The infinite layout

For those of you who have read the rest of the items in this blog, you will know that I start my thought processes for the design of a layout by examining what I expect from the end product. 

Making a series of decisions which will ultimately result in a creation of enduring interest. Past layouts have failed to come up to the mark because I haven't taken the full thought process to before starting work. Any problems encountering were solved 'on the hoof' with a predictable unpredictable outcome. 

I am now crystallizing my thoughts for the design of my next layout.

I know I keep banging on about the 'entertainment factor' but if you don't get that right, its a waste of time and energy to start the thing in the first place. Its hard to believe that even a layout the size and complexity of Trenholme Junction does have a finite number of different of routes and aspects. Up to date I've made nearly 200 videos on the layout, all have been published on the channel, but most of the routes have now been recorded and something else now is required.

The next layout I build will not have the luxury of the 'train shed' specifically built for the purpose, but will have a (hopefully) reasonable sized room in which to house it. Getting the best out the space available is what a good design is all about. I think having a big central station as the focus is definitely going to feature in the new layout. Another thing I've learnt about when building this layout is the use of tunnels, especially when filming gives some incredible flexibility. Tunnels (when filming) are a new take on what used to be called a 'scenic break'. The scenic break was a way of splitting the layout into several scenes. On a conventional layout the scenes usually can all be seen at once, but, from a camera you can isolate them from each other much more effectively and the use of tunnels, completely. 

The new layout will be all about filming. In order to keep a lifetime of entertainment then the layout must be infinitely expandable so as to emulate the same way exploring the real railway network.

The overview of the new design is not to design the whole layout, but to design a central hub, a complete self contained layout, in this case a large station, surrounded by tracks leading through dead end tunnels. This part of the layout will be housed in the main 'railway room'. 

In an earlier blog I posed the notion of several people contributing to building a 'piece' of a layout and then bringing the pieces together to film them all as one. There was some very minor initial excitement about this idea but not much more than that. I realised, that people probably would probably not be motivated by the idea of their piece being only usable when with all the others and maybe relying on others doesn't appeal either. This idea isn't a lost point though. The idea of another layout with a tunnel would mean that you could film both layouts as one running from one to the other via the tunnels. Continuity would be very easy to achieve especially with the 'cab rides' and 'on board' cameras.

When you think about it, this idea would create the infinite layout. 
In its simplest manifestation, an oval of track with a station. The station has a bay platform with a single line going to a tunnel. This could be a layout on the kitchen table. Out in the garage, a branch line from its tunnel  leading to a terminus. A simple terminus built on a shelf. Maximum use of space and the usual arrangement of fiddle yard is now the inside of the camera. 
To take a simple step further. If the branch line had a junction leading to a tunnel, a coal mine could be built in the shed.......

This idea also would suit those with little space for a layout, who would like to 'keep modelling' whilst waiting for families to grow up, knowing that whatever space is available in the future your current efforts will fit.

This is the idea I am to use for the next layout I build

Taking this idea a step further, there would be no reason why two (or more) people building a layout shouldn't incorporate a tunnel(s) on their layouts. 

Imagine a film, made travelling across several different layouts as one complete journey.

     
   
   














       

      

Trenholme Junction Track Plan

Trenholme Junction layout plan

Notes 

There has many requests, made from the comments on the YouTube channel, for a track plan of Trenholme Junction. In the past I resisted the temptation to produce one. I didn't start off with a track plan when I built the layout. There was a list of features the layout would include and these were on a simple list.

I wanted people to travel the trains and take the journeys, just like I did when I was a child. Each time I was asked, I answered, ride the trains, especially the DMU cab rides and you would discover the routes and places.

Imagine my surprise when somebody wrote to me and said he had done just that AND he'd drawn a track plan based on many hours taking the journeys'. When Dave Bernard sent me the plan I was even more astonished that it was probably about 90% accurate. There has been some adjustments made and the plan is what is available here. Its not dead to scale, but then it doesn't have to be, the components in the right places is more important.

For those of you who have read the rest of this blog, some bits will be repeated, sorry about that.

There are two large ovals, each four roads wide, one on the lower level and one on the upper. The passenger roads are the inner pair on the lower level and the outer pair on the upper. There are five stations, two on the lower and three on the upper. Two tunnels connect the levels together together with a long incline which can be seen in full, over 40 feet long. 
There are Marshalling Yards on each level, the lower can store 400 wagons plus another 100 in the reception dispatch road.  

Stations

None of the stations are named, this is deliberate. I wanted representative types of stations on the layout, not actual replicas of the real thing. Reference to each one by geographical location, 'Main' being the exception.

The Main Station (lower) has five full length platform faces and two bay platforms, one at the north end and one at the south. The full length platforms can accommodate eighteen coach trains. There is a station avoidance road to the west which allows trains to pass through the station through to the branch without passing the platforms.
The carriage sidings are situated to the west and south sides of the station. 

The North Station (upper) is has the most complicated junction and is the branch end. The curved platforms serve the passenger carrying through roads and the straight platform is the termination of the branch. Provision has been made for the branch to continue into the next room where a terminus on the scale of Whitby Town was intended to be built. Single track would continue from the end of this station and a double track from the lower level under the station would join the new terminus. It's unlikely this terminus will be built.

The West Station (upper) has two through roads and a bay platform. The bay platform can be accessed only from the south junction and the train has to reverse direction to continue its journey. The run round loop is also the head shunt for the pit sidings. 

The East Station (upper) is both a through station for the main line and also has one platform face on the branch line. The branch line platform face also serves as the head shunt for the upper marshalling yard.

The South East Station (lower) is very similar to South Bank where I grew up and has two main line platform faces. I added a bay to one end to give more operational possibilities.

Layout Plan 

The plan is free to copy or download and if you wish, you may use any part of it. 
Do please bear in mind to attribute the work of producing the plan to Dave Bernard (who is an English teacher in Bolivia) and add my link (below) to any article you publish using any of the information. 

Link:- https://www.youtube.com/user/dougattrenholmebar

The plan has been produced using Anyrail5 which can be downloaded free of charge and allows you to view it, however, to modify it you will need to purchase a licence.

David has used some components in the track plan for convenience and it should noted that all track on the 'real' layout is Peco Streamline Code 100. The points (switches) are a mixture of both insulfrog and electrofrog. He used a minimum radius of three feet for the curves, this adds a neatness to the drawing, maybe some of the real ones are a little tighter.   

To download the picture - no software to view required click this link:-

https://www.btcloud.bt.com/?shareObject=60fbfca8-8a42-6e95-c136-686ee1acec05

To download the Anyrail5 file click this link:-

https://www.btcloud.bt.com/?shareObject=6f88e3e2-ade4-e831-b873-7308ed405a01


Thank you David for a superb job. Doug

  

A joint effort 

I have this idea. 

Most people are daunted by the size of the task building a full model railway or don't have the space. 

I thought of making up a specification for a say 3 or 4 foot by 18 inches baseboard which could be joined to another of the same specification and ask as many people who would care to build one (or more) sections and join them together and then filming the end result from on board the trains. 

I intend to build my next layout on this basis and am wondering if anybody would be interested in the idea of a multiple person project. 

There would have to be rules, in order to make something coherent, but it would give those who don't have space or time to build a full layout a contribution to what could be something really good.

Each of the sections could be a discrete diorama, say  a wood yard, a station, a marshalling yard or simply a section with a model of your own house. It would have to be wired for DCC (part of the specification). Each section would require a 'scenic break' to allow the passage from each section.

A small size would allow the section to be built on the kitchen table.

Its an idea anyway, just wonder if anybody out there would be interested......  

Christmas 2013

When your families' ask you this year what you would like for Christmas, there is always a temptation ask for another wagon or if they're rich, then a new locomotive maybe a possibility. I thought that maybe you might like to ask for what I was given last year and found to be one of the most useful things I've had for the train shed.

This year saw me join that famous club, I turned 60 and became an 'old git'. Rising costs to heat the train shed meant that some prudence in this area had to be exercised. Nothing can be worse than that feeling of anticipation of an operating session tempered by a cold room when you are in the house with the heating on or the fire blazing up the chimney. 

My wife bought me some thermal underwear, long sleeved vest and leggings. You can get really thin ones these days and the difference is significant, costing around twenty quid they really did make a big difference and I've got them on again. They don't stop the dew drop on the end of your nose if its really cold but the overall comfort is well worth it.

If the grandchildren ask you what you want, then bear in mind you can't have too many track rubbers.

New Year 2014

The New Year will see a bitter sweet time for Trenholme Junction. History tells us that at the time the layout was set, the axe swung after the Beeching report and Trenholme Junction is about to be one of the lines to to closed. The layout is going to be dismantled. 

There has been over 150 videos made on the layout which have all been published on the YouTube channel (link below) so a very comprehensive record of the layout has been made (and you don't need thermal underwear to view them). 

The layout was built to be filmed and to this end has fulfilled its original aim. It was built in the traditional manner ignoring some of the established rules of traditional methods in order to accommodate the filming.

Already the new layout is in the planning. 

The next one won't be a full blown layout in a room but a series of film sets which can be bolted together in different combinations to create an ever changing layout. The 'sets' will built in modules, some small and some large which will in fact be a series of diorama's. 

The current layout was built in the traditional way, viewed from the time honoured angle, but with filming in mind. A hybrid in fact. 

There will be no consideration to the new sets being viewed other than from the inside. The camera eye view. This principle opens new possibilities, for example, on a traditional layout it's not possible to model a cutting and see what's going on other from the helicopter position. To  do this successfully, camera placements will have to built into the scenery in such a way as to be able to capture the track side view and at the same time hidden from view when the filming is taking place on board the moving trains. Some new planning thoughts must be exercised here.

Another thing I'm going to experiment with is to combine model and the real world, using real life backdrops instead of the unrealistic painted back scenes which spoil many a good layout. 
Filming has taught me one thing I never considered, is the amount of detail these fabulous new high definition cameras pick up. The modern locomotives and rolling stock look incredibly good, so you have to match their surroundings will equally good scenery to get the best overall effect. Merging the real world with the model will probably achieve this.

I intend to film the building of the new layout 'sets' and publish the project on the channel.

I made a film on the layout a couple of years ago and tells the story of the job of a Goods Guard in 1962. 'The Man at the Back' (nickname for the guard) is a journey on a Pick up Goods Train, recreating the view few people (except goods guards) would have seen. 
The entire film utilises the camera in the guards van and is narrated by me, as a nine year old, telling of life and times of a boy, fascinated by the place he grew up in. The film is to released at 08:30 on Christmas Day and will be only available to view for one week only. Running time 54 minutes.

I would like to thank all the people who watched the channel and especially those of you who have constantly encouraged and sent me suggestions and for the constructive criticism. 
I have tried to answer every bodies comments and will continue to do so. If there is any particular view or train you would like to see then let me know and I'll try to produce a video. 
For those of you like figures, the channel has had well over a third of a million views, currently nearly thirty thousand views a month and growing month on month.

Finally, may you have a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

To view the channel, follow the link below

www.youtube.com/user/dougattrenholmebar

  
  

                

    

The DCC question.

There are always questions about the control system on Trenholme Junction which is a DCC controller.

The most single important point to be made here is that DCC Control is fantastic. There has 
been nothing since the invention of model railways that has made such a dramatic difference 
as this has. 

Digital Command Control is a modern control system which is different from the system used 
in the past. The earlier system used a controller which effectively drove the track. DCC 
drives the locomotives. 

For the sake of simplicity I am only going to talk about driving the locomotives in this 
piece. There are other advantages and features which I will be dealing with later.  

There is a lot of hot air spoken about DCC, mainly from those who know (or think they know) 
how the thing works in every minute detail. They have an air of superiority about them which 
can and does intimidate a lot of people. If you are considering using DCC it is important 
that you don't let these people put you off.

This is not a definitive guide to DCC, this information is from my experiences I personally 
have endured and any specifics are of the systems I have actually used. There are a lot of 
'experts' on the internet who give advise about systems they haven't had any experience of. 
Their information must be gathered from reading other peoples experiences and therefore is 
not reliable.

Its also worth noting that some of the earlier books on the subject don't give the best 
advice, things in this world are changing, only for the better I might add.

In order to get the best out of anything the more pertinent knowledge you have the better 
the result, e.g. having the best possible trainers if you were to take up running, you 
wouldn't attempt that in a pair of flip flops would you? In the same way if you wanted to 
drive fast you wouldn't buy a moped you would buy a Ferrari. One thing you wouldn't need to 
know is how the Ferrari worked. Although I do know how DCC works because of my background, I want the thing to run my trains, I don't want to spend the time I have fiddling about with electronics.   

Some basic knowledge is required and you need to initially know the principle of how DCC 
works, without going into any technical detail, before applying it to your layout. 
There are two parts to the electricity that the locomotive picks up from the track. The 
first part is the power to make the locomotive go, the second part is the signal which 
provides the instructions to tell it what speed and direction to travel and other 
incidentals like lights and sound. The two parts are combined together and delivered to the 
track, from the controller, through two wires, one to each rail of the track. A decoder (or 
chip as its sometimes called) is placed in each locomotive and 'listens' for instructions.

I'm not going advise which is the best system to use because I can't. I haven't tested all 
of them and therefore can't give an objective view. When I bought my system, the internet 
had not quite got going and it wasn't possible to throw out a general question and get many 
replies which you can now. If you ask ten people with ten different systems which is the 
best, most will say 'mine'. Search for DCC in a search engine and you'll find all the 
manufacturers will have a website telling you how wonderful their system is. Look for the 
features YOU want and when you've made your selection, get in touch with those who actually 
have the same system, or those who have got rid of that system to ask them what they think.  

There is a section in the 'Origins' part of this blog which explains about the importance of 
good electrical connections to the track and I don't intend to go over same ground again. I 
used a different method to wire the track than was recommended by the experts and on my 
layout it works very well. There are variations to the theme but generally, they all achieve 
the same end. A rule of thumb, if you are not electrically trained, is the more copper you 
have to transmit the electricity around your layout, the better.

My first system was ZTC. The specification for this system was a main controller or a 
booster for every 50 metres of track. I originally bought the controller and 6 boosters. I 
had endless problems with the system. Trains running away, system resetting and rebooting, 
and endless resets of the locomotive decoders to the default 4 (as it was then). I spent 
more time fault finding than running trains.

I took the advise from the books around at the time and divided the layouts into 'power 
districts' each with its own booster. If you can imagine a clock face, I divided the layout 
(a big oval) into quarter hours. BIG mistake. A train travelling in the first quarter hour 
with say 12 coaches enters the second quarter hour which has cut out, stops dead and derails 
the train. It also leaves the locomotive straddling the live section and the tripped one, 
not good. If you read about this method anywhere my advise, don't use it. The only thing 
useful to come out this adventure was I took the four boosters off and connected the four 
quarter hours together, with connector blocks, to one booster. 
If a fault occurs I can disconnect the sections one at a time, at least it gives me a clue as 
to which quarter the fault is in.

All the various systems on the market, to a greater or lesser degree must work, otherwise 
they wouldn't sell. Problems can arise when connected to a layout which has some oddity 
about it or when the user has not realised a constraint on their particular system. It is 
then too easy to blame the manufacturer. In the case of the ZTC system I did blame the 
manufacturer and I was right. It didn't do me much good being right though, just cost a lot 
of money. 

This is what happened to me.

After many months of hair tearing, sending the Controllers and the Boosters back to the 
factory, I decided to run my entire layout on just one master controller. I wanted to see 
just how much it would affect control when there was over fifty metres of track connected to 
one master unit. I connected all power districts together (800 yards of track) and it 
performed near perfectly. Was I conned by slick sales talk?, yes probably, or was it that I 
took so much care to bond all the tracks so well this allowed the unit to work over such a 
large distance? I loved the cab controllers of the ZTC system. More about this system is 
documented elsewhere in the blog.

The lesson to be learned here is to build your layout, divide it into districts, join them 
all together, buy the master unit and see if it works before buying extra boosters. If you 
do need boosters you can then move power districts onto boosters one at a time.

To give an idea of the power you will need, the power consumed by my layout is about 1.1A 
when all is still and less than 3A when 8 long trains are moving together. This is with over 
80 locomotives and 10 light coaches on the layout. This is trains only, not points or 
lighting etc.

One of the reasons I bought the ZTC in the first place was the promise of a wireless 
controller, which was never forthcoming and I decided that I was so fed up waiting that I 
scrapped the ZTC and bought a Ecos ESU 20500 with a radio controller. I connected the Ecos 
to my layout (with all power districts connected together) and that worked straight away as 
well and has done to date. The wireless controller is essential to the film work I do on the 
layout, and again there are references to it elsewhere in the blog. 

A couple of other things to mention I did which you may like to know about. It was 
recommended by ZTC to put a 12 volt bulb in line with each of the districts feeds which I 
did and I failed to see any need for this and I took them out. One reason for this was to 
stop an power surge at boot up of the Master Unit. In a quest to find the many faults this 
system generated I removed them as they didn't seem to make any difference. I was also 
advised (by the manufacturer) to put a double pole switch between the track and controller 
and allow the unit to boot before switching the track on. I did do this and it did improve 
the random faults situation somewhat. Sticking plasters on what was obviously a system which 
had not been tested. I left the switches on the layout, useful for fault finding.

One disadvantage, some may say, about having all the power districts connected together is 
that if a fault occurs in one place and trips the controller, everything stops. That's OK 
with me, if there is a fault I notice if everything stops and investigate. The only time I 
could see this mattering is if you intend to exhibit your layout and don't want a fault in 
one area to affect the other districts. Most of us are operating the layout on our own and I 
don't think its a good idea to go fault finding when maybe 90% of the rest of layout is 
running. 

One very important thing I would advise is to have a separate booster to switch the points 
and use a capacitor discharge unit with it. I found that having the points switched on the 
same unit as the locomotives were running caused some erratic behaviour. Again this is my 
experience, on smaller layouts this might not affect it as much. If you are getting erratic 
behaviour its well running the layout without switching any points and observe how it 
performs.   

There is a video showing the wiring method , click the link below:
http://youtu.be/7s_mqmGcSFg

In conclusion, if you want to see the sort of control you have running DCC please have a 
look at the videos on my Channel, click the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/dougattrenholmebar

Planning and Starting a layout

I see many requests on the forums for help at the planning stage for new beginners and from the comments many see a lot to learn. There is quite a lot of free software available on the internet to help with the planning process which is very good, but before you reach for your mouse and plan away I think it would be a good idea to consider the way I planned my layout, which was built before all this wonderful software became available. I'm not suggesting you should not use the software, on the contrary, I am suggesting using my method and the software.

There seem to lots of requests for opinions of a particular layout plans and this is a very difficult area for others to comment on because unless you are modelling an exact replica of some real place then your plan is very personal to you. Others have different agendas and preferences which may conflict with what you are trying to achieve, and these opinions can only confuse your own aims. If you take notice of all the opinions, there is a danger you can end up with a layout designed by committee. 
No committee has ever designed anything of any use to anybody.

Most layout designs are as a result of daydreams, the ideal layout you see in you mind, usually concentrating on a particular point or points you wish to model. It may be a particular place or track configuration you focus upon. To change this beginning into an operating layout is a big step, but can be made easier if you break down the big step into smaller ones. 

A major mistake most people make is trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. You see Kings Cross station in your mind and yet the space for this monster is no longer than and ironing board and all in OO!

The next two steps will take you from the minds eye to some reality.

First, there are a couple of publications which I would recommend you read, both by Peco. '60 Plans' and 'Track Plans' written by Cyril Freezer. Don't just look and the plans, read the notes. As you will know, I do bang on a bit about the need for the operation of the railway to be considered as one of the first thoughts rather than the last. (read 'boredom and monotony' in Origins section of this blog). If you a planning a larger layout you can use the plans in the smaller layouts for part of the larger. Although these publications are now out of print, I found lots for sale on ebay by searching for the names in quotes above. They cost a few pounds each. The publications are for OO, there is also one called 'N gauge track plans'.       

The next step I would recommend is to download the Peco Turnout Plans
http://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=pointplans
These plans can be printed out and laid out so you can get a really good idea of how much space the junctions and your plan really takes up. Fitting the junctions into the space is a key part of the planning process.
For example consider a steam operated branch line terminus with a run round loop to release the locomotive and run round the train. You need to decide what size locomotives you are going to use in order to work out the length of the track between the end point and the buffers, how many coaches you plan to send up the branch, can they fit in the station length whilst the locomotive is running round, etc. Make an estimate of the locomotive length and the coaches.
A double track crossover (using long components) is 30" (760mm) long and a simple crossover (using medium components) is 14" (360mm). 
Once you have laid out your paper layout consider the operational moves you can make and ask yourself if there are sufficient to entertain you when finished. If all you can do is to pull a train into the station, run round it and pull out again, then you'll be bored with it pretty quickly. 
This exercise (with virtually no outlay) will do more in moving forward any plans than any software will do on its own and once completed, the results can be transferred to the planning software with the confidence knowing it will fit the space.  

To view the channel, follow the link below

www.youtube.com/user/dougattrenholmebar

     

     

North East Model Railway - Reflections

In the first post of this blog entitled 'Origins' I set out a list of specifications I wanted achieve in the building of Trenholme Junction and now after the build is complete I think its a good time to look back at the list of requirements and see if they have fulfilled my dream of building the ultimate layout.

The overall answer to the question is yes, but not quite.

One thing everybody should understand, whether you are building your first layout or your twentieth you will still be learning. It's quite amazing how you are always thinking about the next layout before you have even finished the one you're working on. I'm no exception.

One major thing I achieved when building this layout was to be able to view the railway from the same perspective as I saw it as a child, at station and rail level. The original idea was to have mini cameras in the trains and allow users to log on via the internet to drive the trains in real time. A great dream, but impractical. The things you would have to set up to do this are enormous, like you would need to be there to re-rail derailed trains, the layout would have to be live all the time, idiots would deliberately crash the trains, the locomotives would wear out, you would have to switch the lights on when it got dark, etc., etc.. 

I wanted to get away from the traditional operating of the railway every time I wanted to see my trains run. Filming the activity fulfilled this requirement. It's a difficult thing to explain but it's almost impossible to imagine the amount of different viewpoints you can get from even a small model when you can get really close up. The use of the high definition mini cameras is by far the most fascinating aspect of modelling I have discovered in the building of the layout. The cameras fit into the smallest places where normally its impossible to get your eye into, and best of all, you can record the results for all time. I consider the traditional 'helicopter' view of the layout the least attractive angle to view the layout from and only use it when filming now. 

Control

The traditional layout has a control panel of some sorts where the operator sits and operates the railway from a position that in reality, is in a helicopter. This position means that you never see your railway other than from a totally unnatural perspective. 
The first control system I bought for this layout was ZTC. I loved the the main and slave controllers and even had a hand held slave, but, all they did was give me three helicopter positions to operate from, as in the traditional model. It seemed if I wanted another place to operate from, I had to buy another helicopter. The ZTC also proved to be a nightmare on such a large layout. I had six power boosters and three controllers and there was faults galore. I often went into the train shed to run some trains and spent the whole time resetting chips and wondering why trains took off and smashed into each other for no apparent reason.

The ZTC syatem was swept away and replaced with the brilliant ESU Ecos controller and Radio Control Slave. In an instant these two pieces of kit replaced all the ZTC bits and pieces and worked perfectly first time and have since. The radio controller allows me to operate every part of the layout and as close as I wish. It's so good it will operate the trains when standing in the field outside!

This is the first layout I built using DCC control and a I have to admit being nervous as most people are when taking this step. There is an expense and choosing the right system may seem a daunting task, but I would urge anybody considering building a new layout to take the time to at least make preparations for DCC even if you don't intend to take the step straight away. As I already mentioned in my first article any other control and wiring systems mean that as your layout grows, you will spend more time wiring, fault finding and fixing it than you will operating your railway. 

Locomotives

During the time the layout was under construction, locomotives with sound appeared on the scene and there are several on the layout. I have mixed feelings about these. The sound can be rather irritating when left on for a period of time. I think that maybe the painting 'The Scream' was probably based on the result of a two hour running session with a Bachmann Class 20 with the sound on. If you put more than one locomotive's sound on at the same time it can degenerate into the white noise you get when your FM radio station is out of tune. The sound only really works well when the track and the wheels of the locomotive are kept meticulously clean. On saying that, I have made several films with sound and they do work very well and certainly won't put me off buying more.  

Buildings and Trackside

As somebody who doesn't have a great deal of patience when it comes to constructing buildings I am very happy with the 'ready to plant' structures around the layout. The variety of buildings and line side features available gives the components to build endless and unique combinations. The signalling remains an outstanding omission to the finished article which is covered elsewhere in this blog.

Operation

Operating the layout is a joy. The time spent bonding all the rails to the DCC bus was time very well spent. The combination of this and the ESU controller are a real success. To give an idea of how DCC is the real winner, I recently filmed a DMU cab ride (see below) which crosses 33 points and crossings and the entire journey was controlled by only two wires and not a single switch, quite amazing really......

   

The  layout was designed to recreate the operations on 1960's British Railways. Crucial to the success of every layout is to hold interest and the more operations the more the interest, avoiding the boredom and monotony trap. This is a vital component in the planning process. 

Filming the layout gives some really unexpected bonuses. When its cold outside and I'm next to the fire, or I need a fix when I'm waiting for an appointment, when I am a doddering old fool who can't run the layout any more, I can still enjoy my railway by logging onto the internet. So can anybody else.

The Next Layout

Planning the next layout is already at an advanced stage. Trenholme Junction was built in the traditional manner with a view to filming. Both helicopter views and filming can be accommodated. The next layout will not be a traditional layout but a series of sets which can be assembled in different orders and only exist for films to be made, making a continuous output of films capturing inexhaustible aspects of operations which are not possible on a traditional fixed layout.    

To view the channel, follow the link below

www.youtube.com/user/dougattrenholmebar