irishthump

I've spent some time looking too, to me the A class didn't really sound like the other EMD locos. There are 2 files that I could find that have Sulzer prime movers that I think are in the ballpark anyway. Try files no: 56451 and 54457.

Gotcha. What sound decoder are you planning on using?

One question; I assume since it's basically an Athearn design that the chassis is live?

Fantastic job! I myself tried to fit Athearn CoCo bogies to an F7 chassis a while back, but just couldn't make it work. This is an excellent solution, I'd love to see a video of the completed project.

A little more progress..... I've spent the last few days hand painting lengths of flex track and most of the points. I decided to hand paint the rails before laying the track as I didn't fancy spraying all the track with my airbrush in the confined space of the attic with no ventilation! With the track plan pretty much finalised I went ahead and fixed down the trackbed. I used Woodlands Scenic foam trackbed partly because it seems very easy to work with and it also worked out cheaper than cork. I fixed it down with "No Nail" adhesive. Here's what will eventually be the main terminus: The two tracks on the left will be the terminus platforms and will be mostly covered by the station building. (I'm going to have to figure how to deal with that ugly wooden beam on the left! I'll have to either hide it or make a feature of it.....) The longest train that can be accommodated is 5 markIII's with a 201. That's shorter than I would like but I can live with it. The two tracks to the right are for freight and coach storage. I've placed a point to show where I'll be putting a loop which will allow an engine to run around it's train and will provide access to the freight/container yard. Here's another pic looking towards the entrance to the station yard: You can see how the track on the far right leads out of the station yard and around to the right which will allow access to the engine shed or to link with the main double track loop. Here's the mail line and on the left is where the engine shed will be placed, pretty much where that Peco shed is standing. There's no underlay here, I plan to lay the engine shed tracks directly onto the baseboards to have a little height difference from the main. Here's a shot of the removable section: Hopefully I'll get some of the main line laid before the weekend.....

I don't think there's any need. "The Weather" will do all your weathering for you!

That was a joke!

I would've had a punt on this, but the seller doesn't post to Ireland....

Ha! Those wagons better have sprung buffers or they'll be nothing left of them after a while! Seriously though, that's impressive. Something to slow the wagons down would make it perfect.

If the loco runs on DC then it can be converted. With a metal model it really depends on the way current is collected, I'm not familiar with SSM kits but some models with metal frames use it to conduct current to one side of the motor. If that's the case extra care has to be taken to isolate the motor from the frame or chassis. You also have to be careful that the decoder will not come into contact with any metal parts.

This guys has an interesting way to slow the cars..... [video=youtube;-YY55xmNXfQ]

Glad you like the idea, I actually think it would work well. Small neodymium magnets could be placed just inside the rails. It's the magnetic pull on the axles and not the wheels that has the most effect.

You could try magnets. The wheels and axles on most British RTR stock are attracted to magnets. I've notice this myself when using Kadee uncoupling magnets, in some cases the wagon or van would stop dead right over the magnet! It would take a bit of experimentation with the size/power of the magnets and their positioning but it would be possible to get the required effect.

Great video, and lovely job on the plough vans.

Thanks for the comments, Divecontroller. Yes that's the idea, trains will run from either station, do a couple of laps of the main circuit then head into the other station. In the case of the larger terminus after arrival a station pilot will shunt release the loco from the train and it can head to the loco shed for service/refuelling. The smaller station has a runaround loop as you describe. The same with freight trains. This sort of operation was something I couldn't do with my last layout and it was the first thing I wanted to put right!

That's what the upper level will be for!

Thanks for the words of encouragement lads! Here's a rough trackplan (subject to change of course, but hopefully you'll get the idea.)

Thanks Garfield! Although it looks quite cramped from the photos it's possible to walk around most of the layout and there's headroom enough to stand while operating. The track plan is all in my head at the moment but I'll try to sketch something out so that I can post it here.

Been working quietly on the new layout the last few weeks and finally have something to show for it! Progress has been slow but the baseboards are finished and I'll be starting to lay the track hopefully this weekend. I decided to make this layout at a more comfortable height to work on (the old layout was barely 3ft high and it was a nightmare to access wiring under the baseboards). These baseboards are about 4.5 feet high, roughly chest height. I'm also hoping to add another level above this in the future. Here's a few pics... This section is about 15ft long and I plan to put a fair sized passenger terminus and freight yard here. Off to the right; there will be a double track loop about 8ft square. Possibly an engine shed and refuelling point along this side. The opposite side to the planned terminus. This will be another station with a run around so I can turn trains and send them back onto the mainline. And back around to where we started. This section will be removable as it's right over the attic door.

Bank holiday is a colloquialism, the proper term in Ireland is Public Holiday. They are all Public Holidays , as are Christmas Day, Stephen's Day, Patrick's day etc.

Correct. It's not a public holiday, but it IS a bank holiday. There are only two Bank Holidays in Ireland; Good Friday and December 27th.

And a couple of smashed panes of glass!

True. But it's also a bank holiday.

Shouldn't be closed, Friday is only a bank holiday.

Incredible. What strikes me the most about this is that there is NOTHING that gives this away as a scratch built model!