Riddles

Great to see someone making progress with their garden railway.

I’d just like to second those thanks to Mike. Notwithstanding there is now a OO Garden Railway Facebook page, having a proper website presence does show that these projects are practical and worth taking seriously. Sorry I’ve nothing to show pics of. Compliments of the season to all.

I agree about it looking great but have never compared the sleeper thickness. Peco have always claimed that the plastic used in their flexible track contains additives to stop it going brittle after prolonged exposure to UV sunlight. I wonder whether DCC Concepts can claim the same.

Very interesting. In future the manufacturers will need to have more consideration for added features starting from the bottom up chassis design. Some are already ahead of the game but steam leaking from cylinders, as well as the chimney, needs careful planning but I am sure it is coming from the likes of Rapido. I think I was perhaps a little unfair in my post on Wednesday about the size of the TXS decoders. They are actually not overly large if you exclude the speaker and power bank connections. They are certainly much smaller than a basic decoder of the 1990s. Yes, I bought my first DCC controller in 1995 after struggling with Hornby Zero 1 since 1980!

Yes, the antenna does take up quite a large space. Some people had contemplated cutting off that part of the PCB as there are no obvious components attached. Perhaps a different type of antenna could be fitted but that would not be easy. I am wondering how they will fit TXS decoders in the TT120 locos they are advertising. Perhaps they will have bespoke decoders but I can't imagine they could fit a power pack as well. Good luck with the Class 20 or whatever you decide on. Apparently not all the types of sound profiles which they have announced are available yet.

Have you decided which loco (or unit) you will be installing the decoder in? I was very disappointed to see how large the decoder and power pack are. I was planning on trying them in a Hornby Britannia but there is no way they would fit.

It’s very easy to waste a lot of valuable time if you start following a thread. Far too much pointless arguing and insults as well.

Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on an HM|DCC sound decoder which start at only £64.99 suggested retail price (and expected to be available in the shops from £58.50). I would probably add on a power bank at £15.99/£14.50 but that is the only expense needed as I already have a fairly recent iPhone. Track power would come from my existing DCC system but it could work from a DC system turned up to full speed. The sound should be better than TTS (twin track sound) as there can be 3 audio tracks on the TXS (Triplex) decoders. The decoders are provided without any sound files as these will be downloadable free of charge. Initially there will be a choice of 35 files, each with 25 sounds, and the files can be changed at will, at no cost. The decoders come with a speaker with an enclosure which is customisable. They are said to work conventionally on DCC systems if Bluetooth control is not required. So far, no facility for point and signal control has been announced so that would be by conventional means or DCC. Hopefully an online manual will be available soon.

Mrs Riddles and I went on Monday and agree with all the above. There is a convenient bus shuttle from the Railway Station to the city centre (alight and re-board at The Clock). The Crewe-Chester leg of our journey was by a very full Transport For Wales class 153 unit but we did manage to get a seat. Thanks for posting the video.

A photo of the pigeon on top of the train would have been a good illustration of one of the additional challenges of running OO in the garden. You can't have your phone/camera with you every second of the day although some people get very close to it. Your words have let us imagine the scene in our minds very well.

Please don't be disheartened by the negative comment. It seems as though some people derive some perverse satisfaction in belittling other peoples efforts. I think it is more important to keep a record of your garden railway than trying to create an illusion of the real thing by adding sound from a separate recording. I do think that RTR factory fitted sound has definitely improved over recent years.. I have a Bachmann Deltic (D9007 Pinza) and the latest Accurascale version (D9020 Nimbus) and the improvement since 2009 is fairly dramatic. Watching your latest video of the Black 5, the only missing element for me is steam. A conventional Seuthe steam unit would do nothing but the water based TRS system would add to the sound and complete the effect. All extra expense and effort though. Please keep making your videos.

Perhaps your retailer could examine his other stock in case one of the other boxes has no driving/trailers but two NDMs! Most annoying for all concerned. I do sympathise.

I'm pleased to say that my GBRf 640623/640624, Dapol B913A are also unaffected! After reading your report I was a little concerned as I had bought them at Dapol's open day off their "Not Quite Perfect" table in 2014. As far as I can see it's still only the box that's NQP.

Incredible as it may seem, the tooling for the Bachmann wagons is over 50 years old. Commonly known as "whisky wagons," they were introduced in 1966 by British Trix who had them made by Liliput. They were fitted with Peco/Dublo couplings but had mounting positions for Tri-ang tension lock couplings. Liliput retained ownership of the toolings and supplied the British market directly after British Trix folded. In 1993 Kader Industries took over Liliput and the model passed into the Bachmann Branchline range the following year. It is still going strong and three different wagons are currently supplied in the "Whiskies Galore" train set with a sound fitted Class 20. With regard to changing the wheels of the Lima wagons, the axle length differs from other manufacturers and Hornby/Bachmann wheels do not simply drop in!

That is a brilliant development! I thought at first that you had used Train-Tech's Animated Smart Screens but your model looks much more like what an actual station display looks like. Yours is half the cost as well.