Hi Chris. The challenge I have is the first loco will run fine and pause in the station. The second will follow an alternate route via the passing loop. But the first will allocate ahead to the next safe block. Which is in the path of the passing train. So it stops. What I’ve done is have the first route as two transits. To the station and another from the station. With these two transits linked. With a pause and wait at the end of the first transit before it allocates the second half. That looks ok. But now I can’t get the second train to even leave the fiddle yard! I’ve done something to cause that. That’s were I got last week. I’m on holiday at the moment so have given my head a rest. FYI a few of us do a Wednesday evening JMRI zoom call and stuff. I think John Williams might have mentioned this in the past.
Ah yeah that's exactly what I'd have done! I don't know how to pause allocation ahead, or if it's even possible, so yeah, end the transit at the platform, pause then trigger a new one. And yeah I do remember, I kept trying but I have mu daughter on a Wednesday evening, she's still quite young so had to prioritise her. The emails stopped in the end, I figured you'd got sick of me not showing up! I'll have a think about the not starting thing. I remember with mine, not starting was often down to signals - if you're using them - the start block had to have an active signal mast assigned or nothing happened. Enjoy the holiday! Chris
In actions for the transit. I’ve set after entering block option to terminate train. But it give you the option on how long after. I used this. I think that stops it starting the next transition for a period of time. Hence the other loco should then pass. I’ve got a different issue in that that loco won’t start! I need to probably re do its transit. (After the holiday job)
Hi, I think you are doing a great job, all looks good to me! We all start TH-cam to document what progress we each make, but each and everyone of us has a first video and a period where we 'think' we dont know much or what we are doing. The truth is you do know what you are doing and others will and can learn the hobby from you, there will always be people joining the hobby where you will be able to help, advise and support. You are doing so much better than you think you are. Hoping that's helpful
Stick with it, you do some great stuff. You doubt yourself, just do what you like and video it people will watch. Don’t make it a pressure. Cheers Simon
Thanks Simon that's great advice for anyone I think. I try not to set hard targets, 'get this done by x' etc, just do it when I'm enjoying it and I have the bug to get up and do more. Thanks very much for the kind words. Regards, Chris
Ha, yeah I enjoyed doing that, it was the first time I saw JMRI running the trains on its own and definitely spurred me on with the rest of the automation. Regards, Chris
@@WirenwoodModelRailway I’ve just about cracked back and forth. And via different routes. Still got one stopping distance not quite right. Next which has been a problem is passing a train that’s stopped in a platform. Via a passing loop.
@@howardwitt7947Sounds like you need alternate routes for using the passing loop. In your transit give the train two routes through the station - one the station and the other the passing loop. I think it will prioritise the first route but will use the second if the first one is blocked. Regards, Chris
Looks good. Model railroading is supposed to be fun. ;) I personally on track laying get it functional as dead rail (with drops in mind) and add drops later. I've experienced corroded fish plates in my humid area, as a result I put a drop on every piece of rail. Your loft looks dry.
Thank you - yeah it's a relatively new house and I did, after learning from the last one, put a lot of insulation up which does make a huge difference. I think now I'm more confident with soldering, adding droppers later is definitely an option! Thanks, Chris
Hi Howard! I did experiment with track gaps, but found that MK3 and MK4 coaches were still rubbing on the curves that had 24 inch radius on the inside so I decided to play it safe! Good question though. Regards, Chris PS no sat track points, mainly medium and long radius apart from those two on the station entry which are short radius.
60/40 lead tin solder flows a lot better than lead free if that what your using try a flat or chise bit on your iron as get has a greater surface for faster transfere of heat
Thank you - yeah I think I'd been advised to avoid lead, especially with no ventilation up in the loft and my tendency to breathe in a huge sigh of relief every time I get a successful joint! The tip is a good point though, I was trying to keep it narrow to avoid melting sleepers but probably have a little more space to work in than I thought. Regards, Chris
LAYING FLEXI TRACK You must NOT use screws, nails or even track pins to lay such track, as any decent Model Railway Club would have told you. Pinning, screwing, or nailing track down is one of the biggest and most frequent causes of unreliable and jittery running of locomotives, because microscopic dips in the track are caused by such methods, which obviously upsets a locos current collection abilities !!!! Further its wise to lay flexi track on a minimum 5mm thick layer of soft cork. It needs to be 5mm, anything thinner is a waste of money, as the glue required to fix the cork down will be partially absorbed into the cork, making it go hard. You can glue flexi-track reliably using Evo-Stik PVA white glue (in the green bottle) because this version is not waterproof, and allows you to lift and move the track later by simply adding a little warm water and waiting 10 minutes for the glue to go soft again. PVA has no problem sticking plastic to cork or wood !!! Further ballasting can now be done more easily and quickly if you mix 40% PVA glue with 60% water, in a jam jar or similar. Then you pour the ballast into the jam jar, and put the ballast down like a paste, using a screwdriver or similar to smear the ballast paste carefully between the rails. For pointwork it is wise to pour the ballast on first, ensuring no moving parts are obstructed by the ballast. Then simply drip, drop by drop, the PVA-Glue mix onto the dry ballast. If you add thrree drops of washing up liquid to the glue-water mix, this will prevent "surface tension" allowing the glue-water mix, to soak into the ballast without moving the ballast around. Any ballast that get stuck to the inside of rails MUST be carefully removed before any running of trains occurs. This method will take around 24 hours to dry. After which it is possible to use a "Track Colour" Aerosol spray paint from either (Railway colour) Precision Paints, or Howes Models "Railmatch" railway spray paint range. Track in Britain up until around the year 2000, became covered in toilet effluent & brake block dust, within just a few weeks of track being laid, (a dirty light brown colour) !!!! Using PVA to glue track to the cork or wood, is also a lot simpler & quicker, and helps prevent damage to the track. Further to lay flexi track it is also wise to use the "Tracksetta" ruler type tools that clip between the rails, as made by Peco, including the straight version ! These help ensure no microscopic kinks occur in the track as you lay it. It must be added, that ALL commercial track systems DO NOT get the real life distance between parallel tracks correct. They are always overscale ! Except when laying a modern Western Region line, that was pre 1892 Broad Gauge, which meant track had originally been spaced further apart than today !!! Happy Modelling 😄
Thank you for all the details! A little late for me I'm afraid as my track is already laid but hopefully somebody will stumble across this and find it helpful! Regards, Chris
Hi Chris. The challenge I have is the first loco will run fine and pause in the station. The second will follow an alternate route via the passing loop. But the first will allocate ahead to the next safe block. Which is in the path of the passing train. So it stops. What I’ve done is have the first route as two transits. To the station and another from the station. With these two transits linked. With a pause and wait at the end of the first transit before it allocates the second half. That looks ok. But now I can’t get the second train to even leave the fiddle yard! I’ve done something to cause that. That’s were I got last week. I’m on holiday at the moment so have given my head a rest.
FYI a few of us do a Wednesday evening JMRI zoom call and stuff. I think John Williams might have mentioned this in the past.
Ah yeah that's exactly what I'd have done! I don't know how to pause allocation ahead, or if it's even possible, so yeah, end the transit at the platform, pause then trigger a new one.
And yeah I do remember, I kept trying but I have mu daughter on a Wednesday evening, she's still quite young so had to prioritise her. The emails stopped in the end, I figured you'd got sick of me not showing up!
I'll have a think about the not starting thing. I remember with mine, not starting was often down to signals - if you're using them - the start block had to have an active signal mast assigned or nothing happened. Enjoy the holiday! Chris
In actions for the transit. I’ve set after entering block option to terminate train. But it give you the option on how long after. I used this. I think that stops it starting the next transition for a period of time. Hence the other loco should then pass. I’ve got a different issue in that that loco won’t start! I need to probably re do its transit. (After the holiday job)
I had a similar coaching issue in a few places. Was able to over come it in some cases through allowing the curves to run out a bit.
Hi, I think you are doing a great job, all looks good to me!
We all start TH-cam to document what progress we each make, but each and everyone of us has a first video and a period where we 'think' we dont know much or what we are doing. The truth is you do know what you are doing and others will and can learn the hobby from you, there will always be people joining the hobby where you will be able to help, advise and support. You are doing so much better than you think you are. Hoping that's helpful
Thank you John, that really is helpful - and very kind! Loving your work, by the way! Regards, Chris
Stick with it, you do some great stuff. You doubt yourself, just do what you like and video it people will watch. Don’t make it a pressure. Cheers Simon
Thanks Simon that's great advice for anyone I think. I try not to set hard targets, 'get this done by x' etc, just do it when I'm enjoying it and I have the bug to get up and do more. Thanks very much for the kind words. Regards, Chris
good update on layout cool work lot track going in on the layout thanks lee
Thank you Lee!
Ps enjoyed your video on getting JMRI to move up locos in the fiddle yard.
Ha, yeah I enjoyed doing that, it was the first time I saw JMRI running the trains on its own and definitely spurred me on with the rest of the automation. Regards, Chris
@@WirenwoodModelRailway I’ve just about cracked back and forth. And via different routes. Still got one stopping distance not quite right. Next which has been a problem is passing a train that’s stopped in a platform. Via a passing loop.
@@howardwitt7947Sounds like you need alternate routes for using the passing loop. In your transit give the train two routes through the station - one the station and the other the passing loop. I think it will prioritise the first route but will use the second if the first one is blocked.
Regards, Chris
Looks good. Model railroading is supposed to be fun. ;) I personally on track laying get it functional as dead rail (with drops in mind) and add drops later. I've experienced corroded fish plates in my humid area, as a result I put a drop on every piece of rail.
Your loft looks dry.
Thank you - yeah it's a relatively new house and I did, after learning from the last one, put a lot of insulation up which does make a huge difference. I think now I'm more confident with soldering, adding droppers later is definitely an option! Thanks, Chris
Were you using some set track points? I was curious why you decided to space all the track at set track gaps. Not the narrower nearer real gap?
Hi Howard! I did experiment with track gaps, but found that MK3 and MK4 coaches were still rubbing on the curves that had 24 inch radius on the inside so I decided to play it safe! Good question though. Regards, Chris
PS no sat track points, mainly medium and long radius apart from those two on the station entry which are short radius.
60/40 lead tin solder flows a lot better than lead free if that what your using try a flat or chise bit on your iron as get has a greater surface for faster transfere of heat
Thank you - yeah I think I'd been advised to avoid lead, especially with no ventilation up in the loft and my tendency to breathe in a huge sigh of relief every time I get a successful joint! The tip is a good point though, I was trying to keep it narrow to avoid melting sleepers but probably have a little more space to work in than I thought. Regards, Chris
lead not the problem it`s vapours of of the flux you should avoid@@WirenwoodModelRailway
LAYING FLEXI TRACK
You must NOT use screws, nails or even track pins to lay such track, as any decent Model Railway Club would have told you. Pinning, screwing, or nailing track down is one of the biggest and most frequent causes of unreliable and jittery running of locomotives, because microscopic dips in the track are caused by such methods, which obviously upsets a locos current collection abilities !!!! Further its wise to lay flexi track on a minimum 5mm thick layer of soft cork. It needs to be 5mm, anything thinner is a waste of money, as the glue required to fix the cork down will be partially absorbed into the cork, making it go hard. You can glue flexi-track reliably using Evo-Stik PVA white glue (in the green bottle) because this version is not waterproof, and allows you to lift and move the track later by simply adding a little warm water and waiting 10 minutes for the glue to go soft again. PVA has no problem sticking plastic to cork or wood !!!
Further ballasting can now be done more easily and quickly if you mix 40% PVA glue with 60% water, in a jam jar or similar. Then you pour the ballast into the jam jar, and put the ballast down like a paste, using a screwdriver or similar to smear the ballast paste carefully between the rails. For pointwork it is wise to pour the ballast on first, ensuring no moving parts are obstructed by the ballast. Then simply drip, drop by drop, the PVA-Glue mix onto the dry ballast. If you add thrree drops of washing up liquid to the glue-water mix, this will prevent "surface tension" allowing the glue-water mix, to soak into the ballast without moving the ballast around. Any ballast that get stuck to the inside of rails MUST be carefully removed before any running of trains occurs. This method will take around 24 hours to dry. After which it is possible to use a "Track Colour" Aerosol spray paint from either (Railway colour) Precision Paints, or Howes Models "Railmatch" railway spray paint range. Track in Britain up until around the year 2000, became covered in toilet effluent & brake block dust, within just a few weeks of track being laid, (a dirty light brown colour) !!!!
Using PVA to glue track to the cork or wood, is also a lot simpler & quicker, and helps prevent damage to the track.
Further to lay flexi track it is also wise to use the "Tracksetta" ruler type tools that clip between the rails, as made by Peco, including the straight version ! These help ensure no microscopic kinks occur in the track as you lay it.
It must be added, that ALL commercial track systems DO NOT get the real life distance between parallel tracks correct. They are always overscale ! Except when laying a modern Western Region line, that was pre 1892 Broad Gauge, which meant track had originally been spaced further apart than today !!!
Happy Modelling 😄
Thank you for all the details! A little late for me I'm afraid as my track is already laid but hopefully somebody will stumble across this and find it helpful! Regards, Chris