Neil P

On lines that are signalled with two-aspect colour lights, could someone explain what happens if there isn't space for a distant signal between two home signals? For example, a junction protected by a signal a hundred yards before a station with a starter signal at the end of the platform? Would they use a three aspect for the signal protecting the junction? Apologies if I've got any terminology wrong, as this is new to me. Reason I'm asking is to keep the costs down, I'm keen to use two aspect signalling on my layout (1980s). I'll pretend that most of the distant signals are off-scene, but I'm stumped with what to do with a branch line that joins the mainline just before the station. Thanks, Neil

Thanks, once again. Under the old scheme, it made sense to have just the curves as reversing loops, which is why the polarity was different on the two lines at the top of the plan. Under the new scheme with the longer reverse sections, I think your suggestions are good ones.

Thanks, again, John. The other end of the layout is effectively a mirror image of this. It allows trains on that line to run around behind either the backscene or in front of it. There is also another outer loop that surrounds this one and connects to this track at a couple of crossovers. I've missed off sidings etc for clarity.

Thanks, again, John. I'm very grateful for going to these lengths. (My 5-year-old son can't believe that someone all the way from Australia is helping me with the wiring for his layout!) I should have mentioned that the polarity at X and Y is the same (black at the back rail, red at the front) , as I have another reversing loop at the other end of the layout.

Thanks, John. That's a very detailed reply. It's much appreciated. It hadn't occurred to me to use the other terminals on the Cobalt. In fact, I didn't really know what they did until I saw your diagram. That would definitely be better than to keep changing the polarity of main power input to the motor, IMO. As a sanity check, I've included a diagram showing what the layout looks like at the moment, and the proposed change. Would be good if you could check I'm not about to do anything daft!

Hi, My reversing section isn't long enough to accommodate my longest train, so I'd like to extend it. However, that would mean including a point within the isolated section. I'm using a Tam Valley duel frog juicer as an auto-reverse module, and I have electrofrog points controlled by Cobalt Digital IP motors, which switch the frogs. I assume that if I connect the point motor to the output of the auto-reverse module, it will work fine. Can anyone think why it might not work? Could the point motor controller be adversely affected by frequent polarity switching? Thanks, Neil

Thanks. Had no problems getting up from Newport. Good selection of layouts today.

I was thinking of heading up to Monmouth today. Is the weather causing any problems with the local roads?

Thanks, both. Glad to hear stock is coming back.

I bought six Cobalt Digital IP point motors on eBay back in October, and have been waiting since then to buy some more for the rest of my points. As far as I can see, they've been out of stock everywhere for the last 2 months at least. I'm starting to wonder whether I've made the wrong choice. Does anyone know why they've been out of stock for so long? And can anyone suggest alternatives? I liked these as they seemed to have a reputation for being reliable, and don't need a separate decoder, frog juicer or CDU. I'm using Peco code 100 electrofrog points. Apologies if this is the wrong forum to ask.

Yes - I agree. It's tricky though - I need the turntable at the end of the branchline, really. Also, the mountain/quarry and the viaduct go together, which makes moving the quarry to the left side of the layout tricky. Perhaps I could have a small branchline terminus station on the high level, which means that the sidings make more sense?

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, and the very helpful track plan from David. Based on a combination of what you've suggested above, I've come up with the following work-in-progress. The high level (red lines) represent the remains of a closed high-level station, now used as a maintenance depot, carriage sidings and sheds for heritage engines (the track that looks like a headshunt is part of a disused line that I plan to cover with weeds). The high level section is accessed via a hidden gradient at the rear of the layout. I've added a return loop on the right of the layout so that steam engines don't get stuck on the low level. I ended up hiding the long straights at the back underneath the high-level section after all. I thought I could add some points and use one of these lines for hidden storage when it's not in 'racetrack' mode. I have some ideas on how to access the hidden lines at the back in case of derailments. The centre section would have a removable retaining wall, the left hand side would have some removable buildings and on the right the top 'terrace' of the quarry would lift away. This is a work-in-progress, so once again, I'd be grateful for any comments. Any potential build issues I might have missed? I know it's not really a prototypical layout, but is there anything that looks particularly odd? Any operational issues? (One of the disadvantages of this compared to David's suggested layout is that the turntable is so far removed from the station, for example). Is there too much track for a layout of this size? Thanks, again, for all your help. (P.S. I'm aware that I need a way for locos to leave the carriage sidings. Still working on that!)

Do you have a link to more info, please? The auto-reverse modules look quite pricey, as it looks like I'd need four.

Some good suggestions there mdvle. Thanks. I especially like the idea of a big red button to set points to “race track” mode. Should be easy to do with JMRI. I’m not sure whether I have enough room for the gradients you suggest at both ends though, but I will have a play in AnyRail.

I'm currently setting up a layout for me and my boys who both love Thomas. They were given a Hornby 'Gordon' by a neighbour, which I've upgraded to DCC, along with my 35-year-old HST and we've got them Thomas and Percy for Christmas, which I'll be upgrading to DCC before the big day. We're lucky enough to have quite a long room, but not much width, and I've built some baseboards 21ft long in total, and 2ft wide, extending to 3'7" and 4' at the ends to accommodate the curves for two continuous runs. I've used 2nd and 3rd radius settrack from the Hornby sets to make curves at both end. For now I've filled in the middle with Peco Code 100 flexible track (for future re-use) and made two loops like the attached track plan. The top, left, and right of the layout are against walls. I have the layout set up using a SPROG 3 DCC controller connected to a Raspberry Pi and we're using tablets as throttles. I'm pretty confident with electronics and plan to add some motorised points, signals and perhaps some basic automation in the future. I don't plan to leave the track like this. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with AnyRail, but I'm a bit stuck where to go next, so any advice you could offer would be great. I'm not too worried about sticking *too* closely to the prototype, as this is for fun, but I'd like the track plan to be vaguely plausible. My sons will be running Thomas trains on it, obviously, but it will be broadly modern era as that's what I would enjoy building. Any ideas on where to take the track plan from here would be very welcome:- * I want the layout to have two continuous runs so my sons can control a train each without crashing them into buffers. * I plan to hide the curves at the end under tunnels for 'realism', but what should I do with the long run along the wall? It seems a shame to hide it behind a backscene, especially as we don't have much width. However, if I make them visible with the back two lines becoming 'down' lines and the front two the 'up' lines, I'm unable to connect them in any way without creating a reverse loop (for example to allow access to sidings, bay platforms at a station etc.) I could make the ends reverse loops instead, but that's potentially a lot of hassle to make it seamless for the boys to operate. * I'd like a line (or one of these two lines) at another level so it can cross over on bridges etc. My sons love layouts where trains disappear into tunnels and cross bridges. Any ideas on what would work well? Ideally I'd like to use foam insulation to make the raised levels, * We don't have a fiddle yard, and once again we don't really want as much of the layout visible as possible, but it would be nice to be able to drive a train off scene and bring in another from a hidden siding. Any suggestions on where I could fit that in? * My sons are desperate to have a turntable. That doesn't really fit in with my modern era idea, but this is for them too so would be good to work out how to accommodate one in the layout. Thanks, Neil

Thanks. Always useful to see how people have done things behind the scenes.

Great job, and already looking good at this relatively early stage in the build! Love the attention to detail for the trunking etc. I'm watching this with particular interest, as I have a similar space planned for a roundy roundy - (21' long and around 2' wide, widening at each end to accommodate curves). If you get chance it would be good to see a track plan with the hidden curves on it.

Thanks very much for all of your advice. Looks like getting the baseboards set up and then experimenting with the layouts sounds like the way to go. I think I'll need a new controller, as the existing ones are pretty rubbish. Some keep tripping out and the Hornby ones are too stiff for my son to turn easily. Very good tips about the lip on the edge of the baseboard and level crossings to simulate disasters!

I've been lurking on the forums for a few weeks trying to acquaint myself with the world of model railways after 30 years, so thanks to everyone who has posted. My 5-year-old has recently been given a Hornby Thomas set (looks to be a few years old), a Percy engine and some carriages by a neighbour. We're currently running a small oval on a piece of MDF in the garage, and although he loves it, although it doesn't hold either of our attention for very long. I also have a couple of old Hornby steam engines and wagons, plus a couple of HSTs from my own layout 30 years ago. My son wants me to build some tunnels and a station, but there doesn't seem to be much point in doing that on the current layout. Now, we have a long thin L-shaped spare bedroom that could accommodate a layout of around 20ft x1.5ft along one wall. It has IKEA Kallax units along pretty much the whole length, which are 2'6" high and about 18" wide, and I thought I could build a plywood baseboard in sections to sit on top of these. I don't think my son would enjoy an end-to-end layout, so I could widen the layout at both ends from 1.5ft to about 3ft 8in to accommodate curves and make it a continuous loop. All of the trains are DC, and I don't think they'd be worth upgrading to DCC. I suppose we could replace them with DCC models in a few years if my son is still interested. Now, I appreciate it's hard to know exactly what we would enjoy at this stage, and I don't want to run before I can walk. I think my son would really like an express line just to watch the trains going fast, and I remember when I was younger that I was fascinated by watching two level layouts where trains disappeared into tunnels and went over bridges etc, so maybe a more winding freight line would be good too. This is where I'd really value your collective experience and input. Should I plan everything meticulously beforehand, or should I just start with a very long two oval layout (I think I'd just about have room for R3 and R2 curves at the ends) and then adapt it as I go along? And is 20ft long just too ambitious to start? I thought about making something small and extending it. but it would be hard to accommodate the curves on a smaller layout as they would really need to sit at either end in the corners of the room to avoid annoying my wife. I want to have something up-and-running asap for my son, but the enjoyment for me will be making the scenery and buildings over a (long) period of time. Any advice and input on how to get started, and what pitfalls to avoid would be very welcome. I've sketched some initial ideas on SCARM but nothing really worth sharing yet. Thanks, Neil P.S. Just spotted some great suggestions on this thread for an L-shaped N-gauge layout. We're OO gauge, but I wonder if a simplified version of this might be a good starting point?