New Railway Modellers Forums

Definitely don't solder rail joiners, especially in a loft layout or your track will buckle in the next heatwave. If you really want reliable electrical connectivity then solder a track feed onto every piece of rail, advice which is often given if you are using DCC. Do leave a gap to allow for expan...

dubdee1000 wrote:What? Lenz have brought out a new controller??

Indeed - the LZV200 with release 4 software. I've been told by a reliable German box-shifter that Lenz have told them to expect delivery at the end of the month. And that's January 2019 not January 20?? as it has been for some while!

They announce at midday next Monday 14th.

I would like them to announce that all the models that were announced in 2016, 2017 and 2018 will actually be shipped this year.

I'm very pleased to see some Bulleid coaches from Hornby in this announcement - and different ones to what Bachmann announced last year. What's also very refreshing is that these coaches will be available in April/May this year. Compare that to some of Bachmann's products: I pre-ordered a 2-HAP in M...

I had the DJM model at first but it was very slow, and underpowered for my needs. I tried it on an 8-coach train with 3-4 Hornby Pullmans and top speed (as measured by Traincontroller software) was little more that 45mph. It was also quite noisy with a lot of gear-clicking. I gave up on it and retur...

At Nationalization in 1948 some/all of these locos were in malachite green, but as they were overhauled they were repainted in BR lined black. The last malachite loco was dealt with in 1953 according to "Maunsell Locomotives" by Brian Haresnape. They never carried the later BR green livery...

The Lenz system is about to be upgraded with a new controller LZV200 due out next February to replace the LZV100. There's also a new LH101 throttle with a control knob that is available now. If you're interested in the Lenz system then would be worth waiting a couple of months.

The Hastings units - classes 201 and 202 - were built to a special narrow-bodied design which was 8ft wide. The MLV is to the standard 9ft width so would be a poor match. Plus you need to create 6 coaches to do so and standard MK1s would not be suitable for the trailer coaches being also 9ft wide. D...

I trust you Googled Bulleid and not Bullied? If you search with the correct spelling you get hits like this http://bulleid4dddoubledeck.co.uk/history.html

They're both Gresley coaches but why they're painted green I've no idea. There's a label on the right but only half of it is visible. However one line does start "O LN...." which suggests these are O gauge LNER coaches which Heljan are producing and which are listed on Hatton's website for...

triuph1050 wrote:Turns out to be Zimo MX 600 very basic but Im hoping to tweek it

Actually the Zimo MX600 decoder is quite a sophisticated one, not basic at all.

To automate a layout of the size you are proposing, the first requirement will be fairly deep pockets! The hardware and software requirements would roughly as follows: - A PC running Windows. Doesn't have to be particularly powerful, but should be W7 or W10 - Interface from your DCC command station ...

But supposing one train encounters a problem - derails, stalls, suffers a coupling failure (eg drops a few vehicles off) etc. All other trains will continue running even if you stop the one that has a failure. And if you are operating single-handedly, then one failure requires your full attention, s...

I very much agree with FB. If you're operating manually, then 3 trains running simultaneously is about the limit for my brain. To run more you either need some form of automation, or a bunch of friends round to assist but then you would also need multiple throttles. What I would recommend is dividin...

The Circle Line on the London Underground is of course the very first prototype.