Railpassion

It's not just pets but the general trend of commodification across the developed world. The intent is to turn us from citizens into consumers served by globalised giants who can deliver our 'choices'. It's an attempt to make us define ourselves solely in terms of consumerism in order to monetise every part of life. You can see this in garden furniture where the trends are to encourage not a healthy and peaceful life in the garden but to replicate the sofa lifestyle of indoors in outdoor rooms. Barbecues, fire pits, pizza ovens and a whole range of huge three piece suites in the latest grey plastic complete with garden lighting, tables, steel canopies and shelves are filling our gardens with expensive tat that will end up in landfill within a few seasons. Gone are the days of taking out a cushion to an old iron table and chairs and admiring the wisteria.

Wonderful layout, a real operators delight. Have you any more recent updates? Also, what happens with the high lines?

@Thestationmaster Yes, the first challenge is insulation of every home to drive down energy usage. Hydrogen has a place but only in industrial processes where scale makes sense. Its use in transport will be marginal. Heat pumps may make more sense if local or district heating were tried. As for pets - these days there's an entire industry built around them. When I was a child we fed the dog on scraps and lamb's hearts from the local butcher with other nutrients mixed in. He was fit and happy and brought a lot of joy. He cost little to keep and kept us healthy with two walks a day. Now I visit people and see so many bloated fat dogs riddled with arthritis and a list of vet's bills as long as your arm. Their owners buy SUVs to carry the dog and a whole load of clobber including cages, enormous beds, plastic dog baskets and more.

'Cry God for Harry, England and St George' But at Agincourt Hal the Vth did not cry for St George but for St John of Bridlington. After victory he visited St John's shrine at the enormous priory by the sea.

Yes, lifting of the first bogie occurred at Ufton Nervert. Obstacle deflectors were discussed on HST's to prevent lift but the HSTs were thought to be due for replacement. In the end the HST's have stayed around far longer.

The train is on the Up Excursion line. Trains would shunt back to run round in the excursion sidings before propelling back through platform 5 to the goods yard. Unusually, there were no signals for the move between the sidings and the goods yard entrance signal. In '64 there would have been 4 locations to shunt: the coal drops, the gas works at Quay Road, the warehouse (still standing today), and the goods yard as well as, possibly, another warehouse under the bridge behind the shed if it was still in use in '64. The coal drops and gasworks closed in '73. The goods warehouse closed in '77 and the goods yard in '85. I saw the last goods train leave with 22 wagons behind a class 47. On leaving the station today, passengers can see the backside of Tesco which was built the wrong way round. It's one of several short term planning mistakes that are now taking millions to fix.

We shall learn more when the full report is published but I wonder if the lack of obstacle deflectors on the HST may have played a role in the initial derailment.

Tonight we were let into Tony Archer's secret hobby. He's gone DCC and it's GWR.

One day there'll be OO/HO radio controllled trains as standard. No more track cleaning!

It's like stepping into Louis de Bernieres land. It's full of character. When creating a scene there is a tension between the desire for accuracy and the need for something representative or realistic. We look down on our layouts as if we are birds and not like OO/HO humans. We need selective compression to create a sense of space or distance. Our perspective needs to be forced in order to stimulate the imagination. That's when a layout is at it's most satisfying at an exhibition. Layouts such as Bergellerbahn which ingeniously incorporates two stations and three levels in 14ft by 7. I have seen very long layouts, 20ft or more, with near scale length village station passing loops in surroundings and found them worthy but rather dull. Boundaries, edges, frames define a stage, the placing of objects to create space and lead the eye - all these come into play on a layout.

I'm thinking of buying a Lenz SET100 to start in DCC. Apparently the main box requires a transformer. Would a Gaugemaster dual transformer 16v AC output be sufficient?

Yes, I've two places where I'm using 18 inch curves: the reversing loop and one tight corner on the upper level. If I can widen the curves on the upper level to 22" I should be OK as the passenger cars can stand in a siding whilst the loco turns on the loop. If only US makers made passenger cars like the European ones which can turn on 18" curves if needed. Is it a blind spot?

Many thanks for your thorough answer and for the very useful links. Also to @Keith Addenbrooke for the your insight. It's all a bit new for me as I've never really had much interest in the American scene until recently. I would only be using maybe one train of four or five cars and possibly a Budd DMU or railcar. My layout is so restricted in space but I've managed to create enough for two upper level industries and would like to run the odd passenger train in between locals. Using trees and buildings as scenic blocks I'm hoping for a shortline feel. Maximum freight length for the reversing loop is 14 40ft cars. Maximum length for the staging is 17 cars. The base is built and track work almost complete to the upper section. There's 108 feet of mainline running from the staging siding at the back to the station via the top level. One of the problems I've found modelling OO is the length of modern stock and the curve problem. I tried N but it was too small for me to work with easily. So the attraction of US is the dominance of freight with its shorter wagons and interesting operations. I tried British OO 1960's but the 12T vans came off the rails too readily. So this US based plan/fantasy gets me into it for the day when I move and can find a bigger room for a 20 x 30 probably somewhere in Canada.

I'm working on a 9x9 table with a 3x2 extension on the top right side. It's on two levels 0 and 3.5 inches with continuous runs on each, a hidden return loop on the base and a reversing section on the top. There are 4 hidden staging tracks (1 top, 3 base) each around 90 inches. In order to have 28 and 24 scenic curves I need 18 inch curves in the small hidden corners and on the base level hidden loop. Will Amtrack 85' cars negotiate the 18" curves so I can run a passenger train now and then? Full length French carriages manage 18" but are the US ones more prone to locking? Ill try and draw a sketch plan later. Here's a very rough sketch. The station is served by a team track and is more compact and forward than shown. There are two industries on the upper level. A passing loop acts as hidden storage on the upper and there is a stage track below. Two trains can run on the lower level to give the grandchildren a thrill. The plan looks busy but in fact there is quite a bit of space. 5 trains can be staged if needed. But the staging is mainly for the Amtrack to hide away etc. Any suggestions welcome

No return loop?

A trip to the loft has resulted in finding a box of 6 unused Bachmann GP35's in various liveries. Two work OK on my DC layout. They are in grey boxes with foam inserts and yellow labels. I bought them at an auction in 2010 for £25. I shall take a look inside tomorrow to see if they are dcc ready but I think not. They have working lights and illuminated numbers. I've seen the latest sound fitted Bachmann models on youtube but they look to be re-issues of older models with few detailed features. Does anyone have recommendations for budget sound models? Would it be cheaper to install sound on a dcc model from contikits. I also found a pikestuff engine house - what on earth am I doing?

Model Railroader 2021 Layout plans edition is out in Smiths for around a fiver. Good write ups and interesting plans.

Looking good. Have you considered less hidden track? The north side is understandably hidden but could the south side single line be made an embankment or wooded feature? It sounds a bit nuts but with suitable separation and scenic blocks it could give you a taste of the rural in addition to all your station working. I had so much hidden track on my layout that it became a really frustrating as I realised that most of each train journey was out of sight. The sense of journey was lost. Is concealment always a good thing? Does it limit the imagination? Our brains tend to make things work on a model even if actual distances are absurd in reality.

@Lacathedrale I agree. Today young people see steam on preserved lines and can come to believe they moved slowly. They also do not hear the sound of clanking buffers which was heard in most towns at breakfast time up until the early '80's. I did not witness steam but saw 20's and 31's shunting the pick up goods and the shunter swinging on the pole. DCC has enabled very slow running which is a huge bonus but it can often bore at exhibitions. I was at York the other year and saw a very large and brilliant modern layout where all trains, both on the mains and the slows, were crawling along at no more than 30 throughout the afternoon. There was no impression of speed on the expresses and I was a little surprised as the punters expect a turn of speed on a large layout. After my jab this morning I discovered Smiths is selling the latest Model Railroad Planning. A US short line could be my next attempt.

Thanks Dr, I think satisfaction is key and everyone will have a favourite focus be it operations, running, scenery, realism, etc. For me operations and scale running speeds are high on my list. I've been to many shows where brilliant scenic models are ruined by Evil Knieval at the power controls. Recently I've enjoyed watching some of the large US basement layouts. They seem very satisfying for watching the trains go by. I'm using Woodland Scenics risers for a 3% rise in around 8 ft. I've had no problems with mainline locos up to 7 coaches.

With an additional curved crossover beyond the station you could have more variety in shunting both sides.

You could add a cattle dock as a kickback to the coal siding for a couple of wagons.

Fascinating to see your evolution from US through to DE via CIE etc. Since 2007 I've tried OO preserved BLT, 70's roundy, German roundy, Scottish roundy with BLT on two levels, N gauge on two levels from 101 US plans, Swiss HOm on three levels, TT using HOm track, then N again and finally HO OBB/DB on three levels all on a 9x9 baseboard with a 3ft square added for a helix. After so much spaghetti track work hidden away to create three levels at 0, 3 and 6 with return loops I realised I was tying myself in knots. So, this week I opted for a re-design with just two levels and return loops which opens up the space and reduces the points from 27 to 15. Less is more. I take your excellent point about early influences and for me these were watching trains run along an embankment incline and hearing locos work hard climbing north of Bridlington. Also seeing a busy summer station and shunting across the roadway to the goods yard. On a layout that translates into enjoyment of trains running through landscape and also shunting in sidings. Nostalgia didn't do it for me and I like up to date stock which is where OO is a problem. In a smallish space UK stock with 23m lengths is just too unrealistic. 12 inch long locos are not so good either, so I've settled for HO and the ultra reliable Trix or Piko expert locos that run like a dream. I mix 1:100 carriages with full length as a compromise. I'm aiming for satisfaction not just enjoyment and this I find comes with many things working well together. I suppose for me satisfaction is really the absence or minimising of irritation when running the layout. Watching your changes has helped see I am not alone in ripping everything up and starting again several times.

Less is more and I think fore and mid ground buildings better than more distant ones. You could try one low relief cottage mock up to get a feel. Your pagoda looks within 3ft of a main line - the men would not be happy.

Poor leadership has a big part to play in the death toll. I think most people accept this. Political pressure from certain factions led to delay and ineffective decisions. Much will come out in the next year. On my earlier point about schools, I think it is established that u11 schools pose less of a risk and should be the first to open. Secondary schools pose more risk particularly in the older age groups. So many of the adult population have not been exposed to covid19 yet and a significant number of under 50s could be hospitalised and die. My family work in hospitals and tell me their ICUs are now full of people in their 30s. Yesterday they lost a woman in her 20s. Voices in the media this morning, mostly MPs, are calling for an early end to restrictions. These people have already caused thousands of unnecessary deaths. They are dangerous.