wasdavetheroad

Yes there are systems available. this one from Tam Valley using Bluerail boards can control any DCC decoder apparently including sound ones http://bluerailtrains.com/tam-valley-dcc/

The layout is in a converted garage and has a supply laid on, the attached images may help. the armoured cable is about 14mm diameter. Power needs in the garage are 1 or occasionally 2 x 1Kw fan heaters,1 used for frost protection and one to 'top up' if needed 2 x 4ft florescent tubes and 1 bulb with switches on the wall. Four switched wall sockets and 3 extra lights from one of the sockets. I want to add the 2 power supplies . There is no track power as the layout will be radio control/battery powered locos. No idea what the numbers mean on the circuit breakers. I think the 7Kw electric shower pinched the cooker circuit!.

I find elektrical trickery confusing so can I do this without burning the layout room down. Present situation - I have 3 additional 240V LED lights wired in parallel to a switched 13A socket using 3A cable, needing about 0.5A?, works great I want to change this to add 2 x 12V switched power supplies for point motor control, one in the scenic section and one in the fiddle yard. The point motors are Kato with Kato passing contact switches. They run on 12V DC. a maximum of 2 motors will be switched simultaneously. The 2 power supplies I have are; A BT router one, input 240V AC 300mA, output 12V DC 1.5A An APD? one, input 240V AC 850mA, output 12V DC 1.5A I have tested the BT one and it fires 2 point motors no problem. I plan the connections to be from the 13A socket to a 4 way 13Amp individually switched power strip and from 3 plugs on there to the lights and the power supplies. Advice on problems please and what cable will I need to connect the power supplies which are up to 5 metres from the sockets.

Thanks for the advice, I read through the posts again and checked the turnout finding there is a 20mm straight section between the end of the point blades and the end. that gives 40mm of straight built in and I think I can add an additional 60mm section giving 100mm. All the stock will have medium Hornby tension locks fitted. I actually like the 'train set' appearance

Confused with this reverse curve problem. This is part of a layout I am designing which uses Kato HO scale 490mm radius turnouts in the fiddle yard. Am I right that there will be problems with wagons/coaches traversing the section above the red 100mm ruler. The wagons will be mostly 4 wheel and the coaches Mk1's and Staniers

Beautiful, lets have a look under the bonnet

I have used Irfanview for years. It is very comprehensive and you can download it for non commercial use for free.

When I used to do military vehicle modelling I formed rivet patterns by drilling on plasticard and then using a old ball point pen to press the pattern into thin card. I suppose it would work with metal foil as well?

I remember a famous modeller doing that at an exhibition, 'when is the next train due' I asked. 'in 45 minutes' he replied. 'nice trees' i said, backing away rapidly As for scale speeds, 31 seconds around the UP Main is scale 60 mph on my layout, everything is simple after that. I cheat of course, unfitted freights are about 60 seconds not 74.4 seconds

Have a look at these magnetic connectors from Micron radio control Micron Radio Control : Power Connectors Also search for Bahoma connectors, they used to be commonly available in different sizes

I have the earlier Fowler 2-6-4T and that does not have a spring or washer either.

I found the modern narrow tension locks were less reliable than the older wider types. Apart from the width of the bar the latest types have flexibility in the bar and hook. Older types have a rigid bar and the flexibility is in the hook. So I am converting all my wagons for shunting , almost all 4 wheels, to Hornby medium tension locks, and leaving the long freights which are pulled on the main line with the narrow tension locks. I might convert the whole lot eventually. Some will be horrified at this but I don't care as I quite like the 'train set' look. Just having the hook on one wagon might help as well, especially if you can get that hook near the centre of the bar. Apparently in Europe the most common freight coupler is the 'english type' so kadees are just as wrong as tension locks!

I converted my external brick garage by having a 'warm roof' professionally installed which gave more headroom. Then I secured the up and over door internally and built an insulated stud wall immediately behind it. The other walls were battened and insulation/plaster panels added. The floor was already damp proofed so I added insulation and thick tongue and grove floorboards. Ventilation is via vents in the single width side door. Apart from the roof I did all the work myself. General storage was moved into a garden shed. I don't have a car but if I did like everybody else around here it would be parked on the kerb or in front of the garage. Electricity was professionally installed with circuit breakers at each end daylight fluorescent tubes and self installed daylight spot lamps. Heating via a fan heater. Have a fire extinguisher in there as well. Advantages - nice and snug railway room with good security - A 4.9m x 2.3m space for the railway - easily converted back to a garage if needed Disadvantages - the side door entrance compromises the fiddle yard length, I want a 12 coach Express but have to compromise on a 9 coach. An additional 1m or more of length would be great but there is no room to extend the garage. - Only 2.3m width split into 0.9m scenic and 0.7m each for the operating well and fiddle yard. The operating well is a bit too cosy for more than one person. - Going out there in blizzards and rain.

I am happy with my Lima model. I painted the connecting rods red and fitted a replacement CD motor. It has a top scale speed of about 20mph powered by single Lipo battery and radio control. I have a spare chassis and one day I want to install radio controlled tension lock uncoupling at both ends. The Hornby Dublo 2 rail might be an option as well, even more room inside? Just looked at a review of the Dublo version, don't think I will be buying one.

My earlier Hornby Fowler 2-6-4 Tank loco has a securing screw hidden behind the rear bogie and the front of the body 2 small locating lugs on the chassis. Maybe the Stanier version is the same.

If you want to install two power bogies you need them speed matched within 10%. According to DCCwiki that or better is what you need for successful consisting so may be true for twin bogies. For servicing a lima motor this video is useful https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lima+motor+servicing&&view=detail&mid=745FC1D654CFE1FCBFDA745FC1D654CFE1FCBFDA&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dlima%2Bmotor%2Bservicing%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

I found this technique good when I was scratch building my station canopies. I needed lots of identical parts so used Inkscape to produce the template drawings and set the line width as narrow as it would print on my Epson Stylus inkjet. The prints on plain paper were stuck to the card ( I used card for the project) using repositionable spray mount and the lines scored through enough to allow the template to be removed and the card then cut through. I used a new sharp scalpel blade.

I have just found this link about fitting a Hornby motor bogie to a Lima chassis. It is about EM gauge and a twin bogie fit but the method seems simple and can apply to 00 gauge as well. This method is attractive to me as the Lima locos usually have cavernous bodies with lots of space inside for batteries if you have a garden railway BPRC (battery power radio control) solves your power collection problems or for those who prefer BPRC even indoors. I bought my Lima locos second hand when they were only about £30. http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/project_lima31mods.html

Not sure, I saw an online demo somewhere pitting a twin power bogie against the best central motor model. The twin power bogie loco happily won the tug of war, pulling the other loco backwards. It might have been on here?

Try fitting two power bogies for enough hauling power to pull your house wall down

I have some rising damp in my brick built garage, about 6 feet worth. THE DPC in that area is defunct. A friend had a similar problem with his old single brick porch wall. He fixed it by installing dryrod so no damp now. I am going to try it on my garage. There is also horizontal moving damp from an adjacent butting wall that seems to have been back filled years ago so I will try the dryrod vertically as well.

Or upgrade the Lima ringfield motor with a CD type. Or buy the correct Hornby motor bogie spare and modify the Lima chassis so it fits

Dapol couplers are even worse for escaping coupling hooks. I used tiny dots of superglue to fix a small piece of thin black card over the hook hinge. It worked. I have also met the occasional Hornby hook that won't return to the down position, carefully remove the hook and check the hinge end has no burrs, also the socket might be slightly obstructed. I still have some awkward hooks though and intend to add weight to the drop bar to persuade them to drop.

I have used PVA, Klear and Copydex for ballasting. I found Copydex goes brown after a year or so which is OK if you want scruffy ballast

Since last September my dehumidifier has been running for 189 days at an average cost of just under £2.50 per week. The RH averages 50%, never above 56% and the lowest temperature is about 8.5 degrees. There may be some damp problems so some simple remedial work may be justified.