Buz

Hi Wapples If you just want point indications the the Hornby Dublo JCT signals can do that provided you using DC for point control. As you can wire the point solenoid and the Dublo signal solenoids to the same switch so the signal is clear for the available route and stop for the unavailable route. sounds complicated but it is straight forward to do. Alternatively just get point indicators and use those smile regards John

Hi wapples Signaling as I have said before is a very complex issue and there is no way you are going to be able to have full signalling. It would require a lot more space than the average modeller anywhere any prototype on this planet has. Getting the interlocking right would be a PITA I would suggest looking at the collision points in the track plan and having home signals to prevent collision of the trains. Basically only having the in and out and crossovers signaled and maybe if you have room have the distant signals that would be out side the station approach. These give a yellow or green indication and mimic what the next signal is doing so if the next signal is red then the distant gives a yellow and a sneaky dodge is to parallel wire the home and distant signal together so they work together. Working color light ground signals are available. How ever the only working mechanical shunt signals I have seen are NSWGR Bayles (spelling??) signals from Shapeways made by the Signal man the difference in size from HO to OO for the miniature arms is so small its not even worth considering. You will need to get all the parts and assemble them. But it would bring a bit of variation to the signal system you use and in signaling every thing is standard as long as it is different. As signaling is tailored to location and operational requirements and some legislative requirements as I said a complex area to sort out. The Bayles signals (spelling??) look like they have strong family ties with the McKenzie and Holland designs, so would be usable. Provided you don't use the distant as that has a green light near the top of the mast and the distant arm is red and white with red and green spectacles very very old school coloring. Have a look at the older style AUSTRALIAN signals in your local hobby shop as well as the UK made ones as the early "Modern" era and an awful lot of the semaphores where originally made in England or made under license in Aus. One last thing the current signals from Hornby are closer to "O" scale than they are to OO scale so be aware of that. So Look at the older Dublo semaphores even the electric ones in working order often show up on Evil Bay at reasonable prices. Both modern Hornby and the older Dublo color lights are a bit on the bulky side. Again my preference would be the older Dublo ones just because they do a junction and the home and distant color lights. regards John

Hi GWR & LNER FAN 4472 you are correct not all the loco's you mention where auto fitted. I think the GWR B sets where two coaches. Logically the coaches in the Welsh valleys would have been Collett or other GWR designs. The liveries for BR in your time frame where blood and custard followed by crimson (similar to the LMS red), the return to regional liveries chocolate and cream for Western, green for Southern etc. So the crimson coaches in the picture may be re painted surviving ex GWR coaches or MK1's it is unlikely but not impossible that Staniers made it into the Western region Welsh valleys. The big four coaches where re painted into BR liveries over time so the odd coach in the old company livery did happen as well In broad general terms a passenger coach life span is 25 years at which point a general over haul is required if the coach is going last any longer in revenue service. At this point even if transferring to non revenue service it must be overhauled and modified for its new job. Hope this helps. One last thought the early ( I think)1960's was when that disgusting rail blue and the blue and grey livery started to show up. regards John

This is very sad news indeed He will be sorely missed by all who had anything to do with these forums. He had a wealth of information that he was always happy to share and his humor showed when it was warranted. The forums will be all the poorer for his loss. I hope all our messages will be passed on to his family

Hi Me Not worth fixing. It is ready to start its new job as scenic material of some sort or wagon loads. It will give you more trouble than its worth if you try to flatten it and use it to run trains on it. regards John

Hi andydoo From memory it is an uncoupling track signal from one of the European manufacturers. Marklin?? It shows the state of the uncoupling track energized (set to uncouple) or de-energised (ramp lowered so won't uncouple). As far as I know it has no known prototype signal. Which leaves you free to assign a meaning and purpose to it even full size signal practice has the occasional location specific odd one. regards John

Hi flyingfox4475 Even when using rosin cored solder a little extra flux can be useful. Given the physically small size of a lot of our soldering jobs, and washing is not practical. Look for a pen applicator acid free flux. regards John

Hi TVR Signaling practices is a very complex area that has developed over at least two hundred years mostly through trial and error and the results of some pretty serious accidents. The design of signals is all about the visibility to the driver and operational requirements. though some things are regulated by law like the fail safe principles and interlocking of signal and point. At one time there was no interlocking between points and signals like there is today You do occasionally get signals back to back on the same mast but it is more common to have a signal each side of the line one facing each way. What drivers do when approaching the back of a signal is ignore it, it doesn't apply to them. If the branch line is signaled territory it will operate one of two ways it will be automatic signaling yes this did happen with electric revers-er fitted signals or three position semaphores alternatively it will be absolute block working. The third possibility is staff working with the station master responsible for issuing the staff safe working paperwork and operating the signals. I suspect the Hornby signals (but am not sure) are based on L.N.E.R or BR upper quadrant signals. The current Hornby range of signals is closer to "O" scale than OO scale making the older Hornby Dublo OO signal range worth looking for. As is a good book on railway signaling for model railways regards John

Hi all I use a lot of old Triang Hornby wagons often bought in bulk lots cheaply on evil bay. I then fit modern profile wheels to them and if needed bearings. I can live with the lesser detail some of the older models have and love the fact that the colorful PO wagons are not running in ones, and I have decent goods train lengths at an affordable price. Nice though the models of today, are they should be locked up and never touched far too many fiddly bits to break. Yes quality costs but it is a shame no one produces quality trains any more at least not by the way I measure it, If looked after they don't last a life time any more and you can't service anything any more, not the least because spare parts are just are not available any more, and you would loose half the detail or more just trying to get the body off. A lot of the older model railway magazines 1970's going back wards to earlier decades have conversion articles and how to build articles in them. Use caution if not sure what that strange named material in the article is, most are harmless, But some would give the modern health and safety Elves apoplexy. A PROPERLY built card coach or building is very robust and can have a surprising level of detail. Even the simple step of going for plastic or card kit buildings instead of plonk and play resin ones can reduce the cost a lot. The more you make, assemble and bash for yourself the cheaper it gets and the more satisfying the hobby gets. After all it is supposed to be a Doing Hobby Like it or not sooner or later you will end up having to make something your self because it is not manufactured. It is this Item that truly makes the model railway yours and not the same old same old as so many are because all the same models have been used in much the same way. regards John

Hi Rana Temporia "N" scale modern angular corrugated sheet metal plasticard might produce acceptable enough vent louvers ?? Worth a look. regards John

Hi Brew Man Basically you have answered your own question the answer is yes Though as an ex S&TE employee I hesitate to use the word normal when talking signal construction. But do remember the short doll is the one for the branch (lower speed route) and it will be on the same side as the branch. Depending on operations branch requirements or DOT regulations there may also be an associated shunt signal or perhaps point indicators. There will all-most certainly be a catch point with indicator to protect the mainline from yard runaways and an exit signal as well assuming bi-directional running in and out of the yard. If your brave Peco make working left and right hand catch points smiling_imp . If space is tight you may have the two signals on the same mast one above the other the top one being the main the lower arm being the branch signals are usually read top to bottom left to right, but there are as always exceptions that prove the rule grinning . a modified Hornby Dublo split distant signal can provide the one above the other if needs be. Just remember the three ways of doing things the right way, the wrong way, and the rail way. regards John

Hi Bazza The isolating track allows you to stop a train moving in a section of track. to stable locomotives on a siding you need an isolated section for each locomotive. One isolated rail section is enough in which case SPST (on off switches) are enough. For two rail isolation's (both rails) DPST switches are needed (on off switches that switch both wires). You don't need DPDT switches unless you need to reverse the polarity for some reason. Just get the right on off switches for the chosen required operation. If running analogue it would be a good idea to find an older second hand wiring a model railway book. This will explain how to do and how it works the basics are quite simple and nothing to be scared of. The book will also have more advanced techniques for more complex wiring jobs and ccts you can make for more specific tasks. Keep it neat and tidy and note what you have done and use color coding for ease of later fault finding, the commonly seen rats nest of wiring is not the way to go. regards John

Hi It actually goes 1 Train approaches, barriers close 2 train crosses crossing 3 train clears crossing barriers open 4 train stops at station to do whatever. for the train with the blue X 1 signal or something starts boom down cct barriers close. Usually not the train in this set up, as the booms need to be down before the train leaves. 2 booms down, signal or whatever allows train to cross crossing. 3 Train clears crossing booms open train goes on its merry way. Set ups like this are a pain not just for the public, but also for the maintenance crews as they are different to a normal crossing set up and often technically more complicated. They are tailored to the location so one offs. regards John

Hi Aussie Good quality flex track can with a bit of extra work got down to some ridiculously tight radiuses But you will have to mark it carefully cut all the web pieces out that join the sleepers together, pre-bend the rails and make a radius template to hold the track against as you pin it down. Some experimentation will be required to see how tight you can go without the locomotive jamming in the radius or derailing. Going below radius two (around 18") is a kin to going down a well know Aussie creek in a barbed wire canoe without a paddle. The usual recommendation is to avoid them like the plaque because many modern locomotives and items of rolling stock just will not go round anything tighter Moving slowly a loco can be persuaded to go round some very tight curves the how tight is determined by how far apart the wheels are how many wheels and how many of those wheels have flanges. At 1200 X 600 on a shunting layout you should still be able to use R2 curves on a well planned layout. Granted not a large space but with good planning it can work. Just make sure you can extend the layout easily these things have the habit of spreading like a noxious weed to fill absolutely all available space. One sneaky trick you can use to gain a bit more room is to have the main board, at the dimensions stated and then have a hinged flap that some of the industry or goods shed (structures only) etc is mounted on and when not in use it is folded away to keep everything safe for storage. Just few thoughts. I would suggest that an 0-6-0 locomotive would be a better choice it will be more reliable crossing points and with slow speed running. Mind you I do note that a couple of very nice looking shunting tractors one VR the other NSWGR are advertised from time to time in the Australian Railway Modeller magazine. not cheap but worth a look. As is Hornby's sentinel locomotive I have one and it is very nice and has a very very short wheel base which may prove a problem with point frogs. regards John

Hi all OOPS sorry Correction USA commercial OO gauge ran on 19mm gauge regards John

Hi Chris English trains are made to a proper scale that being 1:76 How this came about is because when Hornby (the Historical one in Binns rd Liverpool) and Other brands started manufacturing small scale trains in the smaller HO scale. They could do this because USA and European trains are markedly larger than those in the UK. So the clockwork and early electric motors available at the time would fit into the bodies of the locomotive and the reasonably accurate gauge of 16.5mm was chosen by those manufacturers. Hornby however found that it could not do the same because the clockwork and electric motors of the day would not fit into an HO scale English locomotive. So the trains where made a larger scale so the motors would fit however the English manufacturers of the time and there where quite a few of them at that time. Decided for purely commercial reasons to go with the inaccurate gauge of 16.5mm. That the other manufacturers where using instead of the more accurate 18.5mm. Which coincidently was the gauge that the very short lived USA manufacturers of American OO scale used in the USA OO scale is considered a special interest area and the rest of the world is the same, Unless it is being used for UK railways. All this happened a Very very long time before I was born and I am 60 Yo The consequence is that there is no market in the world for HO scale English outline trains and also it is now commercially well and truly too late to increase the gauge to the more accurate 18.5mm. There are however modellers who do strive for more accurate models but these people have far more skills and patience than I do. regards John

Hi Ts58 Signaling systems can range from nothing to staff instruments or radios and paper work to incredibly complex modern high speed signal systems and every variation in between. You do not have enough space and not many railway modellers do have the space for a comprehensive full signal system. You would have more signals than trees "oh dear". Start by getting a book or two on UK railway signaling systems so you can get an understanding of how the signal system evolved. Me personally my layout has two fixed distant signals that's it, it may one day get a home signal out of the goods yard when I find and assemble the kit I have of an old time disc signal. The signals I would suggest looking for are the old Hornby Dublo semaphore ones they come in home, distant and split distant also junction signals in home and distant they are available as manual or electric signals The electrics are simple solenoid drive so not complicated to do a very basic wire up job that can be added to later as knowledge increases. They are usually not expencive to purchase second hand. There is more variety only just and they are closer to scale size and more robust than the modern Hornby offerings. I would look at having departure signals for the Loco depot and goods yard and signals to protect the yard and Loco entrance in other words protecting trains at possible collision points. Given your small space I would only have running in signals at the station these only control entry to the station not where in the station the train will go the station master sets that, and it is an early and simple practice to replicate. All the signals mentioned here would be home signals which basically give a stop or proceed indication. The KISS principle applies you will have to remember what every signal does if you plan on having an operating signal system of some sort later on. With out a track diagram it is hard to make more concrete suggestions. All you have to do is get the most simple of the basics right and it will look believable. Without a monster supper large space you won't be able to have a fully comprehensive signal system with all the bells and whistles it just won't be possible. regards John.

Hi Steven in Kerry Nice effort. I hate to disappoint you but model railways are never finished. They can be completed but are never finished. There will always be that nice little detail you can add that scene that annoys you so you change it so it doesn't. Not to mention that Frank Hornby fellow was very clever and a train set can always have something added more track trains stations etc etc at infinite possibilities. Not forgetting the oooh I like that moments that result in a new purchase or construction project for the layout. Enjoy and have fun that's what its all about. regards John

Hi Andrew Avoid first radius curves like the plague many of the modern locomotives just can't cope with them. Make your minimum radius second radius but where ever possible go bigger 3rd and 4th on running lines. If building the layout for operations the large radius's become more important, and don't forget that loco depots are freight destinations and starting points for traffic and not just places locomotives are serviced and sent out from. Given the small space you have it may be worth considering a secondary single main line as an inspiration for the layout. Try and avoid filling every inch of space with track or it will look like an over crowded train set not a model railway Leave some space for scenic development you may have to get a bit creative for that but all part of the fun. regards John

Hi potterton You need a pin punch and a baby hammer to GENTLY knock the axles out. They only go one way. You also need something to support the wagon frame while you knock out the axles. This applies to the old old metal frames and the marginally newer plastic version. Once the bearings and new wheels are set up. Done from the inside of the frame and super glued in place careful don't get the glue on the bearing surface for obvious reasons. The axle boxes should be filled in with a good quality model filler from the out side of the frame cleaned up and painted The brass bearings should be lubed with a Teflon lubricant for smooth trouble free running. Use good quality INSULATED metal wheels. Given the old Triang chassis are made of muck metal and very old some may have rotted and will break. Don't waste any breakages or any of the old wheels and axles they can be the starting point for a track side scrap yard on a siding somewhere. Given the low cost of these older wagons on the second hand market and often in bulk lots, it is worth considering this as a way to bulk up wagon stocks for long freight trains. It is also a way to get some wagon types that are no longer manufactured You will be surprised at how well they run if the job is done properly and is lubed with a Teflon lubricant even the modern locomotives will handle a few of them. If you don't have one find one of the re railing ramps with a track gauge and coupling height gauge. So if the couplings need there rivets tightened they can be and set to the right height tools to tighten the two different sized rivets often show up on evil bay. The detail standards are not the same as modern wagons, if you can live with that. It only shows when the train is not moving and they still look reasonable when the three foot rule is applied to viewing They also give a very satisfying thump thump thump noise as they cross rail joints. Just as the real ones did before bogie wagons became the norm and no modern fancy electric witchcraft needed to achieve it. regards John

Hi all My layout is only 4'6" square yet it has a station small goods yard, a stopping place and loco depot, with a small fiddle yard hidden under the village. it is also an analogue layout and runs one engine in steam. So how do I run it anything larger than an 0-6-0 is to big an 0-6-0 tender counts as a very large engine. It is rare for anything larger than a two coach passenger train to run but mixed trains are more the norm. I can run round and round and something resembling a light railway service with the fiddle yard counting as both ends of the line. so speeds are very slow not scale, but in principle a max of 25mph applies in line with the light railways act. My favorite train is a cattle truck Triang Davy Crockett coach and an NE brake van hauled by a pannier tank or austerity tank. The coach will be replaced when I get around to re wheeling a Triang railway children balcony coach which will have an interior taken from another balcony coach fitted. An odd one I run is a Bachmann 04 and two Mk 1 coaches which is similar to a train that ran some were near Swindon on a light railway. regards John

Hi 96RAF True about extra details. Sisal string and a dark red paint might do for drying chilies hanging from the roof poles?? I have been looking for a snoozing Mexican no luck might have to pass on that one or get another custom job. When I can get hold of some one to make them. regards John

Hi Potterton If I can get hold of a manufacturer in the US email address doesn't seem to work He does custom "O" scale figures as well as a few retail normal figures I am hoping he can do the man with no name complete with cigarillo. If it ever gets built the Ocidental Spagg y Hetti that's Spagg and Hetti railroad to you and me will be borrowing a lot from the Spaghetti Westerns regards John

Hi atom3624 Thanks for the compliment That tells me I have got it something like right that is the sort of look I was after. Like Clint Eastwood should just be walking by on his way to whatever happens next in the story. Still a few more things to do like door handles sequin and a track pin shutter hinges not sure what to use for them Wondering if just a little bit of vegetation would just finish off the roof. regards John

Hi all What with the lurgy and stuff still being hard to get. I have gone off on a tangent and am building something a little different. A spaghetti western house in US "O" scale. The chimney gives away it is not an Arabian building but is something else. It is foam core board pollyfilla coffee stirrers a tongue depressor for the wooden door step. and cut up fly swatter for the window bars a little bit of balsa wood on the shutters. The roof poles are 4mm dowel. It shows white through the window because the interior walls of the front room are painted white. Some very basic interior detailing was done in the front room but it turned into a waste of time as it cannot be seen, I could not find any flickering yellow LED's in a large enough quantity to justify the postage cost. So it is not illuminated as I would have liked it to be. It is a bit rough in places and not as out of wack as the picture suggests. Photo's can be very very cruel. Smaller OO versions of this would be ideal to go with Triang's Davy Crockett for a western set up. Now I know what I am doing with a model railway version of a war games building improved versions are on the cards. It proves the start with something simple comment often heard from more experienced modellers. You don't get much simpler than a box with some details stuck on regards John Moderator Comment: I have added an enlarged version of your picture. RDS