John208

Hi RB41. Yes I do, and furthermore I have the lit pullman coaches which I move around to make sure the lights stay on, and they do. It must be tiny power discrepancies causing the problems, maybe loose connections/fishplates etc.

Hi again. Yes I am using Hornby track, and it is on a baseboard, albeit glued down and not pinned. I'm pretty sure that my issues are related to the track not being 'perfect', since the locos do seem very sensitive to any slight track deviation resulting in derailments of the front bogie wheels. Despite dropper wires at reasonably frequent intervals, these track discrepancies are seemingly enough to disrupt power and therefore BT. I reckon it's going to have to be a track lift, get everything perfect on the baseboard, and then relay the track, this time perhaps pinning it down rather than gluing it with PVA.

The more I 'investigate' the more I think it's track/power related, certainly causing intermittent power loss, with then loss of BT control. I may have to take up the track (no ballast yet thankfully) and start again, and make sure all my droppers etc are properly secure and all joints are perfect. I agree that a challenge can be fun, but it would be nice to be able to get some consistent running.

Hi Martin. Like you I'm having reservations about TT120 and HM7000 in particular. My William Whitelaw and Blink Bonnie have both been back to Hornby on more than one occasion. In fact they were both returned just yesterday, with new decoders and front bogies. But still they derail and/or stop for no apparent reason. It may be my incompetent track laying causing issues along with poor soldering of dropper wires etc, but my frustration levels are rising! Like you, I've invested in the layout, modelled landscapes etc so I am reluctant to just stop, but ........

Mine now looks just like that and works fine on ballasted track. Thanks to all.

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. I think I'll need to 'adapt' the re-railer and be more careful in my application of ballast. It's all an interesting learning experience!

Hi. Thanks for the quick response. I've got a couple, so I'll try to modify one to see if I can adapt it.

Hi. I ask this question with some trepidation! As a complete novice I've just started to ballast my track, starting, just in case, with a small length of siding. Having done so, it struck me that I could no longer use the Hornby re-railer on that section of ballasted track, so before I continue to ballast I thought I'd ask. At present I intend to leave some sidings un-ballasted, but I'd like to know what the experienced advice is.

Hi Rallymatt. I'm just back from the Model Railway Exhibition at Alexandra Palace and have watched your video. It's brilliant, many thanks for taking the trouble to go through all of that. I have seen some sparks on the points, and your video has now perfectly explained why. I'll have a go at checking and setting the back to back measurements, and I might attempt disassembling the front bogies, but my 70+ year old fingers aren't quite what they were, so I might have to resort to Hornby Customer Care as you suggested. All of this I guess might also explain why a loco runs perfectly say anti-clockwise, but derails on the same bend when running clockwise. Anyway, thanks again.

Hi all. I'm using Hornby points straight out the box set. No issue seemingly with curves, although there has been some 'hesitancy' elsewhere on the track. As to RallyMatt's reply, if I'm honest, I don't actually know what that means! I'm and very new (and very old!!) to all of this. A video would be very helpful.

Not sure how relevant this is, but I'm having problems with the Scotsman 'shorting' the power when it runs over one set of points in one direction! If I swop over the tracks the William Whitelaw runs faultlessly across the same points and the Scotsman runs perfectly well onn the other track. The sorting id very brief, just enough to shut off the Bluetooth, and then a delay before all works again.

Hi again. Tried that, but no difference. In the end I've just reduced the volume of the WW so it doesn't over power. I wonder if the WW has a bigger or better speaker? I've also emailed Hornby support to see if they can help. Thanks anyway for your suggestion.

Thanks, I'll try that. I updated the newly acquired Scotsman, but interestingly the WW went back to Hornby for warranty, and came back 'louder' than when I first had it. I'll update the WW and see what happens.

Hi All. Today I added the Scotsman to my 'in progress' Easterner layout. All is broadly OK, I can control both trains on the app etc. However, two potential issues. Firstly the sound level on the Scotsman is completely overwhelmed by the sound on the William Whitelaw (WW), and secondly, now with the two trains I can no longer mute the sound for either loco via the app. Previously I could mute the sound for the WW. Therefore, if the WW is stationary in the siding it continues to 'puff away' and I cannot mute it. Any suggestions? Many thanks John G

Thanks for that guidance on connecting transformer to bus wire.

OK, thanks. I'll repost as suggested.

I hope this query is relevant to 'power'. I have a track with 4 sets of points, and I have used turnout clips, albeit with the odd difficulty and replacement. Is it going to be OK to ballast over turnout clips or is it wiser to power the track differently. If the latter, do I have to effectively replace every location with turnout clips with dropper wires to maintain connectivity or is there another way for a 70 year old with dodgy soldering technique!! Lastly, if I take the latter route, can I power the layout just using the 15V-4amp transformer, and how do I connect that to the main bus wire. I operate the layout using my iPad and HM7000. Many thanks in advance for any guidance.

Hi Mo. Thanks for the comment. The answer is I think I’m putting them in the right place! They just seem to lose tension, move about which obviously then affects the supply. I’m not moving them once they’re in. Views on the clips seem mixed; some, like you are very happy with them, others aren’t. It could easily be me, so I’ll buy some more and try again.

Hi. Thanks for that advice. I'll take a look at what seems easiest for me to do.

Thanks again Rallymatt. I managed to fix the power track connector. I should have realised what that button was, but I thought it was some sort of 'reset'. My real trouble, as I suggested earlier, seems to lie with Turnout clips, which I have had to replace on a regular basis to maintain power and hence Bluetooth to the Loco. They seem to lose their "spring" and therefore come loose causing power interruptions. Is there a practical (and affordable) alternative to the clips. I worry that once I ballast the track, getting at dodgy clips is going to be a real issue.

I wondered about that power track, and indeed what the button was for!! Also the plus/minus markings on the plug. You say easy to fix if contacts inside dislodged?? Prise the bottom off?? Thanks for your patience with an “old timer” but new modeller.

Hi again. I’m sure now that the Bluetooth issue is power related, with turnout clips seeming to be the likely culprits. Several are weak and loose after just a few days. I’m not convinced by them, but assume alternative power arrangements more complex and expensive. None of this sorts the sound though, so it’s a call to Hornby tomorrow.

Hi again. Yes the WW came with, surprisingly, a pre fitted speaker. It seems to be fully wired in. All sorts of issues now arising with loss of Bluetooth connection, where I’m not sure if it’s Bluetooth issue or a track power issue. I assume that no power to the track means no power to the loco and therefore no Bluetooth. All was well this morning, and then ……! Frustrating! Thanks for continued interest and help.

Thanks for that helpful response. I’ll check as you suggested. I fitted the decoder myself so I’m OK removing the tender body, although it’s certainly fiddly. I’ve also emailed customer support so we’ll see how they respond. Many thanks again.

Hi. I am using the App on an iPad to control the loco, but I do have the sound turned on. It's a new loco from the Easterner set bought at Christmas (despite me being 71!!). It has just stopped producing sound. I've now deleted the encoder and reset the installation from scratch, but I fear it is, as you suggest, a failed speaker. Interestingly, this loss of sound sounds also seems to have co-incided in a loss of "power", with the loco being very slow to start. I suspect a chat with Hornby will be required.