JC

Yes it is.....and thanks for the further detail. I only wish I could find/mix that concrete colour ?

I'm taking your advice and have started to scratch build an extension and quench tower. Lots more detail required yet and the colouring isn't right. Using this photo as reference:

Interesting point thank you. Yes, I have thought about the power station previously though decided against as I wanted a more steelworks "specific" layout if you see what I mean. At the moment I'm going with turning the retort into a coke oven so we'll see how that turns out.

Yeah wasn't sure what the ex rate was atm. Oh right, someone's scratchbuilt that as a one off? Then that might be the price he wants for the work he's put into it, but I'm afraid my pockets aren't deep enough to spend that on one wagon - locos are expensive enough. I guess it's what someone's prepared to pay that's the issue and it would make a good centrepiece to a layout.

That would be a very good idea . Problem is, I presume, the market for a mainline wagon is viable for them, whereas the market for an industrial site specific wagon is probably not. But it definitely needs someone to produce a decent-sized OO gauge torpedo that is VFM. I just had the Walther's HO torpedo wagons delivered which I'd had on back order and they are tiny so they're going back. Way smaller than the Lima ones.

Nice, but £400? He's 'avvin a larf.

I know you said that the Di8 comes up a touch small, but I think it looks good when compared to say the Janus. I may well consider getting one despite the price.

Yes exactly.........there's obvs a fair bit of stuff that's interchangeable across the industries. Hadn't thought about chopping the top bit off, so may have a look at that thanks. In my limited experience, I've found that stuff available and marketed for the UK isn't favourable for your industrial modeller. Too much bucolic scenery/buildings - think it's time the manufacturers started to move on and produce less of the pretty countryside stations and more of the grit. OK it's getting a bit more dingy with the TMD stuff, but there's not a whole lot of "industry". Therefore, unless you scratch build it's a question of going to the HO stuff and then there will need to be compromises.

You wouldn't have a retort in a steelworks, but I'm after a representation of a coke oven and if you compare the Walthers retort with the ovens there's not a massive difference in how they look and in my view, having seen the ovens at Scunthorpe, the retort will look fine. I'm compromising. You've been at this a lot longer than me so I would put a fair bit of money that your scratchbuilding is on a different level to mine, which, out of ten, is probably a 1. That said, it might be that I end up doing some kind of change to it once it's up.

Many thanks Mike but I've been round Scunthorpe recently and got lots of shots. How I want it to look isn't really my problem. It's more how I utilise the space I have on my baseboards to the optimum that I can't seem to work out?

Yes, but not the Coke Oven. I;ve got the Coke Retort. I've been waiting months for the coke oven and it is, like the blast furnace being pushed back and back, so I'm not convinced it'll ever arrive, so I found somewhere stocking the Retort and will use that instead.

Thanks Pete. I'm fairly clear on the direction I want it to go in, it's just best utilising the space available whilst not having turns too tight.

I've been umming and arring and playing around with the track plan for my steelworks for a few weeks now. One problem has been I've been waiting for the Walther's Blast Furnace to come out......it's now been further delayed til end November so I am ditching that plan and replacing it with a coke oven. I have two track plan options and would be grateful for your thoughts. I think I am missing something and that something is an experienced eye to advise. In summary then the layout consists of a steel mill and coke oven. Shunting will be a variety of steel carrying wagons going to and from the mill as well as torpedo and slag wagons passing along the layout. Additionally I am running coal, iron ore and limestone wagon rakes through the layout. I had wanted to add a tippler unloader as you will see from plan 1. Track Plan 1. The branch carrying full trains runs along the front of the layout thus showcasing those long rakes. However, the turns in and out of the main branch along the front are very tight. The branch to the mill runs around the back of the layout which I really like as it means a long trip around the back of the layout for the shunters. I wanted to utilise the L-shape more so branched a line out in front of the fiddle yard so I could showcase the iron ore train more and put a break between that branch and the fiddle yard. However, the problem was that the turn into the tippler branch was too tight and didn't look right. It also reduced the size of the fiddle yard considerably, such that it would impede operation. Track Plan 2. A simpler plan as it just uses one bench, taking out the tippler option and increasing size of the fiddle yard. However, I feel that this doesn't make best use of the L-shape. The branch carrying the full trains (and torpedo wagons etc) runs along the back of the layout and disappears behind the mill and into the fiddle yard. This doesn't showcase the rakes as well as 1 but perhaps gives more interest with it partly disappearing behind the coke oven and then behind the mill, so it will appear and disappear at various points. The shunting into and out of the mill is now on the front of the layout. ISSUES 1. I can't seem to become happy with the balance of the track layout.....i.e. amount of operational options whilst maintaining some simplicity 2. I feel that I should be making more of the L-shape as, if I go with Option 2, the whole of that bench becomes the fiddle yard with a large part not useable due to track geometry coming off the 90 degree turn around the back of the mill. The mill is clearly a constraint as it is 80cm long by 30cm wide. 3. Bringing the mill forward and in with Option 2 makes the layout and track operating space smaller. I've added as selection of photos and the two track plans (all photos are of option 2). By all means rip it apart.

???? Something such as paint doesn't work or not work. Clearly I'm talking about something required to function . As in, power into a point, power through the point, power out of the point.

It was suggested and it's what I did. Think you're both being a bit harsh there. I'm a novice. I made the decision, after buying Hornby set track 6 months ago, to replace with flexitrack and EF points. I read around the wiring issue for EF and despite a few reservations given my limited electrical knowledge, decided to go ahead. I think it is entirely reasonable in this day and age, with something so simple and proven as a point, to expect it to come out of the box without fault. Not being aware that modifying points was a standard practice and not being an electrics buff or having any experience with soldering meant I went back to the retailer first up. Once they said they were happy for me to solder then I had a go and it sorted the issue.

Hmmm yes I hadn't considered that. Perhaps it's different in the world of railway modelling but in every other retail industry, at least in my experience, if you tamper with a product, irrespective of whether you're trying to make it work, if you then try and argue for a refund/replacement, the retailer won't do that.

Not quite....Roxley Models said do the solder and if it doesn't work we'll replace/refund. So for their part they were prepared to have the warranty invalidated. Perhaps it was low risk on their part as (as I now know) the solder is going to 100% fix the issue.

Well, after a week of pi$$ing about thinking I don't know anything about electrics (which I don't as it goes), or about logic (better at that), or about the mystique that may surround EF wiring, I finally have 5 EF points out of 5 fully functioning. A few minutes of soldering has sorted it. It turns out that wiring EF points, at least for DC, doesn't require any electric skill/knowledge. You just need points which come out of the factory that are actually built correctly. Thank you for your help sorting this out

The rate I'm going, it's going to be a long time before I get past stage 3.

Right well thank you that all makes sense. I'll try the solder and if that doesn't fix it then they'll be going back. Ref the shop, yes I know the legal standpoint but what I meant was they're happy for me to modify the point and if it still doesn't work then I can send them back. I would think that 99% of the time if you modify an item, whatever it is, then the shop concerned doesn't have to replace/exchange.

Your point makes perfect sense and I think I should try a drop of solder to fix the wire across the gap - however, surely if the modification shown in the video allows an EF point to work with the wire across the gap cut, then there isn't any continuity across that gap in that case anyway? And the point still functions? So surely that mod will fix the issue?

hehe thanks will take a good look. See you in about 10 years!

Excellent thanks pal haven't seen that before........I actually speak German but not technical steel German ....may have to see if I can learn some new words.