Noel

How in the name of all that is good about WD40 does one get the blasted body shell off a 141/181? I am trying to fit a 21pin decoder. I have done the following as per recommendations: Removed the side rails Removed the end cab Gently and not so gently squeezed the body sides but it seems almost glued on! I afraid of damaging the model if I use any more force. Are the pressure lugs clipped into the under frame, OR inside onto the metal weight? HELP! Some material I have read and studied, but no joy, it is stuck fast. It's a brand new MM 141 Black preserved B141. Mag piece: http://www.murphymodels.com/files/Class_141_Sound_DCC_MR130_058-061.pdf How to on MRF: http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17970 Service sheet: http://www.bachmann.co.uk/pdfs/mm_141_181.pdf

Hi bhoulihan I've used peco foam underlay under our layout (i.e. 'Old New Layout'). I has worked out well so far and I am a bit fastidious about smooth track joints and smooth running. I had planned when I had finished the scenic work in a few years (hopefully), to replace the underlay with cork and ballast, but I'm not so sure anymore. I may just fill the gaps between twin tracks with ballast the same colour as the foam and run it right up to the edges of the underlay. It means future maintenance will be easier as any dodgy points can just be lifted and the sound insulation of foam from baseboard vibration is very good. It's very much a matter of personal preference, there is no right or wrong. Cheers Noel

Tried both RailModeller and AnyRail on my MacBook (AnyRail on Windows 7 via VMware). Both good, but I just found AnyRail a lot easier to pickup once I understood the difference between layers and heights. Layers it seems is NOT about track levels, just layers of scenery that can be turned on and off. Height determines track levels. Specifying heights to each track element that is on a higher level is a PITA. Anyway nice simple software. I'm almost certainly going to stick with AnyRail as I can't spare the time to read the manual and learn other more powerful tools. If I didn't have VMware on my Mac I would have been ok with RailModeller though.

This is great info guys. Any idea which corridor compartment coaches might have been used on the Dublin Amiens Street to Galway line in the 1962-1970 era? Bredins, PR, or Laminates?

Harumph!!! So you didn't like my trackwork then last week? Will I rip it all up and relay 21mm then? (i.e. when I've won the lotto and can employ a team to make all custom the trackwork and points so that I will have time to run some trains before I'm 90) N gauge would enable a scale track plan for LJ!!!

Thanks for all that advice and suggestions guys. I hand cleaned the track last week with a coarse cloth bound around and old hardwood model aircraft sanding block, damped with spirits. It has done the job and only a few spots needed more than one rub. I only plan to use a CMX cleaning wagon once every few months for maintenance. In the old days I used to run the loco wheels upside down in a cradle with a mildly abrasive wheel scraper or ice cream stick with spirit damped cloth. I found if I didn't keep the wheels of locos and rolling stock clean, the track wasn't long collecting the dirt off the wheels. I run a vacuum cleaner with a small circular soft brush fitting over the track after cleaning in case any debris was generated from the cloth snagging on track pins, rail joints or points. Its a far cry from when I used to lay Hornby-Dublo tracks on my bedroom carpet as a child (a dust, dirt and hair magnet).

What a realistic looking scene. GMs whirring away. Nice.

Thanks for that explanation. That's classic.

Thanks. The more I learn about DCC the more I learn how much I still have to learn.

Thanks Dhu Varren. One thing I was wondering about for my old non DCC stock; might I be better installing decoder by using plug harness types and then plug them into a bare wires harness that is soldered onto the loco (or 21/8 pin direct decoder plugged into a bare wires harness). That way I could remove or replace decoders by just unplugging them rather than desoldering or cutting wires. Appreciate there won't be enough space to do this with tank engines, but there should be enough space in diesels and steam tender engines.

Uggh! Another 1960s/1970s mad architects 'concept' in concrete.

So does that mean I can call around with my die-cast metal Hornby-Dublo GWR 'Castle' class - where's the turn table?

Agree the curved points off the main line on that could have been constant radius curves placed slightly future south rather than reversing angle for higher speed ops. The whole track plan with all the reversing and shunting to get on and off the waterford platform seems crazy, not to mention the scissors instead of a down mainline platform on the other side. I wonder why the Limerick-Waterford line was not laid to converge parallel to the mainline and then diverge again rather than an almost right angle cross over. The time saving on operations would have been so much easier and with a less expensive track layout. This was the practice at most UK junctions where two counrty lines were crossing at right angles to each other.

Thanks guys. Its expensive but seems worth it. Q - What solvent to you normally use? i.e to avoid damage to plastics, especially peco flexitrack. (white spirits, acetone, etc). Acentone is not plastic friendly.

Thanks guys. It looked a nice product, but good to get a positive recommendation from folks who have actually used it.

In the end I decided to go with NCE for the DCC conversion. I like their HH cabs and price for what you get. The only feature the NCE lacked that might have been nice was to have a database of locos with alphanumeric names for recall by number or from name lists. The Ecos 50200 had that, but wasn't taken by their HH cabs. In the future NCE may probably end up with a more modern base controller which supports iOS or Android tablet apps for configuration and setup rather than rather dated two line mono LCD screens. I believe the existing NCE setup can be used with cab/throttle apps on smartphones, but only indirectly via a separate PC running JMRI. Hopefully future controllers will have a more elegant direct WIFI or BlueTooth interface for direct use with smartphone DCC apps (i.e. not needing a PC in the mix), or perhaps I have missed something. Q1 - Any recommendations for 'wires only' DCC loco decoders for about 40 of my old non-DCC steam locos (Bachmann/Hornby) none of which have any lights. (To be fitted gradually over the years) Q2 - Do 'keep alive' versions work or is it better to stay away from that option? Thanks again for the advice received so far.

Hi Folks Has anybody used the 00/H0 CMX track cleaning car? Is it any good on Peco 100? Thanks Noel

Juntionmad (LJM) is a good pal of mine and yes he is 'Limerick Junction Mad' We met up last Sat for a play with a new MM 071 class, and we were both stunned at its fine running and scale detail. Think it wet his appetite to get back into the hobby as has MMs Irish stock revitalised my interest in the hobby. LJM, I can see now from the track layout on the old OS map why you are so interested in Limerick Junction. EM gauge would be very tasty but that might mean the superb MM Bachmann bogies won't be an option. Noel

Excellent As a newbie here I will look forward to reading about its development and learning some tips along the way from such master modellers. A great idea.

Yes agree its awkward to buy a Win7 license. It can only be done on Microsofts website and you have to download the media image, but they still sell Win7 license because the corporate sector seemed to largely reject Win8 for desktop use (i.e. keyboard and mouse). Just about to try RailModeller on Mac OS this evening before trying AnyRail under VMware.

Hi. Just found this thread. Not sure if Killucan2 and David are one or two folk who offer lighting, but if either, please could one of you PM me with pricing for installing lights in Cravens. Question if these lighting sets don't need decoders how does one turn them on or off (ie off for daylight running or when stored in sidings). Thanks.

Hi. If you install VMware Fusion (or Parrallels) on your mac you can run Windows apps (ie under Win7 or Win8). You will need a windows licence as well as VMware fusion both a cost but it runs superbly on Mac. Four finger swipe switches from MacOS desktop to Windows 7 desktop, and visa versa. It runs concurrently so none of this dual boot nonsense needed. I have to run some specialist map authoring software which only runs on Win32 so when I moved away from PC some years ago I found this worked really well. Its flawless. Two minor setup options for keyboard mapping and you have 100% Windows capability on a Mac. I recommend Win7 as even latest Win8 is still a pain as a desktop OS. I'm will be installing AnyRail later this week on the MacBook, will let you know how it goes. Virtualisation has a cost but its a tiny fraction of having a 2nd laptop.

Sadly the new motorways seem to have had an adverse effect on railway passenger numbers. Unless one lives right beside Heuston, it is now significantly quicker to drive to Cork than go by train, albeit not as relaxing. By coincidence I had only been looking at the old 1906 map a few weeks ago. We had virtually no roads back then, so much of the traffic was agricultural and freight. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Map_Rail_Ireland_Viceregal_Commission_1906.jpg

Very nice.

Thanks josefstadt. They could have been 8 seaters, and now that I think of it probably were. So were the ones I described travelling on laminates, or metal bodies? I wonder if this was the type: http://www.studio-scale-models.com/Bredincomp.shtml