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Do you have any model railway projects on the go?

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FrodshamJnct

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Very nicely done, it looks exactly like some of the lesser used sidings you see at depots such as Eastfield with the grass like that.

One of the small, slightly fiddly but very satisfying jobs I should think when one looks at the end result of one's handiwork.

Thanks! I’m using photos of Arpley Sidings and Crewe IEMD as inspiration. I find having a photo to go off really helps.

899ADB17-690C-42A4-A851-68A8E8626ADA.jpeg
 
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hexagon789

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Speaking of model railway projects on the go I started making my first tree for the next railway extension yesterday but I sent a photo of it to a friend and he asked if I could make him some? So I guess that it isn’t going to be one of mine in the end...

View attachment 81446

For a first attempt - you've made something that's clearly a tree, personally I'd be pleased enough with that for a first go.

It just reminds me of a tree after an autumn storm - shorn of leaves and wind-battered.

It's like a lot of modelling, you can adapt the situation to your creations.

That's all part of the enjoyment! :)
 

Cowley

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For a first attempt - you've made something that's clearly a tree, personally I'd be pleased enough with that for a first go.

It just reminds me of a tree after an autumn storm - shorn of leaves and wind-battered.

It's like a lot of modelling, you can adapt the situation to your creations.

That's all part of the enjoyment! :)
I’ve done loads of the silly things. :lol:
90% of the ones in this picture were hand made by me...

0042A2EB-2C71-443E-AB92-ED00E7015CA3.jpeg
(The ones that weren’t were old 00 ones that I trimmed down)

I’ve also made a load of autumnal ones for my friends winter railway:

1092051A-1414-45B8-828B-0A9EF6419E74.jpeg

These are going to stay leafless though (quite pleased with the windswept one actually)...
I think the one I started the other night was probably about the 70th tree I’ve made this year... o_O
 

Peter C

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Those trees look really good @Cowley - the colours and shapes all work with the scenery in that first photo.
Are they easy to make? I've been thinking about how I'm going to get some nice scenery on my layout when I get to that stage and I think making my own trees could be quite interesting.

-Peter
 

Cowley

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Those trees look really good @Cowley - the colours and shapes all work with the scenery in that first photo.
Are they easy to make? I've been thinking about how I'm going to get some nice scenery on my layout when I get to that stage and I think making my own trees could be quite interesting.

-Peter
Thanks Peter.
They are quite easy to make and I’ll find the YouTube clip that I watched tomorrow before I did them and link it if you want?
The thing that it’s easy not to realise is just how many of the things there are in real life! Honestly there’s absolutely loads of them wherever you look...
 

Peter C

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Thanks Peter.
They are quite easy to make and I’ll find the YouTube clip that I watched tomorrow before I did them and link it if you want?
The thing that it’s easy not to realise is just how many of the things there are in real life! Honestly there’s absolutely loads of them wherever you look...
Ah - cool :)
That would be nice if you could link to that YouTube video. I'd be interested to see how it's done.
Now you mention it, there are trees seemingly everywhere! I think trying to strike a balance between enough trees and too many on the layout will be somewhat difficult in places but hopefully it will all come together.

-Peter
 

hexagon789

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I’ve done loads of the silly things. :lol:
90% of the ones in this picture were hand made by me...

View attachment 81468
(The ones that weren’t were old 00 ones that I trimmed down)

I’ve also made a load of autumnal ones for my friends winter railway:

View attachment 81467

These are going to stay leafless though (quite pleased with the windswept one actually)...
I think the one I started the other night was probably about the 70th tree I’ve made this year... o_O

Sorry, I thought you had made trees before but misread your "I started making my first tree for the next railway extension yesterday" to mean it was your first go overall rather than for the extension as I now understand.

I do like the autumnal ones set against that deep orange background, could easily model a railway line in say North Africa or something with that backdrop, some dried out twiggy trees a bit of tufty bush grass and a single track line wending it's way through the barren dry landscape.

Now I must stop thinking of alternative model situations and concentrate on the present one! ;)
 

Cowley

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Ah - cool :)
That would be nice if you could link to that YouTube video. I'd be interested to see how it's done.
Now you mention it, there are trees seemingly everywhere! I think trying to strike a balance between enough trees and too many on the layout will be somewhat difficult in places but hopefully it will all come together.

-Peter
Here you go Peter. He does some great videos actually:

@hexagon789 - I don’t think your Irish stock would look right next to herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain. :lol:
 

Peter C

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Here you go Peter. He does some great videos actually:
Thanks :)
His videos are very good, yes - I've watched a few of them. I quite liked one where he made a scene based on Yellowstone Park and then one where he made a block of flats. Both very interesting indeed.

-Peter
 

Mills444

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Very nicely done, it looks exactly like some of the lesser used sidings you see at depots such as Eastfield with the grass like that.

One of the small, slightly fiddly but very satisfying jobs I should think when one looks at the end result of one's handiwork.
Sorry to but in but are you referring to Peterborough Eastfield?
 

hexagon789

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Sorry to but in but are you referring to Peterborough Eastfield?

Glasgow Eastfield, there's a siding or two which extends to run adjacent to the Edinburgh & Glasgow mainline and it always used to be pretty thick with grass
 

FrodshamJnct

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Well, that didn’t last long! Morning all. It’s fitted with the Bachmann 36-557 21 pin decoder. I got it working briefly on my track, but it would only work when there were no other locos on the track. The light function (F0) would work, and I could get it started but it wouldn’t respond to the power being set back to off and wouldn’t stop (even when pressing the emergency stop button). It now won’t work at all. I’ve tried reprogramming it but to no avail. The other locos work fine and there is power to all track. I suspect the issue may be my controller(?) It’s an old, second hand Hornby Select running v1.1 firmware. Is that likely to be the problem? Any advice much appreciated.
 

Cowley

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Well, that didn’t last long! Morning all. It’s fitted with the Bachmann 36-557 21 pin decoder. I got it working briefly on my track, but it would only work when there were no other locos on the track. The light function (F0) would work, and I could get it started but it wouldn’t respond to the power being set back to off and wouldn’t stop (even when pressing the emergency stop button). It now won’t work at all. I’ve tried reprogramming it but to no avail. The other locos work fine and there is power to all track. I suspect the issue may be my controller(?) It’s an old, second hand Hornby Select running v1.1 firmware. Is that likely to be the problem? Any advice much appreciated.
Hm. Well I’ve been using a very basic Bachmann E-Z Command controller until recently and it won’t work with Dapol decoders so I’ve ended up fitting Bachmann ones to everything, but the latest Next 18 decoders are a bit stuttering even if they’re Bachmann ones.
I’ve just bought an NCE Powercab controller from eBay for £120 as my friend has one and everything seems to work fine on it (I haven’t had the time to unpack mine yet).
So to my amateur mind I reckon it might be worth trying it on a more modern controller?
 

FrodshamJnct

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Hm. Well I’ve been using a very basic Bachmann E-Z Command controller until recently and it won’t work with Dapol decoders so I’ve ended up fitting Bachmann ones to everything, but the latest Next 18 decoders are a bit stuttering even if they’re Bachmann ones.
I’ve just bought an NCE Powercab controller from eBay for £120 as my friend has one and everything seems to work fine on it (I haven’t had the time to unpack mine yet).
So to my amateur mind I reckon it might be worth trying it on a more modern controller?

Yep, think the controller is definitely the issue. It’s now working again temperamentally. Time for an upgrade!
Thanks @Cowley.
 

Cowley

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Yep, think the controller is definitely the issue. It’s now working again temperamentally. Time for an upgrade!
Thanks @Cowley.
The first 33 I got came fitted with a Dapol chip and I had very similar experience to you in that it shot off at full speed and I couldn’t get any response through the controller. It was like it was haunted. :lol:
 

Peter C

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Well, that didn’t last long! Morning all. It’s fitted with the Bachmann 36-557 21 pin decoder. I got it working briefly on my track, but it would only work when there were no other locos on the track. The light function (F0) would work, and I could get it started but it wouldn’t respond to the power being set back to off and wouldn’t stop (even when pressing the emergency stop button). It now won’t work at all. I’ve tried reprogramming it but to no avail. The other locos work fine and there is power to all track. I suspect the issue may be my controller(?) It’s an old, second hand Hornby Select running v1.1 firmware. Is that likely to be the problem? Any advice much appreciated.
The Hornby Select controller isn't NMRA compliant, essentially meaning it doesn't necessarily work with other manufacturer's decoders. The Hornby Elite is, though - the only downside is that it's stupidly expensive (or mine was at least). I wouldn't recommend the Elite unless you're going to be doing a lot of running trains because otherwise it doesn't justify the price. Maybe a Bachmann controller could be a good way to go, but I don't know anything about them so can't really comment.

-Peter
 

FrodshamJnct

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The Hornby Select controller isn't NMRA compliant, essentially meaning it doesn't necessarily work with other manufacturer's decoders. The Hornby Elite is, though - the only downside is that it's stupidly expensive (or mine was at least). I wouldn't recommend the Elite unless you're going to be doing a lot of running trains because otherwise it doesn't justify the price. Maybe a Bachmann controller could be a good way to go, but I don't know anything about them so can't really comment.

-Peter

Thanks Peter. Yes, I’ve looked at the Elite and can’t justify forking out £200+ on what was supposed to be a little lockdown project! I’m going to get a new Select with the latest firmware (v1.6) and that should sort it apparently. I’ve now found it works fine if the other locos are on the track and have their lights on. Very odd!
 

Peter C

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Thanks Peter. Yes, I’ve looked at the Elite and can’t justify forking out £200+ on what was supposed to be a little lockdown project! I’m going to get a new Select with the latest firmware (v1.6) and that should sort it apparently. I’ve now found it works fine if the other locos are on the track and have their lights on. Very odd!
You're welcome :)
If you've not already bought a new Select, look around and see what your local model shop(s) can do. I seem to remember people saying that a Select's firmware can be updated by someone with the right equipment (maybe Hornby if you send it off to them). It would mean not being able to have the controller for (potentially) a few weeks, but you would then have a controller with new firmware. DCC can be really weird and annoying at times - I've spent the past two or three years trying to sort out all sorts of troublesome engines and units which don't want to play ball!

-Peter
 

FrodshamJnct

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You're welcome :)
If you've not already bought a new Select, look around and see what your local model shop(s) can do. I seem to remember people saying that a Select's firmware can be updated by someone with the right equipment (maybe Hornby if you send it off to them). It would mean not being able to have the controller for (potentially) a few weeks, but you would then have a controller with new firmware. DCC can be really weird and annoying at times - I've spent the past two or three years trying to sort out all sorts of troublesome engines and units which don't want to play ball!

-Peter

I’ve sprung for a brand new one. The one I have is very worn as I got it second hand in a Hornby Pendolino train pack 4 years ago. I did consider sending it off to Hornby who can do the firmware upgrade but I think a birthday treat to myself is in order!
 

Peter C

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I’ve sprung for a brand new one. The one I have is very worn as I got it second hand in a Hornby Pendolino train pack 4 years ago. I did consider sending it off to Hornby who can do the firmware upgrade but I think a birthday treat to myself is in order!
Ah OK - that sounds like a good idea. My Select is far from perfect as it's been heavily used over the years so I can empathise! Happy birthday by the way - forgot to post on your post about your new loco. :)

Hope it all goes well!

-Peter
 

FrodshamJnct

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Ah OK - that sounds like a good idea. My Select is far from perfect as it's been heavily used over the years so I can empathise! Happy birthday by the way - forgot to post on your post about your new loco. :)

Hope it all goes well!

-Peter

Thanks very much Peter!
 
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