ngaugenic

This is somewhat intimidating part of the whole process to me, purchases can be sold on, designs can be rethought and controls are somewhat interchangable. Laying track however is a "forever" action, if the track is out by as little as 1mm then the railway might not work, at least as it appears to a novice N gauger. There is a real pressure to align track piece 1 because track piece number 32 that will be laid in a month can critically depend on it being placed in the right place at the right rotation. And after the x/y/z location is deemed correct are you sure you shouldn't be soldering something to something and clipping this sleeper and cutting a gap in that rail? As mentioned plenty before the point of this blog is to illuminate how building a new railway is challenging to the novice, and in the case of track laying this is especially prevalent. Any one of the operations necessary to lay track (outside of RTR, what does RTR mean?) is straightforward as an isolated activity but determining the necessary actions AND a sensible order is a "many to many" problem. Should the point motor access holes be drilled first? Should you connect a set of points together and lay several pieces simultaneously? Glue or pin? Solder droppers before or after laying the track? I'd like to write out a set of instructions here about exactly what to do and when, but quite frankly I feel years away from stating with any confidence THE sensible approach. Which isn't to deny the plethora of instructional booklets, book, videos and websites. The problem is that they all have a slight difference and evaluating which approach is best for me is not possible until I've actually laid some track for better or worse. So the approach I started with was this: Print out the complete track plan from Anyrail, faff with printer settings to minimise borders and scaling, reprint the trackplan, wish I had put the 10cmx10cm on top of the other elements, realise that the track was going underneath the track plan, realise the track could be laid on top of the track plan, place track piece and mark its location, drill through for dropper access, solder droppers onto track, fit track and secure with track screws, connect fish plates goto to 7 The underboard electrics will be a separate entry! The longer I keep that shame from public viewing the better. The picture attached resembles the progress, the angle of the cork underlay shows the quayside edge, the small triangles will be lowered and a quayside piling introduced.

I'm jumping ahead slightly here in the decision making process but I wanted to cover what has already happened sooner rather than later. Which is to say the track plan was developed over a week in early January, a welcome distraction from post christmas lethargy. The first plan was mark 1. The idea was to have a distinct pasenger operation mixed and matched with a freight operation. The knowledge I brought to this was, run around loops are needed for loco operations, trains don't like reverse curves, steep gradients, avoid fouling points, the rudiments of the block sinalling system, and ... not much else. Now given the point of this blog is to provide insights to the mind of the novice here are some "justifications" for the track plan for mark 1. Firstly, the design is very square on, it just makes sense to run the straight track along the length of the available space. Secondly, there is not much actual track laid down, it's very difficult to correctly imagine the amount track that is "typical", the size of the operation in a given space is not an easy thing to put down on paper. Thirdly there is a mismatch in track types that might cause someone to order the wrong pieces. Fourthly, it is "atypical" or "non prototypical", which are technical phrases for "a bit rubbish". Now whether that matters to you is opinion, but assuming the aim is to have fun, less rubbish layouts are probably better. They are going to be more complex and involved and there will be less bodgy jumps that break the illusion. Novelty setups exist, shelfs, suitcases etc, but I think they are for those who have had enough fun with a "proper" layout first. The simple solution to most of the above is to refer to an expert, rmweb as it where, mark 4 is dramtically different from the above, and I owe thanks to @Schoonerand @The Johnster primarily for their input. I feel a small amount of embarassment for mostly copying other ideas but really as a beginner it only helps to engage the knowledge and expertise of those willing to advise. Schooner researched some real life track plans from the actual place of Newhaven, a port on the South coast of England and put me onto the National Library of Scotland maps that have a selection of historical detailed maps to see what actually happened. The Johnster put forward the notions of real railway operations in the UK. And from their suggestions mark 2 was developed...

A very good point I suppose, that would really drive a lot of choices over themes

I don't like hanging around so over Christmas plans were made: Scale: n-gauge Era: 1950s-1960s Setting: Dockside Control: DCC for trains via all in one controller Scenic: tracks laid in concrete/setts with some open ballasted track Pointwork: "electro-mechanical" A hybrid of manual switches on a 12V DC bus powering point motors, switching electrofrog from DCC track bus Track: Peco code 55, DIY track laying Baseboard: Fixed in shed I had the starting of an n gauge layout when I was a kid and so had some affection for the scale and combined with the space available, 1.7m by 0.5m ish meant it was about the only scale I would have considered really. I like moving trains through trackwork and a variety of scene elements and I don't think OO would have given me the overall scene I wanted to model. Setting the model in the 1950/1960s appeals because I wanted a grubby rundown theme, and the choice of steam or diesel, or both! allows for a variety of traction. It is "before my time" though, I wasn't born for at least a decade after this era so it did mean research would be necessary to accurately represent the features of the time. Choosing a dockside and industrial setting helped back up the gritty feeling, with industrial decline well on the way, the shift to road freight and the movement into the "modern age". A dockside offers a variety of traffic with passengers being dropped off at a cross channel ferry terminal, still somewhat in business before international air flights took away that too. DCC control seemed the only reasonable way to go in 2024, though the variety of implementations is bewildering, sure DCC concepts will show you how to wire up a full fat many decoder system, but that system will cost a lot and has the potential to remove the fun from your trainset. Obviously this is a personal choice over how much direct control you want but the chance to run many locos simultaneously meant DCC was the only choice. I'll post separately about making sense of the DCC control systems but that is a vast concept to pick up for an outsider with many overlapping layers of control. I've made a rod for my own back by choosing a "manual" control for the point work, the amount of wiring this will mean is starting to dawn on me, I was warned. Somehow code 55 was the first track option I had looked at, but there again is a set of choices to be made over 80/55 or kato or others... Code 55 was one of the first choices I had made and luckily it tied in with several later choices...

Yeah, I'll get onto that, there is the RTR kato stuff and alternatively there is a very DIY approach via code 55 etc. Here every track piece requires some modification or soldering or cutting and trimming! It's certainly a big decision to make at tthe start before you start buying.

Physical Size portable baseboard/fixed track underlay, nothing/cork/foam glue/pins scale : n,00, etc track peco kato etc Theme Steam/diesel/electric country rural/urban Freight/passenger Track plan! From a book, from helpful forum members, from your imagination, from real life Anyrail or other software. DCC/DC full strength - many decoders, fully automated points, occupancy detection Computer control/hands dcc hq+booster+handset/all in one beginners setup Scenic details card models scratch Lasercut Cost Very modest £500 Small/medium £1000+ Average £2000+

I have been interested in model railways since I was a kid. I have an affection for rail travel and enjoy low key engineering and hobby electronics. A degree in Physics means I can think through wiring diagrams and geometrical problems. That's the strengths. The weaknesses... Little idea on actual rail operations, little idea on wiring "decoders", "DCC", "automatic points", "electronic train control". No practice on scenic modelling, track laying, wiring points for "live frogs". So this will be an adventure into various and ultimately all areas of modelling a model railway. Keep reading if you're interested in the mindset and challenges that face a new modeller.

True, but I quite like the wiring part, I suppose I include designing and installing the infrastructure in my modelling experience and coping with a tangle or excess or wiring is part of that for me. Is there a way to bookmark such images, I think a lot of people would find it helpful...

ok, that makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

@Ron Ron Ron As stated at the top, I'm looking to mix and match dcc train control with point switching under manual control. which I understand is a half way house but it's also what I would find fun to do!

That's great, thanks And this works with dcc power on red and black?

Thanks for the input everyone, I think the MTB mp1s are what I'm looking for. The running method I want to employ is driving a train by the zephyr and flicking switches for the points, so DCC alpha is beyond the level of automation I need, anything screen based is out. Does anyone a wiring schematic for the MTBs in combination with a physical switch and led display of which way the point is set please?

Hi, I'm building a new n gauge layout with a focus on shunting operations and therefore many points and slips. I'd like to operate the trains via dcc (I have a zephyr for this purpose) but control the point motors via a mimic/control panel with switches. Cobalt point motors look almost ideal for this but the complication comes from powering electrofrogs. The ip digital looks like it would do the job, can I combine these with a adfx decoder to simplify the wiring? I think this would limit the longer wiring to just two wires with led and switch wiring kept at the control board with the adfx. Can I save money by using the ip analog? I don't think so as it seems you can't run dcc power in/out of the analog, and therefore the frog connection is not going to be dcc either? I think that's right. This probably makes little sense, but I'm trying to get my head around the entire scheme from scratch and there are so many variations and overlaps that it becomes very difficult to draw up a plan from scratch! So, what components would you employ to have train control on dcc and point control on manual switching please?

I'll take that as a compliment, but in reality almost everything here is the product of underthinking! It's intended to be a level crossing, I'm avoiding gradients in this build. Why does the loco shed get special protection? And shunter here means the man on the ground right? That's very true, the ladder would be there for flexibility in shunting operations if some part of the quayside is occupied. The lower double slip could be crossing though... Many thanks for your input @The Johnster, I can only imagine the number of times you've explained this to someone new to the modelling world!

Oldhaven Rev 3: I'm quite happy with this line up and managed to include a single in/out line that swoops around to an arrivals/departure line . This siding is 44cm in physical length which would allow for approx 7 vehicles, tank, brake and 5 trucks more or less. Once the incoming train is in the siding a dock side shunter (03) would break down the train through the quayside run arounds and the sidings to the left. Some trucks would be left quayside for a watery departure via a rail crane or unloading directly onto a ship. Some would be left by the station to be transferred to road. During these operations the tank would rest up in the loco shed or assist with shunting. The passenger operations to the north would see a loco and 1 or 2 coaches intially and then when finances allow an emu perhaps to vary the incoming traffic. I'd love to have the space to have room for an exit and return on the right hand side but that will be new-oldhaven at some point in the future! The signal box is set by the entrance and exit from the block, signalling will be the next challenge, but the majority is going to be static ground signals governing the freight operations. The passenger section and through road I imagine would be on "proper" signals..?