Noel

Hi Folks. Results below of the mini survey which was presented for fun and information. Thanks to all who took the time to respond. There were 150 responses. As stated it was a simple mini survey limited to only 10 questions hence some areas omitted due to space limitations. Perhaps in the future a more comprehensive survey covering a greater aspects of the hobby could be taken. Good night all. Noel Q1. What aspect of the hobby do you most enjoy? Q2. Which RTR Manufacturers products do you currently own? Q3. Please tick all eras that you like to model Q4. Your modeling interests Q5. Rate importance of model loco features Q6. How many of these model locos would you purchase in the next 5 years if they were available from MM/Bachmann? Q7. 121 class livery choices - pick one or more Q8. A or C class livery choices - pick one or more Q9. Are you likely to buy any of these existing MM/Bachmann coaching stock in the next 3 years Q10. Which future RTR models would you buy if quality as good MM/Bachmann? Tick all that apply. END

Glad you like it. The NCE cab is the reason I went with them rather than ESU eCos (i.e. handheld v games console ergonomics). All DCC system controllers basically do what they say on the tin, but it is the cab infrastructure that makes the difference to suit individual preferences and tastes.

Ditto. The MM 141s are the best runners I've ever seen. Our sole 201 will remain single example as it is not on the same page as the 141s as a runner. It's also a very long scale model for many layouts curves and especially curved platforms. I've wondered if there is a Heljan model that might make a donor chassis for a SF A class kit. The under frame just needs to be co-co and the right length front axel to front axel, don't care as much about the scale accuracy of the bogie side frames, fuel tank, etc.

That looks fabulous. Superb paint job. If you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to get the lines so crisp and sharp as well as the numbers and flying snail if you didn't use transfers? Another top class paint job on the forum this week.

You've really captured the essence of Waterford station in its heyday. Brings back fond childhood memories.

Waterford City station now seems relegated to the size of a small suburban town station. We are witnessing live the end of the railways. Hello M9, goodbye intercity rail.

Wow - it's been hack cannibalised almost out of existence. One wonders if there will be any intercity rail transport left in ten years time! Nice pics btw

I use parcel motel all the time. However the likes of Howes will NOT post paints to NI, IOM, or even the Isle of Wight, only the island of GB unless a courier is used! They refused to post enamel paints to NI even though it's in the UK.

Is there a supplier of Railmatch paints in Ireland? I recently ordered from a well known UK supplier who informed me they had to charge a whopping GBP £30 for courier delivery because they are paints (i.e. hazardous chemicals - joke!!), so I cancelled the order.

Hi Folks. FYI, the mini survey will close this Friday night and I plan to put the results up here during Saturday. Noel SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B239JG8

Looks vaguely similar to a GWR castle class with an LMS style tender and princess class domes

Bet that took a while to setup and test. 8 locos pulling 221 wagons. A lot of effort for sea sickness.

That's just brilliant Dave. ROFLMAO

Holy moly how did I miss this thread. Great looking layout project and what an awesome collection of rolling stock.

Hi John. I would hope the Bachmann bluetooth technology, if it really works, might become a new NMRA standard rather than a proprietary offering. Key would be plug-in compatible swap-ability of DCC decoders for Bluetooth decoders. If it remains a proprietary spec then its dead in the water. Noel

So you have to take the apple watch off every night to charge it cause it only has an 18hr battery. Thanks, but no thanks. Personally it just doesn't add up. From a purely functional point of view I'm not sold on its benefits or practical uses, but marketing may convince some of the sheep herd that its a 'must be seen with' piece of jewellery. And that's just the thoughts on an existing mac, iPhone and iPad user who has a weakness for useful technology, but I just don't get this one. Btw, what time is it? I forgot to wind my watch last night iNoel Sent by iPad - portable electronic Irishman

Really enjoyed those photos. Thanks for posting. They tell a story. It's sad to see the minimalisation of Waterford station presumably due to the collapse in all forms of rail traffic. A mere shadow of its 60s glory days. Railways killed off the short lived commercial canals and now it seems motorways in turn are wiping out the railways. Some nice photos of your workbench also.

Thanks again to all of you who kindly took the time to complete the brief survey. I have been pleasantly surprised how many responded so far. As responses are still being made, it is probably better to let it run for another little while until responses slow. I plan to publish the results on the forum over the weekend once the survey has closed. Hopefully folks may find it interesting. Cheers for now. Noel

Strange thing though is on the eircom connection all other web sites were working fine when IRM was timing out.

Yes it seems an eircom issue. I can't access it for the past while using eircom, but fine using a hotspot off vodafone.

It was off from this end from about 07:30 until sometime after 12:00, but as I said it could have been a local name server issue on parts of the eircom network, so other members may have had full access.

Hi Kevin I don't know how they plan to release products. Ideally if they produce 21, 9, 8 and 6 pin Bluetooth decoders of the same size as current DCC decoders, they could be swapped or used instead of DCC decoders and could therefore operated on existing DCC layouts and with DCC ready locos. This would allow overlap of deployment over the first decade without modellers forced into a big spend change over. I assume the power supply from the decoder to the loco motor would be the same as DCC, but the messaging protocol and configuration of bluetooth decoders would be quite different and very user friendly (i.e. there would be no concept of low level techie stuff like CVs, test tracks, programming, etc, all to be buried behind human friendly interfaces smartphone app style). However if this ever gets traction, I suspect there will still be a market for wireless cabs with physical controls, not just touch screen devices. Tablets and smartphones great for additional cabs and setup, but for train driving most need the tactile feel for blind one handed control. Noel

You won't regret it. Interesting piece here on ESU/NCE momentum issue. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/89097-beware-nce-and-esu-momentum-idiosyncrasies I used the 'momentum' button once on a LokSound decoder and it did mess up the sound until I did a 'soft' decoder reset to reinstate normal behaviour. Btw, be careful never to do a full reset of a sound decoder because it can wipe the sound project and not just reset CVs. I prefer Zimo decoders F5 light engine mode which does not mess around with CVs.

Dhu Varren they look really superb. The finish quality looks so precise and sharp. Looking at the photos that is the best repaint project I have seen. I looks better than quality RTR finishes and all lines are straight as a laser.

Was the site down for a few hours this morning? Or it could just have been local to me due to eircom's DNS servers getting dizzy for a while.