Jeff Smith

This seems to be a slippery slope to full automation.....where's the fun in that? Seriously - I'm happy controlling one DC loco at a time - I must be old fashioned....😀

From experience, getting the footplate straight and flat on white metal kits is a crucial step. An etched chassis, when only attached by bolts, or a bolt and a flange, can allow the center to bend up. On the picture from the rear with the bunker removed, is the chassis bolt in place? They do not look clamped together.

Yes, but DCC is added expense for layouts that don't really need it. eg, simple double track oval layouts for watching the trains go by, or branch line terminii which were generally one engine in steam...... DCC is great for complex layouts with multiple locos, MPDs, double heading etc but every loco costs more plus a DCC controller if required.....

Perhaps off putting for first timers!

I have not tried the controller that came with my DC Easterner mainly because it is for 240v. Instead I used a Gaugemaster. It ran well but I have heard the set controllers are not very good...... If so this is not good for new set owners!

May's RM has an article about Pecorama's latest additions which includes a GWR BLT in TT:120......

I just use thin brass strip for lamp irons etc - bent using needle-nosed pliers. Stuck on with superglue before painting.

Why does it matter - Hornby knows how much it has sold. The customer list will give an idea of how many have actually bought something. Some, like me, will have just bought a train set. Others will have bought truck loads..... It only actually matters to Hornby to facilitate production planning..... All this pointless speculation is irrelevant!

That is certainly true with short wheelbase stock but bogie stock emphasizes it with the overhang.

For me it is the extreme curves that exist in roundy layouts that spoil it. But essential if you want to watch the trains go by...... Out and back layouts are more realistic but limited by the run length - it's a choice only you can make......

The advice I offer to people attempting their first layout is to not be too ambitious. From personal experience, my large OO loft layout started off being just the branchline terminus - for various reasons including a house move and a change of gauge, the rest never got built! The shelf shown in your picture looks to be about a foot wide and maybe 12ft long. You could fit a Minories type layout in TT:120. I believe this could be built on three (portable) boards using Hornby track and minimal scenic structures and including a sector plate fiddle yard. The 08, J50 and a pacific or two, some Mk1 coaches and coal wagons could be run. This has some operational interest and does not include tight unrealistic radii. You could use DC or DCC control but with DC you would need isolated sections to hold the pacific while the shunter pulls the coaches back.

It may be worth thinking about what you want from the layout. An inglenook for shunting puzzles, or a diorama to hone your modelling skills, or perhaps a bit of both which can be incorporated in a bigger layout later.

Don't shoot me but a super detailed under-frame is oxymoronic in OO......

Are you already committed to OO gauge? ie, do you have stock and/or track you plan to use?

What scale are you thinking of?