GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

Lovely.

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

More going on with this layout than you can shake a stick at….well done John;-)

Thanks Phil and Pete……it was a sort of interim update while I pluck up courage to do some major demolition/ renovation:shock::roll::shock:   

Watch this space:lol:

John

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

More going on with this layout than you can shake a stick at….well done John;-)

Thanks Phil and Pete……it was a sort of interim update while I pluck up courage to do some major demolition/ renovation:shock::roll::shock:   

Watch this space:lol:

John

Are you working on the concept John, don't you can't shuffle off this mortal coil until you finish the layout and so constant amendments means you don't finish ?

Its a constant race against time Ron!

[user=606]Sol[/user] wrote:

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

More going on with this layout than you can shake a stick at….well done John;-)

Thanks Phil and Pete……it was a sort of interim update while I pluck up courage to do some major demolition/ renovation:shock::roll::shock:   

Watch this space:lol:

John

Are you working on the concept John, don't you can't shuffle off this mortal coil until you finish the layout and so constant amendments means you don't finish ?

and when the layout is finished there's the update to the RR&Co section in this forum  :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hi Dave

I must have written that RR&Co tutorial almost 10 years ago……..its horribly out of date and I now realise has a few errors…….maybe I should amend the title so readers are not mislead.

Not sure how many members here use RR&Co………no harm in starting a discussion going in that section

Have you taken the plunge with V9 yet?

Cheers

John 

You must have a bag of spare chimney pots John, complete with a handy tube of _ _ _  (insert name of favourite glue), to keep the home fires burning.

I'm still admiring your urban townscape, which constantly seems to provide something new.

Really hot today, shorts weather in fact, but good to know you have cooler modelling weather!

Best,

Bill

Hi Bill
That has to be serendipity…..we must have been typing and then sending our posts to our respective threads simultaneously!

You are right I have almost run out of the pots on the Wills building sheets that I use

Not sure if you would admire the layout right now….major demolition in progress

Cheers

John

This is a lovely layout. Really enjoyed that vid of the passenger train workings out of the station

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

Hi Dave

I must have written that RR&Co tutorial almost 10 years ago……..its horribly out of date and I now realise has a few errors…….maybe I should amend the title so readers are not mislead.

Not sure how many members here use RR&Co………no harm in starting a discussion going in that section

Have you taken the plunge with V9 yet?

Cheers

John 

Hi John,
I now have the layout running again after a break of about 2 years. I upgraded the software to version 9 but as yet have not attempted to use any of the new features so if you are looking for a student I'm your man!

To make the layout as user friendly as possible I decided I would invest in a rolling road that was compatible with RR&Co and ordered Speed Cat from Germany ( yet to arrive)  but I have now discovered that Jurgen and his mates have changed V9 as I have noticed that a Rolling Road option has changed   under the speed profiling section.  I'll let you know how I go when it arrives. - I may be back on version 8  :roll:.

Still experimenting with the block detectors picking up wagons and have posted on the NCE forum to see what ideas they have- fortunately  its not a RR&Co issue and in the meantime everything else on the layout works fine. (whoops there I go tempting fate)-

[user=1916]ZeldaTheSwordsman[/user] wrote:

This is a lovely layout. Really enjoyed that vid of the passenger train workings out of the station

Thanks Brendon………glad you enjoyed it. :thumbs

Regards

John

[user=540]gdaysydney[/user] wrote:

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

Hi Dave

I must have written that RR&Co tutorial almost 10 years ago……..its horribly out of date and I now realise has a few errors…….maybe I should amend the title so readers are not mislead.

Not sure how many members here use RR&Co………no harm in starting a discussion going in that section

Have you taken the plunge with V9 yet?

Cheers

John 

Hi John,
I now have the layout running again after a break of about 2 years. I upgraded the software to version 9 but as yet have not attempted to use any of the new features so if you are looking for a student I'm your man!

To make the layout as user friendly as possible I decided I would invest in a rolling road that was compatible with RR&Co and ordered Speed Cat from Germany ( yet to arrive)  but I have now discovered that Jurgen and his mates have changed V9 as I have noticed that a Rolling Road option has changed   under the speed profiling section.  I'll let you know how I go when it arrives. - I may be back on version 8  :roll:.

Still experimenting with the block detectors picking up wagons and have posted on the NCE forum to see what ideas they have- fortunately  its not a RR&Co issue and in the meantime everything else on the layout works fine. (whoops there I go tempting fate)-

Hi Dave

As you know I am following the Speed Cat project on your layout thread. It looks really interesting. I will try write a V9 progress report in the RR&Co section

Cheers

John
 

On another forum someone said about my last post….that it was a "pleasant interlude"…..I think the calm before the storm would be more apt.

Here is a Before and After









No I havent got the sequence wrong…….the first shot was taken in 2014 and the second last week :shock:

I guess I have been agonising over this for a couple of years now.

The shed area is a key element in Granby. Both visually……its at the entrance to the railway room, and operationally …….to avoid the main line operation being a series of tail chasers.

Visually it has, I think, been successful. Operationally less so.

The grimy concrete infills look great but in places they started lifting above track level causing uncertain running



Two turnouts in crucial locations also affected consistent running




Not a great shot but hopefully sufficient…….Locos approach the Ash pit by the track with the Tracksetta….the turnout to the right of the Tracksetta was badly laid and wired……locos tender first were quite often derailed……right by the window,the turnout is at the furthest extremity of even my long reach.

Locos approach the turntable by a dog leg leaving the centre exit of the three way and entering via the bottom arm.
The upper arm to the ash wagon road is really cosmetic. Tender first locos struggled when transiting facing points.

For whatever reason I have never been successful with Peco Code 100 three ways. Regular followers may remember that a couple of years ago I binned a three way used in the storage yards. 

I probably could have bumbled along and perhaps eventually replaced the three way. The catalyst for this demolition job was the turntable.



Five years ago the only Turntable directly supported by RR&Co was either not obtainable in the UK or prohibitively expensive. I had to choose between Heljan/Walthers and Fleischmann both of which could work with RR&Co subject to some limitations. Heljan was DCC ready, the Fleischmann was more expensive and required the additional , not insignificant, purchase of a decoder. I opted for the Heljan seen above.

Under manual or DCC control it generally behaves impeccably…….it occasionally loses its memory which means all the exit roads have to be re-programmed which is a pain and its very sensitive to bits of loose ballast.

With RR&co it can work well, and when it does its a delight but it has proved increasingly difficult to predict with any accuracy which end of the bridge will finish up at the selected exit road! You can imagine the problems that result as RR&Co attempts to drive the loco in the opposite direction.

I said "increasingly" difficult. The most recent RR&Co updates have had some unexpected side effects with the Heljan linkage.. At the same time Fleischmann is fully supported!

So after much heart searching the offending turnouts are about to be replaced and a Fleischmann turntable arrived last week from Hong Kong.

I realise that the above is of little direct interest to many readers but I thought some explanation was required for all this upheaval




Track and infill removed, wiring tagged……Heljan ready to be disconnected.

In case you are wondering all the buildings, equipment and people are safely stored away ready to return sometime in the summer.

To finish here are a few of my favorite shots which hopefully will be repeated (without the infill!)











When I was digging out those photos I found my first post about the Engine Shed……. in early 2013 I wrote

I am working on Newyd Shed (shades of Croes Newyd) …… that serves Granby Junction. There are other projects  on the to do list……..but this is the the last major project and  will certainly be the last time I lay any track.



Well I certainly got that wrong!

I can recall reading your posts on the new turntable and watching progress in the development of that area of the layout. It doesn’t feel it was long ago.Knowing how you use RR&Co I fully understand the rationale for the change and I was pleased to read that the buildings are being stored safely for their return 

Dave

At a guess I'd say you've now got enough to keep you busy for a day or two  ;-)  What a shame about all the infill, it looked so good.

Ugh, gotta love those "updates that aren't really upgrades", don't you? This seems like an extra-annoying case of that, since it forced you to have to change out a perfectly good piece of hardware.. If RR&Co has a complaint box, I suggest making use of it.

[user=1916]ZeldaTheSwordsman[/user] wrote:

Ugh, gotta love those "updates that aren't really upgrades", don't you? This seems like an extra-annoying case of that, since it forced you to have to change out a perfectly good piece of hardware.. If RR&Co has a complaint box, I suggest making use of it.

Hi Brendon

I am afraid I wasnt very clear. The upgrades are great. The workarounds involved exploiting loopholes which have been now been closed to improve other aspects of Train Controller ……I tend to be philosophical about these things:lol:

Cheers

John

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

At a guess I'd say you've now got enough to keep you busy for a day or two  ;-)  What a shame about all the infill, it looked so good.

Thanks Pete……I spent hours on them and was quite chuffed with their appearance……so it was a bit sad ripping them out……but I would rather the locos run smoothly!

Cheers

John

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

At a guess I'd say you've now got enough to keep you busy for a day or two  ;-)  What a shame about all the infill, it looked so good.

Thanks Pete……I spent hours on them and was quite chuffed with their appearance……so it was a bit sad ripping them out……but I would rather the locos run smoothly!

Cheers

John

Yes, it helps if the wheels touch the track.  :)

[user=1120] :oops: :twisted:peterm[/user] wrote:

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

At a guess I'd say you've now got enough to keep you busy for a day or two  ;-)  What a shame about all the infill, it looked so good.

Thanks Pete……I spent hours on them and was quite chuffed with their appearance……so it was a bit sad ripping them out……but I would rather the locos run smoothly!

Cheers

John

Yes, it helps if the wheels touch the track.  :)

 :roll: :oops: