ModelerXYZ

Thats a cattle waggon. A brake van has an open verandah at one end. XYZ

Welcome aboard Andrew. Wether converting your existing locos to DCC would be easy or not, (I somehow doubt it) don't worry. Physically the differences in trackwork are:- You need to be able to put in the DCC point clips on the points. Also, a DCC circuit is continuious, so there is less complex wiring needed. This means that there are few if any Insulated rail joiners required unless you are doing something silly like a reverse loop. Draw the layout up and post it on the forum, you will have to wait for moderators approval of the images, but the people on here generally have a good idea as to what works. Check out the getting started sticky at the top of the forum. Remember the 1st rule is to have fun. XYZ

Hi Paul, I too have no personal expreience of a person who makes baseboards, having always made my own. I would use either 12mm or 16mm ply, Mdf and stirlingboard both have the unfortunate flaw of warping. If you have room, and 8x4 board supplied by Jewsons is ideal. XYZ

Hi Lindsay. The surface mounted point motor is designed to fit next to the point without the housing hut. It simply screws to the board. I don't know if you could fit it into one of the huts, Ive never tried. If you do manage it, definately show it off in the forum. Otherwise just screw it on and wire up your preferred control method. XYZ

So to confirm: Other trains run fine. So the track is working. When you touch the motor with the 9v battery it runs fine. When you touch the wheels with said battery it doesn't work. My conclusion therefore is that there must be a break in the cable between the pickups and the motor. Check all the connections and report back. XYZ

Hi William. I don't really use much modern traction, but If the DVT doesn't have a motor it should be fine. XYZ

Thanks Paul and RAF. On your suggestion I tried changing CV8 to 8. The controller flashed it's red light twice and then went back to normal. It then didn't work on the defult adress either. When I tried to read the addresses after programming (or rather attempting to) I just get XXX displayed. Are the decoders broken? XYZ

I got a load on ebay. I just typed in oo figures. I have 100s to use, so I won't run out for a very long time. 1:76 is the correct scaling for them. XYZ

Hi everyone. I run digital with an elite. I have a problem with 2 Hornby R8247 decoders. They should be addressed as 9-12 and 13-16. the R8247 with addresses 5-8 is working fine. The decoder 17-20 is as well, and so is the NCE decoder 21. These 2 decoders won't accept their numbers when connected to a programming output. The red light on the elite flashes, goes red for a couple of seconds and hasn't changed the adress. The associated points then won't change by motor either. What is happening and how can I fix the problem? XYZ

Long side will need 140mm to accomadate the stairs, short side is 60mm, and height is 90mm. I just measured mine, XYZ

Unfortunately, I don't have an Elink, if/When I use railmaster I use it through my Elite. I cannot give any tips to help get it working. try touching the wheels with a 9v battery. If they move all good. If they don't, the loco is the problem. XYZ

We will have to raise the overhead wires for it. Alternately, run the teddy bear only on the southern reigion where the power is coveyed by a third rail. Or we could just stop for popmaster. XYZ

Hi Lon, Read the getting started guide at the top of the forum. The track does not have to be fully connected for the train to run. Set up the elink and connect it to a single peice of track and you can make a train move. XYZ

According to Wikipedia, the Gotham curve was the sharpest on the Cromford and High Peak railway. It went round 80 degrees at a radius of 50 feet. This gives us a radius of 200mm in 00 scale. This is sharper than a first radius curve, which is 370mm. Only short wheelbase stock were allowed due to the tightness of the curve. XYZ

So it should be fine? I am using a Hornby decoder by the way. Thanks everyone! XYZ

As I have been having trouble connecting accessory decoders together, I have decided to connect each decoder directly to the track. I find it easier to solder droppers directly to the rails. This rasies a question though. A couple of my decoders are under my triangle which is powered by a reverse loop module. Should I put longer wires to the main line or will they be alright connected to the section run on the RLM? I don't want to run longer wires than needed. XYZ

I use ipa in my Sharge as well. Agree with brewman it derails more often pushed. XYZ

A reverse loop is basically when the left rail becomes the right rail. Yours starts at the Express points before the station. If you trace that line around, you will see that it comes back through those points. The left rail that left the points is now the right rail coming back into them on that side. The solution is to put some insulated rail joiners on the exit of the point, and I would suggest at the other side of the station and put your reverse loop module Isolated track section there. If done correctly, there are no problems, my layout includes a triangle that has the same effect. If not done, the controller will short out, and won't restart. A Hornby Elite with a 4Amp power supply can usually control 8-10 trains, so a single one will be fine. XYZ

There is a reversing loop, which will need a Reverse Loop Module. There are 2 continuous loops that can have a single train running on them, In addition, you can have 2 trains directly controlled on an elite. Much more than that and you may not actually be able to control them by yourself, a single power district will be fine, provided you isolate the Reverse loop and install the module. XYZ

In answer to your questions: 1) Yes. 2) a radius 4 half curve is needed. 3) There isn't one. It doesn't fit into the standard geometry at all. The best solution is 2 R610s which added to a standard point will make the same length. So an R600 and 2 R610s should do it. XYZ

If the computer has failed, Hornby Railmaster support can deactivate it for you, you need to contact them. XYZ

My lighting circuits are all LEDs, and I doubt I will use the full capacity for running trains. My brain power can only handle me controlling about 4 or 5, after that I won't be able to stop them crashing into each other. I might do a seperate power supply for lighting anyway in time. I designed it for the 15VAC accessory output on my HM2000, so it should handle the voltage. XYZ

Would I be right in assuming that the AUX output on my hornby Elite would be the right socket for powering my building lights? XYZ

Turn the loco upside down and spin the wheels to confirm they really spin. If they don't thats your problem. If they do, and they spin perfectly upside down, remove the front bogie and push it around without the engine to determine if they run properly. DO NOT LOSE ANY SCREWS. XYZ

It might sound obvious, but have you checked that they are actually on the track and not slightly above it? XYZ