Maximilianshafen

[MarkE]

Hi Thomas, I'm very impressed with your points (switches), are they hand-built? In the UK I've never seen 6100mm radius! In the UK Peco's largest radius point is only 1524mm. 

[ThomasI]

9 hours ago, MarkE said:

Hi Thomas, I'm very impressed with your points (switches), are they hand-built? In the UK I've never seen 6100mm radius! In the UK Peco's largest radius point is only 1524mm. 

Hi Mark!

That's hand-built.

Largest radius point commercially available in H0 is 2200mm from Tillig.

Best Regards

Thomas

[ThomasI]

So, since I'm having the same problem again this year and no solution in sight, I'm about to dismantle everything and find another hobby.
I've spent four summers in a row repairing the switches in the station entrance because they were damaged by the servo twitching when the layout was powered up.
I've tried everything: power and data supply to the decoders via track from the command station.
Only data supply via track and external power supply from the transformer.
All voltages from 12V to 18V from the said transformer.
First turn on the data supply, then the power supply.
Vice versa.
Turn on the decoders one by one.
No matter what I do, after a long break, the servos in the station entrance (and only those!) run amok, destroying the switches and becoming uncontrollable.
Since I don't want to be stuck for another year, without a solution to this problem, I'll resort to demolition and find another hobby. This is just too frustrating and depressing and demotivating.

😭😭😭

[MarkE]

On 24/05/2025 at 14:37, ThomasI said:

This is just too frustrating and depressing and demotivating.

Hi Thomas,

Yes, I also find this hobby frustrating, depressing and demotivating at times. I certainly have a love/hate relationship with my railway! Over the winter, mice have urinated all over my points in my garage, its been very frustrating trying to get them working electrically again, but however much I'm tempted to just give up, after a short break for a few days, the love returns and I normally find a solution to my problem! So keep on in there Thomas, you've achieved so much amazing work on your layout! We all know that building a railway outside is always going to be challenging, but maybe that's why we do it? We really push the boundaries of what's possible and that's what gives us the most fulfilling sense of achievement!!! 

Edited May 26, 2025 by MarkE

[ThomasI]

So, a little more about my H0 garden layout.

 

The cable-stayed bridge shown in the bottom right of picture 2 is indeed destined for the bulky waste in the foreseeable future.

I would like to replace it with a bridge like the one in the last two pictures.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing with a 75cm span.

And I haven't yet been able to convince Objectica (whose "Modena" model is https://objetica.com/de-de/products/trave-viadotto-ferroviario-modena?srsltid=AfmBOoqKWp1AJqxETIDSd5f5ZJn7bu-iN57MTAVmXLnN1y8TwLYf63oA) to make me three 25cm elements in that style, which I can then combine to form a 75cm bridge...

[ThomasI]

After the existing iron bridge, built by Hack, collapsed due to rust, two new viaducts were built.

One features a sandstone design (fictitious construction year 1854), the other is a tamped concrete bridge based on a Bavarian Prototype (fictitious construction year 1900).

[ThomasI]

The "old Line" got more scenery, catenary poles, bridge railings...

Also I had some trains running.

[MarkE]

On 07/09/2025 at 12:56, ThomasI said:

After the existing iron bridge, built by Hack, collapsed due to rust, two new viaducts were built.

One features a sandstone design (fictitious construction year 1854), the other is a tamped concrete bridge based on a Bavarian Prototype (fictitious construction year 1900).

Hi Thomas, I love these two new viaducts, they are so impressive! Please would you tell us how they were constructed.

 

[ThomasI]

9 hours ago, MarkE said:

Hi Thomas, I love these two new viaducts, they are so impressive! Please would you tell us how they were constructed.

 

The curved bridge is made of 10mm Styrofoam panels, the interior of the arches of kneaded concrete (a type of concrete that can be molded like clay). After the kneaded concrete had dried, the remaining cavities were filled with concrete in place.

The straight bridge is made of 60mm Styrofoam blocks and 10mm Styrofoam panels.

Stones, etc., were engraved into the Styrofoam.

[Allegheny1600]

Hello Thomas,

 I’m glad to see that you haven’t ripped everything up and started a new hobby! Despite the frustrations, I do think this is the most absorbing and creative hobby that there is and I for one, could never replace it. And yes, I have tried!

 I am equally glad that you are still going as you are the only person I know who is modelling a modern high speed line. Although I have not been able to get outside (& therefore, not on this forum), I have finally made a start in a purpose built garden room of 7m x 3.5m which will incorporate a classic and a high speed line, despite having to return to the UK from my dream in Greece, followed by divorce and getting a new partner. The railway keeps me going!

No matter our circumstances, our hobby sustains us and is therefore worth persevering with.

Best wishes,

John.

[ThomasI]

25 minutes ago, Allegheny1600 said:

Hello Thomas,

 I’m glad to see that you haven’t ripped everything up and started a new hobby! Despite the frustrations, I do think this is the most absorbing and creative hobby that there is and I for one, could never replace it. And yes, I have tried!

 I am equally glad that you are still going as you are the only person I know who is modelling a modern high speed line. Although I have not been able to get outside (& therefore, not on this forum), I have finally made a start in a purpose built garden room of 7m x 3.5m which will incorporate a classic and a high speed line, despite having to return to the UK from my dream in Greece, followed by divorce and getting a new partner. The railway keeps me going!

No matter our circumstances, our hobby sustains us and is therefore worth persevering with.

Best wishes,

John.

 

Hello John!

I turned to all the model railway forums and Facebook groups I knew for help.

Despite some stupid chatter, I found a lot of helpful information.

So, I've now shielded the cables between the servo decoders and the servos, as well as the power cables to them. I've also installed switches in the power cables so that the various servo decoders can be switched on one after the other, rather than all at once. I'll also ground the two steel staircases located near the problem servos. Furthermore, I've discovered that some of the outlets in the garden don't have 230 volts at exactly 50 hertz. Therefore, I've refrained from running the server decoders with an external power supply from transformers connected to these outlets for the time being.

Since then, it's been running reasonably stable.

I'm sorry about the end of your Greece plans.

But the mention of a new partner and new model railway plans makes me think you're looking forward and in good spirits. Nevertheless I wish you the best of luck and hope we might see something from your railways again soon.

Best wishes 

Thomas 

Edited September 18, 2025 by ThomasI

[ThomasI]

So, after having numerous kits for French overhead lines (25kV) but no instructions, I was able to buy a fully assembled mast on eBay during my vacation in France and have it shipped there (which significantly reduced the shipping costs). Using that as a template, I was able to complete numerous other kits I had lying around. If tomorrow isn't a German national holiday, they'll be permanently installed.

Also, while I was on vacation, my neighbors completely trimmed back the part of the hedge they hadn't already torn down.

I've now taken the opportunity to claim the entire dream light profile along the hedge above my railway for myself.

Acrylic glass will be added to protect it from the weather, and the sides will be sealed with sturdy stainless steel mosquito nets, so the hedge stays where it won't bother me anymore.

On top of that, my vines will be allowed to grow, which will surely welcome the extra sun.

 

[ThomasI]

Hello everyone!

Now that I've finished the hedge protection, I've also addressed the problem of the WPC battens in the substructure of the first high-speed line.

They tended to shift horizontally and vertically at the transition from one batten to the next.

This problem has now been solved with precisely fitted and then screwed-in aluminum U-profiles.

Subsequently, the affected section and the other sections affected by the work were re-ballasted, and the cable ducts were replaced at the same time.

Furthermore, the power line masts were erected.

Please excuse me for not vacuuming the tracks beforehand, but unfortunately, the ballast cement takes quite a while to set in the somewhat damp weather here in the Palatinate region.

[ThomasI]

More pics:

[ThomasI]

OhWonderful weather here today

I inspected the outdoor layout and found little winter damage

I sprayed on "Mellerud against algae and green growth" so that not all the tracks are moss green

It's working very well.