jpendle

Hi, You can plug in a non sound DCC decoder to your loco and run it on DCC. You can plug in a sound DCC decoder instead and run it on DCC, but with no sounds. You can plug in a sound DCC decoder that has had a "sound project" loaded which matches your loco, and attach a speaker, and then run it on DCC with sound. You can always get the various 'sound project' suppliers to add a speaker and suitably programmed DCC decoder to your loco's for you, rather than buy all the bits yourself and do the conversion. Regards, John P

Don't ruin the experience by buying cheap decoders, and don't assume Hornby would be best in a Hornby model, etc. My vote is for Zimo, I use these exclusively when fitting decoders myself, many here like Lenz, and ESU are also very good. Regards, John P

I find that the forum runs slow very often, an almost daily occurence. The ad banner on the main page takes 5 to 10 seconds to load, the menu button's drop down menus don't drop down, because the banner is still loading? Topics can take 5 to 10 seconds to load, pressing the back button to go to the previous page can also take 5 to 10 seconds. When submitting a reply the button 'greys out' and nothing apparently happens. But the reply is there when I come back later. There is definately something going on, but it's hard to be definitive. Regards, John P

I have used neither, but the only reason I can thing of that would cause the address not to be recognised is that the Dynamis is expecting a Long Address and the Elite used Short addresses. DCC fitted loco's should work with any controller that follows the NMRA standard. Regards, John P

Wayne offers Bullhead Wooden Sleepered track, and Flat Bottom Concrete Sleepered track. I don't think the FB track is available with black sleepers. Regards, John P

I remember doing traffic lights as a science project at school in the late 80's. It involved a 555 timer and a bunch of NAND gates. I know it's not the same but the principles would be. Regards, John P

Yes, but be careful. I use Brown car primer, if you use too much at a time it can eat into the surface. It also depends on the primer. I also cover some scenic areas, and embankments, etc with plaster bandage so then it's not an issue. Regards, John P

Hi Dave, The layout is hopefully a reasonably accurate model of current day Wigan including Wallgate. You can find it on the N Gauge Forum. Dallam is a very good layout. I like to keep track of what others are doing in N Gauge for the WCML to see what's being done and hopefully it means that someone may well have sorted a problem before I have to! Like how to do OHLE, where to get cable trunking, where to get colour light signals, etc, etc. Regards, John P

And I'm not sure that I can get Copydex here in the US, although I haven't looked. Regards, John P

I haven't got that far yet! I'll be relying on the ballasting with dilute PVA to hold the track in place. Although as long as you don't mess with the track, the pins will hold it in place for quite a while, I started my layout 2 years ago and I still haven't ballasted or glued any track down. Regards, John P

Hi, I use XPS foam as my baseboard, just the legs and frame are made of wood. It is rigid and will take track pins to hold your track in place, but you will need to glue the track down to make it permanent. Regards, John P

Hi, Just came across this thread and it's wonderful stuff. I'm also doing the WCML around Wigan, but the OHLE is still a long way off, I haven't done with track laying yet. Regards, John P

Arran pulled out all the stops Thursday. I had already received an email saying he was shipping this week, and I realised I needed to make sure he had the correct address. I emailed him and about 30 minutes later got a reply saying he’d been able to intercept my parcel and it had been re-addressed. He even included a photo of the said parcel complete with new address. Absolutely stellar customer service. Thanks Arran Regards, John P

I think you need to ask what would happen if they stopped rotating John P

What would be the point? As things stand, by the time we get the CL150 and CL319 in the latest Northern livery they'll all have been withdrawn on the real railway. John P

So, with the caveat that this may not work for you. My baseboards are set at around 3'6" high. This means that as long as I make my wires long enough, I can sit on a chair and do all the wiring I need to under the layout. For point motors, I solder the wires on my work bench first, then cut out a rectangle in the foam, glue the point motor to the bottom and then glue the foam back in place. I use Wago Lever nuts to make all the connections under the baseboard, no soldering involved. Regards, John P

I would raise the lot on some pieces of 2x1. Then the wiring can be hidden below the layout. It would also allow more depth if you plan on using larger point motors such as Cobalts or Tortoises. Regards, John P

I use layers of 25mm Extruded polystyrene for my base boards laid on top of a conventional baseboard frame. With a max baseboard size of 4' x 2' I find it has plenty of rigidity without the need for a ply base. For your case I would suggest using 2 layers of 25mm foam, then you can dig the trenches in the upper layer put the wires in them and then put the foam cut outs back in to hide everything. Obviously you can do the same with one 50mm piece but it may be easier with 2 layers. If using point motors a 50mm piece will probably give you enough space to hide a solenoid type as well. Regards, John P

Yes I have a model in progress based on Wigan on the West Coast Main LIne. But it doesn't have any steam. It's all electric and diesels based on the past 10 or so years. At the risk of being booted by the mods, there's a lot of specific N Gauge knowledge on the N Gauge Forum, which is where my layout thread is. For specific UK prototype information then RMWEB is the best place IMHO. Regards, John P

Many UK N Gauge modellers use Kato track. I prefer to use Peco Code 55, it's a personal choice. As far as buying stuff goes, in my experience, it is better to buy virtually everything you need for a UK outline layout from the large online retailers in the UK, (Hattons, Rails of Sheffield, etc), as it will be cheaper. Once they have deducted UK sales tax (~-16%) (VAT) from their list prices it more than covers a fast DHL delivery to the US. This is even true for boxes of Peco Flexitrack and N Gauge DCC decoders (don't know if you are doing DCC). About the only things I purchase from US retailers are Tortoise point motors and NCE Switch8 decoders to drive them. I would probably buy Kato track here as well. You can use any N Gauge track system as all N Gauge track is to the same scale, it's just the models that are different, UK 1:148, Japan, 1:150, US & Europe 1:160. For locos, Union Mills make small batches of small steam prototypes, which have very good haulage but are not particularly well detailed, it is a one man band and I believe he operates off line, so maybe not a good choice. Farish and Dapol make much better detailed locos, but haulage capacity can be an issue, but then again 'Pre-Grouping' trains could be pretty small affairs. Regards, John P

OK so not third rail. But on the WCML there were signs at Golborne Junction, heading to the Liverpool Manchester line, that said Electric Loco's must not pass this point. Now its been electrified they have gone. Regards, John P

Hi Iain, I rarely use the maintenance app. Are those throttles displayed a Z21 thing or are they from Traincontroller? Thanks, John P

Yes, the green material is not conductive. On a board as simple as this I'd expect there to be just one layer with copper traces. Regards, John P

I'd hazard a guess that they are identical. Coloured FR4 is more expensive than bog standard green. FR4 is the base material for PCB's..... Regard, John P

I have used XPS (Extruded Polystyrene) for my baseboard tops. It comes in 8' x 4' sheets here in the US, which cost $20, so each 4x2 base board is $5. It is rigid enough, but is easily worked with a knife. I use 2 or 3 layers to contour the layout itself so that the scenery and track can drop below the mainline. But the point(sic) is that when I wire up my point motors I first cut out a rectangle where the motor will go. I then add all the wires I need to the motor (I'm using Tortoises) and then after gluing the motor to the underside of the rectangle I just glue it back in place on the layout. I leave enough wire so that I can sit down, on a chair, reach under the baseboard and then connect up the motor wires. Regards, John P