mick Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Shaun, did you used to have a cat.....? What on earth is that on the left of the photo? The layout looks great from that angle in the above photo. I really like the junction and you've certainly got yourself plenty of operational possibilities. Good job you've got a more than willing assistant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 56 minutes ago, mick said: Shaun, did you used to have a cat.....? What on earth is that on the left of the photo? The layout looks great from that angle in the above photo. I really like the junction and you've certainly got yourself plenty of operational possibilities. Good job you've got a more than willing assistant! Could it be half a cat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 Cat? Not a chance! I'm very much on the dog side of the debate! That right there is the remnants of a cuddly toy fox - our dog can't have any toys for more than 10 minutes without being "killed", ripped apart and then dragged outside. Even the 'indestructible' toys only last about 30 minutes. What type of dog do we have that can do that? A pitbull? A staffy? No, a Poodle Basset cross!! Quote I really like the junction and you've certainly got yourself plenty of operational possibilities. Thanks, I'm still not sure if that's how it will remain though, I wanted it to be a bit more of a gentle split than it has ended up being. Probably should have gone with RH points instead. The flextrack haven't been bonded yet so I'll have a play, but that space on the left of the track as it is now does give possibility of a line-side building to hide decoders in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 13 hours ago, Stese said: It looks like he's getting to grips with it well enough. I've got a very 'loved' Thomas that I've had since I was a kid, that i'll be using as a test loco on my outdoor layout I used to have Percy as well, but i'll be damned if I know where he went... Yep, I still have my 'Made in Great Britain' Thomas too from when I was 4. He may be battered, lost his face (and a buffer) and have some weird rear suspension issue going on, but he's my Thomas and the boy isn't allowed near him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 This weekend has seen a new addition to the garden railway - a £40 new Class 47 from ebay. I'm amazed at the difference with these modern locos, ran as smooth as a nut straight from the box with no track cleaning required! All my other locos need the track as shiny as anything One day I'll remember which side of the tracks the trains run in the uk... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) Popped into my local model shop today with the intention of just buying some loco oil (which turned out to be a waste of time, but that's another thread...) and ended up walking away with an old Tri-ang Dean Single and 4472 from their "bargain bin". Suggest you don't have the sound on too loud for this one, it could do with a service Edited April 21, 2017 by shaung75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Hello all, this is a desperate callout for help as I'm about ready to give up on this bloody hobby of ours. Can anyone here see anything obviously wrong with this crossover (specifically the rout from top right to bottom left). My class 47 and tri-ang Dean Single constantly catch the frog so going over it at anything other than a crawl results in a derailment, and Ben's 0-6-0 Thomas tends to cause a short (but doesn't derail). At first I thought it could have been down to the curve leading into the crossing as it appeared to have a minor kink, but I replace this section with a Hornby Radius 4 set track piece and the issue still remains. Getting on my hands and knees to get a good look at it while manually pushing the loco over the crossing towards me, it's almost as if it's front-right wheel wants to pull to the right and join the other track but just catches the frog instead. Any help appreciated as I was out with Ben for a good 5 hours yesterday on the layout and wasn't once able to just sit back and enjoy the trains with him. Feeling a bit deflated to be honest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Back to back wheel distance? If the wheels are too close together, they will ride up on the check rail. Or old Triang stock with their thicker flanges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I have a Peco point that does the same thing, just does not like certain locos. As roddy says check the distance across the axel between the wheels even a nats hair out can cause problems sometimes. Also check your wheels are actualy in line had that problem with a new loco before now. Fiendish these Chinese you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussietmrail Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 What brand of crossover is it , try Peco or lash out and buy a Shinohara brand make sure it is code 100 Walther's sell them, I agree what Roddy and Jimbo are saying what you need to buy is a check standard gauge, I have trouble with some of my British cheap coaches they don't like points, same thing but can't adjust the wheels. Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussietmrail Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 4 minutes ago, aussietmrail said: What brand of crossover is it , try Peco or lash out and buy a Shinohara brand make sure it is code 100 Walther's sell them, I agree what Roddy and Jimbo are saying what you need to buy is a check standard gauge, I have trouble with some of my British cheap coaches they don't like points, same thing but can't adjust the wheels. Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead. You also could replace the crossover with Peco's express points or two Wye's longer the better Shinohara have a long Wye Tony from down under Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share Posted April 30, 2017 Thanks for the reply chaps, I'll invest in a gauge and see what the results are. To be honest I'm not 100% convinced it would be that as the Dean Single has the old Tri-ang style wheels on the front bogey where the wheels can freely move apart. Still, I'm not ruling anything out so worth a shot! Managed to get a decent amount of running with the boy today by using the inner loop (avoiding the crossover) and snipping the bits that I'd soldered in to join the rails (eliminating shorts). All in all a good afternoon - faith restored in the hobby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stese Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 If it's old tri-ang, then it's possible the flanges are riding up on the sleepers/checkrails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 Only the Dean Single is tri-ang, the main culprit is a modern hornby class 47 - I couldn't see any evidence of either riding up onto the checkrail. Odd, shall keep investigating.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossi Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Shaun, I had exactly the same problem with the class 47 and wrote about it on page 5 of "Rossi Railways in the sun." That small piece of plastic (guard rail) in front of leading wheel seemed to catch on certain points so I clipped it off and it sorted the problem. (But don't mention the ongoing saga of broken drive shafts with this model...Still awaiting ANOTHER replacement from Bachmann.) Might be worth a try. Rossi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 That's interesting. Thanks Rossi, I'll go back and have another read through. Although mine is only a Hornby Railroad (so the dangly bit doesn't dangle as much), I have been focusing on what the wheels are fouling to cause the problem, not the other bits surrounding the wheels... Worth looking into Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 Today has been a good day on the Poacher Line - I've given up for the time being on trying to find out what's causing the short circuits on the crossing and have decided to focus on the building side of things instead. The planning officer (aka, "the wife") has allowed me to use one of my precious day's off to tinker with the layout, so this afternoon has been spent making use of the posts that have been in the ground for the last year and have finally made a start extending the layout down to the shed. Don't get me wrong, it's only and additional 7 meters of baseboard down, bitumen painted and felted, but it has given me the enthusiasm again to crack on with it. Now that the new boards are fitted, it became obvious that the old junction needed pulling up and relaying This is as far as I got before it began to get dark Hopefully I'll be allowed some more time over the weekend to get the junction finished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussietmrail Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Hi Shanug75, have you sorted out the shout in the cross over , you said about junction well you need to replace the track joiners with isolator joiners and with a bit more bus wiring needed, are you going DCC , need a circuit board there , with DC you need two DPDT switched to fix the short, I don't know enough about DCC . Nice to see your progress is coming along nicely, what I need to do is con some funds out of my planning officer, my layout is at a sand ill so is in hospital.. Keep the flowing , Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 Hi Tony, hope your son's feeling better soon It's the crossover that's the issue rather than the wiring and polarities - certain locos cause a short when they go over the crossing, (some every time, some intermittently and some not at all) so it's really frustrating. I will eventually be going to DCC, but at the moment the layout isn't big enough really to run more than one train at a time at the minute so can't warrant the upgrade just yet. Once the loop is complete down to the shed (see here for phase 2) I'll be making the change. For now though I managed to bag an ebay bargain with an old Hornby clockwork Thomas so I don't have to set up power everytime the boy wants to have a play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaung75 Posted June 16, 2017 Author Share Posted June 16, 2017 Managed to lay the track this evening and to save getting the controller out I gave the Clockwork Thomas a run for his money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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