irishthump

Not sure if this has been posted already.... http://stores.ebay.co.uk/roxley-2011/Railway-/_i.html?_fsub=8744030018&_sid=1074922478&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 Some good deals on 201's, especially if you can avail of the free UK postage.

To be honest I've heard varying reports on the DCC Concepts decoders, but if it can make a Lima run smoothly without cutting out it's doing well! The TCS Keep Alive units seem the most effective, especially if you use insulfrog turnouts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqXxxAtmZA

What about a stay-alive capacitor?

That's a nice job!

Wow! That's an ambitious project, looking forward to see it develop. Keep us updated! When you say zones, are you talking about splitting the layout into power districts? That would be a good idea with a layout of this size. Also to be honest I wouldn't go with a star formation for the bus, it sounds like more hassle. I'd probably run a ring bus around the main loop.

The acetic acid in the PVA reacts with lead to cause the expansion. It happens when a large amount of weight and glue are added, so it's more common in larger scales. Using it in an enclosed space such as a loco boiler is also a factor, so using it on the underside of a wagon shouldn't be a problem. As far as I know the Deluxe Liquid Gravity is not pure lead so doesn't react the same way. Mind you they recommend using thin CA glue to fix it in place.

Looks the part! I'd be interested to know the make of the wagon myself.... and what paint did you use?

I use the blade splicers on my own layout and they work fine. I've heard that they are not recommended for a layout that gets moved constantly but that's not an issue for me. Just make sure you use the correct diameter wire to ensure a proper connection. If you decide to use them don't buy them from shops like Halfords or Maplins as they charge a fortune for them, I got them on eBay for around 10euro for 2 packs of 50 including postage.

Lovely work there, Eamonn. I see you're converting to using Kadees, have you tried using no. 5 couplers rather than the plug in type? They're lot cheaper.

10A?!!! You could light a house with that!

Kirley, It depends on a couple of things... 1) How many amps does the DC controller supply? 2) Are the lamps bulbs or leds? Typically, leds will draw around 20ma each depending on their brightness while bulbs will draw closer to 100ma each. If your DC supply is say 1amp (1000ma) then you can power up to 50 leds from a 1amp supply, but only 10 bulbs. Are you powering the lights from an old DC trainset controller?

Guys, here's a couple of questions for anyone who feels they can answer them! Is this system basically wireless DCC complete with CV's which are adjustable for motor control, lighting effects and/or sound? Or is it simply a wireless method of motor control?

That's very impressive! I just might try one in one of my 141's...

MSB's 141 chips are excellent (I already have 3 of them!) and the sounds are top quality, probably better recordings than the ESU. Remember, MSB's chips are recorded from an actual 141 (which sounds like a 645 engine rather than the 567) while the ESU's are taken from an American loco. I just fancied having a bit of variety on my layout and got this chip made up as an experiment. Olivia's Trains have an excellent reputation but to be honest I wasn't sure how the chip would turn out! One thing which the ESU chip does have over the MSB chip is the notch up/down feature. (Although I'm sure MSB could do this if it was requested.)

I wouldn't call it overkill, going by the OP's description his layout will need a bus around 100 feet in length. I know solid core wire isn't recommended for portable layouts due to the risk of movement causing the wire to fail, but it shouldn't matter with a stationary layout. The voltage drop caused by the "skin effect" of AC current shouldn't be an issue. The drop is roughly the same in multi-strand and solid wire of the same gauge.

From what I've read I think your best bet would be to get some Twin and Earth cable. Strip off the outer covering and use the brown and blue cables as your bus wires. Soldering (as Dave said) is the best option for attaching the droppers, but can also use terminal connector blocks if you don't fancy soldering. It may sound like overkill but here's an interesting thread on RMWeb... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81198-hot-box-lvz100-and-complete-shut-downs/ It's not strictly about DCC Buses, but the OP was experiencing problems that stemmed from an insufficient number of droppers and also from the main bus wire being not being heavy enough. His layout sounds comparable in size to your own.

Des they look amazing! Can't wait to get a few myself....

Try and get your hands on a roll of lead flashing. It's soft enough to be cut with a heavy scissors and can be folded in shape easily.

I read that the weight should always be over the centre of the chassis for maximum adhesion to the rails even when only one bogie is powered.

Like I said mine was made using the decoder file for the 071 which is file no. 97431 on the ESU website, I just asked them to replace the prime mover sound with the one from file number 74436 which uses the EMD 567. It's a 16 cylinder rather than an 8 cylinder which was fitted to the 141's but as you can see it sounds fine. Remember they can give the decoder any engine sound you like. I was thinking of getting another decoder with the 8 cylinder 645 which was fitted in the 181's, they have that exact engine type listed on the site. Here's the link - http://www.esu.eu/en/downloads/sounds/generation-4/ the 071 and 201 decoders are listed under "soundfiles for specific locomotives", the 567 engine sound was under "soundfiles for US locomotives for common usage and all gauges". There are sound samples for each file that you can listen to. I also got them to assign other sounds to different function buttons, just for my own convenience. This was especially handy with the "notch up/down" features which are assigned to function keys 18 and 19 on the 071 sound file. I had them assigned to function keys 4 and 5. Have a look at the profile for the 071 and get them to re-assign the function keys if it suits you. They can arrange them any way you like. Once I ordered the decoder it was shipped that same day! Hope that helps.

No bother Dave, they're £100 with free shipping, so whatever that works out in Euro's!

Lads, I posted a little tutorial on my workbench the other day showing the installation of sound into 142, here's a little video of the end result. The decoder is a Loksound V4 that I ordered from Olivia's Trains in the UK. The sound file they used is basically the same one Murphy Models use for their 071 decoder, the file is free to download from the ESU website for anybody with a Lokprogrammer. I had the idea of using this sound file for a 141 and just changing the prime mover sound for an EMD 567 from another file which Olivia's Trains did for me and I think it worked out well, the first part of the video shows the engine start up and runs through some of the other sounds and the rest is just 142 doing some shunting in my freight yard. The "notch up/down" feature makes it a lot of fun to drive. Enjoy!

Wow! Really flying along now! And remember run what you want, it's YOUR railway!

Largest model railway in Europe? Seriously though, great to see it finally getting a new permanent home.

I think it would be a big plus if you could adapt your existing DCC system to RC or WiFi control. I would imagine modellers would be very reluctant to abandon a standardised system like DCC for a "manufacturer specific" control system. American modellers I would think would be very slow to accept the change. I think the success of DCC is down to standardisation (as well as backwards-compatibility) and also the fact that IT WORKS!