Dauntsey Lock - T Gauge GWR - First Signs of Life

[@dumptruckdave423]

Very Interesting Trains and Layout !!👍

[@Thomas1980]

WOW!!!!

[@ewoodrailway]

Looks amazing, I've subbed

[@matthewevers1551]

Fantastic(!)

[@markparker7549]

How do you get the to couple and uncouple. I'd given up on operations due to the couplers

[@modelrailmusings5981]

Keep in mind this isn't standard T Gauge. The linear motor drive system means that every vehicle is self-propelled. They don't actually have couplers, so it is really a string of locos moving together in formation. To "uncouple" I park the train over a section break then turn off power to one section. The rest of the train can then move away. Same thing in reverse to couple up again.

[@Rocka5438]

this looks incredible! may i ask, how did you make those tracks?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

That question can be read at several levels, so I'll try to guess how to answer. :) I do a PCB (printed circuit board) design for each piece of track, then combine them into a single panelized board design for efficient production and get a board manufacturer to make a batch of 10 or 20 of these boards. This usually gives me a total of 100 or more track pieces, the selection customized for a specific track plan plus a few spares. I originally designed each track piece by hand, but now use special custom software to do most of the hard work.

[@Rocka5438]

@@modelrailmusings5981 and these circuit boards contain the 123123 magnet pattern (like you mentioned on your page) ?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

@@Rocka5438 Yep. Three interleaved strings of coils, alternating between the top and bottom of the PCB, so while electrically it is 123123 the physical pattern repeats after every 6 coils.

[@MadesignUK]

Any updates building?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

Not quite sure what you are asking here. Dauntsey Lock is a finished layout (with a few videos made after this one), and only comes out of storage for a trip to an exhibition. No further work is planned on it. However, I am literally just finishing up another new layout, and I should be posting its definitive video in a few days.

[@josephpaige3614]

👍 Very nice but watched MOVING trains at 1/2 speed. (Seemed more realistic).

[@modelrailmusings5981]

I set most of the video to x5 speed, since otherwise the video would have been about 15 minutes long! The trains actually were running at correct scale speeds (70mph, 50mph and 30mph for express, local and goods). And in real life, a canal lock takes about 15 minutes per cycle. I'll do a true-speed video when the scenery and final trains are done.

[@davidsachs4883]

Enjoyed the video. I especially liked the locks lowering the boat in the canal. If the track didn’t have the power to move an HO car how light is forty t scale rail cars? I know you probably don’t have a scale sensitive enough to weight them

[@modelrailmusings5981]

Actually, I do have such a scale, but hadn't thought of checking! That coal train (loco+39+brake) weighs 19 grams, including 92 drive magnets. A plastic N scale car weighs 2 grams with 8 magnets, so that is about 4-5 magnets per gram. Trying to squeeze in enough magnets for HO would be hard, even with more powerful ones, and with a long fixed wheelbase (magnet-base?) would not get round the curves.