john dew

We have been home for two weeks now. I have never worked out which direction of travel creates the worst jet lag. I suspect that, regardless of direction, excitement and adrenaline take you through the time difference at the start of a trip whereas once you have returned home reaction sets in. Certainly the case with us.....we were zombified for about a week. In addition my irrigation system was almost too successful.....the garden was like a jungle. I am afraid that my aim of keeping in touch by posting the odd holiday snap lasted about a day. While we thoroughly enjoyed (almost) every day of the trip it could hardly be described as relaxing. Of necessity, the itinerary was very fragmented...UK 5 towns 10 days, Prague 2 days, Danube cruise 7 days, Budapest 2 days, Gaillac SW France 7 days, Paris 4 days........given hindsight a bit ambitious for Old age pensioners. Next time we visit Europe we will be staying in less places and looking for quiet shady French cafes rather than crowded Chateaus! I thought I might share a few photos that we took at the GWR Steam Museum at Swindon. We were very impressed with the Museum.......its much smaller than the NRM at York but tells the story of the GWR and their Swindon "servants" (as they were called) in a very clear and enjoyable fashion. 4073 Caerphilly Castle 4 2516 Dean Goods. I tried, but failed, to capture the row of phantom firebox rivets that Oxford slavishly reproduced. . Previously I was a bit uncertain about the static figures. When you see them in the context of the museum as a whole, they make perfect sense. It seemed to me that the main theme of the exhibition was about the people of Swindon who worked here. It was a story that was brilliantly told. We particularly enjoyed all the audio visual links where long past employees enthused about their work. One got a very strong sense of the GWR as a family Inside the cabin there was an inter active display that intrigued Mrs D The challenge was to temporarily move a branch train from the main line to clear the way for a Royal Train In no time at all she was hopping from lever to lever like a proper bobby. To finish here is a non railway shot I hadnt realised that the whole site is owned and administered by the National Trust. This gorgeous border captures the spirit of the place........definitely a five star visit. Regards from Vancouver where we are basking in a very pleasant 25o

Thanks for the good wishes and suggestions guys Arrived safely 30 minutes early courtesy Air Canada and a tail wind. The immigration process at Heathrow was very impressive.....previously, as non EEC nationals, there were massive lineups but now Canada and some other countries are included in the auto scan passport system. We just walked through without any delay .......same with car rental....even got an upgrade to automatic Once we sorted which side of the road to drive on we were on our way to Chievely. Two and a half hours after the wheels touched we were sitting outside the Crab and Boar with a glass of Rose and a nice lunch.....convincing our body clocks that it wasnt really 5 am. Although that is actually a shot of a pre-dinner Campari. Today we are off to the Steam museum at Swindon and then to Bath for a couple of days Regards to all John

There will, I am afraid, be very little railway news on here for the next few weeks. Todays the day, after almost two years planning, when we start our 5 week trip to Europe. We fly out from Vancouver at 5.50 pm this evening arriving at Heathrow at 12.05 pm tomorrow.....8 hour time difference and 9 hours flying time which I am not looking forward to at all. I did think of starting a separate thread about the holiday but I have never really made a fetish of sticking rigidly to the topic of Granby so, unless the Moderators object, I will pop in here from time to time and post the odd photo. The focal point of the trip is a Danube River Cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest with both our daughters and their respective partners. Along with some family friends, we will be celebrating our youngest daughter's 25th Wedding Anniversary. We will all meet up with the family in Prague and then on to Nuremberg to join the cruise. Prior to that Mrs D and I will drive slowly northward from Heathrow, staying at various carefully selected Pubs, before spending a few days with her family in Rochdale When the cruise finishes and the family goes home, Mrs D and I, together with another couple, will spend a week in a friend's gite in South West France............finally something on topic.......while there we will drive over to another friend and hopefully, harvest permitting, admire his new railway. And thats about it........I feel quite exhausted just describing it all! Next post may well be from the Crab and Boar at Chieveley!

In the last couple of weeks I have hardly been near the Train Room. I guess June is rarely a good time for modelling but this year is exceptional. As previously mentioned we are about to embark on an extended holiday to the UK and Europe. We made the first booking in 2017, so its hard to believe that its now actually less than a month away. Most of my time has been devoted to setting up an automated irrigation system for the garden. Its quite similar to modelling in a way. You spend ages joining components together and setting up junctions......switch on the power (water) and then spend forever dealing with shorts (leaks) Fortunately I have files of a couple of projects which I never got round to posting. The first is about Loco Coal wagons for Granby Shed. When I finished the shed in 2013/4 I built a dozen 10 ton Loco Coal Wagons using Cambrian and Coopercraft kits for the coaling station ramp At the time Bob (81c), who has given me much valuable advice over the years, pointed out very gently that 10 ton wagons were more appropriate for a small branch shed. Of course he was absolutely correct (he usually is!)........I needed something a bit bigger......twice the size in fact: Like this.....or almost In 1929 the GWR introduced a 20 ton steel mineral wagon which they leased or sold to collieries and coal factors throughout their network. Over 7,000 were built.....the last for BR in 1949 Most, like the example above, had twin side doors and an end door. Loco coal was hand shovelled into tubs,so the Loco coal variant had no end door. Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, there are no kits or rtr models available. The model I am using is Dapols unpainted version of the commercial wagon.......carefully posed to conceal the end door. Here is a link to a very useful article on GWR loco coal wagons http://www.gwr.org.uk/nondiags.html It took me about 4 years to react to Bob's suggestion.....I bought these wagons last summer and took a further 9 months to put them into service. We move at a glacial pace on Granby. Multiple washes of Grimy Black with Dirt and Rust washes on the Chassis Multiple Rust washes on the body Transfers from Railtec*, weathering powder and real Canadian Coal pretending its fresh from the Welsh Valleys * Steve at Railtec was amazingly helpful. I could have cobbled something together from HMRS sheets except I had used all the Loco decals on the 10 ton wagons. I emailed Steve to see if I could buy his custom Toad pack and use "Loco" as the location! In the event he produced the full pack for the pre 1936 livery with 16" GW that you see above. The decals are a delight to handle and saved me a load of time. For variety I branded 2 of the 8 wagons in the simplified 1936 livery with 5" GW.........using assorted decals....and it shows If you havent seen it already here is a link to GWR wagon liveries http://www.gwr.org.uk/liverieswagongrey.html At long last the 8 wagons in service Who can tell these wagons have end doors? In fact some revenue earning wagons, with end doors, were diverted to departmental use during and immediately after WWII. At the moment it is a static display I am afraid The pannier can manage the incline ok and can actually uncouple at the top but coupling is, to say the least, variable .......and its all happening 4' away. One of my regrets is not having more space for coal sidings in the shed area. I hope this overdue post wasnt too long.......I had so many different segments I wanted to fit in. Regards from a very warm Vancouver......its hovered around 80o for the last few days and its forecast to continue into next week. The train room beckons......being part basement it is undoubtedly the coolest room in the house! John

Hi Bob Sorry missed this post I believe you are correct......how did I miss that for all these years? I think I had better reschedule container traffic to the branch! Best wishes John

More card cutting I am afraid. Its actually quite a pleasant activity on a hot sunny day ........sitting outside, under a sun shade, with the occasional glass of Rose to quench ones thirst. The storage yards are screened by a long row of Metcalfe low relief terraced housing. There are 4 self contained modules. Any unit can be lifted clear to give access to the yard I needed to build another module to fill the gap created when I decided to move the factory that used to be there The Metcalfe units were made 10-12 years ago and the design has changed. I used the Scalescene Terraced house kit to make some houses next to the Parcels depot. For a number of reasons, its not my favourite kit but it does have a half relief option. Each set of two houses is separated from the next by an exterior dividing wall......a feature which I dont find very convincing. The plan was to modify the kit and build 9 houses in a continuous row. The joins to be disguised at the end with drain pipes Other than that a standard Scalescene start. Glue template to 2mm card base. Cut out windows and doors on base and printed cover sheet. Glue cover sheet to base Fit Doors, windows and curtains Fit sills to window Cut out base and side walls. The two walls on the right will be end walls and are direct from the Scalescene half relief template. The four on the left are narrower and will be the interior support walls Glue side walls to base Cut out street base and pave individually with Metcalfe Pavers. Time consuming but so much better than a printed sheet......best done with a glass of Rose. Glue unit to street base and add door steps Next tiling! The Metcalfe rooves are not individually tiled (although I have thought about it!). So I could have applied the printed sheets direct but because of the long continuous row there would have been two very obvious joins So it was back to individual tiling strips........blacken leading edge,carefully cut each strip, glue and place on template. I think it looks quite effective but is extremely time consuming.......more than one glass of Rose was required during this process. Down to the train room : Given hindsight I should, of course, have modified the Scalescene end walls and cut them back to the same depth as the existing Metcalfe units. If I had thought of it at the time it would have been so easy.......to make the change now will be more than a little complicated. One of the pitfalls of modelling in the sunshine with the occasional glass of Rose I am afraid However here is a shot from a more flattering angle I think that I need look at this from a glass half full perspective! Regards from Vancouver .....where it should shortly be sunny again. John

Thanks Tony.......you have been missed! I have to say that I never post a pannier shot without thinking of you! Cheers John

Good point about the length. Have you decided on a font yet? Second question.......should they be black on white? I believe they were varnished which, in time,, tended to look pale cream/yellow. I had problems finding the best printing medium to avoid buckling Fascinating thread. Regards

Last week, I left you with a 3' retaining wall, to be bedded in and weathered, surmounted by a rather blank canvas. The main feature above the wall was to be a low relief Factory/Warehouse. Scalescenes offer a low relief warehouse but I preferred to try and modify their standard Warehouse as I wanted to create a sense of depth despite the narrowness of the platform Here are the main components........standard Scalescene construction......templates glued to 1mm board followed by printed cover sheets: Lots of cutting.....say two hours Add windows, laminate the two 1mm boards together plus a third backing sheet. Then add vertical columns, and horizontal plinths and ledges.........another three-four hours : Its almost impossible to seamlessly insert a building like this next to an established and rather dated back scene. These Townscene cutouts have been in place now for almost a decade. If I were to start from scratch I would, of course use the super photographic back scenes that are now available. I deliberately went for a heavily detailed building to complement the large Scalescene Warehouse at the entrance to the room and the low relief Workshop next to it (the latter was scratch built from assorted Ratio kits) Here is a before and after..... viewed from the Train room doorway : Regards from a damp and muggy Vancouver.....good growing weather though. John

Another week..........another wall! By way of introduction: In the spring of 2017 I spent a few months building this quite substantial Scalescene Warehouse. It was designed to mask the end of the storage yard as one entered the train room. Aesthetically its great and visitors are suitably impressed. Operationally,however, it has proved to be somewhat impractical. Its designed to lift off in the event of a stall which is fine when most of the operation is roundy roundy. Its not so good now that I am focussing more on end to end operation with increased use of the storage turntable. If I am honest I will admit to being pretty happy with a 95% success rate when automatic uncoupling kadees. This means that 1 in 20 schedules require a swift touch of the hand of god. Again fine when reaching over low relief terraced housing. Less so removing a very large warehouse and all its supports. When testing and developing new schedules or even running intensively I found the warehouse and tunnel were spending more time off the layout than in place! Time to think again: Regular followers will know ,despite carefull cropping, its been like this since February Stage 1............How about another wall? Close of play last Thursday. This is the wall I referred to when I replied to Martin. Unlike the one on the other side of the room this is quite straightforward.......and quite long......almost 3' Buttresses are the most tedious and time consuming task Clockwise from top left......Template glues to 2mm card Cut out each individual segement Laminate in pairs..................best like this to get a smooth matching front surface Finally into fours Scribe and cut out cover layer Sandpaper Wrap and Glue Buttresses glued to wall along with plinth wall at base Rear wall and supports The rear wall adds rigidity and doubles the width of the base for the main wall capping. Yesterday I added the Main Wall capping, Buttress capping, Parapet wall and capping. Only capping is provided in the print out for the parapet wall. I add mock pillars from scrap to match the buttresses. Like all John Wiffen's designs the added elements, both vertical and horizontal, create an attractive structure but also one that is surprisingly robust. It still needs weathering and bedding in but first I have to build a low relief Warehouse to go alongside the Townscene Cutout............otherwise job done I am getting quite used to making these walls......even so it probably took about 15 hours of modelling.Typically I do between 1 and two hours morning and afternoon. Breaking it up makes it less tedious and allows the glue to dry properly! Regards from a very sunny and warm Vancouver

Hi Mike Thanks for posting. I always look forward to the annual account of your nautical adventures. A question, unrelated to GWR signalling, that I have always wanted to ask you. Have you any idea of the origin/reasons for the difference between European and North American channel marking........over here we repeat the mantra "RED right returning" ie when approaching a harbour the buoy is kept on the Starboard side.......in Europe it is the reverse. No idea what happens in Australia.......pretty sure Hong Kong was what I loosely call "European practice" Apologies for veering slightly off course. Kind regards John

Great idea.....wish I had done that. My ramp is part of the main layout but its very difficult to run trains on.

I see I have acquired a bauble since my last post! I think you may well be correct that they were mostly decorative in the prototype. In model form the designer, John Wiffen, calls them buttresses and they do serve two important functions. Firstly Structurally.........., they are made of 4 pieces each of 2mm card laminated together, there is a similar structure in the rear. These vertical pillars/buttresses front and rear in combination with horizontal base walls and parapets make the wall itself (single sheet of 2mm card) a very robust structure. Secondly Cosmetically......the brick cladding paper is printed on conventional 81/2 x 11 sheets of paper (A1?) The panels can be no wider than 7 1/2". The buttresses hide the joins. An interesting discussion.....particularly as I am currently building another wall 3' long on the other side of the layout........thank you for bringing it up. Regards John

Hi Martin No offence at all. I think I get a surprisingly easy ride on this thread, riddled as it is with Rule 1 and 3' Rule exceptions! As Paul remarked.......its the Scalescene design. Its essentially a retaining wall, rather than a separating wall. The wall itself is set back at an angle of about 15o and the front face of the buttress is vertical. It was explained to me by someone who understands these things.......I believe "reverse batter" or similar was mentioned. From a modelling perspective its a concept that I found difficult to understand....hence my remarks in my reply to Mikkel........initially I was always glueing the buttresses the wrong way round despite John Wiffen helpfully labelling FRONT on each former! Regards John

Thanks Mikkel I am glad you liked the finished shots. It took me a while to get my head around the way the Scalescene wall is constructed but once the penny dropped the kit is extremely adaptable and you can make realistic back drops quite quickly..........if you dont have to lean too far. The baked beans shot really appealed .....I dont know whether it was the clarity, the lighting or the random nature of the objects.....it just reminded me of some of those Dutch paintings......hardly the same standard of course! Best wishes John

After the figures and tiny lamps .....time to report some historic heavy construction. Here is a reminder of a project I started last summer when I was relaying the Engine Shed area. We live on the North Shore mountainside. The train room is on the lower floor .....15' above street level at the front, 10' underground at the back. The windows are let into the concrete house foundations hence the thick walls. The resulting deep window sills have always been a challenge particularly as they are, in places, a 4' stretch across the layout. I constructed a raised shelf which will eventually have some form of permanent street scene. Note the tacky unconvincing Townscene cut out on the pillar The twin tracks on the left climb from the lower level on a 1:40 gradient. I wanted to cover them by extending the new shelf and adding a retaining wall to link in with the coaling stage ramp. For obvious reasons this structure had to be removeable. Hidden sidings, on an incline, 4 feet away......what could possibly go wrong! I rather like this still life......anything heavy I could grab without it being noticed to hold down a card extension while the glue sets. This provides a fixed point for the removeable section to notch into A Scalescene Tunnel mouth provides the fixed point at the other end: This shot illustrates the challenge of setting up the Scalescene wall so that the base matches the ramp angle and the top is horizontal and lines up with both the fixed wall running off the Coaling Stage and the tunnel parapet ......all measurements done while standing on a stool stretched out over the station forecourt.....not fun at all This attempt was not entirely successful! Start again..... but this time complete the tunnel parapets first There are issues with the tunnel roof which rises above the street level datum but hopefully I can conceal it with a custom designed building Second time lucky........some of the angles/lines are a little suspect but will be hidden to some extent by the station roof. The grass at the base conceals the gaps where it rests on the ramp. Look closely at the far buttress (just in front of the emerging wagons). The buttress is glued to the tunnel mouth. The removeable wall slots in behind it. Somewhere in my trash bin is a shot of the unit removed but for now you will have to take my word it works, albeit without a lot of hassle. For starters part of the station roof and attached buildings have to be removed first . The buildings, mostly from the old brewery are just plonked for now......eventually they will be glued to a lift off base. I am taking my time deciding what will be the most effective grouping. I want to link the scenes on the two window sills with some credible ultra low relief on the cream foundation pillar........now bereft of the tacky back scene........I have a wild idea of doing something with the Scalescenes Castle Folly ! Regards from Vancouver

Not even a Box Brownie? Well it sure worked out well......you achieve much more variety than I. John

Thanks Tinker I think I would rather the plate remained lost than caused a short like that.......it would be a horror story trying to find it. Like most I get the occasional short but the PSX are great at highlighting the area .......apart from the odd screwdriver its almost invariably a loco in the storage yard stopping just beyond the block and then the turnout gets thrown......so its quite quick, albeit frustrating/shaming, to find it. A random piece of brass would be quite another story. The caps story was a little bit of trivia that stuck in my memory. A driver and fireman were being interviewed in 1948. No doubt GWR servants (as they were called ) man and boy they were asked how nationalisation had affected them. A hundred years of proud independent history wiped out and their one comment...they didnt like the LMS style caps they had to wear. Keep calm and carry on! Glad you liked the photos. I think they were taken with the iphone which I am using more frequently now.......actually requires less editing than with the SLR. I do envy the camera angles on my three favourite layouts ANTB, Little Muddle and Stoke Courtenay. I really didnt pay enough attention to creating clear lines of sight as I positioned all the buildings............despite all the advice John Flann used to give me. Something to remember for North Cranford perhaps? Best wishes John I

Mine will be almost pristine........4154 was built in the fall of 1947 and at Chester in December. Theres serendipity! All I will need is engraved plates Quite the change Robin.....a filthy loco at Brent and a clean one at Granby! Regards john

Hi Richard Glad you like it. Its always a bit nail biting when you start painting brand new, right out of the box, stock. Particularly this time because our latest dog sheds hair like confetti! I have never mastered the art of spraying so its all hand done.....I was quite relieved when it turned out ok in the close ups Kind Regards John

Hopefully with bottle and contents attached?

In addition to the figures, I got a batch of GWR (WR) head and tail lamps from Modelu Unlike the Springside models these dont come ready to plonk. They have to be painted and the tiny shiny lens inserted A neat idea, which I had forgotten to use until this batch, is the minute slot in the base of each lamp. With a pair of tweezers you can insert the lamp on to the relevant iron on the loco or coach.......no more fiddling around with super glue.Still has to be glued to older stock of course These shots do show what a high standard Horbvy have achieved with these Collet non corridor coaches I suspect I will still top and tail my coach rakes and those tank engines that work bunker first but it will definitely make changing loco head codes much easier! As an aside this close up sure exposes the difference between Railtec transfers (Granby Division) and the ancient #12 I applied from my leftover box. Not my wisest move hopefully some discreet weathering will make it less obvious Regards from a sunny Vancouver

"Next week something completely different" Well I suppose nothing is different I am afraid Easter got in the way.....my apologies. Short post today but definitely different from the Milk Saga. A people painting factory: This is a recent delivery of 3D printed figures from Modelu being prepared for painting..........ideal summer job. I have mentioned them previously (usual Disclaimer). Like Robin of ANTB, when I need more figures they are now my first port of call. I think you may lose a little fine detail definition but the overall effect is, I think, very realistic. Because they are scanned from real life the postures seem more natural......these guys are mostly Drivers and Fireman set up for GWR right hand drive. I like to use them on open cab locos like the Dean Goods but I am hoping the leaning figures will work in the large Prairies many of us are looking forward too. Alan has changed the resin he uses.....it used to be a very bright red! So I am experimenting without undercoat.....its very easy to clog the detail with acrylic paint build up. I generally spread the painting over a couple of weeks using only one or two colours per session. I started with the extremities.......hats, boots and flesh! On reflection the footplate crew caps caps should have Navy tops and only black (shiny) peaks. I vaguely remember a DVD about the early days of nationalisation when one of the main complaints of the two GWR drivers was being issued with LMS type caps with black shiny tops! Ultra close up. The two figures in the foreground are not signalmen (despite being bobbies). I have found it quite difficult to get policemen for the immediate post war period. Lapelled tunics with shirt and tie were not introduced for Constables and Sergeants until the fifties. These guys have collared tunics but somehow there is a Victorian look to them......it may be the belt is a bit obvious and I am sure truncheons were not carried outside the tunic in 1947. The right hand PC, with a notebook, is not leaning on pointed sticks......this is how they come out of the box with the printing supports still attached.The attachment point is minute and very easy to cut with a scalpel leaving no trace. The guy at the back is a Goods train guard all ready to lean on the rail of one of my Toads. He does demonstrate rather too well a minor downside of using figures recently scanned in real life, on a 1947 layout. I can only assume that Dai Jones was a cook sergeant during the war......how else could he acquire that much weight? Regards from Vancouver John

Thanks for all the buttons gentlemen This is definitely the conclusion of the milk train saga I left you with the fully assembled train, complete with new loco, waiting at Down Platform 5 The reason for the delay is hardly prototypical........space has to be found in the storage yard! I didnt design the storage approach roads very well. They are fine for continuous circuits but it is difficult/impossible for out and back schedules to start and finish in the same siding. Thus the Down Milk train we have been following started in Down Siding 3 but will terminate in Up Siding 1......currently occupied by an Up Parcels/Newspaper Train. So another schedule has to be started with the Parcels Train clearing U1 for the Milk Train. Here we see the Parcels train on Granby Bank Up Main alongside a Local Goods in the Down Relief....or should it be slow? Approaching Granby Junction as the Down Milk train finally departs for Hooton (U1) There are a number of routines available for the Parcel train. Vans can be added and taken away, along with a loco exchange like the one seen previously with the the Down Milk......but thats for another day. There is so much happening with the Milk Train that on this occasion its a simple touch and go.....or even an express. Its sole purpose is to move from U1 to D3 the siding vacated by the Milk Train. I am still fine tuning the start point currently its started by the Pilot when it has returned to the bay and the Up main is clear but on reflection it will be better to start it the moment the Milk Train releases the Down Storage siding I think that for legend purposes, at this time in the afternoon, it could be a Newspaper train with the evening editions from Manchester Having passed through the stations the two trains continue on their separate journeys....clockwise and anti-clockwise.... 4905 Barton Hall heading south past Granby Sheds and Carriage Sidings 4918 Dartington Hall heading North on the Down Main passing Chester Road Goods Depot on its way to Hooton. Both Locos started life as Hornby 4901 Adderley Hall*.......repainted, reliveried and re tendered (not very well in the case of 4918) ...........exhibition quality models they most definitely are not but they are perfect layout models. Powerful and super reliable....they have to be with all that automated uncoupling. Heavily weathered work horses suit Granby......and also help disguise my less than perfect paint job. * The sharp eyed may have noticed that the LH side of Barton Hall has reverted to type..........somewhere on the layout is a tiny brass plate reading 4905 (on one side). Virtually all my GWR locos have engraved plates but this is the first I have lost without trace. Back to the topic......Once the two trains arrive in their respective sidings, both locos uncouple, get turned on the storage turntable and recouple at the other end of their respective trains..........One sentence covering a great deal of activity Thus 4918 Dartington Hall is ready for the return journey taking the Milk Train (now Empties) back to Shrewsbury. Stopping at Granby to drop off the two tankers for MacPeters Dairy at Cynwyd ( which they left in Milk Train Part 1.....about a month ago ) Similarly 4905 Barton Hall is now ready to take a Down Parcels through Granby and on to Birkenhead. The Milk train activity on this routine is pretty straight forward so there is now a lot more movement with the parcels train .......but as I said that is for another day Next week something completely different. Regards from Vancouver where after a few days of endless rain it is a very pleasant sunny spring morning. John

If you have already invested in Gold it makes sense to use it now. As you already know it is a steep learning curve. Setting up the switchboards with the block and route structure will enable you to develop and run schedules using the simulator. It will enable you and others (certainly me) to more readily identify potential problems before physically cutting the track to create the isolated sections. I would have thought that to set up the switchboards when the entire layout was set up and only then enter the addresses etc would be very cumbersome. I would have thought it more efficient to transpose your track plan into switchboards and enter the connection detail of each turnout and block as you install it. Testing each turnout and occupancy detector at the time of installation on the track, dcc controller and train controller. If you have to use the fiddle yard for profiling I would try and have blocks near the front that are easily accessible and visible.......particularly for the brake tests. I have padded buffers at each end of my track and the locos need them! ie 30" is not really long enough for a run off so you would need to allow for robust buffers at one end and a clear run out at the other or maybe a temporary buffer Regards John