It was nice to see your explanation of the different Peco points and how they operate electrically. All too often we assume others know all about this type of thing and it is good to be reminded how they work. The same with your adding droppers. Simple exercise, but something most of us assume everyone knows, and for the newbies, your explanation shows how easy it is. Appreciate the effort that you have taken to pass these simple exercises on to everyone.
Thanks very much for your kind words of support Eric, very much appreciated. It's very easy to assume that everyone knows these basics, of course you can find the information in a book but I personally find it much easier to learn something by seeing it being done, hence why I chose to include it in the video. Its good to know it was useful. Thanks again, Geoff
Hi Geoff watching track laying isn't boring it's good to see everyone's different techniques and to watch the layout grow. It's looking good and both areas (heritage and power ststion) will add interest as you're shunting things around. Cheers Andy
Thanks Andy, glad you enjoyed it 👍. Just the turntable to go but that will be a job for this winter when its cooler up the loft, i suspect i'm going to spending the next month at least doing jobs away from the layout. Its soo hot up there lol. Cheers Geoff
Hi Geoff Goes to show you are never too old to learn. The wirering of that length of track was absolutely brilliant. Never seen it done that way before. Even the wiring experts in our railway club don't do it that way. The amount of sleepers I have ruined on my track whilst wirering is unbelievable. I was taught to wire on the sides of the rail at one end. Where have you been all my life you could have saved me a fortune if I had seen this sooner. L.O.L. Keep up the good work. Loving watching the layout coming together. As for the Peco turntable the OO one used on the club depot layout worked perfectly and it travelled to exhibitions without any issues. Hopefully the N gauge one will do the same. Keep safe and Well Jeff
Hi Jeff, thanks so much for your kind words. I feel your pain with the soldering, i tried it that way on my old layout and I had the very problems you have described, by moving to the underside of the rail, the job became much easier and much cleaner too. Thanks again, All the best, Geoff
Quite Done Properly I Love it I Myself Finallly Got the Right Track plan I am Running 2 Lines Ballenced the 2 Lines out Yeah I am Gluein And grassin to Smoothen out the Bumps on the Table Need to Get Some Exstentions And Bumpstops And yes I Am Running Bachman And Proud of it. My Wife Is Running Bachmann And Kato In N Scale She needs A lot Of Track to do her Table It’s Big enough for her Idea And It Will Be sweet When Done we Will Be happy we did it. Better than Going to a Bar.
Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Trying to help those who asked questions while trying to keep it entertaining for those seasoned modellers is quite the task lol. Thanks again, Geoff :)
Hi Geoff a great explanation on points and nice to see the layout develop. Many thanks also for sending the video of the LED light strip over and I do like the levels of brightness you can get...........Cheers Kev
Thanks Geoff for another great video. I found the section on points really useful. My layout uses insulfrog points, but want to experiment with unifrog so I can join the grown ups!! Soldering tips were also really helpful. I'll follow your links to do some research. Congratulations for passing the 1K milestone! Karl
Hi Karl, thanks very much, glad you found it useful. I would absolutely recommend moving to unifrog points. It's a big expense so i'd maybe suggest changing over in the areas where you will have slow running first (yards etc) and take it from there. Just a thought! All the best, Geoff
Thanks Stewart, i'm glad you found it useful. Its quite simple when you get your head around it, it took me a while to do though though lol. All the best, Geoff
Some great tips there Geoff. I always struggled to get wires soldered to the bottoms of my rails. I never thought to remove a whole sleeper! I always tried to get it between the sleepers. D’oh!! And my biggest regret on Chandwell was not wiring the point frogs. I am relying on the blade contact and I wish I had not done that. Looking forward to seeing your scenic break. Ps. I noticed the advert at the start... congratulations on passing 1000!!
Hi Michael, Thank you very much. Yes, removing the sleeper was the only way I could get it to work, you've got to keep the solder quite thin otherwise you'll struggle to get a cosmetic sleeper in the gap, but this method works well. I didnt wire any of the frogs on my old layout and it was very frustrating so i feel your pain. All the best, Geoff
Good to see you getting the track laid Geoff. Be interested to see what you decide on the turntable. I decided to stick with the hand of god for all the times I would actually use it. Stephen
Hi Stephen, thank you. I'm ideally not looking to spend much on the turntable as its more of a scenic effect in that area. I'm actually finding the thought of painting it the most daunting. Deffinetly a job for when the loft is alot cooler. All the best, Geoff
Congratulations on reaching 1000+ subscribers. Another enjoyable and well explained video. I remember the very nervous time cutting the hole for my turntable, must have measured it about a dozen times and had a couple of cups of tea before making the first cut!!! But worth it in the end. Would be interested in seeing a video if you decide to motorise it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much John. I feel your pain, I almost made the hole too big, lucilky it was nagging me so I left it for an hour and when I came back I realised what I had done. I do think i will motorise the turntable, i don't want to spend alot on it so I need to investigate a solution. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff, you should never use flux, their should be enough in the solder you use, flux will eventually eat your wiring and track, unless you clean all the flux residue off. Paste flux has no place in electronic wiring. Re your turntable, if you want a less expensive fully indexed drive, join MERG and build their turntable drive, it works out about £85, which is s fraction other indexed drives cost. Keep up the great videos
Thanks Lee, really appreciate your support. Apologies for the delayed response, you comment got caught in the TH-cam studio spam filter . All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff, brilliant timing with the points, I have watched countless video’s most in 00 gauge and although I had the basic idea you have now confirmed it. Only one other video I think mentioned you don’t have to modify the points in N Gauge. Soldering is also something new to me, I have all the gear and no idea as they say. I will be using the same method as you and can’t wait to get cracking on using my new soldering iron! Looking forward to the turn table as I may have one or two depending on space On my layout. Cheers Geoff, John
Hi John, hope you're keeping well! Like yourself when i first started out i couldn't find much useful information on points and tried to modify a set like they do for 00 gauge, it went awfully wrong with melted sleepers everywhere, so, i picked up the phone to Peco and clarified the situation. Should probably have done that first lol. live and learn and all that. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff - congratulations on passing the 1k Mark of subscribers. Enjoyable update with your track laying etc. Like you I've mixed the Hunt and Dapol easi shunt couplings to allow some degree of shunting only own layout. Cheers Euan
Hi Euan, thanks very much. Yes that deffinetly seems to be the best way forward with the couplings. The Dapol ones are fantastic but for me they are wat too expensive for full rakes. This option seems to work well in principal. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff, enjoyed the video. I particularly liked the info on the Peco points. I use Kato Unitrack on my modular layout but was thinking of integrating some Peco track in certain sections. Congrats on the 1k subs. Cheers John
Thanks very much John. I'm always amazed by the durability of the Kato track, deffinetly the way to go on a modular or portable layout, I've lost a couple of code 55 points from being a bit too heavy handed. All the best, Geoff
that was great now all you need to do is get the turn table installed and lay the tracks that come from the turn table and i am sure we will be seeing a video on that.
Thank you. Yes the turntable will be a project for this winter when its a bit cooler in the loft. Also as I need to do some more research on the best methods to power it and to ensure it lines up perfectly. All the best, Geoff
Sounds interesting. Thats why ive not installed it just yet, I'd like to do some research on different methods. I'm also keen to looking at ways to get it to line up exactly right too. Job for the cooler months i think lol. All the best, Geoff
Good video. Like the idea of the plywood surface rather than the raised track beds. My memory of both a heritage yard and coal delivery yard is that both are flat, coal dust black with patches of oily water. It will be better interesting seeing how you manage this. Also, are you planning on having yard lights for the power station?
Thank you very much. Yes thats the plan, i'm currenly looking at some Czech ballast products which i think will work well to create these effects. As for the yard lights i'm planning on adding some really nice big yard lights. I need to save the pennies for them so a little down the line from now. All the best, Geoff
Hey Geoff, thanks for the videos I've gained lots of useful tips. Me and Dad have had a few N gauge layouts over the years and I'm building my own code 55 layout based in the 1990's now in my own spare room - great fun. Thanks to this video I'm using unifrogs where possible and they're GREAT, so thank you for that recommendation. However, I do have to use 3 electrofrog turnouts, including a curved point and a 'y' point too. Am I right in thinking the only modification you make to the electro frogs is to solder a frog wire in then hook that up to your point motor with switch built in? I'm using seep point motors and some say you can get shorts if you solder a frog wire and don't cut the rails to isolate the frog. Would love your opinion please!
Hi Ben thanks very much for your message! That’s absolutely right, there is no need to make modifications to n gauge points, like you do for OO gauge. Simply solder a wire to the frog wire for your point motor or frog juicer and don’t forget to add insulated railjoiners to the V part of the point. All the best, Geoff 👍🏻
Great video! Answered questions re points and which track to use for my layout! 😊 Could you show how you add the cosmetic sleepers at the power connection point?
Hi Peter, thank you very much, glad you found the video useful. The secret with the cosmetic sleepers is to keep your solder as thin as possible, thats how it should be, but its very easy to get carried away and end up with a huge blob. I simply mark with a pencil the area where the track will be, apply copydex to the board, underside of the track and a couple of cosmetic sleepers and once the glue is starting to go off i lay it all down. Alternatively not as easy but you can go back when the glue is try and simply use a little PVA and a small screwdriver to list lift the track slightly and slide under the cosmetic sleeper. Hope that helps. All the best, Geoff
How do you find that the unifrog points perform? I have an 08 that struggles on some the electro frogs I currently use. Woudyou say that the unifrog ones are better than a DCC wired electro frog? Tia. Loving all your videos by the way 👍
Hi Geoff - Hope you are all ok. I will be shortly putting in my first Large Radius Peco Streamline, Code 55 Electrofrog point. I cannot wait for Ultrafrog anymore. Having watched your excellent video I have only one further question. Do you bother putting drop wires to the bus on your point? Oh by the way I purchased the turntable motor from Locomotech. Kind regards Chris
Hi Chris, great to hear from you. I hope you’re keeping well! All good here thank you, still working on track laying and wiring so nothing exciting to share yet. I hear you it’s frustrating how fragmented the peco range is, they really need to get some unity. I tend to solder droppers to the ‘toe’ of my points, or I’ll solder the point to the track before it and have droppers on the track. There is still enough expansion gaps around the rest of the track to make up for the old ‘closed’ gap on the point. Looking forward to seeing more on the turntable! All the best, Geoff
Phew I am so relieved to get a reply from you Geoff. Ben a long time since we have heard from you mate. Thanks for the advice on the droppers. I might have to do a update on the turntable as quite a few are requesting it, but to be honest it scares the life out of me LOL. Regards Chris
Hi Zene thanks for your note. Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with set track. Although I believe they are treated the same as insulfrog thanks
Thanks for the top tips with soldering! Do you ever solder joiners on curved flexi track - I’m having a few headache atm with it straighting after laying and creates a tiny gap between tracks. Well done on the 1000! Maybe peco will start sending some freebies!
Hi David, i try not to solder the joiners, thats why i go overkill with a dropper on each piece of flexitrack. As my layout is in the loft I try to leave a 1mm gap between each piece for heat expansion (I simply use a piece of 1mm grey board between each track. On curves I use a tracksettsa on the joints to hold the track in place while the glue sets. This works 99% of the time and when it doesnt i tend to relay that peice of track moving where the joint is on the curve, that then solves the problem. Hope that helps, all the best, Geoff
am i just lucky? i use electro frog and didnt know i had to use the plastic rail joiners to isolate the frog, do i need to remove all the points and add these joiners? ive never had a short circuit , i'm running DCC
Hi Jon, I suspect you have been lucky, although it depends very much on the format of your layout, Peco do advise in the instructions to use insulated joiners. Allan over at @dragonjunctionmk2 has been using them without issue and then suddenly he changed something on the layout and started having problems, it was down to the fact there was no insulated fish plates on his electrofrog points. It might be worth checking it out on his videos. All the best, Geoff
I used to say I’m not paying out for a really good turntable but when I brought the same as what you have there and I looked at what I spend on a really good steam loco I put it in the bin and brought a Walthers dcc digital turntable sure it was around £250 which is not a great deal more than the loco’s cost some even cost more than that you will never be happy with that so don’t waste your time fitting it.
Hi there, i'm not entirely sure as i've had it a while and you cant make out the writing on the lid anymore. I do know it came from Squires as i picked it up at a show. However it was much harder when i bought it but two summers in the loft has changed its consistancy quite alot! Not sure if it helps but DCC Concepts offer a liquid flux. All the best Geoff
Hi Geoff Brilliant video yet again. I just cannot understand why anyone can criticise your video's they are great, sure it's the way you do it but funnily enough it's the way most of us do. Only question on the drop wires, do you bother with putting heat shrink wrap on the end under the track? Thanks for the part on points, can never stop learning on points, so your saying the insulfrog is the way to go, some say it does not look realistic! Must admit I am beginning to think that's the way to go nowadays. Now before you go any further on your turntable, I totally agree the Peco one is more than sufficient, you can always add the extras afterwards but as for the motor I was doing some research and came across this video about a Locomotech turntable motorising kit for the Peco LK-55 turntable, TH-cam video th-cam.com/video/PmWSB25NmRo/w-d-xo.html and company site www.locomotech.com/ I have to say I am very impressed by it, not expensive and you can do so much with it. Let me know what you think, no I have not got one yet. Regards Chris
Hi Chris, Thanks so much for your kind words, that turntable kit looks fantastic and really good value for money, i'm deffinetly going to look further in to that. This is what I love about TH-cam, people sharing and helping each other, thank you again! So just to clarify , i dont use any heat shrink on the track droppers, but I do on the droppers from the point frog. And my point recommendation is the Unifrog points :). Thanks Chris, all the best, Geoff
It was nice to see your explanation of the different Peco points and how they operate electrically. All too often we assume others know all about this type of thing and it is good to be reminded how they work. The same with your adding droppers. Simple exercise, but something most of us assume everyone knows, and for the newbies, your explanation shows how easy it is. Appreciate the effort that you have taken to pass these simple exercises on to everyone.
Thanks very much for your kind words of support Eric, very much appreciated. It's very easy to assume that everyone knows these basics, of course you can find the information in a book but I personally find it much easier to learn something by seeing it being done, hence why I chose to include it in the video. Its good to know it was useful. Thanks again, Geoff
Hi Geoff watching track laying isn't boring it's good to see everyone's different techniques and to watch the layout grow. It's looking good and both areas (heritage and power ststion) will add interest as you're shunting things around. Cheers Andy
Thanks Andy, glad you enjoyed it 👍. Just the turntable to go but that will be a job for this winter when its cooler up the loft, i suspect i'm going to spending the next month at least doing jobs away from the layout. Its soo hot up there lol. Cheers Geoff
Hi Geoff
Goes to show you are never too old to learn. The wirering of that length of track was absolutely brilliant. Never seen it done that way before. Even the wiring experts in our railway club don't do it that way. The amount of sleepers I have ruined on my track whilst wirering is unbelievable. I was taught to wire on the sides of the rail at one end. Where have you been all my life you could have saved me a fortune if I had seen this sooner. L.O.L. Keep up the good work. Loving watching the layout coming together. As for the Peco turntable the OO one used on the club depot layout worked perfectly and it travelled to exhibitions without any issues. Hopefully the N gauge one will do the same.
Keep safe and Well
Jeff
Hi Jeff, thanks so much for your kind words. I feel your pain with the soldering, i tried it that way on my old layout and I had the very problems you have described, by moving to the underside of the rail, the job became much easier and much cleaner too. Thanks again, All the best, Geoff
Hi. I have a 00 gauge,but my son wants an n gauge. It was great coming across your channel and have subscribed. Loved this video
Glad it was helpful! Welcome to the channel. All the best, Geoff
Quite Done Properly I Love it I Myself Finallly Got the Right Track plan I am Running 2 Lines Ballenced the 2 Lines out Yeah I am Gluein And grassin to Smoothen out the Bumps on the Table Need to Get Some Exstentions And Bumpstops And yes I Am Running Bachman And Proud of it. My Wife Is Running Bachmann And Kato In N Scale She needs A lot Of Track to do her Table It’s Big enough for her Idea And It Will Be sweet When Done we Will Be happy we did it. Better than Going to a Bar.
Great update Geoff 👍 thanks for the very clear presentation. The layout is coming along nicely 👍👍👍
Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Trying to help those who asked questions while trying to keep it entertaining for those seasoned modellers is quite the task lol. Thanks again, Geoff :)
Hi Geoff a great explanation on points and nice to see the layout develop. Many thanks also for sending the video of the LED light strip over and I do like the levels of brightness you can get...........Cheers Kev
Cheers Kev, glad you enjoyed the video. No worries about the LED video, you're very welcome. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff. I enjoy watching the development of your layout and with each video the railway grows into a layout to be proud of. 🚂🚃🚃🚃
You're too kind, thank you for support, it really is appreciated! All the best, Geoff
Hi I am just starting to build a n gauge railway yours is ace nice cooling towers
Has anyone ever just soldered the wires to the rail joiners, you don’t damage the sleepers that way. Great video to watch.
Nicely done Geoff
Many thanks Geoff. Bit of a basic one, but another job off the list :0) . Cheers Geoff
All is well in the world. Another excellent update Geoff just what the doctor ordered. Great to see the layout progressing and as always, great info.
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it. Stay safe! Cheers Geoff
Hi Geoff great video as usual from you and Pride Parkway plenty of interesting content mate, keep them coming please.
Thanks Steve, will do! All the best, Geoff
Great video Geoff!! Thanks for sharing this. Cheers Onno.
Glad you enjoyed it Onno. All the best, Geoff
Looking fantastic great job
Thank you so much 😀
Thanks Geoff for another great video. I found the section on points really useful. My layout uses insulfrog points, but want to experiment with unifrog so I can join the grown ups!! Soldering tips were also really helpful. I'll follow your links to do some research. Congratulations for passing the 1K milestone! Karl
Hi Karl, thanks very much, glad you found it useful. I would absolutely recommend moving to unifrog points. It's a big expense so i'd maybe suggest changing over in the areas where you will have slow running first (yards etc) and take it from there. Just a thought! All the best, Geoff
Many thanks for the points explanation Geoff. I’ve read the odd article but your explanation was exactly what I needed - idiot proof 😀👍
Thanks Stewart, i'm glad you found it useful. Its quite simple when you get your head around it, it took me a while to do though though lol. All the best, Geoff
Great work it's coming along very nicely! Rgds, Joachim
Thank you Joachim! All the best, Geoff
Some great tips there Geoff. I always struggled to get wires soldered to the bottoms of my rails. I never thought to remove a whole sleeper! I always tried to get it between the sleepers. D’oh!! And my biggest regret on Chandwell was not wiring the point frogs. I am relying on the blade contact and I wish I had not done that. Looking forward to seeing your scenic break. Ps. I noticed the advert at the start... congratulations on passing 1000!!
Hi Michael, Thank you very much. Yes, removing the sleeper was the only way I could get it to work, you've got to keep the solder quite thin otherwise you'll struggle to get a cosmetic sleeper in the gap, but this method works well. I didnt wire any of the frogs on my old layout and it was very frustrating so i feel your pain. All the best, Geoff
Thats come along quick!
Well it was until the heatwave hit lol. I'm think i need to follow your lead and move to the kitchen where its much cooler. All the best, Geoff
Good to see you getting the track laid Geoff. Be interested to see what you decide on the turntable. I decided to stick with the hand of god for all the times I would actually use it. Stephen
Hi Stephen, thank you. I'm ideally not looking to spend much on the turntable as its more of a scenic effect in that area. I'm actually finding the thought of painting it the most daunting. Deffinetly a job for when the loft is alot cooler. All the best, Geoff
Congratulations on reaching 1000+ subscribers. Another enjoyable and well explained video.
I remember the very nervous time cutting the hole for my turntable, must have measured it about a dozen times and had a couple of cups of tea before making the first cut!!! But worth it in the end.
Would be interested in seeing a video if you decide to motorise it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much John. I feel your pain, I almost made the hole too big, lucilky it was nagging me so I left it for an hour and when I came back I realised what I had done. I do think i will motorise the turntable, i don't want to spend alot on it so I need to investigate a solution. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff, you should never use flux, their should be enough in the solder you use, flux will eventually eat your wiring and track, unless you clean all the flux residue off. Paste flux has no place in electronic wiring.
Re your turntable, if you want a less expensive fully indexed drive, join MERG and build their turntable drive, it works out about £85, which is s fraction other indexed drives cost.
Keep up the great videos
Thanks very much Jean, that turntable sounds interesting, i'll check it out. Thanks again, Geoff
Another great video, well done for your number of subscribers, sure they will only increase. 👍
Thanks Lee, really appreciate your support. Apologies for the delayed response, you comment got caught in the TH-cam studio spam filter . All the best, Geoff
Very informative, thanks.
Thanks for watching Paul. All the best, Geoff
Absolutely superb Geoff :) as I'm coming up to starting laying track this is most useful, thank you :) looking forward to the next video 👌
Hi Matt, Glad you enjoyed it and found the video useful. All the best, Geoff
Brilliant as always Geoff! Keep the great work going!
Thanks, will do! Cheers Geoff
Forgot to say congratulations on 1000+ subscribers Andy
Thanks for that Andy :)
Hi Geoff, brilliant timing with the points, I have watched countless video’s most in 00 gauge and although I had the basic idea you have now confirmed it. Only one other video I think mentioned you don’t have to modify the points in N Gauge. Soldering is also something new to me, I have all the gear and no idea as they say. I will be using the same method as you and can’t wait to get cracking on using my new soldering iron! Looking forward to the turn table as I may have one or two depending on space On my layout. Cheers Geoff, John
Hi John, hope you're keeping well! Like yourself when i first started out i couldn't find much useful information on points and tried to modify a set like they do for 00 gauge, it went awfully wrong with melted sleepers everywhere, so, i picked up the phone to Peco and clarified the situation. Should probably have done that first lol. live and learn and all that. All the best, Geoff
Hi Geoff - congratulations on passing the 1k Mark of subscribers. Enjoyable update with your track laying etc. Like you I've mixed the Hunt and Dapol easi shunt couplings to allow some degree of shunting only own layout. Cheers Euan
Hi Euan, thanks very much. Yes that deffinetly seems to be the best way forward with the couplings. The Dapol ones are fantastic but for me they are wat too expensive for full rakes. This option seems to work well in principal. All the best, Geoff
Congrats on 1k subscribers, layout is coming along nicely. Some great tips and advice, keep up the good work.
Thanks very much, much apperciated! Cheers Geoff
Hi Geoff, enjoyed the video. I particularly liked the info on the Peco points. I use Kato Unitrack on my modular layout but was thinking of integrating some Peco track in certain sections. Congrats on the 1k subs. Cheers John
Thanks very much John. I'm always amazed by the durability of the Kato track, deffinetly the way to go on a modular or portable layout, I've lost a couple of code 55 points from being a bit too heavy handed. All the best, Geoff
that was great now all you need to do is get the turn table installed and lay the tracks that come from the turn table and i am sure we will be seeing a video on that.
Thank you. Yes the turntable will be a project for this winter when its a bit cooler in the loft. Also as I need to do some more research on the best methods to power it and to ensure it lines up perfectly. All the best, Geoff
I have the Peco turntable and it is very good. I have also just made mine move with a handle instead of HOG using Lego Technic
Sounds interesting. Thats why ive not installed it just yet, I'd like to do some research on different methods. I'm also keen to looking at ways to get it to line up exactly right too. Job for the cooler months i think lol. All the best, Geoff
Looking good keep posting videos up
Thanks, will do! Cheers Geoff
Good video. Like the idea of the plywood surface rather than the raised track beds. My memory of both a heritage yard and coal delivery yard is that both are flat, coal dust black with patches of oily water. It will be better interesting seeing how you manage this. Also, are you planning on having yard lights for the power station?
Thank you very much. Yes thats the plan, i'm currenly looking at some Czech ballast products which i think will work well to create these effects. As for the yard lights i'm planning on adding some really nice big yard lights. I need to save the pennies for them so a little down the line from now. All the best, Geoff
Hey Geoff, thanks for the videos I've gained lots of useful tips. Me and Dad have had a few N gauge layouts over the years and I'm building my own code 55 layout based in the 1990's now in my own spare room - great fun. Thanks to this video I'm using unifrogs where possible and they're GREAT, so thank you for that recommendation. However, I do have to use 3 electrofrog turnouts, including a curved point and a 'y' point too. Am I right in thinking the only modification you make to the electro frogs is to solder a frog wire in then hook that up to your point motor with switch built in? I'm using seep point motors and some say you can get shorts if you solder a frog wire and don't cut the rails to isolate the frog. Would love your opinion please!
Hi Ben thanks very much for your message! That’s absolutely right, there is no need to make modifications to n gauge points, like you do for OO gauge. Simply solder a wire to the frog wire for your point motor or frog juicer and don’t forget to add insulated railjoiners to the V part of the point. All the best, Geoff 👍🏻
Great video! Answered questions re points and which track to use for my layout! 😊 Could you show how you add the cosmetic sleepers at the power connection point?
Hi Peter, thank you very much, glad you found the video useful. The secret with the cosmetic sleepers is to keep your solder as thin as possible, thats how it should be, but its very easy to get carried away and end up with a huge blob. I simply mark with a pencil the area where the track will be, apply copydex to the board, underside of the track and a couple of cosmetic sleepers and once the glue is starting to go off i lay it all down. Alternatively not as easy but you can go back when the glue is try and simply use a little PVA and a small screwdriver to list lift the track slightly and slide under the cosmetic sleeper. Hope that helps. All the best, Geoff
How do you find that the unifrog points perform? I have an 08 that struggles on some the electro frogs I currently use. Woudyou say that the unifrog ones are better than a DCC wired electro frog? Tia. Loving all your videos by the way 👍
Hi Geoff - Hope you are all ok. I will be shortly putting in my first Large Radius Peco Streamline, Code 55 Electrofrog point. I cannot wait for Ultrafrog anymore.
Having watched your excellent video I have only one further question. Do you bother putting drop wires to the bus on your point?
Oh by the way I purchased the turntable motor from Locomotech.
Kind regards Chris
Hi Chris, great to hear from you. I hope you’re keeping well! All good here thank you, still working on track laying and wiring so nothing exciting to share yet. I hear you it’s frustrating how fragmented the peco range is, they really need to get some unity. I tend to solder droppers to the ‘toe’ of my points, or I’ll solder the point to the track before it and have droppers on the track. There is still enough expansion gaps around the rest of the track to make up for the old ‘closed’ gap on the point. Looking forward to seeing more on the turntable!
All the best, Geoff
Phew I am so relieved to get a reply from you Geoff. Ben a long time since we have heard from you mate.
Thanks for the advice on the droppers. I might have to do a update on the turntable as quite a few are requesting it, but to be honest it scares the life out of me LOL.
Regards Chris
Geoff ... very confused of Peco N 80 crossings. ST 50 and ST 51 are R and L headed. No idea how to use? Can you help,? Zene
Hi Zene thanks for your note. Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with set track. Although I believe they are treated the same as insulfrog thanks
Thanks for the top tips with soldering! Do you ever solder joiners on curved flexi track - I’m having a few headache atm with it straighting after laying and creates a tiny gap between tracks. Well done on the 1000! Maybe peco will start sending some freebies!
Hi David, i try not to solder the joiners, thats why i go overkill with a dropper on each piece of flexitrack. As my layout is in the loft I try to leave a 1mm gap between each piece for heat expansion (I simply use a piece of 1mm grey board between each track. On curves I use a tracksettsa on the joints to hold the track in place while the glue sets. This works 99% of the time and when it doesnt i tend to relay that peice of track moving where the joint is on the curve, that then solves the problem. Hope that helps, all the best, Geoff
Hi there what track our you using please
Hi Cliff, it’s all Peco finescale code 55 on the layout. Thanks Geoff
am i just lucky? i use electro frog and didnt know i had to use the plastic rail joiners to isolate the frog, do i need to remove all the points and add these joiners? ive never had a short circuit , i'm running DCC
Hi Jon, I suspect you have been lucky, although it depends very much on the format of your layout, Peco do advise in the instructions to use insulated joiners. Allan over at @dragonjunctionmk2 has been using them without issue and then suddenly he changed something on the layout and started having problems, it was down to the fact there was no insulated fish plates on his electrofrog points. It might be worth checking it out on his videos. All the best, Geoff
I used to say I’m not paying out for a really good turntable but when I brought the same as what you have there and I looked at what I spend on a really good steam loco I put it in the bin and brought a Walthers dcc digital turntable sure it was around £250 which is not a great deal more than the loco’s cost some even cost more than that you will never be happy with that so don’t waste your time fitting it.
Thanks, my main concern with the Walthers was is it long enough for UK steamers. That said I’ve just never got the ruler out to check it 👍🏻
What flux do you use please I got a similar one but it seems to be harder
Hi there, i'm not entirely sure as i've had it a while and you cant make out the writing on the lid anymore. I do know it came from Squires as i picked it up at a show. However it was much harder when i bought it but two summers in the loft has changed its consistancy quite alot! Not sure if it helps but DCC Concepts offer a liquid flux. All the best Geoff
@@PrideParkway thank you very much
Hi Geoff
Brilliant video yet again. I just cannot understand why anyone can criticise your video's they are great, sure it's the way you do it but funnily enough it's the way most of us do.
Only question on the drop wires, do you bother with putting heat shrink wrap on the end under the track?
Thanks for the part on points, can never stop learning on points, so your saying the insulfrog is the way to go, some say it does not look realistic! Must admit I am beginning to think that's the way to go nowadays.
Now before you go any further on your turntable, I totally agree the Peco one is more than sufficient, you can always add the extras afterwards but as for the motor I was doing some research and came across this video about a Locomotech turntable motorising kit for the Peco LK-55 turntable, TH-cam video th-cam.com/video/PmWSB25NmRo/w-d-xo.html and company site www.locomotech.com/ I have to say I am very impressed by it, not expensive and you can do so much with it. Let me know what you think, no I have not got one yet.
Regards Chris
Hi Chris, Thanks so much for your kind words, that turntable kit looks fantastic and really good value for money, i'm deffinetly going to look further in to that. This is what I love about TH-cam, people sharing and helping each other, thank you again! So just to clarify , i dont use any heat shrink on the track droppers, but I do on the droppers from the point frog. And my point recommendation is the Unifrog points :). Thanks Chris, all the best, Geoff
I quicker faster than a HST.
Everyone loves a HST!