My views on N gauge

[austinbob]

  Before you 'break-up' what you have made...........

Hi Komata.
I think you've misunderstood slightly. I don't intend to give up on what I've started. I've got all (nearly) my locos running to my satisfaction and I'm a confirmed late UK steam/early green diesel bloke.

My beef has been the quality and reliability of the locos. I do envy those who have the quality and reliability of the US and Japanese and some European models - but they're not for me.

I promised in one of my posts not to go on about this quality/reliability issue - looks like I've broken that new year resolution already!!         

[joe cassidy]

I had a running session this afternoon, putting the following locos through their paces :

Poole Mk.1 Duchess
2 x China Mk.1 Duchess
Mk.2 Black 5
rebuilt Royal Scot
Fairburn tank
Dapol B17 (has hit the deck twice)
Union Mills Prince of Wales

All were "poetry in motion", except the Black 5.

I must be one of the lucky ones who is generally satisfied with the quality of N gauge locos, although I admit to being apprehensive every time I buy a new one.

If only my track laying was as good as my locos !

Best regards,


Joe

[austinbob]

I had a running session this afternoon, putting the following locos through their paces :

Poole Mk.1 Duchess
2 x China Mk.1 Duchess
Mk.2 Black 5
rebuilt Royal Scot
Fairburn tank
Dapol B17 (has hit the deck twice)
Union Mills Prince of Wales

All were "poetry in motion", except the Black 5.

I must be one of the lucky ones who is generally satisfied with the quality of N gauge locos, although I admit to being apprehensive every time I buy a new one.

If only my track laying was as good as my locos !

Best regards,


Joe

I'm just about to start track laying for my layout. I've been running/testing all my stock on a simple oval for   a year or more now. So its time I got stuck in and got on with it - Don't seem to be able to get out of the 'planning' stage.
New years resolution - get on with the track laying Bob..

[port perran]

I had a running session this afternoon, putting the following locos through their paces :

Poole Mk.1 Duchess
2 x China Mk.1 Duchess
Mk.2 Black 5
rebuilt Royal Scot
Fairburn tank
Dapol B17 (has hit the deck twice)
Union Mills Prince of Wales

All were "poetry in motion", except the Black 5.

I must be one of the lucky ones who is generally satisfied with the quality of N gauge locos, although I admit to being apprehensive every time I buy a new one.

If only my track laying was as good as my locos !

Best regards,


Joe

I'm just about to start track laying for my layout. I've been running/testing all my stock on a simple oval for   a year or more now. So its time I got stuck in and got on with it - Don't seem to be able to get out of the 'planning' stage.
New years resolution - get on with the track laying Bob..

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of track being laid soon then

[austinbob]

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of track being laid soon then

Yes - I really ought to find out how to post pictures - and if you guys keep hassling me I'm gonna have to get down and do something about my track laying.

[railsquid]

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of track being laid soon then

Yes - I really ought to find out how to post pictures - and if you guys keep hassling me I'm gonna have to get down and do something about my track laying.

So what's this "track laying" everyone keeps talking about?   

[austinbob]

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of track being laid soon then

Yes - I really ought to find out how to post pictures - and if you guys keep hassling me I'm gonna have to get down and do something about my track laying.

So what's this "track laying" everyone keeps talking about?   

Good question railsquid.

I have baseboards complete
I have a plan (AnyRail)
I have basic wiring done - each baseboard of three has its own mimic panel
I have locos - all working to my satisfaction now (mostly)
I have rolling stock - coaches and wagons
I have bought all the track
I have no track laid to my plan - I have a boring old oval to run in and test my stuff
So. time to get on with getting the track down for my layout - yes?

[Newportnobby]

YES!

[austinbob]

YES!

OOps.. Looks like people are waiting for me to do something now.

[Tom@Crewe]

The downside is – in my experience (not every loco but too high a percentage!)
1.   Badly adjusted pickups.
2.   Poor slow running in some instances, particularly kettles, although some are very good.
3.   Loose NEM couplings.
4.   Intermittent/jerky operation.
5.   Noisy operation
6.   Badly adjusted quartering on kettles
7.   Valve gear and link motions locking/falling apart – Kettles
8.   Eccentric wheel sets – mostly diesels.
9.   Lack of complete kits for locos and rolling stock – the range for 4mm is very extensive.

In general inadequate quality in around 50% of the locos I have purchases.

But I have made the other decision and I am selling up and moving to OO. (Two other factors, I made 'N' layout too wide 1100mm and have problems reaching other side also now haw a larger area to set up new layout)

But its not just the Loco's and rolling stock but the track too. (point motor alignment for frog polarity changes, flange problems on some point's, etc)

Changed mind, will stick with 'N' but new layout is a must.

[austinbob]

Changed mind, will stick with 'N' but new layout is a must.

Good decision overall - good luck with the new layout Tom.

[Newportnobby]

Pleased to hear that, Tom.

[lil chris]

The thing is when you start laying the track Bob, take your time and take care especially with the points it will pay dividends.

[longbridge]

I think N scale is the Premier scale, looks more realistic in smaller locations, for me American or Japanese outline is the only way to go, I found everything else to be just a touch unreliable, nothing worse than taking a brand new model out of a box and finding it is faulty, just my two bobs worth.

[austinbob]

YES!

OOps.. Looks like people are waiting for me to do something now.

[smg id=20181 type=preview align=center caption="My layout plan"]

Ok - this is the plan. It represents a preserved railway with anything steam allowed to run on it and green diesel.
The track is mostly Peco code 55 with the odd bit of code 80 radius 2 set track for the curves bottom left and right.

At the top is the main station with a a bay platform and associated goods yard further south.
Left is a small loco depot.
Right hand side is a preserved station under construction with storage sidings. This basically allows me to have a visible fiddle yard.
Also on the right is a small branch station served by the bay platform at the main station.

The two code 80 curves, at bottom left and right, will be hidden under a hill or such like. Minimum radius elsewhere is 12" for the points on the station under construction - other curves are minimum radius 15"

There are 3 baseboards, each removable, resting on a framework bolted to the wall and with legs at the front. Baseboards are 2ft wide and between 6 and 8 feet long This has been assembled for over a year now and nothing has moved - its all level and rock solid.

Each baseboard has its own mimic panel which operates points and isolating sections for the all DC operation. Main power wiring is attached to the frame and plugs into mimic panels using 4mm and 2mm individual connectors - nice and sturdy for frequent connection/disconnection.

The track is taken over baseboard boundaries using Fleischmann expandable track so I don't have to worry about matching up bits of track at the baseboard edges.

This construction and wiring method means that all the baseboards can be completely removed, with the mimic panels in place and with all the wiring intact (although being quite large they are fairly heavy but manageable. Alternatively they can be folded up on the frames and held in place by bracing pieces so wiring and assembly can be carried out easily without having to climb underneath the baseboards.

Baseboard height is about 42 inches I think. This means that I can easily reach things in the furthest corners standing up and get a really good view of the trains when sitting on a tall stool with a pint!!

When I start the scenery the plan is to have most of it fixed to removable assemblies - probably made of card or light ply - so that it can all be easily taken off to work on off the layout and to maintain the ability to  remove the baseboards without damaging scenery.

Just got to finish one mimic panel, wait for a few items to arrive from Gaugemaster - then off we go with the track.

Then wait for the constant stream of questions from me about - How do you do that?