Old Layout Improvements & Running Trains

[@ChadwickModelRailway]

Nice to see some honesty Rob. Mistakes, we all make them. Regards Charlie

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks Charlie, it's not always plain sailing in this hobby, is it! See you at Warley 🙂

[@ScottRails]

Great update. I'm only about 5 percent into my layout and already thinking of a complete redesign, lol.

[@diedertspijkerboer]

I think your layout looks great. If mine ever reaches that level, I'd be very happy.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks 🙂

[@TATICMOOR]

Nice little update on the old layout, Rob. It isn't a bad first layout, and it is still functional with the changes you were able to make. Mistakes made, and learnt. That means you are older and wiser for Littlewicket 2.0 and good luck with the new build.

[@AlecDenholm]

Really cool to see a layout drastically improved by reducing track. Food for thought on my own layout. I have an n-gauge 'coffee table' layout that I'm probably trying to cram too much into. Having a nice road adds a lot of scenic interest in your case.

[@delphjunction1168]

Hi Rob. Your old lay still looks brilliant. Same as you buddy. Put loads of track, see it in my vlogs, curves to sharp bo bos and steamers no problem. 6 wheels bogies no chance. Got surface mounted point motors as yet all ok. Thanks for your great vlog buddy. Can't wait to see the new layout. DELPH JUNCTION (Pete)

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks Pete. We live and learn.

[@RobA500]

Great to see the old little wicket running again and with some improvements along the way, it’s certainly good to have something to run trains on whilst the new layout develops.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Yeah, I had a lot of fun just getting trains moving again.

[@MichaelHenfrey]

Hi Rob, Just goes to show that we all try to add everything to a layout but sometimes you just have to settle for a little bit less and it can actually be for the better. Nice to see trains running too. Cheers

[@michaeldavies9600]

Nice video and i like the old layout.I think like many who have a lets say 8x4 baseboard to work on most including me fall into the same old trap,you get a old Hornby track plan and work to that,there is just to much going on on most of those plans,when really all people want to do is to see trains running around a loop :)Now that's mostly all have four loops and trains running through scenery.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Yep, agreed, a lot to be said for a simple track plan and getting trains going ASAP.

[@steveedwards9957]

Well done Rob, have fun playing trains again.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks 👍 😊

[@tonywincott8448]

I love too see the old layout coming back to life. I hope it all goes great.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks. Gives me a few fun projects over winter.

[@stillstanding123]

Well narrated and explained. Its great that you share your learning curve experience to help others improve. I am looking forward to your new layout.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks 👍

[@diedertspijkerboer]

Thank you for your honesty. You've allowed us to leaarn from your mistakes

[@LittleWicketRailway]

And I'm sure there'll be plenty more mistakes to come... 🤣

[@diedertspijkerboer]

@@LittleWicketRailway It's always good to have a source of new content 😉

[@davestott750]

Well done. Experience is a great teacher if we but listen to her.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Wise words Dave.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Nice to see trains running again. It is still a good looking layout and the improvements seem very sensible. Layouts are never finished. 😊👍

[@LittleWicketRailway]

It appears that as well as never being finished, this layout will never die. Every time I think it won't be needed and think about breaking it up, I end up resurrecting it! 😂

[@PaulinesPastimes]

@@LittleWicketRailway 😊

[@Proper_Chuffed]

Hey Rob, great video here, I am in the process of making my first layout and I already noticed some similarities here, so I am grateful to here your honest feedback on them. Thanks for the great content as always. Regards from South Africa, Hylton

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Thanks Hylton 👍 I hope your layout build goes well.

[@bambostarla6259]

I'm doing my first layout on a 7x4 board and I am interested in seeing what comes of it. Love the changes, less clutter makes layouts more scenic and less crouded.

[@chandlerbstransport422]

I think you should keep the old one around as a reminder and a memory, as it was your first model railway

[@LittleWicketRailway]

I'll definitely be keeping bits of it. Got a lot of sentimental value.

[@IronHorseRailways]

Evening Rob, I think we can all to a certain degree, empathise with how you feel here. We model stuff, and we get better, our wants and needs change and we often look back and feel a bit disheartened with what we've made.. decisions etc... Onwards and upwards 😊

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Cheers Craig. See you at Warley?

[@IronHorseRailways]

@@LittleWicketRailway absolutely mate, you can find me at DCC concepts stand, I'm helping those chaps out all weekend 🤗❤️

[@_RandomPea]

Yeh Rob, great change with the road 👍... I'm on the early journey myself and amazing what you learn very quickly... Im right in the middle of being in danger of over complication myself and im only doing a single line lol 😂

[@LittleWicketRailway]

I should have done what Richard from New Junction and Charlie from Chadwick have done. Get the track down and use it for a while to check it all makes sense , but I was desperate to get onto scenery, so ballasted and now changing anything on this layout is difficult.

[@_RandomPea]

@@LittleWicketRailway easier when it's just settrack to pop it down and test. As I'm going to use Flexi for mine I have to make the cuts and hope it works out. Ps. I'd love to get your input / experience on my layout if you ever get a chance. I'm really stuck on whether to go for two stations or not

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

Glad to see you back on my little screen, Rob. Have you considered integrating the old layout or parts of into the new one?

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Some of the buildings will come over, but I don't think much else would work sadly.

[@pacificcoastminiatures]

I also need to make some improvements on the layout that I built originally and then expanded. But also toying with the idea of scrapping it and replacing it with a brand new section with broader curves and simpler scenery.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

That's a tough decision. Are the broarder curves to improve running or just for visuals?

[@pacificcoastminiatures]

@@LittleWicketRailway Both. Plus I don't like how contrived the scenery looks. I might do some rough sketches to see what's possible. And perhaps do a bit of touchup on the original layout and sell it or give it away for someone else to enjoy.

[@odilemahot2011]

I remember how the layout was the inprovments do look good, have you done a track plan of this layout.

[@SpringCottageModelRailway]

Good updates Rob. What were the actual issues with solenoid point motors? Did they stop working and was it a symptom of the over ballasting on the points? Just deciding on what point motors to use so any advice welcome. David.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

I was using decoders with capacitor discharge units (one CDU per 4 motors, the Hornby accessory decoders). When the layout started up I wanted it to initialise by setting each point to a known location so that JMRI would know the positions. To get it to do that reliably, I had to leave 10 seconds between the CDU firing to allow recharge and do two cycles. So that took a couple of minutes every time I turned it on. The bad ballasting still meant that sometimes the point didn't fully switch and I didn't have feedback on them. Occasionally, I forget to allow time for a CDU to recharge before switching and it wouldn't move or worse, get stuck mid switch, causing derailments. The price of the motor and CDU was expensive compared to a servo. They don't switch as a realistic speed and they make a clunk noise. The number of CDUs caused an inrush current when I turned the layout on which tripped the power supply. You can either introduce resistors to slow the recharge or reduce the short circuit sensing sensitivity of the power supply.

[@geoffreyhampson3993]

Are you planning to change the crossing of the inner loop to a single slip or will you just leave access to the station in the middle only by reversing from the outer loop or wrong road running.

[@LittleWicketRailway]

Good question. It would make sense operationally, but it would be £40 and lot of effort. That ballast is solid!

[@markh.6687]

Sometimes not filling the entire layout with track ("spaghetti-bowl" style) lets things work far better.