New Railway Modellers Forums

The imported German loco (no. 8?) is looking very smart in BNR blue!

I've experimented with the Keen Systems units before for close-coupling older stock. Really they are intended for use between coaches for semi-permanent rakes of stock, and in this application they work well. It's possible to adapt them for use with NEM 362 couplers but as mentioned above they need ...

Distant signals tell a driver the state of the next home signal, giving him plenty of time to bring the train's speed down so that it can be stopped at the next signal. These are the yellow signal with a fishtail end and a black chevron behind it. Their lamps are different too, they have a red lamp...

Sorry it's become a rant, but lights and sound seem to be the latest gimmicks but in both cases we see and hear them when we shouldn't and in both cases they tend to be too loud/bright! They're great on things like US locomotives, which have an array of lights doing different things. DCC allows you...

I'm doing a few calculations/experiments with this. The benchmark I've been using for British track is 2'6" sleeper spacing (center to center). In 4mm/foot scale this works out at 10mm (100 sleepers/m), and if you're using EM or P4 standards then this works out great, but then you're not using ...

Trakmat-type plans are great for kids to watch a train going round in circles. I think you'll get very bored of such a layout. Lots of people build a 'slab of board in the middle of a room' for their first layout, but far fewer build a second. Consider what it is you actually want from a model railw...

I've seen this done before in narrow gauge- with an O or G-scale body built over the hornby chassis. Best conversion I can remember was a Bachmann 08 converted into a O-16.5 centre-cab diesel, using much of the bodywork and a scratch-built cab. Would be a good use for the old Hornby model which used...

Those connectors work great for all sorts of uses. It's worth getting a supply of the pins and the correct crimp tool if you are going to be using a lot. Then you can wire them yourself using the colours you want.

You don't have to control point motors with the DCC system- there's nothing wrong with controlling them from a switchboard in the traditional way.

Automotive connectors are your friend. Not overly cheap, but a good, reliable connection capable of taking several amps. Unlike ethernet sockets, aerial plugs and suchlike. Try a 13-way econoseal connector. You'll need male and female plugs, plus the individual pins which are crimped to the wire end...

Personally, I think 3 concentric loops is one of those things which jumps out immediately and says "train set". Particularly as they are almost never laid with the correctly widened spacing between the second and third lines. As an alternative, consider a double-track main line (simpler an...

I built a ratio kit a few years ago which came with enough parts for several signals. They can be made to work but are very fiddly (use a magnifier while working or you'll get a headache!) and the pivots and levers are fragile. I managed to get a home signal and a home/distant combination working bu...

Would I be considered mad for building a layout with it these days? I know nickel-silver is considered superior but I just don't like the yellow-ish tinge to the rail. We've been exposed to it for long enough that everyone's used to it but it's not prototypical at all and just shouts 'model' to me. ...

A few clunky toggle switches thrown..., turn the knob on the controller and bliss! Simple. :) Although arguably, "choose a locomotive and turn the knob" is just as simple! That said, I don't like how difficult it is with DCC to set up a direct relationship between speed and controller pos...

I like DC more then I like DCC just because I prefer clunky switches and the satisfaction of wiring them. I find DC is easier to understand in regards to the internal workings (Not that I know a lot). I have both a Lenz Compact (With a slave lead), a set 01, a pair of extra hand controllers (The on...