Stephen in Kerry

@hst I used Hornby track (about £600 worth of it) for my first - and only - layout, so far. There have been one or two issues with the points, but I have 18 on the layout and it's literally only a couple that have been problematic. This could be as much to do with the way I laid them, as anything else. Mud sticks though, and Hornby electrofrog points problems are a sticking point (pun intended) in the model rail community, as far as I can see. Whether the negativity is justified, I can't say. @bee I see the title as having a grammatical (rather than typographical) problem: 'Why IS almost nobody...' would be correct. But it also carries a statement of which Fox News would be proud. Who says 'almost nobody' is using Hornby track? How factual is that statement? What sources have been checked? Is this 'fake news'. :)

Thanks again guys! @bee Great idea about the bridge. I have one in a park area at top right of the layout, which I 3D printed. I'll consider making another (different) one. @Bulleidboy, Thanks for the tips. I have a farm area in the centre of the layout, so I might not put any more livestock on that plot. There's a goat in the fenced area. :) @TFoch, Killarney is about 75 minutes drive from my house (traffic allowing). If you're heading that way again, feel free to DM me in advance, and come over to see the layout, and my part of Kerry. :) @taunmarc88 Thanks for the idea, but I have a lot of trees to the left and right of that plot, so it might look like overkill.

Thanks for the replies (so far) guys. See additional photos below. @ Bee. The paddock was just used to fill the space, and has never looked right to me. For one thing, there's no access to the field from anywhere, other than either side of the hedge. There's a single track engine shed on the other side of it. I've got 2 other quite large barns in the centre of the layout, so another one might be over-kill. A village green sounds do-able, thank you. @ P-Henny It's interesting that this month's Model Rail magazine has a feature on building an automated children's playground, and I discounted the idea, but a travelling fair sounds like something I could look into - as it's not a million miles away from Bee's suggestion.

Long time, no post (from me). I hope you're all keeping well! I'm looking for some suggestions on how to improve this triangle of my layout (55 x 45 x 25 cm). If I took the 'fencing' away in the middle, what could replace it and fill the space more appealingly? Thanks for any suggestions. Stephen

I've worked it out, finally. The inner (far) switch rail needs to be pushed right up against the inner main rail, somewhere in the middle of the switch rail, in order for it to make contact. I'm not sure why that is, and it's a bit of a pain, as use that point a lot. I seem to need to push it with my finger every time I change the point and need to put it back. If there's a solution, I'd like to hear it. :)

@Fishmanoz and others...The loco is working on it's own address and at address 3 (default). I think I've narrowed down the issue (even further) to this diamond crossing, which is just after the 2 points I mentioned. The A4 goes dead as it his the plastic area (see photos). All thoughts on the cause and (mainly) the solution are very welcome.

Thanks guys, I'll ask Alexa to remind me. :) Very hi-tech household here, 3 Alexas!!

Is there a way to be notified of new posts in a thread that I start? I don't get an email or other push notification, and have to rely on my fading memory to come back and check, days later! :) Stephen

Nice to see that my post 'sparked' (pun intended) an in-depth debate on advanced electronics. Unfortunately, my degrees (Master's, Honours and Post-Graduate diplomas) are all in unrelated subjects, so I'm quite lost - and sticking to the basics. I'm going to assume that the issue I have is caused by the switch rails on the points not making full contact with main rails on the track. Possibly due to debris. I'll give them a clean today and let you know. :)

I put the loco on my programming track and it worked, at the original cv address. This made me think that the issue was with the track, but not the whole layout, as locos were working on other lines. I've narrowed the problem down to one of two sets of points, which are next to each other on a straight line. I'm 90% sure that one of them is not creating a circuit, some of the time. At the moment, it's working, and I'll give them both a good clean tomorrow. Thanks for your input guys.

@P-Henny Thanks for the reply, I was beginning to think the same thing about the decoder. Can you suggest a remedy, or do I just need a new one?

When I last ran my R3395 Mallard, about 2 weeks ago, it ran fine at all speeds, with sound and no issues at all. Today, it ran for about 3 minutes, juddered on some points (that may have been set the wrong way - but not certain) and lost power. It got sound back once or twice, but didn't run at all after that, and now it's quite 'dead'. The connecting wires between loco and tender all seem to be intact. Does anyone know what might be happening? Hope you're all doing well - and Happy Christmas from the west of Ireland! Stephen

Thanks again Rob. I'll re-read the FAQ's you mentioned.

If it's OK, can I 'jump in' to this discussion, as I was about to post a very similar question in a new thread? Now that my layout is 95% ready, I was talking (this morning) to my friendly hobby shop guy - who has just repaired a Hornby Terrier and a Bachmann Ivatt for me - about my 'winter project'. I have decided that I will 'power' some of the 18 points on the layout, maybe starting with 4 that I use most, and in such a way that allows me to stay at the controller end of the baseboard - so manual changing is not an option. He suggested Hornby solenoid point motors, and a DCC accessories controller to be used with my Hornby Select DCC controller. That's as far as I've got, other than if I can, I'd like to avoid buying a new main controller. Can someone suggest if this is feasible and point me towards how it is all wired up. Thanks, Stephen

@Apples127 You're in the Hornby forum.

@Brew Man...Thank you very much!

@GS...How long has that reply been gathering dust, before getting an 'airing'? Nice one!

Thanks XYZ. The locos stop if the point is open or closed. As mentioned, they don't always stop. The same loco can stop in one run and then move through the points easily in the next one. Or only go through when running quite fast, and then when almost dead slow! I'm seriously thinking about swapping it out for a straight!

As some of you will know by now, this is my first every layout. It's growing all the time. Added new barriers to the depot area yesterday - made from leftover extension pack D accessories (see 3rd photo).

I've had a problem with Hornby standard points, in one way or another, since I started my layout 8 months ago. However, there is one particular set of LH points that is causing most of my locos to stick on them, at slow speeds. The only loco (including Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol) that doesn't stick is the tiny Ruston shunter. I have tried several remedies, including making sure the track is dead level with washers and rubbing down parts of the plastic frog (see photos). Sometimes (the same) loco will pass very slowly both ways, but then forwards but not backwards, and then, on other occasions, not at all. 1) Could it be the plastic channel at the closest rail in the photo? 2) Would it be a real problem to remove and replace that point in the layout, as I have it now? If not, could I replace it with a straight? Ignore the missing rail in the close up image. It fell off yesterday, but the function of the point has not changed, for the better or worse. Thanks for any suggestions.

@ModelerXYZ Unfortunately, experience is subjective, because most of the time we only have a limited amount of it on which to make judgements. I started my first ever layout 8 months ago, not even knowing the difference between DC and DCC (I thought DC was a state in the US and a brand of comic books). I chose DCC because I liked the idea of 'driving the loco' and 'not driving the track'. My layout (below) has given me lots of headaches - I prefer to call them learning curves, but I definitely think I made the right choice (DCC) FOR ME. My subjective opinion - after 8 months of having the most concentrated learning experience of my life (and I've had quite a few).

Thanks Jupiter and Rob! Much appreciated. It's a Select controller.

@ROB (96RAF) Thanks again! I've printed out your advice and will give it a go. The best I've done so far, is to 'tin' the ends of both sets of wires, to make plugging and unplugging between the main layout and the programming track less fiddly. Even that was an achievement, as I hadn't heard of 'tinning' or had a clue about soldering 6 months ago. Hooray for learning curves. :) UPDATED QUESTION: Am I correct to say that with an on-off-on DPDT switch, I wire up the outside pairs of connectors (one pair for the main layout and one for the programming track) and leave the middle pair (off) unconnected? Assuming I'm not wiring points.

@RDS Could you tell me how? Thanks in advance for a simple 'walk-through', if you have time.

Thought you might like to see what I came up with...complete with a station, road, wood, 70's saloon, wiring and rubber feet! A mini layout in itself! I think it counts as my 2nd layout build.