Nice fleet

Nothing more aggravating than having a fine looking loco but the damn thing just won’t play ball. I have a Schools class Brighton sitting in its box that hasn’t seen the light of day in well over a year now because it will not stay railed, can’t be bothered to sell it so it just gathers dust on a shelf in the cupboard. Overall though, you got a fine collection of locos there 👍🏻

The air of satisfaction, brilliant.

Good morning Simon! Great to have trains running again, and they don't seem to have a problem climbing the inclines! Hope your knees recover quickly!! All the best, Ian.

You know, I'm sitting here with a huge smile on my face, and I have no idea why!!!! That's brilliant! I don't know why a "steam train" makes me smile, but it just does, even in "N guage!".

I bet that has given you a boost Simon, as well as a bump on the head. Keep it up. Ron

Seeing them run gets the imagination working on what they will be running through. I would definitely recommend the Peco gauge to keep the track even spaced if you have one. All the best Simon.

Hi Simon, Brilliant, it looks amazing, well done!! The 9F seemed to take the incline in its stride really well. Think you're going to be ok with the number of drops, you could always run a busbar beside the track if need be (and disguise it one way or the other). A big step forward. All the best!!

Great to see more progress Simon. Well done ! Pete

Hi Simon. Congratulations on getting power restored to the layout and having trains running again. There is a school of thought that track in the real world does have kinks, and therefore model track should have them too. Me? I'm still sitting on the fence (oooh, doesn't it hurt?).

Satisfying being able to run some trains, albeit through a barren landscape. 👍🏻

Congratulations on the first run! Watch your head. I'm curious, what is your operating position, standing or seated? I love that bridge with the arches.

Hi Simon. Well done. It looks great. Its good to see some stock running on the new layout. The Evening Star breezed up the incline , lets see how the Grafar loco's cope with it. Its a lovely long run and it will be nice to see some long rakes running on it . Congratulations my friend.

Hi Simon. Well done!! Just shows what can be achieved when you just pause and think!

I don't think track pins will work in cardboard. Maybe you should glue the track to it.

Good morning Simon! Great to see you've sorted out all of your track issues! Enjoy the wiring! :) All the best, Ian.

Alls well, that ends well 😇 Nothing better than a happy modeller 👍 Best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

Hi Simon, yes this looks a good idea. You did well to stop and do a rethink before going further. You'll soon be running some trains too. All the best!!

Hi Simon, looking good, may be worth while testing the 4% with the trains and rolling stock you want to run. All the best

Hi Simon it sounds like your alot happier, it will be good to see it come together. Colin

Hi. I'm looking forward to this build. I hope you show the process. It's really interesting to watch and learn.

Right decision Simon, you were never going to be happy with the old layout, a lot more work but worth it. Well done. Ron

That seems a better set up for the branch line, and far less "up & downs"! Looks like you're going to be busy when you come back from your holiday!!!!

Hi Simon. I,m glad that you,ve settled on a track plan that you are happy with. Its coming along fine. I look forward to seeing the first train rumble along. I will hopefully be seeing Clan Line trundle through my part of town on Thursday morning. I,m looking forward to seeing a real steam train , I haven't seen one in years. Good luck. Regards.

I am sorry to hear that they let you down. I had one of their Class 50 models and a Class 66 and both ran without flaws. With new nano motors available. I was expecting to see the model be locomotive drive with the motor mounted at the front. I had an O Gauge Jinty for a bit on evaluation with a flickering firebox and it ran well. But it shows that Dapol dropped the ball on this one this time around. I used to own a Dapol Class 67 back in 2010/2011 and the motor was loud and noisy! I swapped it out for a Kato motor and that sure improved performance and no more grinding noise either. The motor I used came from an SD40-2 that was a non runner. So I used it for parts to get the Class 67 working.

Can you you leave the cylinder bit on my loco needs a good clean

Hi Simon! This is why I'm on version 44 of my track plan, and have hardly laid any track at all! Lol! Scenery can be used to cover a multitude of sins, but getting the track plan right is key! I'm sure it will come to you though, probably when you least expect it! I agree with having as much stock as possible on the layout! Having to constantly box and unbox it can put you off playing trains, which is all we want to do at the end of the day! :) Cheers, Ian.

Simon in order not to need to have a raised section why not make the part over the ladder a removable section which you lift out when you vacate the loft and replace once you are up there regards Stephen

Hmmm, lots to think about Simon. Keep at it and an answer will suddenly appear. Total euphoria, that is just before you step down the hole where the loft ladder should have been. Keep smiling. Ron

Hi Simon. It may not look too pretty now, but it is just cosmetics. I have a feeling that you have said in the past that you haven't gotten to grips with track layout software. If so, this may be the time to give it a try. I use AnyRail and by no means do I know how to use all of its fancy features. You never know, even using its basic features, you may get a better idea of how you would like your layout to look. Good luck!

Hi Simon, my observation would be to remember it's N gauge and when you have raised track quite high there will be a huge amount of space to fill in and make believable . I think the driving force is the storage solution which may need to be revisited. Is the raised track bed MDF and if so is it sealed? If in doubt pause and have a break, the solution will come as you have to have no doubts.

Greetings Simon 👋 Laying the track work is a head wrecker 😳 Instead of having the branch line above the main, would it work to keep it at the fiddle yard level🤔, poping in and out 🤭 Best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

Hi Simon, your making good progress. Have you thought of changing the loft ladder to one that does not need the head room. I know it is an expense, but may make the available area more flexible.

Good progress so far 👍🏻 and there’s always little problems to iron out such is the nature of the hobby.

Teething problems indeed, but if you're not happy with it, you need to reconsider. I'll remind you of the Theodore Roosevelt quote "In any moment of decision, the best thing is to do the right thing, the next best thing to do is the wrong thing, and the worst thing to do is nothing!". What I would say is, whatever you decide, it's an impressive layout already! It's going to keep you busy though!!!! Have fun!

Keep going Simon. It will suddenly make sense..... probably in the middle of the night!. I've solved many engineering problems then . All looking good though. Pete

It's coming together quite nicely! I wouldn't worry about it looking ugly at this point. You are just getting started. Very nice to see some track on the layout!

Hi Simon. I think that you can't see the wood for the tree's. The 'ugly' part as you put it can be replaced with a few more of those Faller bridges. Maybe cut away the end arches and just keep the large centre spans then join them all together until you nearly reach the desired length , then use the pieces that you cut off to finish the ends of the bridge where they land back to earth. Think of it as a longer viaduct behind the first one running over a ever widening valley. Can you see what I see ? I like the elevated path as it creates interest and gives you all of that on board storage space. Yes you might want to tweek it here and there but it can work. You,ve done really well so far. Sometimes its good to step back and think about what direction to take but you know what ? If you feel that its right then prees on. Good luck my friend. Regards.

Its coming along very nice 👍🏻 Your loft is almost identical to mine. Im at the stage where i have only just boarded the floor. Velux window being fitted soon. Silver foil going up. And painting the rafters. Its my first attempt at a model railway. So your progress has been very interesting to watch. All the best

Looking very impressive

Well done in taking the dive into cleaning a Loco. A couple of hints, if I may. The coupling rods are upside down.. oops... we've all done it, trust me.... so many times. Plus don't use WD40, I suggest strongley to use Isopropyl alchahol (I buy mine off ebay in litre bottles from Hexeal) also go to Aldi and buy some of their puddings which come in glass dishes, ideal for N gauge loco's. Great for holding bits and washing them with Isopropyl, a hogs hair brush works wonders as well. I myself just rip the loco to pieces and wash the lot, a fibreglass pencil is also helpful for cleaning the pickups and backs of wheels, good also for cleaning the armature along with a cocktail stick to dig out the carbon. As for oiling, I only use Peco electrolube on brass bearings and motion gear, for gears I use a silicon PTFE grease which is food safe and 'Plastic Safe' from a manufacturer in the Northwest again off ebay, the tub will last forever and I've used it a lot on club members models and my own. Spares go to the online shop 'Graham Farish Spares' the chap is very helpful and his knowledge is pricless. Don't worry about bits going ping, I'm still looking for a brush spring (The brush and coupling springs are the same) for over two months. look forward to the next job, and keep up the good work.

Hi Simon, amazing progress, I really didn't imagine you would have so much track down. I read elsewhere you've got the single line in now. Hope your knee is now on the mend!! All the best!!

Hi Simon! Glad you got the little Pannier Tank running properly again! As you know, I'm going to service my Dapol 57xx at some point, and my worst nightmare is bits flying all over the place when I undo a seemingly innocent looking screw! The problem being that I don't have the experience to know where all of the bits had come from, so would have no chance of putting the loco back together again - however clean I got it!!! :) All the best, Ian.

But that's no bigger than your thumb!!!! And you're making films on your phone at the same time!!!! Wow! But it was running so much better once you'd re-lubricated it!!! Silly question. Why would it run OK backwards but jerkily going forwards before you serviced it? Surely the contacts should work the same whichever way you want to go?

Hi Simon. Ah the joys of N gauge. I have two of these loco's I think , one green and one in black. They are good runners but yes they do need a service every now and then. I hop that it runs well on the new layout. Cheers pal.

Thanks for sharing. This will certainly go towards a list of do's and don'ts for when I tackle a service

Its always the electrical pick, wheels wipers etc

I bet that was fun when it flew to pieces Simon. I hope there were not any sensitive ears around. Ron

This is getting exciting Simon, hurry up with the single track so we can see them run. Since it always rains when you are not working you may as well crack on with it Stay dry. Ron

Toy fairs a great place to find model railway stuff, I always go to them and it's amazing what you'll find and for how much.