AndyHead78

I'll probably use Hunt couplers for rakes of coaches and wagons that will not change very often, and kadee couplers for ones that I want to use for shunting.

I'm considering changing the coupling system on the few locos I currently own, and on future purchases, to move away from the typical tension lock couplers. I like the look of the magnetic Hunt close coupling system that I've seen on a few YouTube videos, but they all seem to show more modern diesel or electric locos or HSTs. My question is this: Would they a) Work, and b) Look realistic on steam locos? Any feedback or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I have a jpeg image of my layout (a photo of a printed page), but when I try to upload it I get a screen that says 'Forbidden 403'. What do I need to do to upload the image?

Excellent. I know what I'm doing with that now. I do have another query regarding the power bus, but it would be easier to explain and get an answer if I could upload my layout diagram from SCARM. Once I've figured out how to do that I'll ask the next bit...

Would I therefore have three wires from the point motor to the decoder, and then two from the decoder to the accessory bus which is in turn connected to the controller?

Thanks RAF96. So I should have one bus wire to power the track, and a separate one for the accessories (mainly point motors) to connect to running alongside it? Does the power bus have two wires and the accessory bus have three wires? Are there any easy to follow diagrams that show how to connect the decoders? Apologies for all the questions, but I really don't want to mess this up and buy bits I don't need!

Brilliant. Thank you. Next newbie question... I'm going to go with red and black wires for my main power bus for my positive and negative polarities. What will I need for the point motors? Is it just a case of needing two wires to connect the point motors to the decoder, then to the bus wire (one each for positive and negative again), or do I need more than that?

Hello again, When it comes to wiring my layout, I'm not entirely sure what wiring I will need for my power bus and for the drop-down wires from my accessories (mainly point motors). Is there any particular type and size of wire I should use, and can you recommend where to get it from? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

It looks like the SEEP point motors might not be the best option for me as I plan to have a few areas on my layout where two sets of points are operated together. This may be a silly question, but how do you actually fit the Hornby point motor (R8014) under the baseboard? I can only find one video on YouTube for that particular PM, and it wasn't overly helpful. There are plenty of videos for other brands or surface mounted PMs, but not this one!

Their website still says pre-order. How did you manage to order it?

I will be getting a Hornby Elite to control my new layout. I don't want to use surface mounted point motors, so I was wondering what people recommend to use. I've been looking into Gaugemaster PM-2 Seep point motors and they seem fairly simple to install. Will they work with the Elite and Hornby decoders, or is there a better option?

All sorted with a quick phone call this morning. Thank you for the advice everyone.

Many thanks RogerB, much appreciated. I'll post an update when I manage to get it sorted out.

I received an email today regarding my pre-order of the GBRf Class 66, Captain Tom Moore. The card I used to pre-order the loco has since expired so it couldn’t take the payment. Although I’ve used my new card on subsequent orders it won’t let me update the details on the Hornby site for this order, it just comes up with error messages. The email says I have until the 13th to change my payment details or they will cancel the order. I wasn't able to get through on the phones as they are working remotely due to COVID, so I had to send an email to customer support. The automated response I immediately got back said it could take 8 days to deal with, past the deadline of the 13th! Hopefully I can get hold of someone on the phone tomorrow. If not, any suggestions as to what I can do? Obviously I can't cancel the order and do another one as they've sold out.

I've used Gorilla Wood Glue. I found some fairly cheap on Amazon and haven't had any problems with it.