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@Backafter5 contact Hornby customer services and explain the problem, they seem to be helpful from what I've read (had no cause to use them myself so far). But you say the motor is running? Is there a linked shaft with the worm on it? (I've not have any of my TT:120 apart yet). Sounds like you need a new shaft rather than a new motor. [edit] just looking at one of Peachy's videos, I don't see any shaft linkage just a worm attached directly to the motor. Is the worm loose on the shaft? I can't imagine the motor would be able to run at all if -say- the commutator and armature have come loose from the shaft (I've had N gauge motors fail like that, but they lock solid).

@Gregory-374918 Continental brands such as Noch and Viessmann have been producing modules with nature sounds etc. for many years. Gaugemaster have a series of modules and I'm sure I've seen others out there too. The advent of cheap players that can play from a micro-SD card makes these easy to produce. Didn't the recent Hornby TV program series show them working on a wagon with nature sounds on a sound decoder? Is that available yet? (sorry I don't follow 00 much).

@Trevor-1205348 a little tip for the future: maybe try make your title a little more meaningful and relevant to what you're asking, eg. "Advice on R089 signal extension set". It then helps when people are reading down a list of new posts and choosing those of interest and/or those to which they may be able to contribute. 🙂 There is an example of R.140 gantry signal on ebay at the moment. If you go to model railway exhibitions it's always worth checking the second hand traders and especially their "random bits" trays where such things as signals and bits of old building often end up.

Yes the navigation changed a little, but it really hasn't been a problem and certainly should be no reason to stop visiting and contributing to the forum. It's not difficult 🙂 I just sit on the "Unread Content" list and pick-and-choose what I wish to read. Simple.

Hmm... let's see... As a pre-teen in the 60s, Triang 00 along with all the Airfix railway building kits. In truth this was really Dad's railway despite it being intended for me, but it's when I learnt how to strip and service locos, solder wires etc. 🙂 British N gauge in the mid 70s (my first N set was actually a Bachman American set bought in a little shop in Fiji 🙂 ) European N from the early 80s, inspired by the more colourful models in the catalogues and the generally much better running qualities compared to contemporary British models. I have an exhibition layout which has continued to evolve over the last 25+ years. Inspiration from books on the subject and now the internet of course. I guess really I'm just as much a collector as a modeller, and as a consequence have way more models than I can make use of on the layout at any given time. I also have collections of other gauges from T to G 🙂 Maybe if Dad had been into model boats or aircraft I'd have gone down one of those hobby paths instead.

When you say "I have cut the two linking wires" are those wires which link across small gaps in the closure rails? I work in N gauge so I'm not used to there being cuts already in the rails at that position (people have to make those cuts themselves as part of "DCC friendly" modifications of N gauge points). I'm looking at the diagrams about 3/4 down this page PECO Electrofrogs and DCC (dccwiki.com) With regard to switching the frog: Looking at that image of the MP1, the top 3 terminals are for a changeover switch as @96RAF says. The markings look like the top 2 terminals are the switched contacts and the 3rd one down is the common, so: the switched terminals got to your DCC bus and the common terminal goes to the frog. If you find you get a short, try swapping the switched connections over. [image from here]: Wiring Facing Electrofrogs - New Railway Modellers Forums

All Next18 blanking plates do the same job and are interchangeable, so yes.

The traditional 2" x 1" "train set" frame is a bit shallow if you plan to use some of the larger under-board point motors (eg. Tortoise motors). 10cm depth is sensible, giving space for point motors, wiring, fold-up legs etc. I have a preference for open-frame construction (or in my case "open-box"), I don't like flat-top baseboards except for busy/urban scenes. Leaving the top open and having the trackbed on risers allows me to run scenery above and below track level. I'm not a fan of MDF, I use 9mm ply. Construction photos of part of my N gauge layout...

@LTSR_NSE The Adler model dates from 1984. Saxonia was 1994. I have even smaller mechanisms than this one 🙂

@LTSR_NSE in one of the coaches. With the Minitrix models the whole rake of coaches have pickups and are wired together through the drawbars to ensure good continuity. IIRC the Adler coach is driven on both axles but Saxonia's coach only on 1 axle. It's enough though.

I've always fancied The Rocket in N gauge - there is (or at least was) an unpowered kit on Shapeways.

I always advise new railway modellers not to get too blinkered in their interests and what they read online. There's so much you can learn from what's happening in other scales, other modelling eras, other branches of modelling such as military modelling. I'd rather see summaries of all the recent activity and then choose whether or not to delve into the detail. I don't usually follow Scalextric, but the Airfix side of things does throw up interesting posts from time to time, and I certainly wouldn't de-select any of the model railway sub-categories. N gauge is my main interest and you don't see much at all of that on here, neither for the Arnold product range nor harking back to the days of Hornby Minitrix. It was the launch of TT:120 which brought me here in the first place. We have a smattering of TT:120 and OO in the household so I like to keep up with what's going on 🙂

When shafts pop out like this it's usually due to the bogies swivelling too far or maybe the pocket/yoke on the end of the motor or worm has shifted along slightly and needs sliding back to the correct position. The best way to avoid straining anything is to either drop the bogie out a little or lift the motor a little - whichever is easiest to do. Not too far, just enough to allow both ends of the cardan shaft to slot back into place.

Whilst not a big fan of magnetic couplings, I have recently drawn up and 3D printed a specific design for my Arnold N German ICE 3 sets. This was prompted by buying very cheaply a couple of spares/repairs 8 coach sets in the knowledge that some of the usual metal coupling pins were missing, and also said coupling pins are a real nuisance (to put it politely) as I've found over the last 20 years since I bought my first set 🙂 At least replacing with the magnetic couplings allows for easier separation and storage of each coach in its box. This 3D print replaces the entire KK self-centering component of the original Arnold design and uses readily available 2mm x 2mm neo-magnets, a North and South pair in each pocket so any two units will connect either way round. They're printed in a touch but flexible resin which isn't as brittle as some of the Hunt couplings.

Would need working brakes too, to glide into the platform 🙂

@Going Spare yeah I saw those - seems way too tall, those specs are the same as the OO signals (I just checked) .

Not really an HM7000 DCC question - maybe better in the TT120 section?

Firstly, I'd say check the loco wheels and track are scrupulously clean and all wheels which should pick up power are doing so. Secondly, run the loco on DC and check the current draw with a multimeter in series with the load. In other words, rule out the possibilities of poor pickup or current overload first?

The whole point of having a defined standard interface such as Next18 is decoders and blanking plates are interchangeable. There was a period when it was difficult to find Next 18 blanking plates for sale separately, but should be so much of a problem now.

Too late - you posted after 12 🙂🙂

Looks like this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Railways_D0226#

Peco Electrofrogs really aren't complicated at all, I consider that to be misunderstanding / misinformation. They will work "out of the box" without any wiring changes, just a couple of isolating joiners on the frog V rails if the track beyond will have its own power feed (as tends to be the case with DCC). Couldn't be any more simple. If you wish, you can power the frog via a changeover switch synchronised to the point motor (or a switch acting as a "lever" for wire-in-tube). It's not mandatory but it does remove the total reliance on the point blades for continuity. I always add the frog switch as I have an exhibition layout and I want best possible reliability. The oldest part of the layout is 28 years old now and still working perfectly. One slight drawback of Electrofrog points is both blades are at the same polarity as shown in the image above. Some folk find that wheel flanges can sometimes short when passing between the open blade and the stock rail, it's more of a problem with DCC than DC due to the full voltage in the track and it can cause the DCC system to cut power. That's why you find web pages/videos etc. about "DCC Friendly" modification as a "best practice". This involves isolating the frog from the closure rails by cutting near the frog, and bonding the closure rails to the stock rails. The frog is then dead unless you add a polarity switch. This modification is mostly aimed at people using finescale pointwork with a narrow gap between the open blade and the stock rail. Peco's Unifrog points are designed to be "DCC Friendly" as sold, no modifications necessary. You mention a desire to have panel indicators: I'd suggest either use the standard Peco motor and twin microswitch combination (can be surface mounted if necessary), or use simple surface point motors and an electronic "point indicator" module which is connected to the point motor push buttons / toggle switches / stud&probe. 7/.02 wire is fine for short lengths. 16/.02 or 24/.02 is a better choice for longer runs and for bus wiring carrying the full DCC current.

Which points will you be using? A lot of the "DCC friendly" modifications out there on the net are aimed at live frog points such as Peco Electrofrog. If you're using traditional dead frog points then these don't really need modification at all. If you intend to run digital and want all the trackwork to be live then additional feeds will probably be necessary, or you can consider the little wire track clips (I'm not a fan of those myself). Live frogs are definitely a better choice for a layout running short wheelbase shunters at low speeds to ensure you have the most reliable running, I've used them with my N layouts since the 1980s, with no modification other than a switched feed to the point frog to supplement the blade contact, and isolating joiners are the frog V rails if there is a power feed to that rail further along.

? Seems like a lot of unnecessary work and irreversible should you still wish to run some of your DC locos? My 25+ year old N gauge layout is wired for DC cab control and runs DC 99% of the time. If I wish to run DCC I simply remove all DC locos, connect a DCC system to one of the cabs and switch all sections to that cab. No wiring changes necessary 🙂

Nice locos. Hobbytrain offer these in N.