LMS14B

Good afternoon burtos Thank you for your post. That's really helpful and makes a lot of sense. there seems to be so many things I have not considered or even thought about. hopefully I will be able to use some of this newly gained knowledge to help others at a later date. Regards Dougie

Good morning Harlequin Thank you for your post. The orders have now been placed for the track and I am happy to report its Electrofrogs all the way. My next job is to work out were to fit the insulating fish plates to avoid the those pesky shorts. Regards Dougie

Good morning ITG Thank you for you post. You assumed correctly my plan was always to use Electrofrogs. Just as I was about to place my order for the track I saw a couple of post regarding short circuits. Anyway the track order is in and I am sticking with the Electrofrogs. Regards Dougie

Good Morning KingEdwardII Thank you for your post. you have confirmed my first thoughts regarding Electrofrogs I am looking at the possibility of fitting Stay-alive. But I need to make sure there is a enough room to fit the capacitor in locomotives a long with the other DCC related bits. kind regards Dougie

Good evening. I am just about to place my order for Peco 100 track. A certain amount of doubt has crept into my mind whether i should be using Insulfrog or Electrofrog turnouts. The plan is to use DCC so that some of the operations can be automated. On reading some of the post there seems to be a problem when using a crossing and a turnout. The fish plates may need to be of an isolating type to overcome this problem. My limited knowledge assumed that with DCC the whole track was live, so use Electrofrogs. but now i am not certain if I should use all the same type or a mixture of both. Help. Regards Dougie

Good afternoon Harlequin. You are probably correct, I am just over thinking things. Its a release of 50 years of ideas pouring out in one go. (Kid in the sweet shop) But I don't want to miss out on anything because of lack of thought, ending up with a load of IF ONLY. I am sure once building starts the daydreams will stop or not be so frequent. Thank you for keeping me on the straight and narrow. Regards Dougie

Good morning Harlequin Thank you for your post. I had always consider the FY to be basic in appearance because usually its not seen. Mine will be on full show, so why not decorate it? Because both areas are stabling points, to make it look realistic I need to replecate years of dropped ash, cinders and coal. so probably 70% of the sleepers will not be seen. with this in mind, I will need to make sure the point motors will fit and operate correctly. I will do a test area, firstly to see if what's in my head can be modelled with my skill set. Regards Dougie

Good morning Chimer Thank you for your post. You are correct in the fact that I have the rolling stock but theirs all ways room for a bit more. Up to the time I left home at 15, I had a box of track and rolling stock. This would appear most days and was set up on the lino floor at my parents home. 15 years later I built my step son a Roundy Roundy on an 8x4 board, delivered by Farther Christmas. His enjoyment was trying to have as many crashes as the poor old 0-6-0 could take. so in answer to you question I have very little experience in building a proper layout, in fact none. With the shortage of track and my lack of experience I think you suggestion is probably sound advice. Regards Dougie

Good Morning JRB Thank you for your post. I have had a quick look on YouTube and yes they have the action that I am looking For. Regards Dougie

Good evening PaulaDoesTrains Thank you for your post. Yes, you are correct I did make a few calls today to find out about stock levels. points seem to be the problem with no firm idea when they might be back in stock. so pre-ordering seems the way forward. Not sure if I should order a few extra in case of any last minute changes. Regards Dougie

Good evening ITG yes, buying the wood for the baseboard was not straight forward, due to low stocks. Hopefully I will make a start on the framing this coming weekend. so in no major rush for the track just yet but it would be good to order it. Regards Dougie

Good evening ITG Thank you for your post. over the years I have brought nearly every model railway magazine that has been published. I can remember reading articles at the time thinking that's interesting but that information has slipped from my memory. The other thing is of course things that seemed a good idea 5 years ago are probably not relevant today. There is so much to consider were do the signals go, do I use point Roding etc . when deep down inside I just want to run a few trains. I know however that time spent now on setup is impotent so that there are no major disappointments later. slow action points and a bounce on the signal is a must for me. Now my plan is to place a single order for all the track and a single order for DCC set up. hopefully that might lead to a small discount but more importantly a good customer service. Regards Dougie

Good afternoon Harlequin That's helpful information, just being pointed in the right direction makes such a difference. its easy to get carried away with manufacture's information and end up with equipment that's not suitable. Now, there is a cost implication but just the sheer disappointment when something doesn't work how you expected. Due to covid I have not been able to attend shows like everybody else. so I am grateful to you and all the other members who freely give there time to help others less knowledgeable. Regards Dougie

Good morning Station Master Thank you for your post. I was try to work out were to fit the cross battens on the baseboard to miss the point motors on the FY. This was proving a bit tricky, hence the idea about surfaced mounted motors. could you give me any pointers in what type of motor to look out for in your experience? my intension is to use DCC so that there can be some automation. Harlequins design for the FY is starting to have a life of its own. what started as a storage area is now becoming a feature to be celebrated and not hidden. Regards Dougie

Good morning Harlequin. Thank you for your post. pleased to report that all walls and Ceiling have been well insulated and the doors draft proofed. with the battens, insulation and plywood covering there was a loss of 4 inches all the way around. This was planned for which left the 18x8 useable space. Just in the process of fitting inferred heating to the ceiling which should give a constant and even heat level. point taken regarding the turntable. what's your thoughts about using top surfaced point motors on the FY? Flying pigs suggestion made sense but the lower area that he has highlighted I intend to use for the control centre. regards Dougie

Good afternoon The plan is to make a mock up of the boards around the garage first. this will allow me to walk around in the space and see how it feels. The boards need to be big enough for the track plan but will hopefully show me were to have service hatches. the only options may be is to move the turntable to the other end of the ladder sidings. This would mean once you have entered the room the well space is equal. Or do away with the turntable and use more loco lifts this would give a more rectangular well. Having no experience to draw on I don't know how often I would need to get to the back of the layout for recovery. you may well have seen simmo009 post regarding a topside creeper. Doses anyone have any experience in using one of these? I am not certain I could lay on one for too long but to retrieve a way wood locomotive should be fine. Regards Dougie

Good evening Simm099 I had a vison of a slow moving train on a raised baseboard. Found it on the internet and yes that would solve my problems Thank you. Regards Dougie

Good evening Simm099 Thank you for your post. It sounds like a good idea but I have no idea what that is. Lol Hopefully the internet will give me the answer. Regards Dougie

Good evening Chimer Thank you for your post. I do like what you have done with the reverse loop but I have a board across the entrance and then another board across the middle this would be to much for me. I am at an age when toilet runs become a bit more urgent. lifting or ducking under two boards may lead to soggy socks. I believe Harlequins plan still covers all of my whishes and I am set on the shed area. I appreciate every post with suggestions to make my model the best it can be. regards Dougie

Good afternoon ITG and Joseph Pestell. The way the locomotives return to the shed can be in any order. Manly tender first this then gives me the reason to use the turntable. The challenge for me is sending away the locomotives from the shed in the correct order. so my computer will randomly select a locomotive and a time to leave the shed. I will need to clear the road for this to happen this is similar to a shunting puzzle. so if the sequence involves sending 25 locomotives off shed at 3 minute intervals that will take 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete. Now this might involve more or less movements I wont know until I press start. I may have to work around coal delivers or the breakdown crane being called out. Hopefully you can see how I wold like it to work. one other point is should the ladder sidings be hidden like a normal fiddle yard? I am very happy with the shed layout and do not wish to change that but I am open to ideas for the fiddle yard should anyone have a better idea. Regards Dougie

Good afternoon ITG Thank you for your post. That's a clever idea using kitchen draw runners. I don't believe that would help me operationally but certainly a good way to hold locomotives. Locomotives often left Hornsey tender first to join the front of the train at Kings Cross. On there return they would come back to Hornsey tender first which is what I would like to replecate. You are right that I need plenty of storage off shed but I also need the ability to turn them. How I have seen spinning FY traversers which would do the job but because mine butts up against a wall it wont work. Regards Dougie

Good morning ITG, Harlequin and Joseph Pestell. Thank you for your posts. I must start by saying that the track plan as not left my side since I received it. which means I have been walking about with a silly grin on my face. To be honest, this will be the only layout that I will build. so its important that I take on board other points of view from experienced modellers. The one thing that crops up is the lack of a dedicated running loop. I have shown a track in red, which might achieve this but not sure what knock on effect this might have. (apart from a wider board) This would only be used for long coal trains. My carpentry skills are ok the plan is to build an outer frame and then mark and dill for the point motors before fixing the cross bearers. I would be grateful if you could expand on the idea of traverser drawers. Now it is only me who will be operating the model so it is important that there is some automation. regards Dougie

Good afternoon ITG Thank you for your post. yes you are correct I did not make the actual size that clear on my earlier post. I am happy to confirm the the space inside is 18 foot by 8 foot luckily Harlequin checked. what are your thoughts on his design? I have now picked up the timber and looking forward to building the baseboards. Regards Dougie

Good morning Harlequin. Unless you have spotted an operation problem then this is perfect for me. There is the possibility to run a coal train around the circuit and as you mentioned previously, this can be therapeutic. you are right about coal deliveries. Just past the shed to the North was the North Thames gas company which had extensive siding's for there coal requirement. and I believe Hornsey sheds coal come from those sidings. I may well print out the shed area to grantee every thing is in the right place and give me some guidance with the flexible track. yes of course you can use the plan in your album. regards Dougie

Good evening Harlequin. I am not certain that track plan can be improved. Its much better than i could have imagined. I was focusing on the shed and did not consider the bigger picture. The off shed storage and turning area is that about 16" wide? This weekend i shall make a start building the baseboards. Thank you again. Dougie