Sean

The main reasons i took the plunge with DCC was the inability to control lights and the way they dimmed in and out so obnoxiously as the locomotive changed speed. So i was happy to see a DC mode tab within the JMRI decoder programmer interface for LP5. It allows the user to control lighting and a few other parameters in this DC mode. but as i had a dcc system now I never really bothered to explore it until today as the layout is currently set up with a dc controller as i dont have any chips for some new locos i got this week. I want to run some DCC locos today and think to myself that i "cant" aka too lazy to plug in the other controller. So I remember this DC mode and grab a loco from the siding. Took me a minute to figure out just what was happening but when I did the results left me pleasently surprised. 132 would light up and not move, so im guessing its programmed like this. 143 is where things started to happen setting the controller to 45% would make the lights come on 50% and the loco begins to crawl. slap it up to 100% and instead of taking off the loco gradually starts to accelerate up to speed as programmed. back to 45 and again the loco slows as programmed down to a halt. This is brilliant and i can see it working really well on a shelf layout where one would want to restrict speed or have a loco sit static lit up in a siding but there is one drawback. Theres a very audible PWM hum that can be heard as the motor works at low speeds, I think its from the motor itself but im not 100% sure. Is this harmful to the motor and can it be improved upon by any sort of programming? Is anybody else using this feature and do you find it useful? are there any drawbacks? Sean

No video as of yet. Have been on a fairly nocturnal schedule so have not had much chance to take any under good daylight.... In the mean time I have gotten to work using all my spare track to lay the "depot" section of things. 3 big coach sidings. 3 smaller loco sidings. engines must use a headshunt. theres another siding for good measure. freight area extended with a third siding. ballast plow siding is isolated, thats the JMRI programming track Found a use for a hornby express point in the end. it can be plumbed cleanly into a second radius loop(and maybe third) without issue. makes the bend in the loop seem way less severe than it actually is. finally able to test the theory of how many coaches can my station hold? the answer is four!, well four with a pilot and 3 with a solo engine. Finally back to an empty layout so i can finish things off. ST is starting to grow on me, it looks way way better in person than it does on model websites.

Add another 50 to post it, plus whatever the tax man decides, then suddenly theres actually a cheaper one for sale within Ireland.

Dont think so, i could be wrong. I think silver fox did one.

Cheers thats just what i need, @phil. i still need the shoulder sizes for a rebuilt one, so when you get a chance that would be most helpful. Sean

It's a good thing I'm not a "collector" so. Because these things run great! Very smooth running and tight close couplings. Was a little put off by the offset logo at first but now they are on the track I think they look great! Was that offset prototypical or is it just wrong on the model as I don't think I've seen these coaches in real life except the moyasta ones with the later livery and it's not offset on those. Wrong egv however it is the right one for these which have been rolling around for a while now with no van! I have 2x first open 5152 coaches, would anybody be interested in trading me for any other second open in any livery? Just to add uniqueness to my rake. As I have blown the entire budget on rolling stock, it looks like I will be reverting to DC until I save up for a few decoders! Not too bad as the esu decoders also work in DC mode. 142 and 192 await running in..just haven't gotten to them yet because I finally have a nice fleet of coaches! 142 might be for sale soon as she was bought on impulse before 192 appeared so I'm a bit over budget with her. We will see how I wing it for the next week I definitely need to plan and lay depot trackage now too. Next post will contain videos. It would be very unfair not to now. GoPro is working and everything.

All them different prefixes confuses me. and i cant REALLY comfortably run more than a 3 coach train on my layout anyways so to the uneducated lay person such as myself they are pretty much the same with the brake swapped for the bar. obviously its a bit more complicated than that and some people will want both but they are definitely a one or the other type of purchase for me., not to detract from either because i own neither.

the mk2 are a perfect example actually as I had an opportunity yesterday to get the old RPSI set, still sealed and for a fair price, but i left them there as i know im getting the new set some time in the future. was alot more comfortable picking up a few baby GM over the past few months knowing that there wont be an IRM one in the near to mid future Its the under wraps stuff that im truly getting at, c'mon and make a big dirty spoiler calendar and end our misery for the year I dont wanna go building a rake of idk lets say pallet cements or beet doubles only to find one is announced before the paint is even dried on them ...

Hey Phil. Any chance you could measure the length and height of the dutch van body shell for me as i am looking for a suitable donor to make one. Sean

@johnfromoz is the lais still available at that price? suddenly i have an extra 3-5 locos without chips and cant afford to lokpilot them all.

ahh, i nearly bought those before i started my hyster kit bash.

Is there an Irish version of this calendar available? On a serious note though, there are 2 more freight rakes that i want to build for the layout this year, I would much rather be saving my pennies for high grade RTR stock rather than assembling kits that i will never finish up to the same sort of standard. Unfortunately only one of these options will be financially viable for me, If I had a better picture of what is and is not coming over the next year or two it would certainly help with budgeting for upcoming purchases, and reduce fears of buying kits/used RTR stock of things that are about to be re released.

If you just want one for decoration then check out the loco accessory pack, most of them seem to include at least one , get little resealable bags before you open it though or you WILL lose all the little bits that you dont use. ask me how i know.

Ugh, Castlebar.

Well now. It appears that I am going to be eating sawdust for the foreseeable future! Yes,I know it's the wrong egv and no, I don't care until I get my hands on the right one. (hint hint any swaps) I'm even almost too afraid to break that FACTORY SEAL...... Almost.....

Whesht of Ireland is all I know. I think Galway or somewhere like that.

ah, they really had me sold at wexford, looks like i shall be taking the plunge and joining.

thats super interesting john. do you know what the additional platforms would have been used for? there is a large vehicle gate leading onto them so i had been thinking goods or cattle, but the cattle pens are located elsewhere on the map. they are overgrown to the point of nearly being gone and i dont think that they were ever in use during my lifetime as i only remember discovering they existed in the past year or two. Must ask my father what he can remember about them. Cheers

Where did you get the mounts for the servos JB? looking very good

the guy is a genius, decided that real railway wheels, axles and track was all far too expensive to make the project feasible so has spent the last year or so engineering it all from scratch. hes only been posting about the engine in the last couple of months. The best part? its located in Ireland

this is all kinds of cool i have been following this guy for a while as he has built this little railway in his garden to move sticks didnt in a million years actually expect him to build a loco but here it is!

Starting to get unrealistically busy in the yard. The cure for this will be to build a "depot" area somewhere out on the main baseboard using all the leftover points. And what's this about MORE supertrain ?!?! recent aquisitions have now FINALISED that the era will be very early to mid in the IR period.

Wasnt that just one or two they had lost down the back of the couch though and they were gone within hours? Always opening those links DJ and thinking "hmm thats not too bad" until i am overwhelmingly dissapointed by the words "0 Pujas" as i realise whats going on.

100% Agree There was an N gauge layout on adverts in a really obscure section a year or two ago being sold in similar circumstances and it was basically free. sat there for ages with no biters and eventually the guy messaged me again offering it to me for a tenner before he took the plunge to scrap it. Regrettably i let him scrap it and still regret it to this day.

yes it will work but it will make the "wrong" sound for 071 class.