DavidB-AU

3 hours ago, moawkwrd said:

Okay, I've spent some time this evening playing around with the layouts above - and I really need to buy AnyRail! I'll get around to it one day.

You could also have a look at XTrkCad which is free. Slightly steeper learning curve but very flexible.

I like the design. It can be operated to a sequence timetable and has plenty of scope for shunting. 

3 hours ago, moawkwrd said:

What do you guys think? Or is too shamelessly a rip off of Bredon? 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and we are all standing on the shoulders of giants.

Something from the past that might give some inspiration is Bredon, which caused some heated debate in the pages of RM back in the day. While some dismissed it as a glorified train set, the scenery was outstanding and it had great operating potential in a small space for something deceptively simple (it makes more sense when you see it as a junction station). What was designed for OO in 6x4 might (just) work for TT in 5x2.5 with a bit of tweaking.

Here's the plan for OO Setrack: https://www.osbornsmodels.com/peco-setrack-oo-plan-7--bredon---a-classic-scenic-oval-layout-22372-p.asp

There are some pictures of the original layout here: 

11 hours ago, DevilsAdvocate said:

Ideally, I’d like a wireless controller. The connecting leads do my head in, but of course they are bit more expensive

they showed me the ideal unit, an Evolution xpress DCS210.

They would do. It costs £595 !

Again, any suggestions ?

You could look at something like an NCE PowerCab which is a little over £200. With a little extra hardware and some free software you can use your phone a wireless controller.

5 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

I'm thinking "Ian Futers" and some of his layouts. IIRC "Lochty Road" was one, a Scottish Region stabling point.

I was just thinking "Ian Futers" while reading down the topic. The 7mm Lochside and Ullapool are roughly that size too. Not stabling points but Lochside in particular allows running all of the desired motive power.

Is there any chance it could be one of the British MEDLOC coaches which ran from the Hook of Holland to Austria and Italy?

The discussion (in German) seems to conclude the third vehicle is a measurement car. 18 316 was brought out of retirement by the Federal Railway Research Office at Minden so that makes sense.

There was some British stock operated on the Detmold Military Railway (about 50ish km from Minden) and abandoned there when Deutsche Bundesbahn took the line back, but that was in 1948.

Is it absolutely certain it's a Mk 1 and not of LMS origin? There were some LMS coaches in WD service abandoned at Dunkirk in 1940. Some of them ended up in Germany and at least one somehow found its way to Russia.

On 15/03/2024 at 20:26, PhilJ W said:

5 hours ago, RFS said:

7 hours ago, Flying Pig said:

 

Another accurate prediction from Douglas Adams.  In the Hitch Hiker's Guide computer game you have to beat the cleaning robot to the Babel Fish that has just been dispensed onto the floor.  It's tricky (took me about 7 million years).

Or you have to beat the cleaning robot to a herring sandwich.

One more thing I'd add.

On 15/03/2024 at 06:52, luckymucklebackit said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem

With the demise of the V/Line H sets, four N class locos have been leased to SSR and are now hauling grain.

Interestingly, V/Line first toyed with the idea of using them for freight in the early 90s. The proposal was to use them as second or third unit between Melbourne and Adelaide to provide head end power for refrigerated containers. This would have made better use of the loco (sometimes a pair) that sat idle in Adelaide all day between duties on the Overland.

2 hours ago, Tumut said:

Hello All, Re Donkey Voting , ie numbering the ballot paper from 1 at the top , and then in order to the bottom. Donkey voting IS NOT endemic in Australian votes, the AEC / Australian Electoral Commission statistically dismissed that furphy decades ago. 

However Tasmania has Robson Rotation where candidates appear in random order on every ballot paper, ostensibly to negate any donkey vote. They used to print equal numbers of ballot papers with every possible combination of candidate order. Now in many booths the ballot paper is printed on the spot.

Operationally this works quite well for the space available. There could be scope for a level frame at the front to work the station throat and junction/crossovers.

If you're sticking strictly to left hand running, the track highlighted red doesn't really do anything. That space could be used to make the terminating/platform tracks longer.

4 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Dad’s Army, Allo Allo and others poked fun at all sides

I'm pretty sure there have been layouts based on both.

On the other side of the pond. Hogan's Heroes poked fun at both sides while mainly making fun of the Germans. One of the more subtle ways they did this was casting Jewish actors to play the most incompetent Germans.

A lesser known one is the Bosnian comedy series Konak kod Hilmije set in occupied Sarajevo during WW2. See if this sounds familiar. The main protagonist is an innkeeper who pretends to collaborate with the Germans while secretly working with the partisans. The main German character is secretly gay and terrified of being sent to the Russian front. There is ongoing tension between the partisans and the Chetniks. There are two partisans hiding in the cellar of the inn.

Home for NSW’s Rail History opens in Sydney’s West

NSW Railway’s historic locomotives and carriages have found a new home in the heart of Western Sydney.

The $9.4 million Chullora Heritage Hub is a centralised storage facility for 50 of the state’s 220 heritage locomotives and carriages.

https://www.railexpress.com.au/home-for-nsws-rail-history-opens-in-sydneys-west/

So roughly 50 years after the heritage collection was kicked out of Enfield, it's back almost literally next door.

6 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

No it’s the Nazi symbols for the party or ss that are banned not WW2 military models so as long as they carry the standard German balkenkreuz markings it’s ok as that is still used today. 

However Strafgesetzbuch 86(a)(3) says the ban does not apply "wenn die Handlung der staatsbürgerlichen Aufklärung ... der Kunst oder der Wissenschaft, der Forschung oder der Lehre, der Berichterstattung über Vorgänge des Zeitgeschehens oder der Geschichte oder ähnlichen Zwecken dient" ("if the act serves civic education ... art or science, research or teaching, reporting on current events or history or similar purposes").

A model or diorama accurately depicting historical events for display in a museum with the proper context would be legal, in the same way it is legal to use banned symbols in a film depicting that period in history (Der Untergang/Downfall being an excellent example).

On 08/03/2024 at 08:36, F-UnitMad said:

My main interest & modelling (in O scale) is American Railroads; specifically the Soo Line, and generally Short Lines & Regionals. My secondary interest is B.R. in the Forest of Dean, circa 1960s, and a bit of 70s BR Blue for nostalgia for what I grew up with.

But at the recent Kettering O Guild show, this was my favourite layout... 'Books Bridge', loosely based on the old Kinver tramway.

 

 

Where can I find more pics of this layout? Google isn't coming up with anything.

On 04/03/2024 at 15:36, DCB said:

I'd agree with this. Operationally it works a lot better than the Deane pattern station in the OP plan. Goods yard tracks can probably be a bit closer which would give more opportunity to shunt while a main line train is running. I would actually make the storage tracks a little further apart as sometimes have to fit 1:1 scale fingers between them.

I would even go as far as something like this to make the balloon on the left as wide as possible.

6 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

Done one using Sabaton as well.

Such an event seems a bit too recent for Sabaton!

Even with an access panel in the main yard, there are some places you couldn't be able to reach unless your arms are 7 ft long.

1 hour ago, Chris M said:

I hate those layouts where someone just plonks as much track as they can down on a flat baseboard.

Hardly any weathering either!

A random video came up in my Youtube suggestions. It's showing cab videos 24/7, all recorded before the war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0SHIpnHzYA

Canberra to Sydney in real time from the cab of a light engine movement.