AndyB

@AndrueC you have my sympathies. But in a way I'm glad to hear its not just me! Now I've got an idea for how to get a bit more organised once I'm starting to run to a sequence. I don't want to faff around trying to remember loco addresses. So I'm thinking of getting one of these A6 ring binders and adding the loco name (class), a photo of it, decoder address and any CV settings to a card in each envelope. Want to select the branch line M7? The up electric service? Down parcels? Up fuel tanks...? No problem; it's all there on a card. Or does anyone have a better way? I'm open to ideas! Andy

Soooo, before cracking on with more scenics I wanted to double check that the 3rd rail wasn't going to foul any of my other locos; the fragile parts of my M7's running gear had already got stuck and broken lose. Time for some "non destructive testing"! And that's when I ran up against a problem. I'd programmed a number of my locos so that their decoder addresses matched the cabside number. Simples! Uh, no. My N class stubbornly refused to move when it's number was called up. What to do. I couldn't do a factory reset on "the main" so needed a programming track. This didn't work first time. But as ever some helpful input from another RMWebber moved things along. 🙂 Now working through my various locos... I can now isolate the last bits of 3rd rail where there's still any snagging for each and every loco... and (finally) put this phase of testing to bed.

Thanks @Nigelcliffe that's resolved the problem. Very good point about how transient the voltage us on the Prog track and measuring this with a handheld multimeter. I've now done a factory reset on the Prog track and the loco is now running fine. And, for whatever reason (most likely finger trouble), my programming track is now reading the loco's address absolutely fine. Thanks for your help. Andy

I've been trying used programming track to read decoder values, specifically decoder addresses. I connected a short section of track to the 2 terminals marked "To Program Track". I wasn't able to get the "Read" function to work. Fault tracing: Should I see a voltage across these tracks? There's no voltage difference on the tracks. I've also placed a voltmeter directly across the base unit's terminals and get nothing there, either. I'm aware that not all decoders support read back. But I think the problem is more fundamental...there's possibly no voltage coming out of the base unit. I get 12.8V on the main tracks; the spec says 13-16V. As a workaround is it possible to factory reset a decoder without knowing its address? Any info and advice would be most welcome. Thanks in advance. Andy

Yep, ta. She happened to mention it earlier. 😉

My SWMBO got me back into railway modelling. She can sometimes be heard muttering: "I've created a monster!" 😱 She doesn't come with me to exhibitions; they mostly seem to fall on days like our wedding anniversary / her birthday...so I guess she has her own priorities. 🤷‍♂️ She'd obviously be very welcome to tag along and hear from my acquaintances about the latest developments on their layouts. Deep down I know she'd be fascinated! 🙂 One of the upsides of my hobby is that she knows she'll never be short of suggestions for my birthday / Christmas present. 🚋 As for my layouts she's always been the most supportive I could wish for. 🥰 Happy wedding anniversary, love. 💫

Hi Keith. It's always nice to sit down and read one of your blogs. Quite refreshing to read about the "why" rather than the "what"; and I'm as guilty as most of posting about the "latest think 'what I done'"! Your description of James' book had me reaching for the statin tablets. Marvellous. Mikkel makes a good point about over planning. I think you might waste a lot of time trying to future proof a design to keep your interest levels up for 10 or more years...when in fact you could build 2, 3 or 4 decent layouts in that time and have loads of fun and learn plenty. Personally I'd start building the last of the designs you've shown. And as we discussed in PMs think about making the staging area a split harbour / quarry (logging camp) to suggest the 2 ends of a system. Cheers for now. Andy.

Quite a handy place to spot trains...as my work desk is right next to this part of the layout! 😊

So our mobile film unit has been out and about and spotted a down express*. A couple of luggage vans suggest it might possibly have been heading to Southampton docks with passengers for parts yonder... 20240911_165054.mp4 I think this spot may be popular with the local train spotters! 20240912_164701.mp4 * there's some work to do getting coach formations right. Bear with on that!

Thanks @DavidMcKenzie for your kind comments. Funnily enough it's the 3rd rail that has proved a bit of a thorn to reliable running. To get it to look realistic I placed it about where you'd expect to see it in real life. But the reality is that at 2mm scale some of the superb / fiddly detail we get on locos can get stuck. So in places I've had to subtley bend it out of the way. It appears that one of my M7s has already succumbed to some superficial damage; could have been the 3rd rail...or some clumsiness when handling it. Who knows. Not to worry as I can mend it with a short length of rod. I'll get some more videos sorted and put the 5MT one up later this evening. Cheers. Andy

This photo dates from April 1963, looking south west in the "down" direction. Creative commons: Ben Brooksbank One of the structures I needed to make is the small shelter on the down platform. I had some bits left over from the canopy kit as I'd only built half of its potential length. The back wall was simply a piece of cardboard salvaged from a box of Walkers shortbread. Scored lengthways to represent the boards and some strips to act as vertical batons, as per the prototype. In due course it'll need painting in appropriate colours, but for now it's sat on the down platform... I also had a play around filming a 5MT express this afternoon if anyone's interested; let me know. Thanks for taking a look. Andy

There's not been much progress on the layout as "we've" decided to redecorate the house. That said, I was up early this morning and fixed the platforms in place. Making sure there was plenty of clearance for all those moving parts on the locos! There's still liadscto do. For starters I've a downside platform shelter to make, and a footbridge..... But why not celebrate progress so far by adding a short video. 20240910_191736.mp4 Hope you enjoyed that and have a sense of what the layout is starting to look like. Cheers for now. Andy

Another small update on the layout. Having got the platforms cut to size I've pushed on with joining the various sections together, followed by a layer of primer spray and then a first layer of acrylic paint. I'll age the brickwork with washes and dry brushing. Now, for the confession. I'd purchased the Timecast country station but knew it'd need a platform canopy. Somehow I'd not twigged that it's the canopy that's on the platform, not the station building. My mistake dawned when I was checking the station plan in "Woking to Alton" (Middleton Press). So I fashioned another raised section from card and Slaters plasticard to sit the station building on. I'm keen to get the colours right on the brickwork. But what is right? A quick trip down to the prototype showed that the main thing is to get some variety... Again I'll be adding more layers over the base coat to bring it to life. And finally....a gratuitous shot of a 4MT passing through! Thanks for taking a look. Andy

@D1023 that's good news. 👏 I'd taken a look at cookies on my mobile but didn't see anything particularly troubling. Yep, the output from dev tools can be somewhat complex; I'm going to consult a colleague upon his return from holiday. On mobile access to dev tools isn't as straightforward...I believe you have to hook the device up to a laptop via USB and then use the laptop to inspect what's going on. One bit of investigation I did yesterday was to copy the "Layout topic" link address and oyster it into the search box of a new tab. This allowed Google to show indexed results for that part of the forum. Clicking on the search results (when signed in) allowed me to access the topic, pages 2 and higher. I could then use the "Go to" festyre to move between pages. All except "Page 1" which remained blocked. Quite a roundabout way of accessing content! And something else to help whet my colleague's investigative appetite. 🙂 Cheers. Andy

@D1023 Tim, that's interesting. I've the reverse problem. Would you be able to open the developer tools on Chrome (laptop) and see where the load process is getting stuck? I'm thinking maybe take a look at the network tab? For info I created a new account and the problem persisted across a number of mobile devices...but not laptop. So I think we can rule out account specific issues. Best. Andy