TEAMYAKIMA

Kev Thanks for this photo - rare indeed! This was always going to be one of our 'WOW!' moments, but it was never used before Keighley except for a couple of special set-ups for videographers. Our priorities had always been to get the basics 100% reliable before we ventured into the more complicated moves. One issue which had bothered me was whether the introduction of this more complicated move would have an adverse impact on other features. So, we needed a plan to co-ordinate things e.g. not to make a banking move on the industrial (another 'WOW!' feature) at the same time as the cross-over move at the front. My other main concern was not to shut down action on the main lines whilst the tanker train returned to its allotted fiddle yard track. Thanks to Al's new signals I came up with a plan and to an extent you can see it being played out in this photo. A clockwise train which is heading for the marshalling yard off-scene to the left of the scenic section stops at the signal in full view of the watchers. Then the tanker train appears (from that marshalling yard) and snakes across the cross-overs. After the caboose has sufficiently cleared the second cross-over, the clockwise train is ready to move off. Now, the plan was/is to use my sound and smoke unit fitted QJ (7141) for that clockwise train as it is at its most dramatic when starting off. The front-of-house man would flag up the photo/video opportunity to get the dramatic departure, but in this test session we were using the yellow and red DF7G instead - nearly there!

Kev Many thanks for these. I particularly like the last one - the look on my face says it all! And in case anyone was thinking that I was exaggerating about exhibiting in a greenhouse, you have provided proof - thanks!

After Keighley, I asked my team for feedback - good and bad - and one thing which came up was that the D38 transformer wagon looked 'plasticy'. TBH, this wagon has been with us since day #1, but due to its extreme length there had always been big problems on the tight radius curves 'off-scene'. After some track adjustments during lockdown, we trialed it at Keighley and it immediately became a fan-favourite, but because we hadn't used in the past, it it had missed out on some weathering. I needed to put quite a bit of thought into the weathering. I'm guessing that it is delivering a brand new transformer and so that wouldn't be weathered and just some matt varnish would take away the plastic finish. As regards the two end sections - again I'm guessing that they don't get many outings and don't spend too much time around filthy coal mines and steelworks and so they wouldn't get too dirty. Here is a 'before and after' comparison. Hopefully, just enough to take away the 'just out of the box' look.

Yes, the tubing has been trimmed back, but there is no leakage between the transmitter and receiver. As I've said, to my knowledge there has never been any IRDOT issue on the Faller except on a couple of very unusual scenarios where 'outside' infra-red has confused the system and now that I have made 'covers' for both ends that should eliminate any possibility of recurrence.

It was just that the ebay photo I saw had them cleaned up - looking again at the ebay listing there is a second photo showing the basic just-off-the-printer version - I should have known better! TBH, I have loads of Modelu 'special one-offs' on the layout, but I always had them sent off direct to their designated painter and so by the time they arrived with me all that cutting off had been done.

I wasn't expecting this! Have recently ordered a couple of 3D printed HO figures and a van from China and TBH I wasn't expecting them to arrive like this 😧...

Phil, I think you have slightly misunderstood my post. It's that I don't understand the concept as to what a 'capsule range' is - I have never heard that expression before. If I was to make a guess, it would be Hornby's 'main focus' i.e. the question would be 'What will be Hornby's main focus moving forward?'

I'm glad you asked that question - I wanted to, but I didn't want to admit that I didn't know what it was - thanks.

With just 10 days to go, I thought I should flag up Twickenham & District MRC's Open Day again. We are trying to attract visitors (and members) in two distinct categories ........................ In order to attract serious modellers as visitors/members we are building serious finescale layouts like ADDISON ROAD - and we will be announcing a BRAND NEW 7mm finescale layout (BROMPTON ROAD) at our Open Day - not a replacement for ADDISON ROAD but a smaller project which the keen builders can be getting on with whilst the keen operators continue to exhibit ADDISON ROAD around the country. The new smaller project will obviously be able to attend smaller more local shows which cannot afford the much larger current project - INTERESTED? Do come down and see details of our new BROMPTON ROAD project and get in on the ground floor of this exciting new layout. But we are also keen to attract 'newbies' to the hobby and we plan to start a basic 'HOW TO BUILD YOUR FIRST LAYOUT' project in the autumn. Our long-established 'DRIVE-A-TRAIN' layout is now life-expired and we always planned to build a replacement after the old layout's last outing at this year's Open Day. We hope to attract new members looking to develop their basic skills and to encourage that demographic to our Open Day we are offering a FREE Hornby starter set to one lucky visitor and we have promoted that in local newspapers and social media. WIN THIS MODEL RAILWAY STARTER SET AT TWICKENHAM MODEL RAILWAY CLUB'S OPEN DAY So, whether you are an award-winning model already or an absolute beginner, you will find something to interest and entertain you at our Open Day - I hope to see you there!

Yes, I agree with both of you. Yet I needed an overbridge at the end of my scenic section and my friend Al (Remagen) Turner came up with this. And, YES, the cement mixer does revolve.

Again, I agree with you and luckily, as the railway is now far more settled, I will be able to concentrate on any Faller issues at our next show - Taunton in October.

Hello Al I totally agree that the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing were a constant problem and I took steps some time ago to replace them with reed switches. But, TBH, I have never noticed any problems with the IRDOT's controlling the Faller roadway - except in the greenhouse at Keighley and when we set the layout up in my garden in 2021 in 32 degrees of sunshine. As far as I know there is no cheap, simple alternative to having IRDOT's control the Faller - I know there are hi-tech solutions, but I have no intention of going down that route for various reasons - cost, time, complexity etc. Let's see how things go at our next exhibition. In the past I was always concentrating on keeping the railway running and with the railway now running reliably, I can spend more time concentrating on less important issues like the Faller.

Thank you for that. That sounds good if the host club is issuing them, but my original post was about the 'problem' if individual layout owners issue them.

Absolutely brilliant idea, but not an easy option for me with my 26ft x 10ft layout. TBH I know of your layout, but I can't remember if I've seen it in the flesh or just on YOUTUBE BRILLIANT!

I suspect that you're right. I would like to think that a club getting a signature regarding H&S issues would get suitable cover, but a layout owner like me with 20ft frontage would not be able to do that paperwork nor keep control of such 'step-ups' if they were to provide their own and so I won't be going that route. I think the 'issue' at Keighley was rather unusual in that there was a very large number of families with young children - baring in mind that the show was held in a garden centre and I think a lot of visitors were visiting the garden centre as a family and then decided to go on to the exhibition as an 'add-on'. Consequently i) there were a lot more younger children than usual ii) the parents were not experienced exhibition visitors and so not prepared for the step-up issue.

Wow! I'm ten days ahead of the game then! Result!!

Sorry, that's gone way over my head 🤔

I would have no objection to a team member having a wooden leg, it would be a team member with a wooden personality that I would object to 😉

In other news, we now have a new diesel - for a layout originally conceived to display the 'last of steam' I seem to be collecting a load of diesels. However, there is an issue with this being an exhibition layout............. If this was my home layout, I might want 75% of the trains to be hauled by double-headed QJ's and the rest by green DF4B's, but to the casual viewer that would be somewhat boring - most trains would 'look the same' to many exhibition visitors. By trying to make each of the main-line trains look as unique as possible loses some authenticity, but (hopefully) gains some viewer interest Anyway, here is our latest recruit - in fact I've had it in a showcase for several years, but only yesterday did I get around to fitting it with a 21 pin decoder. It's basically a shunter and so I'll have to think about how we use it.

Three weeks after the Keighley show and I'm still finding damage that needs repairing plus dealing with issues which we identified at the show. There are many such issues and they're all relatively minor, but in the absence of 'big news' I will mention one of them. One issue which ruined the use of the Faller roadway was the excess of infra-red light which caused havoc with our IRDOT's. Whilst I accept that operating in a greenhouse was a 'one-off' (trust me on that!) we did, in the past, have problems at some venues with infra-red pollution from hall lighting - the NEC comes to mind. Even then, for some reason, it only seemed to effect the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing (since replaced with reed switches) and the IRDOT's controlling the Faller seemed to evade such issues - but it's better to be safe than sorry! So, now we have infra-red shields, painted matt black inside so as not to reflect the IRDOT's infra-red beam back down into the sensor. This one will never win a design award, but it does the job! It does, of course, have to be removable for storage/transport and its positioning has to be quite exact and so hopefully this helps in that regard......

As regards parents bringing 'steps' - that pre-supposes that those parents know enough about exhibition layouts to plan ahead i.e. many parents who are first-time visitors might expect all layouts to be laid out at 30 inches high. Then, once parents know that layouts can be tall, will they be going to enough shows to justify buying/making a suitable step? So, should the host club offer 'steps' - would their insurance cover any 'issues' if they were provided by the host club? Should visitors then be asked to sign for them - to state that they are satisfied with the condition of the 'step' and take responsibility for their child using it?

I've long thought that wheelchair users should be let into exhibitions for free or at least at a reduced rate.

Let me set the scene. Mine is an exhibition-only layout and I want it to be popular with visitors so that I get invites. At the recent Keighley show there were a lot of families and a lot of young children. My layout is set quite high at 46 inches (it was originally set at 48 inches, but I lowered it to suit wheelchair users) and many younger children couldn't get a view. Other layouts (lower than mine) seemed to provide 'step-ups' for children and some of my team suggested that I buy/provide some, but I am worried about the legal situation if a child falls of one which I have provided and 'hurts' themselves. I don't want to be sued - any thoughts?

The venue has on-site parking and all of that space is reserved for visitors - club members will be parking elsewhere. I will update the original post to make that clear.

I just wanted to put on record the fantastic customer support I have received from DIGITRAINS of Lincoln. I am a DCC user, but not a full-blown DCC enthusiast - I use DCC because it suits my layout, but I am not someone who relishes all the 'extras' which DCC can offer - just want to run trains and exploit route selection. Unfortunately, I am building a LARGE and ambitious DCC controlled layout which is complicated well beyond my pay grade - and I make mistakes. I just wanted to praise the amazing customer support I have received from DIGITRAINS when those mistakes have impacted the layout and my stress levels have gone through the roof.