62. Halifax Construction at McKinley Railway.

[@shauntaylor9251]

James is a natural in front of the camera , he comes across really well .

[@tomkibbe835]

I am a true neophyte when it comes to DCC and wiring in general, and I won't pretend to understand everything you explained but I will keep this program handy so I can refer back to it as needed -- which I am sure will be often. Thank you!

[@ianjames1352]

Thanks for sharing. Once the last piece of your jagsaw has been installed it be nice to see a few videos of the full layout be run through the years.

[@rjl110919581]

thank you for sharing the video as is great watching all times from Australia

[@dattouk]

Glad you enjoyed it Robert.

[@dallasthomas9298]

Excellent and informative video as usual, look forward to the video on couplings cheers

[@dattouk]

Coming soon!

[@mattsmith4605]

There are model railways and there is McKinley. As ever brilliant, looking forward to Halifax being installed and how you solved the coupling issue.

[@dattouk]

I put some work into that one.

[@TheDaf95xf]

I’m so glad I came across McKinley model railway ( if you can call it a model railway) more like a work of art 😀 all those years ago 👍🏻 It’s a journey I’ve loved following especially as it includes my home town if Manchester. The 70s was my best years of train spotting and most of McKinley is based on the area I covered in my Honda CB250 lol 😆 Keep the excellent work up guys 👍🏻 Cheers as always Stevie.

[@dattouk]

Let us know if we have missed things. Glad you are enjoying our journey.

[@johnoneill5661]

Amazing 😮 I can remember getting my first Roco digital train set and being so pleased that with Dcc you only needed 2 wires 🤔😂😂😂

[@dattouk]

Thats what I thought too at the outset. Never mind someone had to keep the wire companies in business.

[@trainmanbob]

McKinley never ceases to amaze me. It is undoubtedly one of the great modelling projects of all time. I know this is probably a daft question and I totally understand the concept, but at the route is the love of "playing trains". Is there a section where you can just go to on the layout and just quietly shunt a few wagons for your own amusement? Great video as always and thanks for sharing. Cheers, Bob

[@fatwalletboy2]

Great question.

[@dattouk]

You make a good point Bob. I can see that we need to have that "space" for some plain shunting fun. I will have a think about it. . You will have to come down to run the Sunday afternoon shift. 1 trainload to be unloaded in 2 hours.

[@ainsleyperry5192]

David, I'm glad someone knows what they are doing. As someone who gets confused with anything more than 2 wires I had to reach for the smelling salts when I saw what goes on under the Halifax boards. Different coupling height's has alway's been a problem right back to Hornby and Tri'ang day's. You could buy a box van and a 5 plank open from Tri'ang, different coupling heights. All to do with what mold machine the wagon was cast in. Things are really starting to move along on McKinley now. Cheers, Chris Perry.

[@PKCrouse]

0:25 All other things being equal, I suppose it is always better to be standing ON rather than IN Hades! Really enjoy following along with your progress. Such a unique project.

[@peterkazmierczak7273]

When James turned the board over at 3:35 I thought "Wow".

[@ModelRailway]

Great progress again …. Amazing project! Look forward to the video about couplings. Do you suffer from droopy couplings as well as inconsistent heights? 👍

[@dattouk]

Droop - Its a swear word here.

[@markwilson4052]

Must be 20 years or so of work and stock accumulation here. Amazing project and layout.

[@dattouk]

Yep... We go carried away on this one...

[@PrinceRupertBC]

great job everyone

[@chrislockerby1411]

Yet again another excellent video Looking forward to the solution to incorrect NEM sockets I started using Kadee couplings but swapped them out for Hunt Magnetic ones as my layout suffers from seasonal fluctuations in height and Kadee don’t offer height variants for NEM sockets only on the screw sockets. So keep up the Great Work

[@dattouk]

We will do one... The trouble is the solution is not easy. Its frustrating too. I'll work on the video idea.

[@colinnewmarch1106]

Wow wow wow, a railway unlike any other

[@andrewbuckley9180]

Great layout and concept, superb construction and design, I look forward to each and every update. It certainly takes model railway operation to much greater heights, especially the idea of the era-based grouping. So, one question; if you are running the 1975 era stock (or 1965 for that mattrer) from Hades out on the scenic parts of the layout, would there be provision for "steam specials" to be run? Would these be included in the later era's or pulled from the 1958 one (apologies if I have the dates incorrect) Regards Andrew

[@dattouk]

Good question Andrew. Steam specials... Hadn't thought of that one. I suppose we will - I have just read up on them. They used BR Blue coaches from the pictures I have seen, so the engines would probably be introduced in the 1970s as Loco Stock to McKinley running periodically with the Mk1 coaching sets in use in that time. Something to tax our brains when we get nearer to running the time machine in earnest. Regards David

[@alanlomax1271]

Fascinating insight to the behind the scenes construction (obviously following on from a lot of planning!). It is very disappointing about the NEM couplings. I do think the product reviewers in the KZbin community should be lambasting the manufacturers for this. An NEM sized pocket at the wrong height or distance from the buffers is NOT an NEM pocket (end of story!). I am currently going through my modest collection and retrofitting Kadees (very few NEM pockets in this mix unfortunately). The Kadees are very good but getting the height and 'reach' just right is a learning curve. I have had a few NEM pockets with 50/50 results so far. It would be nice if Kadee had an underset and an overset option within the NEM lineup (although it shouldn't even be necessary)

[@dattouk]

The truth is that NEM pockets are not dependable. They are not the easy fix they should be. In the early 2000s we shaved off the mainline, lima and Bachmann couplings and installed appropriate 20 and 30 series boxes. In hindsight I feel I should have stuck with that logic. Whats more they are much cheaper too. never mind... We have created some cunning solutions.

[@alanlomax1271]

@@dattouk You have my attention. Not dependable in what way? Do they not function or fail in some manner? Or do you mean the manufacturers interpretation of what is a NEM coupling pocket cannot be depended on? I would be very interested in your latest thinking and some of your tips and tricks you refer to. As mentioned my NEM conversion is 50/50 so far as to whether it is plug and play .. or plug, cuss, and adjust. The legacy T/L couplings are 100% remove and replace so NEM is something of an improvement.

[@lassunsschaun6859]

~17:52 for those who want a theoretical preview of how they should be search after NEM 362 (should be the given dimensions for H0) 😉

[@BPSDMRR]

Morning, I heard you mention the name of the company you used to make the panel board covers, can you tell me there name please??

[@dattouk]

Hi There, I am not sure it will help you but here's the info. It is between two local players - a graphics designer called Sam Clemance and a local laser cutting service called Hey Create. Both are based locally in Bournemouth, UK. The creations are custom made to our requirements. They aren't an off the shelf product... Good luck, David

[@marklaidlay6842]

McKinley is compulsory viewing for me, railway modelling on an industrial scale. I can't help but wonder though why the small Halifax panel uses two switches on a cross-over that includes a double slip when only one is required. Consistency with other panels? If you need further explanation on how to think this through please let me know. Visiting in the short term is not practical as I live in Australia!

[@dattouk]

It is consistency. We have route buttons too which make it much easier for the operators.

[@JamesPetts]

I shall look forward to seeing trains running on it, too.

[@dattouk]

As will we... It's a constant question we get asked. I wonder if the HS2 team get asked that? 5 years before opening.

[@Pastalive2025]

Unfortunately due to the strikes McKinley is being run by agency staff this weekend . Charlie Bishop cross the picket line which was left unman by Aussie Steve who was attending his pet kangaroo " Hades" Hopefully David will negotiate a good Tea ☕ deal and the guys will return to their stations next week in time for the next video. As for Charlie Bishop who currently the only one at McKinley this weekend and has assure David he will upload a new series of videos " Kangaroo 🦘 Loose at McKinley" next week

[@hoagy_ytfc]

Without scenery etc, it's not a model railway, it's a train set. Albeit a flipping large one :)

[@dattouk]

Thank you David... Horse and cart come to mind.