SRman

It works well. You may have to try a couple of times to get a smooth, even coating, but it really doesn't take much of the material at all.

My old layout's branch was based on the Minories plan, but mirror-imaged and with a double slip giving access to a turntable and engine shed. Operationally, it was entirely satisfactory and good fun, with a few challenges thrown in too. I also added a crossover near the platform ends, allowing for locomotives to run around their trains. Another method of operation was to uncouple and isolate the train locomotive, then run a new locomotive onto the train to depart. Multiple units and pull-push trains were much easier. Then there were a couple of sidings to allow goods traffic to be shunted, and a parcels road on the other side. Yes: great fun.

First test runs completed after temporarily wiring both tracks to the same feed from the command unit. For the future, each track will have a separate feed with a circuit breaker in line. The 4-pin plug works well. It is only rated at 1 amp, but for a short, isolated section of track that will only see passing trains, this should not be a problem. It is essential to allow this bridge section to be removable, while the rest of the bridges and viaducts will be fixed permanently, thus won't require the plug and socket arrangement for the wiring. The Heljan ex-BR class 05 was used first and after revealing a few dead spots with glue on the track, has run up and down both tracks in turn at dead slow speeds. A Hornby Sentinel diesel and Kernow Beatty well tank also successfully completed the sections at dead slow speeds. There remains a bit of cleaning up of excess bits of ballast on the sleepers, and a bit of rail and ballast weathering.

Also, considering that he only recently announced they are doing the P.O. wagon transfers for Parkside kits in an exclusive deal that only kicked in at the beginning of this year.

Photos of the track on the combined lift-out bridges, as described a couple of posts ago. The glue is still drying so I can't move it yet. Once it is ready, I'll lift the bridges out and run the wires from the tracks to a 4-pin connector, which will feed to the bus wires to the Command unit. This will make it the very first bit of track on the upper level to be live.

So far so good, Doug. I have now laid some ballast, but forgot to paint the rails first! The base layer of ballast has stuck well, but the upper layers are now waiting for the diluted glue to dry.

I have had a great idea using the same sticky backed 'floor protector' rolls as underlay as I have used at the back of the new section (see earlier photos). For the bridges and viaducts I have been pondering how to fasten the track while still allowing for last minute adjustments, particularly as some of them are plastic or have balsa wood decks, meaning that pins won't stay put. The answer (I hope) is to use the rolls 'upside down' compared to what I did before. For the rear tracks, I used the sticky side downwards, sticking to the baseboards, then pinned the track. This time, I am gluing the non-sticky side to the bridge decks, then I'll place the track carefully on the sticky side. I can then sprinkle some ballast onto the remaining exposed sticky bits. No photos at present, while the glue sets, but I'll advise further just how successful or otherwise this technique is. I am only doing two bridges initially. so it cannot turn into a complete disaster.

Ex-LSWR gate stock pull-push set 363 bursts out of a tunnel near Newton Broadway. S15 30830 is seen with a few BR mark 1-based horse boxes as it leaves the tunnel near Newton Broadway. I must confess a slight cheat, in that I 'photoshopped' the front coupling of the S15 out of the picture - once again I forgot to remove couplings before taking the photos.

Some more photos using the new scenic area, in spite of its still unfinished state: subjects include some of my industrial fleet, soon to be joined by the Hatton's Andrew Barclay locos, a Hornby EWS class 60 (acquired recently but with the EWS body swapped onto it - the original chassis went under a class 92 body), a Hornby S15, and the Kernow gate stock. The latter two also have 'tweaked' versions to look as if they were taken in the 1950s or '60s.

I have a few green ones too, Doug, but the red will match up with the Hornby J94 (ex-Harry). I liked the open cab on the red one too. I'll rename and number mine, so it won't get confused with yours if we combine forces sometime. p.s. Besides the repainted blue pannier tank, I have two red ones of those too - in London Transport livery!

Well, I am ashamed to say I succumbed after watching the videos and pre-ordered a second one, this time the red 16" version. My credit card is in for a severe bashing in the very near future!

I have had to give track laying a rest while my ankles go down but I will resume on this coming weekend. In the meantime, I have been doing little improvements at a time to the scenery around the programming track. I have positioned a hut experimentally, and am quite pleased with the appearance ... maybe this one will stay, or maybe I'll find a slightly smaller and grottier hut I need to add fences, and more greenery along the roadside verges, but overall it is shaping up well, I think. I ordered a heap of different grass mats from Orient Express in South Australia and Modeller's Warehouse in Queensland, and used a couple here as well as some Woodland Scenics scatter materials. While some shrubbery along the railway line would look good, I am being careful to leave the track as open as possible to allow for testing locomotives and placing the rolling road easily without knocking any of the scenery.

I have probably over-weathered this wall, but it is made from Slaters stone plastic card, painted a darkish grey (Humbrol blue-grey #79), then weathered with grimy black and dark earth powders. At present it is a little too even in colour for my liking.

There are several photos around online and in books where a 'Tin' HAL is sandwiched inside 2 BIL and/or earlier 2 HAL units too - not so good for the cab details but some show the roofs well.

The trams seem to cruise through at a reasonable rate of knots, while the trains always have to proceed at dead slow speeds.

Definitely looks like a Cravens Mark 1.

Some workmen conduct a last inspection of a disused branch near Newton Broadway.

How does she know it's a Fred, not a Freda?

Likewise here, actually. I was just turning 11 when we arrived in Oz.

Likewise, I had a couple on my old layout, and the geometry really caused problems. While they are nominally 2nd radius for both curves, in practice there is a tight bit where the two curves first separate, so it acts more like a 1st radius curve for a short section. that short section was enough to cause derailments and binding for long wheelbase rigid stock and locos. Certain items of stock were barred from using the inner loop because of this.

Hey, I'm not gone yet!

Yes, "significantly' is the word! Nominally the radii of the large curved points are 2' and 5'. Personally I'd prefer something like 2' and 3', but they do give a lovely 'flow' to the track.

I'm not actually sure, John; I bought them quite a few years ago from the now defunct International Models. They came as good sized rolls of the grass, with the spring green one I have used here, and the poppy field pasture with flowers one in an earlier photo. I'll have to see if I can find any bits of paper that tell us more. EDIT: MiniNatur is the manufacturer of these mats. They are still available if you shop around - https://www.mininatur.de/en/Silhouette-Scale-H0--N--Z/miniNatur-ground-vegetation/floor-mats/

Further progress with the scenic side of the programming track valley (I must come up with a better name for that!). I have used some Slaters' dressed stone walling and some Flemish bond brick sheet, plus strips of grass matting. The glue is still a tad wet and showing white, I'll add some shrubs and vines at the top of the embankment wall eventually, while the area showing white polystyrene will have a narrow lane on it, travelling down to the baseboard front.

Resetting ESU sound decoders can take more than one attempt. Don't bother trying to read it at this stage, just keep trying to reprogram CV8 again. As pheaton said, this can happen with the ESU decoders. Also, you could try the reset by installing the decoder temporarily in your class 25 again. I once found a Bachmann 4 CEP unit that refused to accept programming, yet the decoder reprogrammed perfectly well when installed into a Hornby class 60. If you go down the track of getting the Hornby TTS sound decoder (which seems to be getting good reviews), don't forget you will need an adapter to convert the 8-pin TTS to the 21-pin Bachmann pcb, and you may also need to replace the Bachmann speaker with an 8 Ohm speaker to suit the Hornby TTS decoder (the Hornby speaker may be too big to physically fit in the class 20).