HLT 0109

As dasatsopthorne says, there is no problem in topping up. Dependent on which PVA you have used, you may find that surrounding areas that are satisfactory are softened when topping up - as long as you don't disturb those areas, they will dry again. I woould not however, top up with the finer product as it may look obvious that a repair has been carried out. Harold.

I presume that the problem occurs when the motor is pushing the tiebar. It suggests to me that there is a vertical mis-alignment between the three troublesome motors and the tie bars. You could try raising slight;ly, the side of the motor which is furthest from the rail so that the operating lever is aiming marginally downwards from the horizontal when pushing the tiebar. Harold.

Would it not be better to attach the latches to the vertical face of the baseboard frame? I am using the sprung ones from Station Road Baseboards attached in this way and find them very successful. The facility to insert a locking pin in either the closed or open position is a definite bonus for a portable layout. Harold.

Working in 00 and 009 gauges, I have always made my own platforms. Mine are made from wood as I feel they are (a) then robust and best able to survive my handling as I faff around getting them as close as possible to the track without the rolling stock fouling them and (b) platforms can be difficult to replace if they get damaged. If the platform is curved or an island, there can be quite a bit of faff achieving (b). The basic structure can be made of any offcuts of the appropriate thickness, laid either longitudenally (for a straight platform) or laterally (like a fan) for a curved platform. The appropriate thickness depends on what is to be used for the platform surface - in my case 3mm hardoard or MDF so, the thickness of the base would be 15mm if looking for a finished scale height of 3'6" from the cork. If the cork is only under the track and not over the whole baseboard, then the thicness of the base would be 18mm for the same finished height - ie about the thickness of builders' tile battens. This gives a good, solid fixing for the platform edge facing which in my case is usually embossed pastic card. This can then all be glued together with neat PVA or a contact adhesive. The finished height of a platform needs to be just below (1-2mm) the runniing board of the coaches (for UK prototype) although narrow gauge is likely to be different. Harold.

Alex, Havae a look at synonyms for "hermitage" in this link https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/hermitage It may trigger a few thoughts that will bring other possibilities to mind. Harold.

The ability to remove the ballast may depend on which PVA glue you use. I have always used the 1 ltr tub of EvoStik PVA with the red lid from B&Q; that softens very quickly even with cold water. If you use a waterproof version it is probably set permanently. Harold

Toolong . . . Then I agree with Sol. Harold.

The only thing I can think of is to ask "what gauge of wire are you using?" If it is very thin, is it possible that the screw in the terminal is not trapping the wire tightly enoough - or indeed is it too thin to carry the current demanded of the CDU? I am using an 8SX and two, 2SX - all about 18 months old, and have had no trouble with them. Could you try a thicker wire - I am using 7/02. Some years ago I had trouble with an earlier version of these which had no way of discharging the current from the CDUs before changing the connections (eg to swap over the red & green wires) and failure to do that could destroy the unit. However, that resulted in total failure rather than what you describe. The current versions have a blue warnig light when the CDUs are charged up, and a button to permit manual discharge before fiddling with the connections - have you been doing that? Harold.

Great! Thanks, Harold.

I had a problem with an oversized joint in Peco code 80 track which allowed the wheels to drop slightly. I have overcome it with an Ultra-violet Sensitive Glue Pen which, after setting, the glue can be trimmed to shape with a craft knife. The problem with this glue is that it only goes off where the light in the pen can see the glue (so no use for sticking fence posts in holes for example) but, in the case in point, the glue has set and, has stuck to the rail ends. After trimming, the problem has disappeared. The dried glue can be painted although I have not done so in this case. Much the same as suggested by Hayfield but a possible alternative. Harold.

I found point clips to be a pestilential nuisance. If they don't get gunged up and fail to work, they weaken and fail to make contact or they move and cause a derailment. Either leave them alone or "bond and snip"! Harold.

I understand the problem, having encountered it myself. I assume from your description that the point motor is attached to the curved side of the point rather than the straight side. If you can find a way of mounting the R8243 to the other end of the tiebar, there should be no problem - could you add a small block of wood to the edge of the baseboard as support for the motor?. However, it is worth taking a close look at the alignment of the motor with the track; by which I mean, is the motor slightly higher than it should be - something that can happen if using cork underlay or less-than-ideal baseboard material? Or is one end of the motor casing or the back raised slightly? Depending on the degree to which the loco fouls the motor casing, it is possible to grind off some of the casing but I think that would be a last resort. As far as using the Peco PL11 point motor is concerend, please check that it can be used with the ponts you are using - at the time I considered it, the PL11 would not fit the peg on the Hornby points. I have used PL11 with Peco points without any fouling but I don't know the dimensions you request. Harold.

I understand the problem, having encountered it myself. I assume from your description that the point motor is attached to the curved side of the point rather than the straight side. If you can find a way of mounting the R8243 to the other end of the tiebar, there should be no problem - could you add a small block of wood to the edge of the baseboard as support for the motor?. However, it is worth taking a close look at the alignment of the motor with the track; by which I mean, is the motor slightly higher than it should be - something that can happen if using cork underlay or less-than-ideal baseboard material? Or is one end of the motor casing or the back raised slightly? Depending on the degree to which the loco fouls the motor casing, it is possible to grind off some of the casing but I think that would be a last resort. As far as using the Peco PL11 point motor is concerend, please check that it can be used with the ponts you are using - at the time I considered it, the PL11 would not fit the peg on the Hornby points. I have used PL11 with Peco points without any fouling but I don't know the dimensions you request. Harold.

I understand the problem, having encountered it myself. I assume from your description that the point motor is attached to the curved side of the point rather than the straight side. If you can find a way of mounting the R8243 to the other end of the tiebar, there should be no problem - could you add a small block of wood to the edge of the baseboard as support for the motor?. However, it is worth taking a close look at the alignment of the motor with the track; by which I mean, is the motor slightly higher than it should be - something that can happen if using cork underlay or less-than-ideal baseboard material? Or is one end of the motor casing or the back raised slightly? Depending on the degree to which the loco fouls the motor casing, it is possible to grind off some of the casing but I think that would be a last resort. As far as using the Peco PL11 point motor is concerend, please check that it can be used with the ponts you are using - at the time I considered it, the PL11 would not fit the peg on the Hornby points. I have used PL11 with Peco points without any fouling but I don't know the dimensions you request. Harold.

I understand the problem, having encountered it myself. I assume from your description that the point motor is attached to the curved side of the point rather than the straight side. If you can find a way of mounting the R8243 to the other end of the tiebar, there should be no problem - could you add a small block of wood to the edge of the baseboard as support for the motor?. However, it is worth taking a close look at the alignment of the motor with the track; by which I mean, is the motor slightly higher than it should be - something that can happen if using cork underlay or less-than-ideal baseboard material? Or is one end of the motor casing or the back raised slightly? Depending on the degree to which the loco fouls the motor casing, it is possible to grind off some of the casing but I think that would be a last resort. As far as using the Peco PL11 point motor is concerend, please check that it can be used with the ponts you are using - at the time I considered it, the PL11 would not fit the peg on the Hornby points. I have used PL11 with Peco points without any fouling but I don't know the dimensions you request. Harold. Sorry about the multiple posts - submitting my response didn't seem to be working!

Welcome to the forum and to this great hobby. I hope you find my comments helpful. The first thing is to make sure your four baseboard tops are perfectly level once they have been attached to the frame - ie not warped or twisted - so that, when each is offered up to the other, it gives a smooth transition between them. Next it is essential to ensure that, when fastened together, they always give a smooth transition at the top of the rails where they cross the join. Some people rely on clamps which have the advantage of simplicity and are readily adjustable but, equally, they can easily slip. The best method is to use alignment dowels in the mating faces of the frames of the two boards.These are two-part metal devices, male/female, and need to be very carefully placed - but they do ensure perfect alignment if placed accurately. When laying track, it can be laid across the baseboard joint and sawed afterwards but I tend to lay a fresh piece of track up to the very edge of each board while the completed boards are fastened together. If flat-headed screws are insereted underneath where each rail goes, each rail can be soldered to the screw, ensuring positive fixing of the rails. Prior to soldering the vertical and horizontal alignment of the rail can be adjusted to compensate for any minor unevenness. As for clipping sections together, nuts, bolts and washers are traditionally used to fix the baseboard sections together (the dowels taking care of alignment of any and all rails that cross the join). On the other hand, clamps could be used. As for electrical supply, if you have a power bus under the boards (split at the join with male/female plugs) and droppers from the rails to the power bus, there is no need for fishplates where the rails cross the baseboard joint. I am not in favour of foam baseboard tops - or indeed cork underlay either. Foam is easily dented which can upset track level. It (and cork) does quieten the running - until the track is ballasted - but a thin layer of underlay just underneath the track, gives a neat shoulder to the trackbed if you are modfelling the steam era. Good luck - take your time! Harold.

Sliding models into foam edged places in a stockbox will inevitably cause some wear and tear. This can be reduced by first standing the model on a piece of acid-free tissue paper and bring the paper up the sides of the model so that it is lifted between thumb and finger with the tissue paper between them and the model.. The friction when putting the loco into the stockbox is then between the foam and the tissue paper and it helps avoid any snagging on fine detail. I think you will also find it makes handling tender locos easier as the tissue paper provides support for both elements - with care, the loco and tender can be picked up in one hand and the palm of the other placed underneath the loco as it is carried. If tissue paper is too fragile, then very thin plastic sheet works but be careful that some plastics will cause their own damage by reaction with the paint on the model. Harold.

Edmund, I have done this on my current project and got my sheet from The Polycarbonatestore. With an eye to economy, I wanted 2m of 2mm thick "perspex*" cut into 150mm strips but was advised it would be too brittle and would not survive shipping.. I was persuaded to go for 2mm Polycarbon sheet which they supplied in a 2m x 600mm sheet and i cut it into strips myself with a fine-toothed hand saw. It has been entirely successful fitted to the edges of my baseboards and standing about 75mm above the baseboard tops. It is true to say that i catch my clothing on the corners from time to time but no damage results (to either clothing or polycarbonate). Unlike Dave, I havae not used any strengthening for the attaching screws - in fact I have used countersunk screws so that the heads are flush with the surface of the polycarbonate shhet. It handles well with no tendency to split or crack. The poly was rather expensive - it cost £37 including delivery and arrived rolled up which was a surprise. However is sprang flat as soon as it was opened. I hope this helps, Harold. * for "perspex" read "Acrylic"

I wasn't so much suggesting reaching under the ledges with the scraper as scraping upwards across the ledges so that it left a bead of filler under the edge. If the scraper has a strip of filler along its edge and you then lay the blade agains the slope of the EP, the strip of fill will end up under the ledge. A little practice should soon demonstrate what I mean

I have never used Sculptamold but I have used EP extensively. I have always used undiluted PVA to stick layers together or EvoStik wood glue and they leave no discernable gap. Then I always cover the EP with wetted plaster bandage and that can be used to fill or conceal any gaps. However, a sloppy mix of plaster or DIY filler also works and will fill the gaps you have provided the mix is fairly stiff but still brushable. It could also be applied to the gaps with somehting like a a wallpaper scraper if practice suggests it needs to be thicker than possible with a brush. I certainly would NOT try to sand the edges - they will probably break up. And I think, if left unprotected, the edges will break up quite easily. I suggest you try an area with Sculptamold and see how you get on. If that is not satisfactory, try some plaster bandage in (say) 25mm wide strips, dunked for a few seconds in a container, then rolled or folded into a sausage to be gently pressed into the gaps. Rubbing over the bandage after placing, with a wet finger gives a smooth joint with the EP. Harold.

If you're prepared to make your own, I found this product. It will need careful glueing with something that does not turn the plastic foggy. https://www.rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/Plasiglaze-Clear-Plastic-Sheet.html There are other suppliers but quite a lot of the so-called clear sheets are in fact translucent. Harold.

Peco seem to have a different view when it comes to their N gauge electrofrog points. When I was laying the track early this year for my new DCC layout which uses Peco N gauge electrofrog points, their construction looked different from the 00 gauge ones I had used some years previously, so I asked Peco where to make cuts in the track and in the under-point wiring. The emphatic response was do NOT cut any wires or track - the reason given was that, because of the amount of contact between the stock rail and the switch rail, it was unnecessary to bond the two in the way we do for 00 gauge. Thus advised, I left the points as they were and have regretted it ever since. Harold.

I am using copper tape on my 009 layout but not as the complete bus. I am using it at baseboard joints as a butt-connection and is proving satisfactory when the boards are bolted together. However it is dependent upon the quality of the carpentry of the boards. I am also using it as "tag strips" to which to solder droppers from the rails and feeds to point motors. I have had no issues for the last nine months or so. I am running no more than two locomotives at once. The tape I am using is 13mm wide - don't forget you need space to accommodate two strips side-by-side with space between. As David says, the self-adhesive is pretty poor but, when really desperate, it can be pinned (stapled?) to the board. Although the glue is said to be electrically conductive, I followed a recommendation when making joins, to fold a little under and solder the surfaces together. If you are going to use the tape exclusively as the bus, it becomes complicated if you try to cross framework under the baseboards whereas wires can pass through a small hole drilled through a frame. If I were to start again, I would use it again as tag strips. Harold.

I wonder if the loco is rather lightweight? I have had the problem with small locos (I also use Power Cab) though not those fitted with Loksound decoders. I found that adding some extra weight temporarily to the loco when on the programming track to ensure secure electrical contact between all wheels and the rails? Something attached to the top of the boiler with Blue Tak for example worked. You might manage by holding the loco down by hand if you can avoid any movement or shakiness. Perhaps worth a try. Harold.

When I was having trouble with my decoders, I was given to understand that Gaugemaster decoders were rebadged(?) Digitrax items. So I downloaded the Digitrax manual http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/cms/media/documents/documentation/Decoder_Manual_V2-01_2014.pdf Pages 46-49 describe adjusting motor control - somewhat difficult to follow I found - but I did make significant improvements with experimentation. I repeat however that mine as DC 23s rather than 27s. Might be worth a look. Harold.