer to the station:- Firstly there is is one of position for the signals. The current skew bridge location allows the up home signal and the down starter to be visible to the operator. Certainly with the bridge close to the station the up home would be on the far side of the bridge. Then there is the difficulty of correctly stopping a loco using the up to down crossover at a prototypical place beyond the point in the down line, because it would for some bridge locations be beyond the bridge and hidden by the bridge pier and embankment. I think it comes down to a choice between a brick elliptical arch bridge on the skew at the point my mock up is in the pictures I posted, or a choice between a steel girder bridge or a more modern concrete one nearer to the station. So watch out for more photos of tests of bridge position with the mock up! I have also taken today my first 2023 pics of steam on the LB narrow gauge railway. Not a patch on your recent pics from Didcot I am afraid, but I couldn't miss the chance of 4 locos in steam outside their shed in early March! I need to look at them and see if they need cropping before I publish them. Best regards to everyone in their modelling endeavours, Cheers for now, Paul

Hi Everyone, I hope all of you in the UK are all keeping warm, I had hoped March would start warmer! Global Warming??!!?? On the modelling front, here, at last, are some views of the first mock up of the bridge across the mainline just to the north of Bradenham station. Most of you will probably agree with Nicks assessment in a recent posting here that this might be "A bridge too far! Its somewhat precarious position is due to the fact that the new board to fill the void between Bradenham and Wycombe End has yet to be built! its rickety construction is due to my adopting the use of empty medicine pill boxes held together with sticky pads. The aim was to try out a bridge in this position without wasting good modelling materials if it proved a dud. Here can be seen a full length Mk3 coach that I was using to ensure clearance for stock on the curve. 1 think the bridge is ok. It might be a little high, but this was due to the limitations of what boxes I had available. I think once the infill for an elliptical arch is in position it will prove not to be as high as the bare bones look. The edges of the arch have to be clear of any coach roof. The actual structure can probably be slightly lower, as everything will be made to measure. I think the top of the arch will be at a level about half way up the top pill box on the left. This view also, to the left, shows the end of Wycombe End fiddle yard with a number of my more modern locos on view. Through the bridge can be seen some steamers on the stubs that will eventually be the link between the two layouts The road surface on the bridge looks quite wide, but once the thickness of the parapets and width of the pavements are taken out, I think it will be ok. After All, it is meant to be an A road not a country lane! More updates on the bridge in a while. Best regards Paul

Good evening everyone, So from having almost no information on modelling bridges, in some ways, having bought two books on the subject from the internet, and having just received the latest BRM with an article on bridges, I have too much! This i am busy reading up on the subject and getting ready for my first mock up. Meanwhile, an email from Hattons has reminded me that the new Hornby Standard 78xxx 2-6-0 is approaching fast and I need to decide which I am going to order. While I would like one in black and one in green, the fact that my '59 Loco Shed Book shows them mainly in the north and Scotland with only 9 in the WR, and those were in the west around Worcester and central Wales, suggests that even one on the GW&GC is pushing it! I did examine a story line that substituted them for Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0s, but their distribution was hardly more appropriate. So it will have to be (another) rule 1 decision. Happy Modelling, Paul

I hope you are all progressing with your models? The bridge I have been discussing in recent posts while having its advantages is starting to look a difficult model particularly as my first bridge model! So to tap the expertise on RMWeb, I have opened a thread in the infrastructure section called "Modelling a "Skew" road bridge over a curved double track in 00." Following a suggestion in response, I have been locating and won an auction for a book "Bridges for Railway Modellers". Hopefully this will help. Cheers for now, Paul

Good thinking Rovex! I have found and ordered a copy of this book. Cheers Paul

Huw, the exact layout of the roads has yet to be finalised. Yes, the road over the bridge I need to build could join another road which which would run along the centre of the layout throwing off a station approach road before the junction and disappearing over the second (non scenic) bridge. Cheers Paul

Can anyone suggest a source of any of the following alternatives to aid my making an 00 gauge model of a straight main (A) road bridge to cross a double track main line at an angle, but also the track is curved, with an inner radius 2ft. The tracks will dive under the road again when they have turned through approx 70 degrees from the first bridge position:- 1) A kit that could be adapted to this configuration 2) A drawing or set of drawings from which a bridge model could be produced. 3) A model maker they know for sure could undertake such a commission. I should add that the bridge needs to be to GWR pattern. An alternative could be a BR pattern bridge erected in the period 1948-1968. Also the further road over track crossing is not scenic so will not need to be a proper bridge. Many thanks Paul

I thought recent developments worthy of a quick update:- Firstly, a quick exchange of e mails with Rails got the information that the sound fitting of the A5 is sorted and they should be available soon after the shipment is delivered to Sheffield! So my wallet has taken another hit, (£125, but not immediately!). This seems, I know, a bit expensive, but as I have already paid my deposit on the loco, its not too bad. Secondly, toying around with the problem of locating Bradenham Station road bridge, I have concluded that it would be better to position the bridge further round the curve away from the station. This will remove the problem of the signal locations (both down starter and up home, which would have been either side of the bridge), but also make it easier to use the down to up crossover, as locos using it will no longer be hidden from the operating position by the bridge, Instead, they will be in full view in front of the bridge. This does however push the elevated roadway from the front to the middle of the new board. This could have the benefit of making the farmyard that I was planning for the far side of the road able to be on the nearside, and therefore more accessible for modelling. More anon, Cheers Paul

Good Afternoon Folks, I am still fiddling around with my mock up for the elevated road across the front of the new board to join Bradenham to Wycombe End. Currently I am concentrating on a mock up for the bridge across the tracks at Bradenham to the north of the station. Because it is on a curve, I think the eventual model will have to be a made to measure job. One of the difficulties is locating the Down Starter signal, and I think I will have to install this before I can finalise the bridge position, and thus its dimensions. Meanwhile, after a quiet period since Christmas, my wallet has taken a big hit with the purchase of a set of 4 of the Bachmann Collectors club Network Rail JJA Autoballasters for my modern image running of the layout. I know the set should be 5 but in the interests of economy and bearing in mind space on the layout it will have to be 4! Luckily, the recent Hornby and Bachmann announcements offered little to me apart from some bogie wagons from both. I am also thinking hard on whether to continue with my original plan for one Dapol Manor and one from Accurascale. As Manors were not frequent visitors to the GW&GC, maybe two sound fitted ones is a little excessive? The A5s seem to be wending their way to the UK, but I need to stir Rails up re the sound fitted version! So, with the weather looking to improve again later this week, I am hopeful of some time in the railway in the near future. Happy modelling everyone. Cheers Paul

Maybe this is the start of laying in the branch, or the start of an approach to a low level storage yard?

Thanks Graham, I am pleased to report that installing the new printer including amending our HP Ink order was done , with no problems(yet!), in just over an hour! It helped that the new one was just an updated version of the old one. The only problem with the old one was that it suddenly stopped linking to our wireless network, which is necessary for the HP Ink supply system. So it is packed away in the new one's box in case we have any problems in the future. Cheers all, Paul

Hi Fellow Modellers, Apologies for the last two weeks silence, but things have been difficult in that time:- The continued very cold weather disrupted our daily routines, particularly as my wife is not a fan of temperatures below +5C, so I have had to help her more than usual. As well, her brother, who lives near Northampton and is 86, has had a few problems which we have spent time helping him with remotely. Then, just as we were getting straight our printer developed a fault, which after much fiddling with, and internet searching, downloading, reading etc. I gave up on and ordered a new one! That arrived late yesterday afternoon, so today I have the task of setting that up and testing. Meanwhile, I have a pile of cut card for my elevated roadway mock up, which , hopefully, I can get to during this week. I hope everyone is managing to progress their modelling, Best regards Paul

Hi everyone, I hope the current freezing UK weather is not causing you too much agro? Progress on my mock up for the scenic treatment of the bridging board between Wycombe end and Bradenham is slow. Partly this is due to my needing to find some small bits of wood to support the high level roadway, which are somewhere in the garage, but it is too cold out there at present to go and find them. I have however decided that the idea of the roadway sloping down towards Wycombe End is a non starter as the slope would be unreasonably steep. So I just need to test out the options of the roadway being level or of it dipping slightly in the middle so as to improve access to the area behind it. Hopefully i will be able to find the wood i need over the weekend when I think things will be a bit warmer in the garage. Meanwhile, seeing that there is a Legacy Dongle in the new Hornby HM7000 range to enable connection to a conventional DCC control system, I am investigating this further with the hope that I can control my system from an old I phone I have. Take care everyone, and I will update further after the weekend, Cheers for now, Paul

Its January, so its time for the annual moan about Hornby's release plans for the coming year! The interesting items for me, on a first look, are mainly for the more modern eras of my layout rather than the 1960s version. Like a lot of folks commenting on the thread re the new program, I am pleased to see the new TTA tankers, although I do hope that the models are all new, not the old tank mouldings on one of Hornby's more recent chassis for wagons based on reused TTA chassis! I also like the new bogie bolsters. On the loco front the sound fitted class 56s appeal, as does the Network Rail class 960, provided the later is a modified or new class 101 body not just stickers on the original mouldings! One item that did appeal for the 1960s although the model released is pre war, is the Gresley full brake, which will hopefully appear in maroon, sometime in the next few years. That is provided it is a new model, not a rerun of an old model? I have yet to delve into the blue tooth DCC system. If this is a bespoke Hornby system, then it will not be of any use to me, but it could be a good development. Given the current economic situation, I did not expect much from this year's announcements, so I am not disappointed, but I hope you all found something of interest? Best regards Paul

Its January, so its time for the annual moan about Hornby's release plans for the coming year! The interesting items for me, on a first look, are mainly for the more modern eras of my layout rather than the 1960s version. Like a lot of folks commenting on the thread re the new program, I am pleased to see the new TTA tankers, although I do hope that the models are all new, not the old tank mouldings on one of Hornby's more recent chassis for wagons based on reused TTA chassis! I also like the new bogie bolsters. On the loco front the sound fitted class 56s appeal, as does the Network Rail class 960, provided the later is a modified class 101 body not just stickers on the original mouldings! One item that did appeal for the 1960s although the model released is pre war, is the Gresley full brake, which will hopefully appear in maroon, sometime in the next few years. That is provided it is a new model, not a rerun of an old model. I have yet to delve into the blue tooth DCC system. If this is a bespoke Hornby system, then it will not be of any use to me, but it could be a good development. Given the current economic situation, I did not expect much from this year's announcements, so I am not disappointed, but I hope you all found something of interest? Best regards Paul

Ooops! pressed the wrong button! What I was trying to say was...... or curve away towards the rear of the new board with a side road off it sloping down towards Wycombe End ending in a sort of village green in front of the curve of tracks on the Wycombe End fiddle yard. I will try to post a sketch of these options later in the week! Cheers for now, Paul

Happy January everyone, I hope you have made and are keeping your modelling New Year Resolutions? Our visitors have all departed, the Christmas decorations and lights are packed away and back in the loft, and the house is cleaned and made tidy. There ae just a few outside jobs that need attending to, some as a result of the bad weather, which i need to deal with while it is mild. So I hope to get going on modelling during this week. The first job is to make progress on the mock up for the scenic treatment of the new board to join Bradenham and Wycombe End. There may have to be two versions of the mock up as I have yet to make up my mind about the scenic treatment at the front of Wycombe End's fiddle yard. So the road from Bradenham across the front of the new board could either remain at overbridge height after crossing the tracks at Bradenham station and cross the tracks again at Wycombe end throat, or curve away towards the rear of the new board withslope down towards Wycombe end , orms

Good day All, Hope everyone had a good Christmas? Ours went well, but was slightly spoilt by Stephen, our younger son having to duck out at the last minute as his wife was unwell! So now our Christmas period is likely to be extended as they may get down to us on Saturday through Tuesday. Thus a return to modelling matters will be delayed a while. Meanwhile, I offer my response to Nick's excellent pre Christmas riverside pics. Unfortunately, there' no dog, but on Friday 23rd our local brook was turned into a river for a few hours after earlier heavy rain. The views are not that great but, at twice its usual width, and thundering over the local weir, it did look, and sound quite good! Here's the downstream view Just taking care my phone doesn't drop in the weir! This is the upstream view Here's wishing one and all a Happy New Year, Cheers, Paul