HLT 0109

3mm below track level seems very little for a canal in 4mm - only 9 inches. I am making a layout with a boating lake where the water is only about 18" below track level so i have raised everywhere except the lake on 5mm cork. However, as you are using a 12mm thick baseboard, you could cut out the canal and fix a piece of wood larger than the hole, underneateh the cutout. That wiuld give you a 3ft distance from track to water level - unless you reduce that by covering the bottom of the canal to achieve a lesser depth of your choosing. Harold.

I think with Gaugemaster decoders, a value of 0 in CV2 means something other than zero volts. I have a couple of DC23s with the value in one set at 2 and the other at 3. One of the motors is rated at 4volts and i have CV5 set at 20 for a maximum speed of about 25mph. Harold.

Al I agree with Spikey but make sure it is birch ply rather than anything cheaper. The 70mm deep frame gives room for under-board electrical items whereas 2" might will not be enough for some items. Harold.

Glad you worked it out. The manual is certainly odd - probably lost something in translation.

Just checked my spreadsheet records - perhaps this will help: my Jinty has a value of 43 in CV57; my Brittannia has value 55. I do not appear to have recorded the values for my other relevant locos - probably because i did not need to adjust them as all my decoders were fitted by the suppliers. Harold.

I share your confusion. I have several steam locos with Loksound v3.5 decoders but it is so long since I synchronised chuffs that I cannot remember how i did it. However, why not experiment? What happens if you put in value 127 to CV57? If the chuffs are not right, try a lower value. Sorry I can't solve the riddle. Harold.

If you are referring to Deluxe Materials Liquid Gravity, then I do not believe it is made of lead. i have some now and it recommends (among other things) their Rocket Card Glue so I have used it. Some of the tiny balls have rusted, suggesting they are made if ferrous material. The bottle also says "Non toxic" which, in my book, rules out lead. Harold.

I don't know whether this is helpful or not but I offer my experiences for consideration. I have two Gaugmaster DCC23 decoders in N gauge locos and have had poor running qualities similar to those described (except for the cutting out). The first is in a second hand Fairbairn 2-6-4 tank and the other is driving a tiny 0-4-0 motorbogie (10mm wheelbase) in a 3D printed body. I have both locos running well after carefull study of the user manual and playing with the motor control CVs - and some of them are very different from the default values to which they were set: Fairbairn: CV54 = 64; CV55 = 128; CV56 = 1; CV57 = 10. 0-4-0: CV54 = 0; CV55 = 128; CV56 = 80; CV57 = 10. I was told that the Gaugemaster decoders are rebadged Digitrax so I took my information from their user manual - though it took quite a while to understand. I agree that there are better decoders readily available but the Fairbairn came with it fitted and the other decoder was removed from a Dapol Flying Scotsman in which it was unsatisfactory so I tried it before incurring the expense of an alternative. Harold.

Interesting thoughts. With due respect to those who say one should avoid abrasives for cleaning track, I have occasionally used wet & dry emery paper on my 00 gauge layout without noticeable problems (used dry). I don't suffer the problem you describe to anything like the same degree (I am nearly 100 miles from the coast) but I find the CMX machine to be very good. However, it needs a powerful loco with good traction to pull it and if you plan to have several cleaning trucks in a single train you may need more than one loco in a consist to pull the train. A tool I have also found useful is the Woodland Scenics track cleaner WTT4550. The cleaning pads are shaped to fit over the rails so clean the rail shoulders too (no use over points). Using that prior to running the CMX may be quite successful. I have not tried appl;ying graphite as I should have thought it would encourage wheelslip (I have a rather steep incline) but it should improve electrical conductivity. As you suggest, I imagine use of the CMX would remove the graphite but, if the graphite prevents the build up of dirt or oxidation, the CMX machine should be redunbdant! If you make your cleaning train battery operated, you really need some form of remote control. An occasional vacuuming of the layout is beneficial but I am unsure about running the Dapol machine in the same train as the CMX (preferably in front of the CMX). I use a compact, mains powered vacuum that I can hold in one hand whilst using the other to aim the nozzle where it is needed. The CMX is run afterwards. Regular running of the layout with all stock on metal wheels certainly helps keep the track clean (at least in the uK) but some form of track cleaning is bound to be necessary from time to time. My layout is loft based and quite extensive with difficult to reach areas. Fortuitously, having erected an insulated enclosure into which the layout is built, I have found it remains remarkably clean, so some form of breathable covering would appear to be beneficial in your case. Problem is, how do you place it and remove it without causing damage to delicate scenery items, and where do you store a large cover when running the layout? Please let us know how you resolve the matter. Harold.

Getting back to the start, what made you decide to oil the locomotive? I ask because I am suprised that Hob E Lube would cause the sort of damage you describe and I wonder if there was some mis-alignment of gears beforehand.. Some years ago I over-oiled an 00 gauge Bachmann class 37 but all that happened was that the oil ran everywhere, gathering fluff and dust. The loco still runs well after 10 years - and i haven't oiled it again. Harold.

Interesting. I just googled it and was surprised to see it also marketed as Hob-e-lube (although packaged differently) - somehting I have been using for years without problem. I see however that mine is Hob-e-lube Lite Oil. Harold.

CHris, If you have had the body off, can you not see whether the geaars still mesh properly? Also, if they do mesh, then you will surely be able to see if they are slipping on their spindles. Perhaps they have slipped out of position so that they are no longer aligned. Harold.

Chris, Surprising that you have had no responses so far. I am no expert and am not familiar with the model in question but . . . 1. when you say "sliips", how precisely? Do yoou mean the wheels spin on the track or that the cogs slip against each other? 2. did you use a suitable oil? If not, it may have damaged (ie softened) the plastic gears or affected the glue that fixes them or the drive to the spindles 2. if you have had the model standing on its wheels since you discovered the problem, much of the excess oil will have drained away by now - has that improved matters? If damage has been done, then new parts will be necessary but it might be worth trying a spray of electrical contact cleaner. I must stress that I have not tried it on plastic so a trial on a waste piece would be wise. Be careful to spray it only on the affected parts and follow the instructions. Other contributors may know whether or not it is safe to try. Harold.

Andy, 12 months ago I decided to start a 009 gauge layout using N gauge track with a mixture of set track, code 80 flexitrack and code 55 points (in order to benefit from electrofrogs). This was after completing an extensive 00 gauge layout in my loft which runs very well. I have restricted eyesight and was concerned as to how things would go, since the first question I was asked when discussing the question with an N gauge modeller at an exhibition was "how good is your eyesight?". About the same time I joined my local modelling club and, after laying the track on one baseboard (which contains most of the points) I took the board to a club night. Nothing would run reliably and it was discvered that the track had shifted slightly in transit (it had not been ballasted at that stage). To me, the track looked OK but closer inspection, using a magnifying headset, showed up where the problems were. I have now comlpleted all tracklaying and ballasting and have added some scratch-built structures (which are 00 "scale") and I have to say that the locomotives run very well indeed. I am running steam locos - most with lots of pickups - but also have a tiny 0-4-0 industrial loco that traverses all the points except the two insulfrog curved ones and that will be overcome when I wire up the coach with pickups. Track tolerances are indeed finer in N gauge - and I have not built any N gauge structures but, the smaller the scale, the less detail needs adding to items (though some may argue differently). One problem I find is that the N gauge points are much fussier than 00 gauge items, are harder to clean and the switch rails can easily be bent out of shape; conversely I find them easier to reshape. My Dapol A3 locomotives are also very fragile in some areas. I have managed better recently after a year's experience and having bought a better headset. Choose one that is comfortable, has a selection of magnifiers and a bright enough light. I have also benefitted from the help of fellow modellers at the club. Having made a mess of soldering little wires to one of my locos, I persuaded another member who models in N gauge to help and he put the matter right. Another member who normally models in 0 gauge, also undertook the task of hard wiring a DCC decoder to my tiny 0-4-0 - it is only 50mm long and has a wheelbase of 10mm. Well done him! I hope this story helps your decision - and I recommend joining a railway modelling club if you have one nearby. Harold.

Thanks Phil. I wasn't able to do that but I managed yesterday to get about 15 grams of Liquid Gravity into the forward area of the boiler and ran some dilute PVA in afterwards. I did it by drilling out the little mound on the boiler top and setting the loco about 45 degrees to the vertical on its nose. By carefully drilling the nozzle of the bottle to match said hole, I was able to "squirt" the Liquid Gravity in gradually without spilling any! I was concerned about getting the granules and/or the glue into the motor or the mechanism - the motor stands vertically in the firebox. This morning the loco wouldn't work at all and I feared the worst. However, I discovered that the side plate on each side to which the pickup wires are soldered (visible behind the wheels in the picture) were loose and this was affecting electrical continuity. Each plate is fixed in place by a single screw at the top, between the wheels and I was able to tighten them with good effect. The loco now runs satisfactorily until it reaches the dead frogs and readily triggers the reverse loop module. It remains to be seen what haulage power the loco has but I don't want to attach the pickup coach until I have added some detail to the loco and painted it. If necessary, I think I could get more weight into the boiler - or I could put some weight in the gap between boiler and frame. Harold.

Progress has been made! I decided to dispense with resistors and stay-alives and opted for reliance on setting the maximum speed in CV5 to 30, which gives an input voltage to the motor of a little over 4 volts. CV 6 is set to 15. I was unable to find a CT DCX 65 decoder so have used a Gaugemaster chip that was spare - a young member of my moddel railway club kindly did the soldering for me. I have made a small coach with pickups that will be wired permanently to the loco and that should get the loco over the dead frogs.. There is however another issue - that of the weight of the locomotive and its distribution. As can be seen from the attached photo, the cab sits outside the wheelbase and I need to add weight in the boiler; to this end I have bought some Liquid Gravity. My question is, what weight should I aim for? It needs to be sufficient to ensure the front wheels remain in contact with the rails and to provide as much traction as possible without straining the motor. Using rather imprecise kitchen scales, the loco as shown in the photo weighs a mere 10 grams and I have to press the loco down on the rails on the test track in order to read CVs. Would 25 grams of Liquid Gravity in the boiler be a sensible amount? I have been unable to find the weight of of RTR 009 or N Gauge 0-4-0 locomotives. Thanks, Harold.

This is a rather big subject and the answers will depend on what materials your modela are made of and what effects you want to achieve. If you are thinking about railway rolling stock then just making items look dirty can be quite effective and all you need is a thin wash of a water-based paint. Use it sparingly, ie wipe it off after application so that the dirt remains in the crevices. If items are to be handled frequently, you may need to seal the result with a matte or silk varnish. However, everyone tends to have his/her own preferences and it is probably worth practising on something unimportant before tackling something that matters more. I am sure others will contribute ideas for buildings and other structures. Harold.

If it is a question of getting the curve right, I find that holding a sheeto of paper firmly over the rails and running a finger along the rail nearest where the platform will be, gives the required curve. If that is then cut out, it becomes a template for the platform top and the platform walls can be shaped to suit. Then it is a matter of trial and error to position the finished product as near as possible to rolling stock on the line. It is more difficult with an island platform! Harold.

Workmen carrying out a repair?

It's a personal opinion - but here goes: If the shed is the principal part of a layout with limited running distance then enabling viewers to see a fully fitted out interior would be of significant interest; if the shed is just one item on a larger layout, then I think a shed with a missing wall or roof would detract from the overall appeal. As a compromise, if the interior is well lit and the doors are left open (and the glazed windows are large enough) perhaps you could enable people to see the inside without changing the external appearance. Harold.

OP is saying the track has been removed - the trouble is getting the cork off the plywood. If the track has come up then, presumably, your wood glue is not the waterproof version. However, the problem with lifting the cork is that the water will have difficulty getting to the glue in order to soften it. Assuming I am right about the glue, perhaps try damaging several areas of the cork rather than lifting it at one edge, so as to allow pools of water to sit for a while in contact with bits of the baseboard surface. You may then be able to remove patches of the cork. Eventually you should then be able to tackle the remaining bits with the wallpaper scraper and water. Harold.

Thanks again Nigel. Simpler to avoid a voltage reducer so a CT DCX65 would seem to be the answer (GS Model Supplies in Somerset is advertising it for £37.50) but, if the Zimo MX617F is safe using Power Cab, I might as well save £17.50. Using two AA bateries to power the track, the little unit copes satisfactorily with the electrofrog points, though it has occurred to me that lack of traction could be a problem with pulling coaches. Perhaps i should stuff some weight into the chimney. Harold.

NIgel, Wouldn't the voltage regulator be inserted between the decoder and the motor? I would like to think I could build suitable points - perhaps someone at the club can help/guide. Might it be possible to modify the Peco set-ttrack curved points? I did read a thread on the subject. £100 wouold be a costly solution. I think I would ignore prototype and permanently attach a short carriage with pickups.

Just found this old thread: I wonder how things worked out for Black Sheep? I realise that my proposed decoder needs to be wired rather 6pin. There is access through a slot under the tanks to space for the wires.

After some procrastination, (and failure to get any response through Shapeways from the designer) I took a chance and bought the 3D printed body for my tiny motor bogie - see attached picture for the two elements assembled temprarily. The gap between the saddle tank and the chassis measures 19mm long x 3.3mm high and the available width is about 15mm - this appears to me to be sufficient to accommodate a suitable voltage reducer and a decoder (eg the voltage regulator shown in this link: https://www.kitronik.co.uk/46113-5v-step-upstep-down-voltage-regulator-input-25v-18v.html and the Zimo MX617N decoder which measures 13mm x 9mm x 2.6mm. As already pointed out, a smaller decoder is available if necessary. The motor on the bogie is neaty concealed in the "firebox" of the body. Behind the firebox is the cab space which measures approximately 18mm x 11mm x 13mm high to the top of the firebox casing - I really need to accommodate a driver in the cab too - but I wonder if the space would be sufficient to accommodate an adequate stay alive. Having had a closer look at the curved points that are the problem, I find that the frog is actually 20mm long so, I need a stay alive to cover (say) 11mm. Again, my schoolboy maths suggests a time of about 0.25 of a second. Is what I am proposing seem sensible? Harold.