john dew

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Clear as mud! You lost me at "virtual switch'...

 

Thanks!

I guess I should be pleased that you got that far - although that means you missed the best bit! 🤓.

I suspect you are teasing me but a virtual switch is an icon on the computor screen that can carry out a specified task. The “quote” button you clicked is a form of virtual switch.

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Inggrish pleeze.

Cant manage "strine" but:

With Train Controller you can construct a list of commands or operations :  Start this schedule - Separate Locomotive from train etc.

These commands can be iniateted in many ways : Start or end of Schedule - Entering or leaving specified block in specific schedule - activating a switch

A prerequisite in a command list act like an "IF" command.  IF this condition exists THEN do this OTHERWISE do that.

Train Controller allows you to define very precise train descriptions - Number and Type of Cars even position in rake - Position, Orientation, Type of loco etc

So in Paul's case I am guessing when a schedule arrives which may have 5 or 6 cars plus maybe a GUV  the schedule finish list will contain prerequisites which determine the next set of actions based on the length/content of the train.

An example from Granby's Milk Operation where I have set up a virtual switch called " #10 Collect Milk Tankers from Dairy". Default is off

The B Set runs to the branch every 30 minutes. On arrival a command list initiates the loco run around. The list contains a prerequisite "IF #10 is ON THEN". Normally it is off so it just completes the run around and 10 minutes later returns to Granby. However at 12 noon the time table turns #10 ON. The next time the B Set arrives instead of running around the loco first goes to the Dairy and picks up two tankers which it attaches to the rear carriage (and sets #10 to OFF)  before returning to Granby

Once at Granby the train description is used to iniate an uncoupling procedure by the station pilot:

I knew I would be able to squeeze that shot in 😀

57 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Well done John.

I’m currently doing battle with the light loco movements in the storage sidings.  Made even more ‘fun’ by having one set that runs alternately as 5 and 6 coaches and another that adds a GUV for its last Down run.

Paul.

Thanks Paul

I generally uses switches and pre-requisites to handle multi choice situations - I find its easier to embed everything in end of schedule lists rather than use successors - what do you use?

Best wishes

Last weeks post was all about the Back Scene for the Storage extension. This week's focus is on the raison d'etre for the entire exercise

This was the scene in early March :



and eight weeks later:



Its not exactly as originallu planned. The tri-angular site was very restrictive and as the track laying progresses I found myself obliged to add a few inches of track here and there to ensure either clearance or a smooth transition. Each such inch added then resulted in similar loss in the sidings.

At first sight it might seem it was hardly worth all the effort but a quick summary of the stored trains will reveal some of the benefits :  .



From the top :

1  5 Car GWR Express + Castle 4-6-0
2  4 Car GWR Suburban - sadly where I lost an inch or so which means the loco has to be stored elsewhere.   
3  GWR Large Prairie GWR suburban relief
4  LMS  Ivatt 2-6-2T LMS suburban relief
5  GWR diesel railcar
6  GWR Horsbox train + GWR Small Prairie
7  The photo shows a GWR B Set but in practice it will be home to the 4 Car LMS Suburban

All these trains were previously stored elsewhere. Their relocation means I now have space for a 5 Car LMS Newspaper/Parcels train and a second 4 Car GWR Suburban and the big plus some empty slots making train movements less inter dependent.

Here is the "before" schematic from RR&Co



Clearly designed for tail chasing circuits. The subsequent addition of the Storage Turntable and associated Loco sidings, bottom left, created opportunities for a more realistic " out and back" operation. However this proved cumbersome because most such trains arrive in the bottom siding: Block 685 Barmouth. Obviously they have to be turned and immediately sent back before the next arrival to that block can be initiated

The "After" schematic shows how this situation has now been improved:

Note: the bottom block 685 has not been physically moved. It was just the most convenient way of fitting in the new sidings and point work into the diagram.



Imagine the arrival of a 4 car Suburban from Granby. I can drive it straight into the empty Block 803 and seconds later Block 685 is released and any one of the other trains in the new sidings can immediately depart. Generally it will take a little longer than that because I like to first complete the loco exchange for the return. Nevertheless Block 685 will be clear much sooner than before.

You may wonder why I am so concerned with automated loco exchanges in a storage area. It is essential with RR&Co that the actual composition and orientation of all trains precisely match that stored in the computor. Using the hand crane without then updating the computor can lead to unexpected and undesirable results. Better to let the computor do it all for you.

Now after 8 weeks slog and a lot of unplanned damage to the branch engine shed I can look forward to running lots of new trains.

Regards from Vancouver where it is sunny but only 12o. I see that @Neal Ball is expecting 29o in Spain at the week end. At least he sent his commiserations to those in cooler climates! 😃..........thank you Neal!

The weather is playing havoc with our normal gardening schedule. I have only just begun to harden off Tomatoes and Courgettest  (3 weeks later than normal) . Because of their prolonged stay in the Greenhouse some of the Tomatoe plants are already in flower and a Courgette - named imaginatively "Desert" - is bearing fruit!l

Lovely shot Robin.

I do like the Hornby Granges. I guess they are a bit long in the tooth now. I have had to replace a motor on one and the side motion on another but when they are on song, as it where, they are definitely one of my go to locos.

Best wishes from a chilly Vancouver

Thanks Paul - welcome back!

I hope you have better luck tan I with the weather in Bedfordshire. Here in the Rain Forest, in late may, we snow forecast!

Last weeks project :  Complete the back scene by merging the existing, multi-layered, Townscene cut outs with the one dimensional, but more realistic, ID back scene photography



Having tried various combinations, I eventually came to the conclusion that it was not possible to achieve a seamless marriage between Impressionism and Realism.

Better to make a feature of the contrast with a big bold statement:



I was particularly anxious to retain the low relief engineering works. I built the brick built works 20 years ago from a Langley kit and added the scratch built section from Wills Corrugate. This is one of the various buildings scattered around Granby that are named after friends and family. 

I had to build a narrower Scalescene wall to lift it and provide clearance. Happily the trains themselves and the Terraced housing screen conceal the cantilever effect.

Here is a "before" of the other end of the ID Scene:




The solution - another bold statement:



On the far wall, I chose to retained only the sky from the ID Scene.The vertical contrast between the two sets of back to back houses proved to be too great in a single plane.

Despite Mrs D's magic, the corner join still persists somewhat but is less obvious when the Alma Mill is replaced in the foreground:



This shot exposes, in the foreground, some of the co-lateral damaged suffered from having to  lean across to access the far corner.

The road bridge, complete with bus, is now restored. Beyond the bridge the branch Engine Shed and Water Tower will shortly be put back in place.

The devastation in front of the bridge will remain a while longer. Once I have run some trains, the next big project is to install two automated Dapol Junction signal and hook them up to Train Controller.

Here is an overall shot of the storage extension and its back scene along with the terraced house modular screen.



Next week, at long last, I hope to finish the storage extension with a post about the track plan.

Best wishes from Vancouver

10 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

FAILED TESTING

My first selection for profiling was a Dapol Railcar.  It hasn’t been used for a while and creaked and groaned so much that I gave up.  I find that Heljan work straight out of the box, but Dapol creak and groan some not as bad as others but none a patch on Heljan.  Has anyone had success with Dapol and recommend a decoder (or decoder settings) that work?  (My decoders are all DCC Concepts of various types and have worked well on every manufacturer other than Dapol.)

Paul.

Hi Paul

CV 2 : 1  3: 1  4: 1  5: 110   6:   73   57 : 125             Lenz Gold 21 pin

Its not quite as smooth as the Heljan (which has a Zimo chip) but is quite acceptable. I could be mistaken but I think I had to clean the wheels thoroughly after some initial stalling.

Lovely photo of the Dean.

Dont forget to add some lead to the Dean when you do the decoder installation. I found it made a significant difference 

4 hours ago, sjrixon said:

Wish I'd gone with stayalives... I hate when the loco slowly starts, then stalls dead. 

You can imagine how I felt with RR&Co - all the automatic movements are based on time and distance calculations, even a seconds hesitation spells trouble. The computor cant see any delay, so it assumes the loco is continueing to move resulting in the loco stopping short and missing the uncoupling magnet or failing to couple. If I am attempting a multi loco exchange the resultant chaos had to be seen to be believed.

Its not to late to start retrofitting SAs . I only started in late 2019 and over the last 3 years most of my small locos have been converted. Not cheap of course but I was able to sell on the replaced Lenz Chips and I guess I have been a lot more stringent about loco and rolling stock purchases. I can assure yiy that it transformed my operating experience.

Best wishes

At long last Spring has come to Vancouver so most of last week was devoted to gardening however Mrs D and I did find time however to fix the 10' of ID back scene to the existing backboards.

As you can see it was not entirely straightforward!  This was a case where Plan B had to be hurriedly put into action when we realised that double sided tape was not quite as adhesive as we had hoped.

I am very impressed with the product itself and I imagine with a brand new construction it would be easy to apply. Our problems resulted from being unable to apply it in situ. Leaning across 4' of baseboard and progressively removing the protective backing from a 5' long roll and then sticking it precisely on to the backboard was never going to work and happily we never attempted it.

Our solution was to mount the roll on to 2mm grey board and then stick the grey board to the backboard.
The Maximum length of the grey board is 40" and the two rolls of ID scenery were each 60" long. This meant we finished up with 2 x 40" and 2 x 20" boards. Each board had to be glued to the backboard so it was square not only with its neighbour but also with the base board and top frame. Plenty of opportunity for marital strife. We celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary next year so we have had lots of practice!

And in fact, alls well that ends well:





I am quite pleased with the overall effect. ID have a very comprehensive range but their townscapes and industrial scenes were too modern for Granby. Fortunately these house backs are not too far away from developments constructed in the thirties. I admit to a few anxious moments when I first checked the rolls in case there was a forest of Tv aerials

Having to use 4 separate boards resulted in two vertical joins but Mrs D believes she can make them disappear.

A greater challenge is at each end:






I have to re-position an assortment of Townscene low relief cut outs to camouflage the differing building style and sky treatment. The contrast will remain but hopefully will not be too obvious. It is, after all, at the very back of the layout and normally there is a screen of buildings in the foreground.

Hopefully I can show the result next week.

Meantime,  here are a few more shots of the Milk Tankers wending their way from Cynwyd to Granby:

Best wishes from a sunny but still chilly Vancouver

12 hours ago, Edward said:

Just to say how much I enjoyed your article in BRM.  Great pictures and details though only a flavour of the wonderful blogs etc that we get through this forum! 

As an aside I took note of your remarks over the choice of decoders and ,having been unhappy about the performance of many of my locos,  have began to fit Zimos plus  "stay-alives" to the best locos.  So far I've got 3 fitted and they have been transformed.  I must add thanks to the guys at Digitrains who are doing the work!

I ran them on a small club layout on Saturday and they performed faultlessly.

Hi Edward

So glad you enjoyed the article. I am also delighted that, by switching to Zimo decoders, you appear to have got a similar improvement in performance to my self. When I first started in DCC I tried all manner of decoders and quickly came to the conclusion that " you get what you pay for". I found Lenz to be reliable and smooth running so standardised my locos with them. Its only  relatively recently I discovered Zimo. The running improvement is actually quite subtle but nevertheless noticeable. Add in SAs and ultra reliable running and I am a very happy camper.

ps Thanks also for the kind comment about the blog

Best wishes

On 21/04/2022 at 17:26, brianusa said:

Interesting project John,  Most of us have had similar experiences to your point motor; mine happened to be in a cutting where loco overhang carved its own path in the scenery!  After a touch of paint and dust, it's barely noticeable.

Good to see your lovely layout🙂

     Brian

 

Thanks Brian. Good to hear from you. If trains are carving into the cutting that sounds as though you are back to running trains again? That has to be good news - glad you sorted the issue so quickly - wish I could sort my cosmetic issues like that!

Best wishes

3 hours ago, richard.h said:

I have to agree with Great Bear, to work efficiently the CMX needs to be pushed at a slow speed if possible across all tracks and as yet I haven't found a steam outline loco that will do this consistently whereas a diesel will do it with ease, I normally use something like a Class 37.

 

I realise that diesels don't fit with your time frame but for reliable cleaning you may find that buying a cheap second-hand diesel locally is you best option.

 

Richard

Hi Richard

Thanks for the feedback. I have been so pre-occupied with the storage yard extension, and of course the stock spread all over the layout, I havent been able to even test it yet. I will try it with double headed panniers because I have a pair permanently coupled for a banking routine but I suspect that you are right and I will have to buy a diesel. Not too many 00 of anything available locally I guess H0 would work ok though.

I will let you know how I get on

Thank Phil. I had forgotten about that post. Excellent news - it would imply that passengers were aboard when the train was shunted into the siding - so that saves me two additional moves😀

Best wishes

31 minutes ago, The Great Bear said:

Until reasonably recently I used a Bachmann 56xx for this but it didn't quite have enough shove to reliably keep the CMX moving all the time, especially traversing some points. So I resorted to buying a cheap diesel loco from Ebay, which does move it better. Double heading, a couple of locos (panniers?) might have done the trick, but I've yet to grasp how to do that on my DCC system, no other cause to do it.

Thank you for the feedback. Using a couple of Panniers sounds like a possibility for me. Happily,  setting them up double headed with RR&Co is very easy.

Best wishes

The last two turnouts arrived from Liverpool - super fast service - and are now installed along with 4 additional sidings.



Sadly there was insufficient clearance to get the additional 4 car siding that I had hoped for. However the resulting siding is a generous 3 car and will easily accommodate a horse box train which will now be able  to make a twice weekly appearance.

The short radius siding above it may take my recent investment in a CMX cleaning car and its loco. Not sure which loco will have the power and weight to push (?) it. I believe most people use diesels which I dont have. It should be interesting finding which surplus loco will perform best.

Finally two short stub sidings for relief locos - job done  -  almost:



The package from Liverpool also had a roll of ID backscene. I fear it is going to be challenging retrofitting this to the installed boards. Fortunately Mrs D is ace at wall paper hanging.

The shot also shows the stripped down branch and village street which will have to be repaired and replaced.

I have added a few shots of the branch in better days.

They were taken for the BRM article to illustrate one of the signature routines om Granby. The daily collection of milk from the branch dairy for transhipment to Granby and thence on the main line to Rock Ferry (Birkenhead)



The B Set having arrived from Granby is stabled in the bay while the loco - a pannier (naturally) - collects two full tankers from the dairy



The tankers are uncoupled on the relief loop while the loco rejoins its train - draws forward from the bay, backs on to the loop and couples with the tankers



I am not quite certain whether this manoeuver would have been permitted with passengers already in the carriages (ie loaded from the bay) or if I have to draw the completed train back on to the running line platform for loading. Something I need to resolve before I finally produce the video! Hopefully someone can advise me - perhaps Mike @The Stationmaster will pop by?

You will not see these shots in the article because we used a photo of the tankers being transferred at Granby to illustrate my account of the routine - hope you like them - certainly more interesting than the building site shots that I started with.

 Regards from Vancouver

17 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi John, congratulations on the BRM article. It really does the layout justice, I think. The photos are excellent, that second spread with the Dukedog and 64xx crossing the canals is a favourite.

 

I see you also managed to sneak in a "you can never have enough panniers" reference 😀

Hi Mikkel

Thank you. I am so glad you enjoyed the article. I dont think anything written about Granby would be complete without a reference to panniers! I must admit that I was relieved that Debbie Woods ( the editor) selected some pannier photos from the multitude I had submitted.

Best wishes

Hi Rich

I had lots of problems with mine but they are now very reliable as a result of installing Zimo 617 + 3 x 480 u/F Tantalum SA (in the bunker using the speaker wires to connect)

The CV settings are : 2: 1  5: 120  6: 60  56: 22  (EMF)  57: 125 (layout voltage)

HTH

Best wishes

8 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

That didn't work - it went forwards (or not as the case maybe); then backwards with a start...

 

It turns out that the Zen decoders from DCC Concepts need to have the DC disabled - once I found out how to do that, it started to run ok. (Change CV29 by reducing by 4 and change CV50 to 0) I've had the Sprog set-up out and eventually we got there.

 

I wonder of I should take out the resistor on both sides and solder the wire through - would that make for better running? The odd thing is that this decoder comes with a DCC concepts stay-alive, although compared to the sound ones I use, its very small. Suggestions welcome.

 

 

 

Hi Neal

I, too, am not a fan of DCC Concepts products (apart from the surface mount point motors and decoders mentioned in my thread). I was not at all impressed with their initial release of stay alives - never went back I just use whatever combination of Youchoos SAs and Zimo decoders will best fit in the loco

Looking at my records it would seem a full fat  6700 u/F Super cap would not fit in my 64xx. I fitted 3 x 470 u/F tantalums and a Zimo 617. I am very happy with the outcome - potters back and forth with the autotrain and never any hesitation. I have to say this was not always the case - straight out of the box it was probably the most disappointing Bachmann loco I have purchased. I know this is not the case with everyone but mine was very indifferent even with Lenz chips. Zimo and SA made all the difference (usual disclaimer)

Incidentally I always remove the loco manufacturer fitted capacitors but I think the ones you are referring to are on the SA. I wouldnt consider replacing decoder and SA

Good Luck

4 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Ps: where did you get the Granby Transfers for the carriage? Railtec? @john dew

 

Thanks, Neal.

Correct - Railtec. They were a custom (bespoke to you?) variant on the Toad Branding option. They are a bit large compared with the existing Hornby branding but then Granby Division was always a bit differrent!

Best

4 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Welcome back John, (sunny) greetings from Spain, where we have also had ferocious winds and more rain than you could shake a stick at.

 

You have my sympathies about retro fitting - I know what you mean, it never works out quite as you had intended. Stick with it, I am sure it will be fine.

 

However, these surface mounted point motors look very good. I also saw them at Stoke Courtney courtesy of John aka @checkrail and they might work well in the fiddle yard at H-o-T.

 

Good to see the update John, looking forward to seeing the layout "in print" or at least on the screen!

 

Have a good evening (Spanish time, I guess thats coming up to morning for you!)

 

Regards, Neal.

Thanks for the good wishes Neal - much appreciated.

I am very impressed with the Rails motors - they will be my surface mount going forward, although hopefully I won't need too many!

Best wishes

John

Good to be back after the 10 day break. My thanks and sympathy to Andy for sorting everything out - it must have been incredibly stressful.

I see I have lost some photos from the front and from 2021. I think I will leave things as they are for a month or so before digging through my surprisingly well organised archives. I have reloaded my Avatar  - not entirely successfully but it will do as a temporary placeholder.

I left you all with this scene of desolation as I started the long awaited storage yard extension

At close of play today: 5 turnouts (#94-#98) are now fully functioning and connecting 3 new sidings to D5 the main Down storage siding :



So far I have added about 11' of storage space - A 5 and 4 carriage siding against the wall and a a second 4 car that curves around at the front, parallel to the main line.

There is now a pause as I await the arrival from Liverpool of two more points. Once they are installed, I hope to contrive one more 4 car siding and three 2/3 car sidings. I had hope to get a second 5 car siding but sadly it didnt work out.

It might might not sound like a great dividend for all this effort but I will be able to add at least two more medium length trains. More importantly it will remove a number of irritating operational log jams.

It has not been a ton of fun. "Close of play" was a somewhat ill-chosen metaphor. During the 15 year development  of Granby I have never found retro fits particularly enjoyable. This has been no exception.

Installing the point motor for turnout #95 was a nightmare. The many neat, precision modellers whose work I so admire might want to skip this section.



The only place for the motor was against the back scene wall. The wall has bowed, fortunately not enough to foul passing trains. The precisely cut aperture was achieved by this very elderly gentleman standing on a foot stool and leaning over a 4' wide baseboard.

Surface mounted motors are very finicky. The throw arm can bounce out of the turnout arm. To prevent this I inserted a brass rod into the turnout arm and capped it with a white plastic cylinder which just fitted inside the aperture in the motor arm.

The turnout motors are from Rails of Sheffield - thank you @checkrail for the recommendation :



So far I am very impressed with them. Although they are still quite finicky to align they do not insist on being absolutely at right angles like the Peco version. I get the sense they are more powerful. I have installed 5 now and they have never hesitated to throw a point - not always the case with Peco. Added bonus they are a little slimmer in outline which sure helped meto fit them in.

 DCC only requires two wires - so the electrical installation was quite straightforward:





 

On the right - Feed Back decoder #80 connected to four occupancy detector - to cover the 7 new sidings and a loco spur.

To the left of #66 (an existing Feed Back decoder) are Turnout decoders for #94-#96. These are also from Rails of Sheffield. Made by DCC Concepts they are quite a nifty device - throwing the turnout on command from either the DCC throttle or RR&Co. They switch frog polarity and have connections, which I dont use, for manual switches and LEDs 

Enough technical stuff.

To finish here are a couple of pictures .

I took this shot of a Collett Suburban 3rd/Brake for my Avatar - I hoped to highlight the "Granby" branding but that turned out to be a bit ambitious. Nevertheless I rather like the full view:



Normally in a fixed rake of 4. One of the beneficiaries of the new 4 car storage sidings.

Finally a trailer for next month's BRM which will feature the article on Granby Junction.

I sent loads of photos to Andy and Debbie to choose from. Obviously not all could be used - but it seemed a shame to waste them -  so here is one of my favourite scenes :



Dean Goods shunting the yard at Cynwyd


Regards from a very windy Vancouver.

37 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

Nice to see that Granby is going to feature in BRM next month John. I assume they're going to be your photos as I can't expect to see Andy travelling across the pond to do them.

Thanks for the heads up Robin-  I hadnt realisedit that it would be so soon.

Yes - my photos I am afraid, but I got some useful coaching from Andy and hopefully he will be able to work his magic on them.

On 12/03/2022 at 05:39, Neal Ball said:

The (Oxford) Dean Goods 0-6-0 has been out with a local goods trip working this morning. It doesn't get out very often, as it's not the most reliable of runners.... which is ironic as I was coaxing it to run.... the Hornby Railroad Hall class 4-6-0 was merrily running round with no effort and a train of 4 carriages.

 

Its unfortunate as the Oxford loco is lovely to look at... The Hornby Hall is of course the (so-called) design clever Railroad version, which includes steam pipes that are solid behind, rather than having daylight behind.

 

I like both locos and after a bit of running on the rolling road and cleaning some track the Dean Goods merrily went into the station with its goods train. Maybe it would be better if it had a stay-live function on board.

 

The Hall is my fourth one and the only one from Hornby.

 

Before leaving the railway room for lunch, I am pleased to say that the roof on the H44 was starting to look a lot better.

Hi Neal

Hope you had an enjoyable week end. Having endured the anguish of England v Ireland not sure how best to describe mine!

I had similar problems to you with both my Deans. I recall one of them was returned twice. Incredibly erratic runner and very limited haulage power. I would strongly recommend fitting Stay Alive. I carved away the coal in the tender and wired a Zimo Chip and Youchoos Supercap. I also added a load of lead to the engine.  I believe I had to fiddle with the Cv settings a bit as well. It all made a world of difference. Its one of my go to locos now, on a regular roster with the automated pick up goods- a routine where reliability is key.

What decoder are you using?

Best wishes