Gordonvale

No rich kid in our street, but I was a sick kid, always off school for weeks on end. My Tri-ang oval and Princess Victoria set continually expanded as sympathetic grown ups would call round with a new carriage, truck, track piece etc!

The consideration is - passengers must be able to get on and off. Therefore depending on the positioning of platforms with regard to the rail: If platforms are always to the left, then both corridors cannot be to the right. If platforms are always to the right, then both corridors cannot be to the left. If platforms are both left and right, and there is a connection between coaches, one corridor must be on the left and the other on the right. If platforms are both left and right, and there is no connection between coaches, one corridor must be on the left and the other on the right, and passengers must be herded in to the coach set for their destination.

General Gordon, General Booth.

Travelling anticlockwise on the coloured line, I can't see a way to traverse to the other circuit.

Both points on the loop set "straight" - no problem. Either or both points on the loop set "diverge", point in loop must be set "straight".

If the inner oval starts 67mm before the outer oval, any straights at the top of the oval will have standard track centres.

Zero working days for me and a few other posters!

I googled "clear display case" and got dozens of hits. I'm in Australia so I don't know how that would go in your neck of the woods.

Google "Atlas rail joiners". You'll get a US supply at $5-$6 per 48 pack. I'm still using a pack of 100 I got years ago!

What are the characteristics of the power supply to the CDU?

A diode across an IRJ is a sensible way to stop a loco without it getting damaged.

Place the power clip (or solder to the rails) between either turntable and the point nearest to it. Both points straight: main line is live, loop is dead. Both points diverge: main is dead between the points, loop is live. One point straight and one point diverge: both main and loop live.

"The most reliable way is to remove the Resistor completely" Easier way is to leave the resistor in place, disconnect the power source and discharge any capacitors in the circuit.

My personal observation of the use of conductive glue is that a blob of the stuff has a resistance of about 7 ohms. No problem for LED driving, but problematic for loco running, so don't use on trackwork.

@GS definitely not Rose Grove. Where the line diverges right (Gannow Junction) towards Burnley Manchester Road and Copy Pit it was 2 roads bordered by a grassy embankment. The "straight on" was 2 roads towards Burnley Barracks and Burnley Central. My first recollection of it would be dated early 1950s. Map of Preston station 1923. Looking to the right edge from Station Approach could match the OP photo looking from the bottom up.

@Pedro48 If your conclusion "that the angle (22.5 degrees) is too tight for the larger locos with bogies" was correct, the whole world of Hornby would be derailed. My layout contains 100+ R8072s & R8073s and I don't have derailment issues. The track is securely pinned to a level baseboard, thereby preventing track movement when forces of gravity are applied to it by moving locos. Hope this helps.

Hattons don't charge VAT nor GST. Postage via courier is cheaper than Hornby too. That's how it was on my last purchase 2 years ago.

A few years back, I decide to have a "track renewal" project, as I'd just moved house and had dismantled my layout. As a consequence, I've got a good stock of steel track. I put it to use for making buffer stops and for padding out sidings, where "no loco shall go".

My Yellow Submarine Eurostar centre coach pack displays "Only A Northen Song". Another person previously brought this up, and any images I've seen contain this error, so I'm assuming all are the same.

Correct spelling of "weeed" is a banned word!!!!! A tense situation.

INOX MX3 is the latest thing on the market. Does everything you need for your layout and rolling stock. An Aussie product readily available in the UK. Just google "INOX MX3 UK". Clean, lubricate, loosen. Safe with plastics. Only downside I've found is that it causes foamy plastics (used as underlay) to swell if excessively applied. Other uses: Weeed killer. Spray on gecko trails (shed roof rafters) to keep them from hovering over your layout and depositing droppings on the layout. One spray around my tropical shed, two years ago and zero droppings on the layout ever since. Still plenty trails about for the geckos to prey on the roaches.

We tend to use the terms "solenoid" and "point motors" interchangeably. Whereas in real life a point motor consists of two solenoids, one to throw straight, the other to throw diverge. "secondly some switches work one way ‘opening’ but not ‘closing’" suggests, as identified by 96RAF and Topcat, the toggle switches are not "spring to centre off" causing burnout on one solenoid of a point motor.

This layout ended up stored in a shed in Tropical North Queensland. http://www.009.cd2.com/satanicmill/front%20page.htm It was in a sorry state, when gifted to our local club. It has since been restored to its original glory by our esteemed club members.

When I was a nipper, living in a 2-up 2-down house with my parents and 2 siblings, our (mine really} layout was permanently laid on a 8'x6' board. When not in use, it was propped up against the wall. When in use, it was dropped on the floor. On occasions, the board was lugged in to the living room and laid over the dining table. The moral of the story is "pin the layout to a solid board", avoid continually connecting/disconnecting track pieces. If this is a problem you have 2 choices - forget the layout or move to a bigger house.