29. A Quest For Realism - Passenger Sets on the Mckinley Railway

[@davidcousins3508]

I am speechless..the attention to detail is breathtaking. What a dedicated team you have ...fascinating.

[@wheezypalacemodels7726]

A level of detail to behold. Great determination and mindset for the ultimate railway and my hat goes off to you all...

[@pathegarty4757]

I must commend you guys on the level of expertise and commitment and dedication to your layout. The presentation of this video is excellent and most informative. I really enjoyed it and actually listened for a change. 🤗

[@dattouk]

Thats very kind of you. Please come again... We enjoy sharing our madness.

[@larrydee8859]

Incredibly beautifully modeled project! Thank you for all your extensive, great work! The results are stunning! Interior coach scenes comming to life, with different settings. This type of modeling is very often overlooked. Thanks for sharing. ( I love nighttime lonely station scenes, with people, on the platform, or by the Newsstand).

[@film49uk]

the task of building this railway is just out of this world ,the effort in all the areas to get the detail right what ever the task is a credit to you and the team.I await the next update.......

[@marquardtbre]

Keep doing what you fellas are doing! That layout is fantastic! I look forward to commercially avalible light control boards like that. Thank you for sharing videos of all the progress as well!

[@iangregory3994]

A hundred Bachmann coaches! Are you very rich?!! Bang Up job all round anyway. Sterling effort. Admirable attention to detail. Nice to see someone biting off more than they can chew.... and chewing it anyway. Therein lies the path to achievement. This is a splendid project- I wish you every success.

[@markstafford5586]

Attempting this level of modelling may not be for everyone for sure, but I a so very pleased that someone in the world has this level of focus and enough dedication to actively seek to actually do it. Well done men. Love your work! Ps. You’ve reach base camp years ago. Hahaha!

[@dattouk]

Thank you Mark.

[@leilacentral1883]

Really enjoyed this. I’m going to have to have a look for a copy of these books that you mentioned to get more details on rolling stock. 3,000 people...just a small purchase. Phenomenal work put in and it really inspires others. Simply awesome. Clint at Leila Central

[@tomjenssen7486]

Thanks for sharing your experience, great video. The coaches look superb and the level of detail with the passengers and lighting is exquisite. I've been experimenting with home made pick-ups and I've had the same problem with drag from the wipers. I tried a crude method of simply wrapping wire around the axles and it reduces drag considerably. I've seen a technique on a youtube video where a small brass tube is fitted over the axle and the wires are then soldered to the tube. This seems to be a very low drag solution to the wiper problem and I'll be trying this out soon. Thanks again for this video and all the best....Tom

[@richardleney9932]

The level of detail is awesome. I equate you to the same as F1 is to the motor industry. ...someday giving us mere mortals a chance to behold what you are developing now. Very inspiring. I wish I had the budget / pot of gold you have for my layout which has fallen to the MRS Beaching act.

[@ainsleyperry5192]

Mckinley Team, Tri-ang and Hornby coaches in the late 50's were a Brk.3rd, full 3rd , full 1st. same coaches could be purchased in L.M'S. red, Southern Green or Custard and Cream. Also coaches weren't scale length. Kitmaster Coaches arrived in the early 60's to a standard that's still talked about today. Peco also made full card interiors for these coaches as well. Thank you for this, I'LL leave you so you can get back to running trains. Cheers, Chris Perry.

[@2H80vids]

The scale of this project(and the cost) is mind-boggling.

[@dattouk]

It gives us the same squeaky feeling. Lady luck needs to stick with us for another years...

[@paulnorval9646]

Fantastic detailing, certainly a volume of work which looks very well organised, well done.

[@fatwalletboy2]

I love coach lighting. I made my own lighting boards for 9 x bach mk1s and 9 x Lima mk3s complete with some interior detail painting and addition of orsnge curtains in the 1st class cosches. Took me months. Wanted the corridors brske areas vestibules and toilets all lit up. Also fitted passengers. It was a right mission. On the mk1s i had to reduce the height of every partition to fit the board inside...what a pain. You dont mention having done the same so presume your boards were thinner..... Not your period but the Bach mk2f coaches with dcc on bosrd are lovely if pricey but they got them right.

[@dattouk]

Hi FWB, Nope, we had the same pain as you. Its a real hack of a job. It seems that the two of us are the only ones mad enough to bash into the coaches like this.. There will be more videos on the coach lighting, but finishing the build took priority. I am hesitant about starting on the DMUs. We will have to completely disassemble them down to removal of the glass to get the all-blue paint job right for the early 70s. I then plan to install our lighting into them as well to avoid the use of the Loco Function key assignment on the DCC chips. Our lighting boards are driven by switch numbers for a complete rake of coaches and the same will apply to DMUS and HSTs Thanks for your comment on the Bachmann Mk2f. I bought some of those for the 1970s time period, but decided to continue with the lighting system we invested in to maintain consistency of operation. Regards David

[@Lighting_Desk]

Very nicely done indeed. Model lighting always fascinates me.

[@andrewstevenson5449]

Great work. Love the attention to detail. I remember once building some German Ade coaches from kits. These were remarkable models, with fully detailed interiors, including separate perforated luggage racks (a dining car even had a coffee machine!), and they even had ceilings, so the lighting was concealed, so the bulbs (back then white LEDs were still not on the market) weren't visible. They were also the only coaches into which I could put HO scale passengers without amputation, although 1:100 seated passengers looked better (just as in my view 1:87 figures look better inside OO coaches). Look forward to hearing more on your thoughts on couplings, and seeing further updates on this remarkable project.

[@dattouk]

Thank for your lovely comments.

[@djburland]

This is crazy! No matter how realistic you make it, it is still a model train!

[@dattouk]

Hey David... Don't get jealous now. Wait until you see the Loco fleet with the tail lights. That was a totally OTT Lockdown diversion. I need someone like you around to say STOP. Enough is enough.

[@waveryders77]

Hi. Great work but obviously more to go. I've been using dcc concepts wheel springs to get current through and they seem to have very little drag, tho they only pickup from one side but it works well. I made my own stay alive and lighting using circuit boards but yours looks way better. We'll done from NZ

[@whatsitaboutwithphilcraig6661]

Absolutely fantastic,next you be populating the tables with Christmas 🎄 turkeys 😂. Great idea which gives the desired atmospheric effect 👍

[@jyvben1520]

maybe only as freight, moving xmas trees.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Absolutely fantastic McKinley team 👍🏻 Loved the explanation of your coaching lights but 3000 people 🙈 Richard from Everard junction should get involved as has Charlie from Chadwick 😄 It’s a fantastic thing your doing and I’m personally enthralled by it especially living in Manchester. Well done too all involved Stevie a great fan.

[@GBRf66715_]

You guys are mad 😂, the layout looks really nice but when I heard 400 coaches I thought 40 was a lot 😂

[@ModelRailway]

I’m glad I’ve recently subscribed to your channel; amazing project you have in progress! I recently lit a few of my Bachmann Mark 1’s and successfully used DCC Concepts Pickup Springs (code DCF-PS2.0) to slide onto the axles. You may need to use some electrical conductive paint or foil to bridge between the wheel and axle if it’s insulated. As someone else said, Everard Junction has used this method and has a useful tutorial also on KZbin.

[@Lennon6412]

Everard Junction had a good suggestion for coach electrical pick ups, that might help

[@terencebennison6275]

The mind boggles at the lengths you and your team go to!

[@dattouk]

..yes... We wonder too!

[@JURASSICDIVERUK]

Simply amazing!

[@SheltonDCruz]

Very interesting - thanks David!

[@mikeuk1954]

Revisiting a lot of your content as a subscriber somehow became unsubscribed! Amazing work something I would truly love to visit.

[@dattouk]

i'm going to sort out an email address for subscribers to get in contact. Whereabouts are you based?

[@mickd6942]

For a northern rail pacer just pack in three pacers worth of pasangers into one pacer no need to seat them just pack them in tamp down and keep adding pasanger to roof level lol, the coaches look excellent perfect to go with dc sound and light loco's, a massive effort but very worth while.

[@dattouk]

ACE...

[@topite]

Brilliant to watch

[@Tonyd5996]

Trying to imagine what it must be like that run a model railway set that is almost as big as the area it is modelling. Lol. Well done with the lighting and the decorating and populating of the carriages! Looking forward to future videos which never come soon enough. I envisage the day when you have live cams running???

[@dattouk]

Nows an idea. I'll keep that up my sleeve for now.

[@davidsheriff8989]

Admire your attention to detail - what scrutiny

[@JamesPetts]

Those carriages look very impressive.

[@fatwalletboy2]

Where is this layout housed? A community hall or huge house etc?? Did you have to also overcome the ominpresent pitfall of light bleed on some coaches? Its a big enough commitment to passengerise and then light say 2 rakes let alone 400 coaches.....

[@dattouk]

Light bleed was a real problem. Some of the coaches needed two layers of black paint followed by a cream/custard layer! 400 is indeed a challenge.. See video 2 for background info.

[@freightuk]

I had similar issues with these type of pickups you are using for coaches, I have used them on unpowered bogies of old Lima and Triang diesel locos, railcars and DMUs to improve power pickup for DCC, they can be mounted easily but are let down by a poor choice of wiper material IMO. To get around the problem I have narrowed the width of the arm to reduce the spring force using good fine tin snips. I can send you a step by step image of the process but there does not seem to be any means of attaching images here or using private messaging, I thought that was possible. Jim

[@dattouk]

Hi Jim, Thanks for the offer of help. With those dual wipers, we just couldn't reduce the force consistently on both sides of an axle. We also tried the springs which were OK but we couldn't get enough continuity on the pickups i.e. too much flickering. We ended up using phosphor bronze wire that pressed against a pair of axles on one bogie per coach. That gave a low enough drag resistance, but a firm electrical pickup on four to eight coaches. An interesting journey.. David

[@grimfist_one]

I hope the fashion and hair worn by the figures slowly changes throughout the years! 😂😂

[@jyvben1520]

just be glad i is not the indian railway

[@mick9885]

Great job, keep at it

[@rogersea6529]

amazing !

[@MalcolmCrabbe]

I'm all for adding people to coaching interiors, but to this level ! - I've been checking out your website and have watched quite a few of your videos, but I would be interested in how it got started. Did you win the lottery and was thus able to buy a large enough house to accommodate your dream, or was this financed in some other way? I mean there are not many of us who can place an single order for 400 coaches, 3000 people etc.

[@dattouk]

Hi Malcom, Watch video number 2 for the background info. Regards David

[@MalcolmCrabbe]

@@dattouk HI David, thanks for the link. That explains how you came to have the space available, but not the means to fund such a layout. That order for 400 coaches much have cost £6000 - £10000 which is some order... Bet you're Bachman's favourite customer :). I accept I'm asking a personal question, and respect that you may not answer it. Just curious as most of us have had the same dream of having trains passing through tunnels in walls between rooms, but don't have the means to turn the dream into reality.

[@kevinsharp6323]

Does make one feel a tad inferior, but from an admiration view point rather than jealousy, grateful that I can now show my wife Im not such a zealot after all, in comparison.

[@davehenshaw4657]

Very interesting and educational video. Can I ask if you know where I can get hold of the facts and figures booklets from?. Cheers

[@dattouk]

Ebay. Search for BR facts and Figures.

[@jamesmartin3431]

Love it keep going please

[@graham76man]

If you are buying in bulk some shops must offer better deals. I need about 50 Peco SL40 buffer stops. Do you know the best shop that would do a deal on these?

[@dattouk]

Hi graham, I am lucky enough to have a model shop near me which does all the running around for these things. www.modelrailwaysolutions.co.uk/ I appreciate there are not many shops left which is why I try and use them. David

[@MR66HD]

Do u have a caps for stay alive so u don’t get flicker when going down tracks

[@SheltonDCruz]

are you guys still around? Haven't heard from you guys for a long time.

[@dattouk]

Blocked by Lockdown. Up and away now.

[@Charliebrum]

So cool

[@alanmusicman3385]

Did you resolve your issue with power pickup on the coaches? I wondered whether you stayed with it, or went down the axle spring or tube route?

[@dattouk]

Hi Alan We have - we reverted to phosphor bronze wire agains the axles. From a timing perspective, coaching sets has been put on the back burner until we finish the physical laying of the extension incorporating Sheffield, Halifax and Wakefield plus testing RDID and the freight Management software. I will then restart the coaching build and create a set of videos tracking our progress. Thanks for watching.

[@alanmusicman3385]

@@dattouk I found some copper sleeves (actually sold on eBay as being for shaft bearings for model boat propellers!) and found that you can prise them apart enough to clip them fairly loosely round an axle, and then solder a wire to them. With a reservoir cap in the coach's slung-under battery box this works very well and there is minimal friction. Of course you have to use an axle with only one insulated wheel and put a small bit of something on the axle to stop the sleeve from sliding over and shorting the axle to the other wheel flange (a tiny dab of hot glue applied with a small screwdriver). But so far my proto has worked fine and provides excellent pickup.

[@daveroberts2247]

where did you get your ligt system from and how much do they cost Thanks

[@dattouk]

Signatrak is the vendor.

[@donsharpe5786]

I don't normally laugh out loud at a video. I did when I realised what you had taken on with the variety of coaching stock. What have you done about the Bachmann Porthole stock which run at a different hight from all other coaches?

[@dattouk]

OMG Don, These coaches were nearly a bridge too far for us. We have just now got the to run together in harmony. What a mission it was, is & will be! Only another 50 sets to go.... Hey ho Off to summer camp we go.

[@donsharpe5786]

@@dattouk Thank goodness you don't have to illuminate freight wagons!

[@jazzman1626]

I notice that the passengers have to wear either red, green or blue before they are allowed on the train lol.

[@dattouk]

Jazz, Isn't the answer obvious? Tony is a football fanatic. Red is Liverpool. Blue is Everton and Green is Celtic. He was upset that you missed Norwich!

[@jazzman1626]

McKinley Railway Ah, I didn’t think about football. I must say, what a big leap toward more realism the passengers and coach lighting makes. Marvellous!

[@michaelhjerpe7763]

Seems like you created another Hades with the coaches, but keep up the good work. We trust in you as conquerors and follow the progress closely.

[@dattouk]

I have to admit the resolve wanes sometimes, but we WILL climb this mountain. Thanks for the encouragement. David

[@kimflycht2258]

Well You probably found out by now You have paid a lot of money for something already invented by a German company years before this video!! ESU light with DCC decoder Numbers 50708 and 50709, they come in DC too!!! Good lick with the project!! Kind regards the Danish Viking

[@johnnyjames7139]

This is entirely too much rivet counting. They are just toys in my non to humble view.

[@dattouk]

Johnny you are so right. We have far too much time and fun on our hands. We were debating whether we had the right grade of iron for our rivet counting. We think BS2789:1985 might be a good start??