TEAMYAKIMA

Hello I have been using/adapting Kadee coupler for 30+ years and today came across a new problem I have never heard of. I have 44 x Bachmann Silver Series cars (3 bay hoppers and low sided gondolas) from donkeys years ago and thought I should finally upgrade them to Kadees using the new style Kadees (143) Luckily I've only ordered 5 packs to start with but I'm amazed to find that the Kadees are too 'thick' for the Bachmann box - if I tighten the screw the coupler is absolutely rigid . So has anyone else heard of this? Are these new style couplers 'thicker' than the old #5's and similar ? I'm guessing that I'm going to have to file down all 88 couplers!

Please come and say hello, I remember sitting next to you in the demonstrating area at SW Herts show a few years ago. It would be a pleasure to see you at Stevenage.

Ok - dehumidifier working! It has settings 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% - which is the most appropriate? The unit cuts out when it achieves the target figure and so I can set it and then it will cut out (and save money!) when it delivers the ideal figure. But which figure?

Hello John Many thanks for this. Dehumidifier bought and in action. Builder will install damp proof membrane etc when my layout is at the CMRA show on Jan 12/13. Just out of interest will you be at Stevenage by any chance? Paul

The new shed is for the next layout. The idea with the garage was to store the existing exhibition layout for the long term.

Clearwater Harbor and Beijiao - that's two layouts from members of Twickenham & District MRC - a proud member club of the CMRA. You can find out more about Twickenham & District MRC at our website www.tdmrc.org.uk

Again a big thanks to eveyone who has posted replies - I will weigh up all the issues and make a decision shortly, but for the moment there are a million other issues to deal with in my new house - a house that wasn't quite as perfect as the estate agent had made out ! For information, here are a couple of photos. Here is the damp at the joint between wall and base... I have had the gaps between the roof and walls filled but there are still very small gaps as you might be able to see here so the garage is not 100% sealed but maybe 99.5% sealed.

Work on the layout is very restricted at the moment, but have spent some time working on sequences for the industrial railway. There will be three industrial sequences in all ABSOLUTE BASIC (for one lone operator) BASIC (for one operator with part-time help from another as/when required) ADVANCED (requiring two full-time operators) Actually this raises an interesting point - Is this an industrial railway with banking and some shunting which happens to have two main lines in the front to keep movement going when there is a pause in the industrial action? Or Is it two main lines giving constant action with something going on in the background? This is actually a real issue for the operators in the sense that passing trains at the front will take the viewers eye off the (more interesting?) movement on the industrial railway. So, on balance, I think it is a model of an interesting industrial railway that has passing trains to keep something 'moving' when there is a pause in the industrial action. So in that context I think we should not run mainline trains on the front when the banked trains depart and tackle the 1/30 grade. I think cameos like that are our USP and a passing 17 car passenger train will simply devalue and detract from one of our unique moves

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post replies here. There is a regular damp patch along the line where the wall joins that base and my builder says that the base was built without a damp course and so he is recommending adding one. I must say that several of these options discussed in this thread are more expensive than I had expected. Just to clarify, this is just storage - I will not be working on the layout or operating it in this garage and so in normal circumstances it might stay closed/locked for 3 or 4 months at a time - ie between exhibitions. I now see that I might need to visit regularly to deal with the dehumidifiers. I was originally thinking I just needed to keep the temperature above zero. Does this being used purely as storage change the advice - ie make cheaper options possible? Apologies for my lack of knowledge in this matter

Al You have created a unique layout and as such it is literally a work of art. Merry Xmas to you and Julia

Please forgive my ignorance of such matters, but is there the equivalent of a thermometer to show me the humidity in the garage?

I've seen dehumidifiers from about £15 to £400 - any recommendations please?

Thanks. A second skin is an option later down the line but for the next few weeks I am only storing the layout and want to prevent as much damage as possible. For the first few days he fiddle yard boards were out in the open just under a roof to keep the rain off - this must be better than that - hopefully!

I have just moved house and have a concrete garage to store my exhibition layout. I have sealed all possible gaps around the roof/door/windows and had a professional standard end wall with door built - see photo So now do buy a heater with thermostat or dehumidifier?

So this is what the garage looks like today .... No more heavy metal up/over door that left big gaps which let the cold into the garage No more heavy metal up/over door that could come crashing down and kill someone. No more heavy metal up/over door that stored in the roof space at lower than head height - which I bumped into several times on day one To sum up = no more heavy metal up/over door! Just enough room for all the boards and stock boxes …

Hi I'm looking for Bachmann type 22 coaches in red/white livery either YZ, YW or RW types And any proper Chinese freight stock - not the re-branded US wagons - proper Chinese style freight cars by any make - gondolas, box cars, tank cars etc Thanks Paul

Just to say that BEIJIAO - our Chinese HO layout - will finally be attending the CMRA show in January. Whilst Stevenage is technically not our first exhibition, it's our second, the layout will be significantly more finished than at our first showing in Bristol earlier this year. I cannot remember just how many times we've let David Crossley down by pulling out due to not being ready - definitely 2018 and 2017 and I think 2016, so we're at least three years late, but we will definitely be there in 2019! Ours is a very personal story of our travels to China to photograph steam and just to prove it most of us appear on the layout thanks to the efforts of Alan Butler at Modelu. Here is a preview ….

Easy - two words . Noun and adjective

Perhaps I should have put - 1934! Steam???????

Peter's Christmas card hinted that he had crossed over to 'the dark side' and now I see what he meant - 1934! Steam!!!!!!

Final version - hopefully see some of you at Stevenage in January!

Being somewhat pedantic, it will not surprise anyone who knows me, that I have just completed v3 of my exhibition info display. That's three versions - all of which have been printed off in A3 size and laminated in multiple copies - and I've only been to one show so far! For the record here is v3 - hopefully the last version!

We have recently moved house - for one reason only - to get me a bigger railway shed! I haven't had a chance to actually get the new shed on site yet but another advantage of the new house is a brick built garage which I can use to store the existing layout - new shed, new layout! Here is the existing shed as it was yesterday. We will be able to back the van right up to this store room so going to shows will be a lot easier in future

That's exactly what my pedantic friend said - so am going with 'mainline steam'. Thank you to everyone who has posted here.

No problem - will post the final draft ( which is v5 as far as I remember !) as soon as I have it in jpg format.