Model railway layout

Chris Harding

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I inherited my father's old school trains including old Sydney rattlers and diorama pieces. I have the space in my garage to build something, but haven't brought myself around to start.
Starting is the hard bit. You need to have an idea of what type of layout you want. Things like tight curves can be a bugbear later on, so go for the widest radius possible.
Control systems - DC or DCC should be considered - once you've made up your mind it's very hard to change. The basics, like track, control systems, make initial setup a bit expensive, but it gets easier after that. If you've got most of this from your father's system, then have a go.

An old mentor told me: "There's very little you do that can't be undone", so don't be frightened to have a go; it can generally be fixed if you make a mistake.
 

LordSidious66

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I use DC, but have just purchased a sound equipped Eureka CPH Railmotor, which works on DC but would be better on DCC. I might consider a DCC starter kit and have decoder chips installed in the 48 and 41. Shouldn't cost too much, and gives better flexibility.

The Swiss layout is DC, and will stay that way.
3 of my ho tracks are DC. My n scale track is dc. However the 2nd track is dcc. I use the nce powercab to operate dcc. I like dcc. Wish i had the money for dcc sound though. It would be awesome to hear sounds and smoke from the locos.
 

Chris Harding

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3 of my ho tracks are DC. My n scale track is dc. However the 2nd track is dcc. I use the nce powercab to operate dcc. I like dcc. Wish i had the money for dcc sound though. It would be awesome to hear sounds and smoke from the locos.
Now have the Powercab DCC, and a Eureka CPH with sound. I can see why people like DCC. I'll be putting LokPilot V4.0 decoders into my 41 and 48 class locos. Don't see the need to spend hundreds on sound for every loco; but a basic DCC chip is quite affordable. I have a C30 tank on order, and will get Mark from DCC Solutions to instal a soundchip for that. Steam needs sound.

The Swiss system will remain DC. It works well with the setup I have, and would cost me thousands to convert.
 

LordSidious66

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My father and I added a custom madr station to the mountain area and some more trees. We also added a barn as the inside area will be a farm. Heres a game: Can anyone name the engine in the photos?
 

Chris Harding

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Coming along nicely. Have you thought about putting a speaker under the layout and playing railway sounds via I-pod or CD? Also plenty of soundscapes: streams birds, animals, traffic, weather, station announcements available as downloads - even noises for outside toilets.
 

LordSidious66

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Coming along nicely. Have you thought about putting a speaker under the layout and playing railway sounds via I-pod or CD? Also plenty of soundscapes: streams birds, animals, traffic, weather, station announcements available as downloads - even noises for outside toilets.
That wouldn't be a bad Idea man. It would make the layout more awesome and life like.
 

rainman

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the most interesting part is this one.

7. The trains got toilets after Indian Railways completed about 50 years!
And it took them 20 years to work out how to use them
 

LordSidious66

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Here more photos of the progress that has been made recently.
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