Skier

Hi All Thank you for all your comments. I’m having a bit of a rethink now on this. Essentially I have a combination of modern and older locos and am looking for a layout with twin main lines combined with a branch line. I do run a DCC layout btw. Unfortunately my imagination isn’t great when it comes to designing a layout. I always seem to end up with essentially two ovals with sidings etc feeding off them. I have a big base board (11 foot long by 6 foot wide) with a central well. I would welcome any ideas for the build. I have a large number of locos and rolling stock and like a good amount of sidings so I can use and display what I have. Regards

Thank you for your encouragement. I think I’m going to use R2 and R3 curves and see if I can replicate the plan as much as possible.

Sorry. Saved as a jpeg but still shows just as a black square. Giving up !

Sorry, I have no idea how to load images.

Hi Photo of plan attached. Regards

Hi All So ever since I was a child I have wanted to build a specific Hornby layout. The layout in question is from the 5th edition of the Hornby track plan book and it is plan 17. As I approach the build I’ve noticed that the plan uses a mix of first and second radius curves on the same bend ie an R605 into an R607. This configuration has alarm bells written all over it. Is this just best avoided? I can try and rework the track plan using second and third radius curves to smooth out the bends - it might get complicated though. I would welcome your thoughts. Regards

Hi All I have for a few years had a layout in the loft which I have developed over time. It essentially used second and third radius curves and express points for crossovers between the two parallel lines. I had never been completely happy with the set up as it always looked a bit like a toy train set, just bigger. Recently I have taken the track up and am looking to start again. I propose to have parallel lines consisting of third and fourth radius curves with crossovers made of express points. I want to introduce some features such as diamond crossings around the station area and passing loops at the platforms. To explain the baseboard is approx 8 feet long by about 6 feet wide with a well in the middle meaning each side is about 2.5 feet wide (shape is constrained by the narrowness of the attic space). For the life of me I can't get anything to work in terms of joining the track up. As soon as I introduce express points mixed with standard points the geometry just goes out of the window and I just find myself reverting to geometrical twin lines with the odd set of points leading to sidings etc which in essence is exactly what I had before. I have tried model railway software but again struggle to get the tracks to line up and end up with a simple geometric circuit. Does anyone have a circuit made of third and fourth radius curves with express points and some interesting junction formations built using Hornby standard track pieces which they would be willing to share the plans for? Alternatively has anyone else had similar issues? Thanks

Hi All Couple of shots of my loft layout. Was DC but converted to DCC as a lockdown project. Twin main lines with a terminus and through stations and associated sidings and MPD.

Hi After a few years of tinkering I thought I’d post a couple of pictures of my DCC loft layout. Layout was DC but during lockdown I converted it to DCC. Most locos are Hornby DCC ready although there are a few I have converted from older stock.

Hi All I have recently purchased a Hornby Class 91 “Durham Cathedral”. I have a large collection of Hornby locos ranging from older models up to the likes of the re-tooled HST - all running on a DCC layout. Every model I have purchased has been excellent and I’ve never had any issues up until now. I had been looking forward to the arrival of the Class 91 after the excellent HST but unfortunately it has been a disappointment. Whilst the loco is finished superbly it is not a good runner. My layout is not huge, is made of all Hornby set track pieces and does not have many complicated track configurations. Since it’s arrival the Class 91 has struggled to cope with it. It is a very “clunky” runner particularly over point work where is often derails. It also struggles with 2nd and 3rd radius curves. My track work is level when a spirit level is laid across it and I rarely have any derailments. I have spent ages working to improve the sections that the Class 91 was not happy with but it has made little difference. This afternoon I set my HST running and it didn’t put a foot wrong. I then set the Class 91 running at the same speed on the same track and it derailed twice, wiped out the barriers on my level crossing and then shorted out my DCC controller so it required a reset as the loco had essentially left the track. This I’m afraid was the last straw and it is going back for a refund. It just would not run reliably enough - you have to watch it constantly. Issue seems to be with the front bogie that has very little lateral movement so any slight undulation in the track makes the lead wheels lift off the rails and then derail. It also gets bounced across point work hence the clunking noises. A real shame all round - hoping the Class 87 to replace it is altogether better. Regards

Hi I own a Flying Scotsman tender drive loco (model no. R3099). I have purchased a TTS Sound Decoder to fit into the tender but for the life of me I can not work out how to install it. Easy part is plugging it in - the trouble starts when trying to work out where to put the speaker. There is an area under the weight that looks taylor made for the speaker (without it's surround). I did manage to put the speaker here and put the tender back together however the sound was not good at all - almost as if the speaker could not vibrate fully. Does anyone have any experience of fitting a sound decoder into this type of loco (or similar)? I would really welcome some advice on how best to do it. Many thanks

Hi All Thank you again for your continued input on this. I had actually seen the video from Sam - this gave me the idea to check the back to back measurements. I have dropped a note out to Hornby to see what they suggest and I will report back once I've heard from them in case someone else has the same issues. Regards

Hi Thank you so much for your replies. These are really helpful. Principal reason for looking to change the wheels is because the coaches are derailing on a set of Hornby Express points set to curved. These are the only pieces of rolling stock on my layout that will not pass over this particular point. From watching closely the wheels are riding up onto the nose of the point and are then derailing - it appears to be the flange that is causing the issue. I have checked and adjusted the back to back measurement using a Gaugemaster gauge but this seems to have made little difference hence the idea of changing the wheels. Regards

Hi All I have a set of R2663 Mk3 Caledonian Sleeper Coaches in First ScotRail livery. I want to change the wheels but am not sure what size to get. Would anybody be able to advise please? Many thanks