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    • Flashback to 1978.jpg
      Flashback to 1978.jpg
      • 0 replies
    • TGG - Trains a GoGo
      Images and videos in this gallery relate to the software package TGG written by Ray Dawson and operated by an invited group of users. Also shown is associated loco detection hardware designed, built and supplied by Ed Cairns.

      To learn more about TGG and the group please see this forum post 

       
      • 0 replies
    • FAQ 1 – This tutorial originally written by Son of Triangman [Margate Richmond] describes the best way to convert the old Triang Hornby X.03 / X.04 locomotive motor to DCC.
      FAQ - Making the X03 and X04 motor DCC fitted the proper way.
       
      FAQ 2 – This tutorial provides guidance on how to install a ‘Stay Alive’ to a Hornby decoder. The documented and described principle can be applied to any decoder and decoder brand – physical size and member soldering skill level permitting.
      FAQ - How Do I add a 'Stay Alive' to Hornby decoders?
       
      FAQ 3 – This tutorial describes in great detail the issues with installing the Hornby DC Analogue turntables on a DCC powered layout and how to overcome them.
      FAQ - What are my options for installing a DC Analogue R070 Turntable on a Digital DCC layout?
      FAQ 4 - This tutorial describes how to recognise if your layout has a reverse loop and how to deal with them in a DCC scenario.
      FAQ - Do I need a Reverse Loop Module and how do I install one. :: Hornby Hobbies
      FAQ 5 - This links to the Hornby Elite firmware update download area, which contains all the information you need to help update your Elite.
      https://support.hornby.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360016116880-Hornby-Elite-Updates
      • 0 replies
    • TT:120 Track Plan Book
      A part of the 2024 brochure that’s gone down well is the addition of some track plans and a few are mentioning a Track Plan Book. AFAIK there isn’t one specifically available to include Hornby track pieces. I’m thinking more of those with less experience who would appreciate guidance. Layout planning is quite an important process as it can dictate how well your layout works and develops. Helps get the right track pieces and hook up electrics or create isolated sections. 
      Thinking ahead, what things do prospective layout builders feel they need? Size of area is a starting point, type of layout (end to end or loops) scene, country halt, TMD, main line terminus etc. There have been countless Track Plan books over the years but tastes change or not. Planning software is ok for some others like paper and pencil and make it work 😁 . What I usually see is people not knowing quite where to start which is when a track plan book can really help to inspire. 
      I know there are a number of experienced layout builders and I wonder as there isn’t anything specifically for TT:120 yet, if we can do it ourselves within the forum. Some data might be worth passing back to Hornby if they have intentions of creating a Track Plan Book. 
       
        • Like
      • 66 replies
    • This guide was written by late forum Moderator Chrissaf and provided as a remote download, which is no longer available. The content of the tutorial is republished as a local PDF following:

      Note that due to the method of capture any hyperlinks in the tutorial to track parts, etc no longer work.

      Edit - it has been noted that some train-sets do not come with the 'standard' 3rd radius oval and siding. Some are 2nd radius. If you are using this guide to expand your train-set then please take this into account before ordering parts.

      GettingStartedWithTrackExtensionPacks.pdf
      • 0 replies
    • Has anyone with their ear to the ground heard anything about release dates for the Class 50 locos?

      My preorder list has now shrunk right down to six items so it’s a really exciting time to be tt modelling

       
      • 536 replies
    • Post in Live steam still going
      Still trying to log in and input thing like a picture so just testing 

      if this has worked you should be looking at a picture of a steam engine having just watched The great steam adventure on channel 5 makes you want to get steam up yourself 

       
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    • Hello gang, I’ve trawled through a lot of the good, bad and ugly threads regarding the various minor issues that customers have found with some of the Hornby TT120 A1/3/4 Pacific chassis and hopefully covered all of them here in my latest YouTube video.

      I think I’ve caught the main issues, but please add forum thread links to anything I might have missed.
      I’ve mainly focused on bogie de-railment of course, but here’s what’s on the video;
      1.      The Black tape.
      2.      The spring issues.
      3.      Wheel gauge/spacing.
      4.      Body detail fouling.
      5.      Mech/loco handling issues.
      6.      Grinding motor/gears.
      • 21 replies
    • Post in Class 50 locomotives
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    • Post in Class 50 locomotives
      Post in Class 50 locomotives
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    • VID_20240525_152659.mp4




      The Sir Edward Elgar is quite classy with the Pullmans. I think this will be my rail tour train. 

      My first time with HM7000 and loving the realistic startups and of course the horns and lights 🙂

      I have got a rake of 4 of the🤫executive Mk2F's, but I'm not supposed to know about them as they are a present.
        • Like
    • I am building an exhibition layout. Given that track is good. What advice would you give? Need to run multiple hours without issues, or as close as I can get.

      so far with testing, what fails are the couplings and it does seem to be always between the same carriages.

      so far one issue every 30 min.

       
      • 16 replies
    • I renumbered all my TTA tankers. 
       

      Using toothpaste and Sodium Bicarbonate as a paste. It’s not damaging to paint or plastics, most people have it in the house too. 
      NOTE  it is an abrasive; so although it’s easy to control, ie you won’t burn through the paint below, it can leave a trace of ‘polishing’. That could be removed with a touch up of clear matt  varnish or many modellers recommend using gloss vanish on the base, apply the transfer and then matt varnish over. 
      Chemical methods of removing numbers etc can have all sorts of effects on paint and plastics. The yellow of the wasp stripes on the 08 reacted very badly to a tiny amount of thinners, it looked more like I had use Nitromors! 
      I would strongly recommend testing first before going all in. 
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  • Recent Hornby Topics

  • Most Recent Posts

    • Hornby R920 has 12 insulated rail joiners for £2.99 or £0.25 each when you buy 12 One benefit to not installing irj is that you save £0.50 on the crossover.   There is a hidden safety issue if you do not install insulated rail joiners.  Consider, unplug the controller from the wall for the inner loop.  Set the points to cross over.  Turn the outer loop controller to maximum voltage, so as to test power to the inner loop at full speed.  QUESTION: what voltage is present at the plug of the unplugged controller? ANSWER: 220 volts.  QUESTION: what amperage is present at the plug of the unplugged controller?  ANSWER: less minimal conversion losses, just about the max amperage the plugged in controller can source.  WHY?  Voltage is converted down from 220 to 14 at the first controller and back up to 220 at the second (unplugged) controller.  In the field, we laughingly called this "Joltage" because that is going to give you a surprising jolt.  But it is no laughing matter, this can pack a punch. ÷÷÷÷ Aside from the safety issue, if irj are not installed, changing the points with mismatched polarity will short the track, independent of locomotive location. This may not be an obvious issue to troubleshoot.  What happened? If irj ARE installed and there is a polarity mismatch, the controllers will only short when the locomotive is actually crossing over.  This will be easy to troubleshoot, as the problem source will be located betwixt the seat and the controller. Bee  
    • Yes, He passed away November last year but had had serious health problems for a while before that.
    • I've had a look at his channel JJ.  He appears to be a non-native English speaker.  This will make for difficult communication.  He is very clearly an intelligent fellow, and his experiments on video are thoughtful. He appears to be looking for the minimum voltage the controller produces.  I asked him "Hello Alex.  To clarify, you want the minimum voltage across the terminals, with nothing connected, at half wave?"  Check to see if my question is there please.  youTube has been deleting my comments of late, apparently I talk too much hahahaha Once he responds, I can help you to answer his question, and help you to understand a multi meter. Please take a picture of your multimeter, front and back, and post them here so I can tell you the exact settings. Bee
    • I will head on over to your channel JJ, so as to understand the individual better Bee
    • Always so many details to discover.    In the previous post, I didn't include this drawing of Twin Sisters from The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, R.H.G. Thomas, 1980.   It appeared to be from a periodical known as "The Engineer", a non contemporary resource. This attribution was based on the font used, which is quite distinctive.  I am always very leary of non period sources and so skipped inclusion. It turns out that Thomas got the image from Marshall, A Century of Locomotive Building by Robert Stephenson, published in 1923 and again, likely from "The Engineer".  Marshall's image is therefore well out of period, the build to scrap period for Twin Sisters being 1828 to Dec. 1831. The choice morsel offered by Marshall, in 1923, is that the image in his book was "traced from the original undated drawing".  What??  I have investigated Marshall¹, and found other drawings, the most instructive being of Patentee, LMR33.  The drawing is signed by Robert Stephenson, dated June 12, 1840.  Patentee appeared on the railway in 1834.  Thus, these drawings are not precisely contemporary.  They may reflect remembrance by principals and therefore contain errors.  Yet they are directly from the firm of Robert Stephenson and Co. Ltd and thus authoritative.  Reviewed, apparently, by Stephenson himself. The original drawing of Twin Sisters is labeled "Liverpool Engine C" on that drawing, but is clearly Twin Sisters.  It is held in public view by the Science Museum.   https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110001922/liverpool-engine-c-drawing Please zoom the Science Museum's image to see detail.  Title in upper right hand corner. I have examined the drawing online, at high zoom magnification.  It is drawn at a 1:8 scale, as noted on the drawing.   One concern of note is that of the drawing traced in Marshall, the scale added appears inaccurate.  Remember, these are "traced from the undated original". The scale is not drawn on the original, it is merely stated as 1½ inches per foot.   For example, when scaling² the original drawing, I obtain a wheel diameter of 4' 1⅛" +/- ⅜".    When scaling the drawing from Marshall, using that added scale, I obtain 3' 9" wheel diameter.  That is a significant delta of ~4".  Marshall's scale is not to be trusted³. Yet, there are some interesting details revealed in the Stephenson mechanical drawing. In the end elevation, the drawing specifies that the back to back is 4 feet, 5½ inches.  Further, that the back of flange to face of rail is 1⅜ inches.  5½+1⅜+1⅜ = 8¼, consistent with the known gauge 4'8¼".  Not something to reproduce in the model, but something that lends to understanding this early railway. The valve gear is timed to the axle under the pistons, leading to the steam chest.  The valve gear is a detail not visible in Shaw but the steam chest is.   Not only is there a horizontally mounted steam reservoir, there are two other tanks mounted vertically nestled on either side, in between the large boilers.  Perhaps condensation traps or additional resevoirs.  This was made clear by the Stephenson drawing and once clear, became evident in  the Shaw depiction.  I hilariously missed these tanks in the first revision. Not visible anywhere are the openings in the chimney for loading fuel, sadly we still just have the description.  Pity that, such an odd feature. The Stephenson drawing does not show any body work at all.  It is merely a mechanical configuration drawing.  I trust that Shaw draws what he sees, and therefore, the body must be. With the OO squish problem, details such as boiler diameter cannot be directly translated. However, the ratio between boiler diameter to chimney diameter & etc can be measured and installed, leading to a reasonable appearance in OO. Examples: Chimney : Boiler ratio = .239 Horizontal Steam Reservoir : Boiler ratio = .148 Etc. My next task is clear. The CAD will be corrected to more closely match the Stephenson drawing, whilst including design cues from Shaw. Bee ¹ The book covers locomotives right to 1923, for example: Other modelers may wish to consult this book for details.  Who would not wish to model this beauty? 😉 ²Scaling drawings is typically bad engineering practice.  It is fine for making models.  The wheel scales somewhere between 4' ¾" wheel diameter to 4' 1½" wheel diameter.  The imprecision is due to the Museum's resolution of  ~¹/₁₆" per pixel and my ability to precisely pick out which pixel represents the line. ³Note that this 4 foot wheel diameter makes the adults in Shaw terribly short, which leads us back to scaling issues in Shaw as well.   
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