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Do you have any model railway projects on the go?

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Cowley

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Evening everyone.

This week’s project is to turn this collection of balsa wood, plasticard, glue and windows...

8296040D-77E9-4B5A-9321-97A6548CF6C3.jpeg


Into something that that looks like the station at Eggesford on the Barnstaple branch hopefully:

BDEBB0A1-5799-45B6-9B34-17AEE2D4CB62.jpeg7DE04277-6BFB-400C-8756-8283BE52DECE.jpeg


This is where I’ve got to so far:

5BF49E8C-67AC-4AA3-8A99-8728F5FEBC01.jpegDDBB0717-C5C3-44C0-A5CE-F25711A3EAF1.jpeg

I couldn’t get the exact windows so I’ve had to compromise here and there, but now I’ve finally started to get on with it I’m quite enjoying working out what to do.
You’ll hopefully notice that I’ve left gaps so that I can put lights in it once it’s done. Fiddly stuff but quite satisfying. ;)
I’m hoping that the next extension will be an improvement on what I’ve done so far using what I’ve learned along the way, but you wouldn’t believe how much time I spent staring at everything today before I plucked up the courage to make a start, even though I’ve already made lots of buildings (it is a very complicated, fancy structure though to be fair)!
Anyway here’s a photo I took the other day of 50032 running through Lapford on a DMU substitution on its way to Exeter in 1989.

BC30C1D5-341F-4D63-A209-6FB476B60B51.jpeg
 

FrodshamJnct

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Evening everyone.

This week’s project is to turn this collection of balsa wood, plasticard, glue and windows...

View attachment 81860


Into something that that looks like the station at Eggesford on the Barnstaple branch hopefully:

View attachment 81863View attachment 81864


This is where I’ve got to so far:

View attachment 81866View attachment 81867

I couldn’t get the exact windows so I’ve had to compromise here and there, but now I’ve finally started to get on with it I’m quite enjoying working out what to do.
You’ll hopefully notice that I’ve left gaps so that I can put lights in it once it’s done. Fiddly stuff but quite satisfying. ;)
I’m hoping that the next extension will be an improvement on what I’ve done so far using what I’ve learned along the way, but you wouldn’t believe how much time I spent staring at everything today before I plucked up the courage to make a start, even though I’ve already made lots of buildings (it is a very complicated, fancy structure though to be fair)!
Anyway here’s a photo I took the other day of 50032 running through Lapford on a DMU substitution on its way to Exeter in 1989.

View attachment 81868

Wow! That’s a seriously impressive set of skills (and photo). Scratch building is one of those things I see others do and wonder how they managed to get to a point where they can just throw a building together! How did you go about learning @Cowley?
 

Cowley

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Wow! That’s a seriously impressive set of skills (and photo). Scratch building is one of those things I see others do and wonder how they managed to get to a point where they can just throw a building together! How did you go about learning @Cowley?
Thanks Tom.
I just jumped in really. I made lots of the structures on Lapford, or if I used kits I completely altered them and added extra detail.
I think it’s just something that you get into once you bite the bullet and start but I’m pretty new to it myself so I’m no expert.
If I could have adapted something else I would have done that, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like it!
 

Peter C

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Evening everyone.

This week’s project is to turn this collection of balsa wood, plasticard, glue and windows...

View attachment 81860


Into something that that looks like the station at Eggesford on the Barnstaple branch hopefully:

View attachment 81863View attachment 81864


This is where I’ve got to so far:

View attachment 81866View attachment 81867

I couldn’t get the exact windows so I’ve had to compromise here and there, but now I’ve finally started to get on with it I’m quite enjoying working out what to do.
You’ll hopefully notice that I’ve left gaps so that I can put lights in it once it’s done. Fiddly stuff but quite satisfying. ;)
I’m hoping that the next extension will be an improvement on what I’ve done so far using what I’ve learned along the way, but you wouldn’t believe how much time I spent staring at everything today before I plucked up the courage to make a start, even though I’ve already made lots of buildings (it is a very complicated, fancy structure though to be fair)!
Anyway here’s a photo I took the other day of 50032 running through Lapford on a DMU substitution on its way to Exeter in 1989.

View attachment 81868
All looking really, really good! I like the look of the building so far. I've started several projects with the intention of making a building but it always starts and finishes with a pile of card just sat there waiting to be used! :)
I think as you go along with the new bit of the layout, it will almost certainly be better than parts of the original section as you learn new skills and how things can be done. Lapford is looking brilliant already so the extension should be amazing!
The Class 50 is good too - some good acceleration with a beast like that with only four coaches!

-Peter
 

Cowley

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All looking really, really good! I like the look of the building so far. I've started several projects with the intention of making a building but it always starts and finishes with a pile of card just sat there waiting to be used! :)
I think as you go along with the new bit of the layout, it will almost certainly be better than parts of the original section as you learn new skills and how things can be done. Lapford is looking brilliant already so the extension should be amazing!
The Class 50 is good too - some good acceleration with a beast like that with only four coaches!

-Peter
Sorry Peter I missed this post somehow but thanks for that.
I’ve got a bit further this evening and it’s starting to come together now. I still don’t know how I’m going to do everything but hopefully it’ll work itself out as I go along!
5B7D65BF-44D8-4312-ACE5-CDD2184F8C13.jpeg7ABF5A23-66F5-42E1-83CE-BED22BAFCBFE.jpeg87DAC539-3F42-4C56-BE38-C80362CF54A1.jpeg
 

Iskra

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Well my own TMC Heljan Railbus has arrived for my forthcoming Scottish Terminus:

railbus.jpg

The good news is that this one works well with my Bachmann EZ DCC controller. The bad news is that that means the Heljan 26 I have acquired may be faulty as it was a bit erratic on my temporary kitchen test track.

My baseboards should be arriving next week, which coincides nicely with a period of annual leave from work, so I'm hoping that I can make some good progress.
 

FrodshamJnct

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Well my own TMC Heljan Railbus has arrived for my forthcoming Scottish Terminus:

View attachment 81985

The good news is that this one works well with my Bachmann EZ DCC controller. The bad news is that that means the Heljan 26 I have acquired may be faulty as it was a bit erratic on my temporary kitchen test track.

My baseboards should be arriving next week, which coincides nicely with a period of annual leave from work, so I'm hoping that I can make some good progress.

That’s a lovely looking model!
 

Cowley

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That’s a lovely looking model!
It is isn’t it.
I love the little springy buffer things on the front.
@Iskra - Could you try swapping the chip from the railbus into the 26 just to check it with a chip you know works?
 

Iskra

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It is isn’t it.
I love the little springy buffer things on the front.
@Iskra - Could you try swapping the chip from the railbus into the 26 just to check it with a chip you know works?

Yes, I'm going to give that a go once I have the full layout set up at the end of this week :)
 

Peter C

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Sorry Peter I missed this post somehow but thanks for that.
I’ve got a bit further this evening and it’s starting to come together now. I still don’t know how I’m going to do everything but hopefully it’ll work itself out as I go along!
View attachment 81944View attachment 81945View attachment 81946
You're very welcome! :)
That building is coming along very well - you've got a lot going on there, just like the real thing, with the different shapes, walls, and various sections. I look forward to seeing the end product!

-Peter
 

FrodshamJnct

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I’ve recently found myself becoming more and more interested in modelling Japanese stock in N gauge. The Tomix Mizukaze in particular has me fascinated! Does anyone have any experience of modelling Japanese stock in N gauge? From what I can fathom DCC doesn’t seem be as popular, but I’m happy to start off with some basic Kato track whilst I get my head around it all.

1E101B78-448D-4DA2-A5CF-28820DBE7D83.jpeg
 
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Cowley

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I’ve recently found myself becoming more and more interested in modelling Japanese stock in N gauge. The Tomix Mizukaze in particular has me fascinated! Does anyone have any experience of modelling Japanese stock in N gauge? From what I can fathom DCC doesn’t seem be as popular, but I’m happy to start off with some basic Kato track whilst I get my head around it all.

View attachment 82024
I don’t know much about it but I was chatting to a guy at a show that was selling their track system and it looked very easy to use and ultra reliable too.
 

Iskra

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My DCC controller states I can have one analogue loco on my layout, which means I could get one loco on the 'cheap'. Are there any pitfalls with operating one analogue locomotive alongside a fleet of DCC?
 

Peter C

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My DCC controller states I can have one analogue loco on my layout, which means I could get one loco on the 'cheap'. Are there any pitfalls with operating one analogue locomotive alongside a fleet of DCC?
Running DC and DCC together is not a good idea. I can't remember the exact details but it essentially boils down to your analogue engine's motor will be burnt out after use on DCC for any long periods of time. I've learnt that the hard way with some older engines! :)

-Peter
 

Iskra

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Running DC and DCC together is not a good idea. I can't remember the exact details but it essentially boils down to your analogue engine's motor will be burnt out after use on DCC for any long periods of time. I've learnt that the hard way with some older engines! :)

-Peter

Ah okay, thanks for that. I did think it sounded a bit too good to be true!
 

Cowley

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Ah okay, thanks for that. I did think it sounded a bit too good to be true!
Yes I’d definitely keep them separate. I think a burnt out PCB thingy can be the rusult!
 

Peter C

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Ah okay, thanks for that. I did think it sounded a bit too good to be true!
You're welcome :D
The only issue with running a DCC layout is that you end up not being able to run so many other locos which aren't DCC compatible* - what I've found is that if you have several sidings on your layout, wire them up in such a way that enough of them to hold all of the DCC locos you leave on the layout aren't always powered, i.e. you have to set the points for those sidings to give power to them. I use the Hornby R8232 Point Clips (https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-digital-electric-point-clips.html) to power all of my layout bar two sidings when the controller is turned up. It means that, when I want to use my DC engines, I can put all of my DCC engines into two sidings, where they won't move about, change over the controller, and then just run my DC engines like a good old DC layout: the only downside being that when power is supplied to the track, all engines, apart from those in the isolated sidings, move.
I think running DCC engines on DC track is alright, but I can't remember the exact details of it, so it's best to read up on it before going ahead with anything.

Hope this is of any use :)

-Peter


*Most engines now are DCC compatible, if you're willing to put enough work in to hard-wire a decoder to the loco. I've even heard stories of people putting DCC chips in Bachmann's older split-chassis models, which are almost always described as DCC incompatible (the reason why escapes me right now). There are lots of guides online for putting DCC decoders into Lima models and the like so you should be able to get quite a good collection going, especially as a Lima model and a Hornby DCC decoder can often come to less than £60 if you look around on eBay.
 

Iskra

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You're welcome :D
The only issue with running a DCC layout is that you end up not being able to run so many other locos which aren't DCC compatible* - what I've found is that if you have several sidings on your layout, wire them up in such a way that enough of them to hold all of the DCC locos you leave on the layout aren't always powered, i.e. you have to set the points for those sidings to give power to them. I use the Hornby R8232 Point Clips (https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/hornby-digital-electric-point-clips.html) to power all of my layout bar two sidings when the controller is turned up. It means that, when I want to use my DC engines, I can put all of my DCC engines into two sidings, where they won't move about, change over the controller, and then just run my DC engines like a good old DC layout: the only downside being that when power is supplied to the track, all engines, apart from those in the isolated sidings, move.
I think running DCC engines on DC track is alright, but I can't remember the exact details of it, so it's best to read up on it before going ahead with anything.

Hope this is of any use :)

-Peter


*Most engines now are DCC compatible, if you're willing to put enough work in to hard-wire a decoder to the loco. I've even heard stories of people putting DCC chips in Bachmann's older split-chassis models, which are almost always described as DCC incompatible (the reason why escapes me right now). There are lots of guides online for putting DCC decoders into Lima models and the like so you should be able to get quite a good collection going, especially as a Lima model and a Hornby DCC decoder can often come to less than £60 if you look around on eBay.

I actually don’t have any DC locomotives, my childhood ones were all sold off when I left home and gave up the hobby. I was just considering buying a solitary DC loco if it was compatible mainly for the cost saving.

But thanks for the info, and yes an isolated loco storage siding seems a good idea.
 

MotCO

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You're welcome :D
I think running DCC engines on DC track is alright, but I can't remember the exact details of it, so it's best to read up on it before going ahead with anything.

I don't have DCC, but have been considering it. One thing I have gleaned is that I will have to change all my points since all lines for DCC need to be electrified - on the DC circuits, the points break circuits so you can isolate sidings etc. Indeed, I use points as circuit breakers to operate my 6 locos. The alternative is to provide supplementary wiring to all lines.

Some of my locos are very old - I'm talking about up to 60 years old, but they are still running fine. Does anyone know if these can be chipped to run on DCC, or is there insufficient room in the body / the motor is incompatible etc.?
 

Peter C

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I don't have DCC, but have been considering it. One thing I have gleaned is that I will have to change all my points since all lines for DCC need to be electrified - on the DC circuits, the points break circuits so you can isolate sidings etc. Indeed, I use points as circuit breakers to operate my 6 locos. The alternative is to provide supplementary wiring to all lines.

Some of my locos are very old - I'm talking about up to 60 years old, but they are still running fine. Does anyone know if these can be chipped to run on DCC, or is there insufficient room in the body / the motor is incompatible etc.?
You don't have to change your points for DCC operation: the way I've found of doing it is just by using the Hornby R8232 point clips. You put them in the part of the points the instructions describe and then the lines leading to the points will always be energised, no matter the setting of the point.
You can also have isolating points in DCC the same way as in DC - I've done it with some parts of my layout. A lot of the stuff online about DCC seems to be for those wanting to build really complicated and detailed trackplans, whereas often you juts need something like the Hornby Select and a couple of loops of track to have a working DCC layout.
In terms of older engines and DCC compatibility, I think it will probably depend on the engine. I've never tried to chip an older engine but I suppose if there was little space in the engine body, the chip could be put in the tender and wires run from motor to decoder.

Hope this helps,

-Peter
 

Peter C

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I actually don’t have any DC locomotives, my childhood ones were all sold off when I left home and gave up the hobby. I was just considering buying a solitary DC loco if it was compatible mainly for the cost saving.

But thanks for the info, and yes an isolated loco storage siding seems a good idea.
Ah OK. Several places sell locos with decoders already in for fairly cheap - Hattons do put decoders in models where that is an option if you want and, if the model is being sold cheap in analogue condition, the price of a decoder fitting is going to make getting a DCC engine quite a good deal.

-Peter
 

Cowley

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I don't have DCC, but have been considering it. One thing I have gleaned is that I will have to change all my points since all lines for DCC need to be electrified - on the DC circuits, the points break circuits so you can isolate sidings etc. Indeed, I use points as circuit breakers to operate my 6 locos. The alternative is to provide supplementary wiring to all lines.

Some of my locos are very old - I'm talking about up to 60 years old, but they are still running fine. Does anyone know if these can be chipped to run on DCC, or is there insufficient room in the body / the motor is incompatible etc.?
It’s definitely possible, but it’s worth reading this thread on rmweb because it talks about some of the pitfalls if trying it:


And if you do decide to do it there’s some useful stuff on here (and a video):

 

Camokieren

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I'm starting to plan my train room. (yes the wife game me a whole room in the house to use for a layout) im setting it as a Southern Region in the 60's so a mixture of Steam and Diesel
 

Camokieren

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Lucky you! What size is it going to be?
the room is 10ft x 12ft so i was planning to go round the edge of the room so i can have 4 separate scenes based around the southern region. one idea i had as i have to go diagonally across the room at one point is have a branch line towards "swanage" with a hill in the middle. Think my first job is going to be pay down all the base boards and then use my rough plan to lay track down and pencil it out to see what it looks like the have fun building.

Just need to work out if to use DCC or i might use the new bluetooth analogue controller from Hornby as only 1 of the 5 trains i have is DCC ready
 
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