dj_crisp

Yep. Totally agree. I haven't fully decided whether to keep my lima project on the go or change to Bachmann. I have bits n pieces of both in my projects box so will have a play one day. To my eyes the lima body is better side on and Bachmann head on. Tbh both might benefit from the front window etches.

I've got a set to try out... they look pretty straightforward to fit. Being smaller than the overscale originals some filler will be needed. It's funny that I prefer the window size on the lima model to the real thing. Will

Thanks Jules! I'm rather enjoying it tbh and taking my time over making sure everything is aligned and in gauge. I've even had a 3rd attempt on the exit of the double slip to introduce a bit of a curve.... hence the slow progress! Well its all a steep learning curve for me!! I'm hoping to start moving onto board 2 soon which has less points which might be a bit quicker! Cheers Will

Jack - Looks great! Where did you source the super thin wire from? I've been after some really thin stuff to squeeze into my projects. Cheers Will

Very very smart. Great stuff Phil Cheers Will

Hi Wayne Great stuff and thanks! I'm still very fond of the lima model and with a bit of work they look great. I look forward to seeing yours! I do also like the Canton machines and my only regret is not doing a full metals one. At the price they currently go for there is very little chance I'll do one! (There was a great period where the Canisp model was in the £50-60... Sadly not anymore.) Cheers Will

Track laying continues; The two new points have been wired and each section of track have had droppers installed - I now just need to wire them up and check there are no shorts. The flat bottom crossover has loads more droppers added which have improved running qualities immensely. I've also decided to lay flat bottom track into part of the bay and the branch entering the fiddleyard meaning that pretty much all of the track from the layout as purchased will be relayed. This meant swapping out a bit of bullhead to FB from the double slip. Bullhead points are so much easier to get working than Flat Bottom! I'm definitely happy with the Ambis tiebars and these will be my standard from now on. I think there should be at least two per point... which i've done for the far point but I've been lazy with this one; Proper wood workers please look away now; I've hacked a hole for a kadee uncoupler and will be experimenting with getting this working. This has now been covered with thin cork so its in for good. I also have some left over plywood from a bathroom DIY project which conveniently are 4ft long and just needed chopping in half which took me a while as i only have a hand saw. It's a bit OTT for a backscene but I also intend it to also protect the rest of the layout when in storage. I had thought it might be a little shallow but when placed with an 09 for size it looks about right to me (or even a little tall). Eventually the front will be framed and I need to research lightweight framing to prevent it warping.

I'm impressed with your finish using rattle cans. I've had no end of trouble with paint lift when applying the second grey so I might have ago with these. cheers Will

Definitely of interest. Thanks for sharing

I planned more progress than I've achieved and have been trying to get the layout up and running with what track has been installed. Started off by installing a cobalt on the remaining flatbottom point on the crossover which eventually worked. Then had to track a short down which turned out that the frog wasn't properly insulated... My 09 subsequently refused to run smoothly through the crossover so spent the next hour or so tracking down dead spots which needed extra wiring. Aha a bit of success as my 09 now can crawl through all the track on the layout.... until my original flat bottom point stopping fully throwing. Grrrr. Sometimes I hate modelling and wonder why i went down the EM route! After reading every track book i have about tie bars I've had a go at seeing if i can fit some Ambis etches. Surprised myself in that my first attempt looks ok. I've drilled a small hole each side on the pcb for the dropper to the tou and before i fit the point I'll probably solder it on (athough I'm not sure i need to). Part of me is tempted not to bother with the tou at all but will fit this one to see if it works and it's so much easy messing about before they're fitted! (sorry for the terrible photo from my phone) Next up is to fit a second cosmetic tie bar a few sleepers up but it all seems ok and seems a bit more robust/refined than my other efforts. Maybe this modelling malarky is so bad afterall... but I'll find out if thats the case if this works!

One of the five buffer stops needed for Bisley. Primer next.... then fitting to the layout when I've done the rest of the track. Its a rather nice kit from Lanarkshire models and I've used broken sleepers and chairs from lifting one of the sidings. The instructions give tips on how to prevent shorts. I've used a bit of plastic rod and some plastic shims so there shouldn't be a short. Not sure it's totally necessary tbh!

DCC is full of challenges! I still haven't cured the buzz of the tortoise and cobalts. Fitted a second tortoise and for some reason the DR4018 refuses to throw a point (and point) on one cv. Tried a reset and still hasn't got enough power to throw. I'm a bit stumped on this one. On the positive side of things the double slip is wired in and surprisingly works

True... and this one will hopefully need a fair few functions! Always a compromise needed somewhere and I'll always go for something practical (I use kadees after all). Still think they could designed something a little more discrete which could tuck in closer the corridor connection and be a bit thinner.

How not to do layout planning; I placed some track down to try and imagine what it'll all look like - there is probably a bit too much and I worked out what to do scenery wise at the back of the layout (LHS in the photo). But then again with too much track it'll probably be more interesting to operate! Board 3 (currently unbuilt) will be shorter as I have limited space and will have a bit more of the station. I'm planning on an offset station so only the bay and up main will have a platform in this shot. Looks like I should be able to fit at least a 2 car DMU in the bay. The foam on the right has had a bit of a hack to allow a longer fertiliser siding. Now just go to work out the best material to cover it and start forming some contours. Also had a go at installing a tortoise motor on the double slip with limited success. Point doesn't always throw... as the wire simply bends. Something to try and fix but I may have to try a thicker gauged wire. cheers Will

Hi Alex, Sorry about that. Me being dumb and missing the basket on my phone.... customers causing trouble eh By the way I really like your new website and the new payment process was a doddle. cheers Will

I've tried an an old Maplin switchable power supply to see if this improved things. On 12V DC it's noiser than my other 12V DC power supply... and when switched to output at 9v DC is quieter but about the same as the new 12V DC power supply. Probably not the greatest experiment as the Maplin supply is pretty old. However it did show me the DR4018 works with a lower supply (wasn't that happy when i tried 7.5V to see what happens ) I'm wondering if the sound I'm hearing is normal for Tortoise in the stall position - I don't have anything to compare to as this is my first. the 12v DC supply is definetly alot quieter than direct from the DR5000!

I quite like the finish on the sides... but agree the roof is too shiny for me. Be interesting to see the final versions and I hope the finish is as good. Overall looks a great model to me and looking forward to this release. The coupling between the units does appear a bit clonky compared the finesse of the rest of the model. Cheers Will

Resistance was pointless.... just pre-ordered 2 triple packs of the clean TEAs. I'll be very interested in seeing the weathered versions too. Just need some DRD running number transfers for the second pack Slightly confused on payment as I've left my email address but didn't get a payment request? Cheers Will

I don't mind the 2019 theme disappearing Very happy with the clean default version so please keep that as it is. Cheers Will

Thanks for the default suggestion.... so much better! The ads are driving me nuts on my android mobile that I actually stopped visiting as much. Cheers Will

I've been busy rewiring, lifting track on board 2 and laying some track on board 1 (well in between removing some DIY jobs from my list provided by my wife). I had a really enjoyable trip to the Epsom MRC show last Saturday and got lots of inspiration which i hope to try out here. One thing that stuck in my mind was wiring.... and following watching an excellent DCC layout experiencing shutdown due to shorting I've decided to split mine into two power districts (Main Line & Branch/sidings) so if the inevitable short occurs only one half will stop working. Not exciting but board one has been pretty much fully rewired to do this now. Just need to save up for a power district board! The short on the Epsom Show layout happened to occur on a double slip... so with a few nerves I've laid mine; Hopefully I've wired it correctly! I'll find out in a few weeks as I have some Tortoise motors on order will be able to switch polarity when they're fitted. The double slip needed a bit of tidying with some new sleepers and gluing of chairs and I've kept the crude (but hopefully reliable) tie bars. I've also added some fishplates to the main line, and plenty more wire droppers (one per rail section) so this runs ok now. The FB point in the picture is providing entertainment to get the switch rails aligned. I'm just having clearance issues to sort out on the blade and to try and sort this out I've soldered a small pcb board for the tiebar. This looks ok but not great and the clearance is still more P4 than EM. Something to sort out. The fertiliser siding to the far right has also been laid with track from the lifted section at the back (which needed cleaning etc). False 45ft sections have been added and I'm quite pleased with the look of this. Probably the most important section of track as it's near the front! The original layout had a point constructed across the board which had received a bit of damage. So I've made a decision to remove this and not have any points that don't have a piece of replaceable track between the point and the baseboard edge. This point will hopefully become a catch point on board 2 for the fertiliser siding. And finally a shot showing a test of alignment for the points into the rear sidings and also hopefully shows the different ballast shoulders I'm going to attempt. To try and explain my plans.... tracks leaving the board from left to right , holding siding 1, holding siding 2, branch bay, mainline access, up main, down main, fertiliser siding. The (branch) track between the double slip is currently straight but will be gently curved to meet the rear point accessing the holding sidings. I had planned on fitting an electromagnetic kadee uncoupler between the rear point and the holding siding... two issues though... it's on a change of incline between the different ballast shoulders and there's a frame support underneath. Looks like it'll be simpler but less efficient to include two uncouplers in the holding sidings themselves on board 2. Got a busy month coming up but hopefully there'll be some progress in between. Happy Modelling all! Will

Hi Richard Do you know what the output of the DS64s are? I'm tempted to have a go with a lower voltage power supply. Dimming the output of the DR401 helped but I can't find a setting that reliably throws a point. Cheers Will

Thanks! An interesting observation and i hadn't noticed the light dimming... I'll have a look out next time I have a go. Definitely using address 9999 (both on the computer but now using the z21 app). Cheers Will

What a fantastic layout and a great read Sorry not on facebook. What did you use for point tiebars as that's something I'm just toying with atm. Cheers Will

No worries and no rush