Model Railway Forum

Hello all,

Just recently signed up to the forum so thought I'd say Hi.
Although I'm new to model railways ( only had an hornby set back in the 70's as a kid ) I've been an avid military modeller for many years especially making small dioramas from the ww2 era in 1/35 scale. About 8 years ago I then got into the hobby of 1/16 rc military vehicles, tanks,soft skin/support vehicles etc. As already said I enjoy modelling and diorama building which proves difficult in 1/16 scale because of the size and available space to store them so because of this I decided to plan a oo gauge Dc layout ( easier said than done ) so that I could scratch the itch of getting back to some scenery modelling along with the visual interest of running the locos, so for the last few months I've been amassing a small mountain of items that would be needed for the build
I've yet to nail anything down but have a rough plan in my head ( now that's a scary place ) of what I want, I have a loft room so I'm lucky there and can dedicate about a 9ft x 8ft space so quite a modest layout at the moment, I have a decent knowledge of electronics and workings and can complete most things with a little guidance and hand holding but I enjoy learning and working things out so I hope you're all strapped in and ready for the bombardment of the usual newbie ish questions so please be gentle with me as I'm bound to ask some silly questions well that's my introduction and I look forward to participating on the forum,

Cheers,Lee.

Welcome to the forum Lee. Look forward to seeing your work. Ask away, nothings daft. R-

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like your previous experience will give you a head start.

Welcome to the forum Lee - it's a great place.

Evening guy's and thanks for the welcomes

I've been taking a look around the site and must say that there's some great tips/tricks and information especially for a newbie like myself. I'm looking forward to starting the baseboard build and with being an ex-chippy by trade ( no longer do it as a bill paying job though ) hopefully this should be the easiest part of the project for me, well fingers crossed anyway
I like to plan things out before committing to or setting anything down in stone which may require major changes or a total overhaul at a later date by doing it this way hopefully I can eliminate most of the potential pitfalls or problems I may come across by just throwing everything on the board and hoping for the best. As said previously I have a plan in my head which is hopefully workable but I'd like to run it past the more experienced members here for your advice before starting as there's a couple of things I'm not quite sure how to achieve so once I have time I'll post some pics of my plan in the relevant sections so you can all cast your expert eyes over I appreciate you guy's taking the time to look in,

Cheers, Lee.

Welcome to the forum Lee.

If you need help or are in need of inspiration just ask and do keep us updated on your progress.

If the layout is going to be a permanent layout then consider adopting an "Open plan" or a semi-open plan design. Is a litttle different to build than the traditional flat topped layouts but it offers great flexibility and allows one to make best use of scenery.

Welcome to the forum Lee.

If you need help or are in need of inspiration just ask and do keep us updated on your progress

Thank you very much Brian and I most certainly will

As I've previously said the parts mound has been steadily growing over the last few months so in reality I have most of what I need to set up my basic plan at the moment, saying that though I have a few niggling little questions that I would like answers to before doing this, the layout I'm going with is a simple design ( I think ) the whole thing for me will be as much about the scenery/environment as the track and running the locos, modelling dioramas is where my passion is at so this gives me the perfect opportunity.
The main question I need answering is the layout will comprise mainly of a double oval with a crossover at either side, I will be using a gaugemaster model D dual controller so I'll be asking how to use this to control the individual lines/ovals independently of each other but also then use one side of the controller to be able to take over the whole running of the layout when I need to. I've been reading up on cab control as this seems what I will need to do to achieve this but what I've read so far doesn't specifically answer my question or maybe more what I'm hoping to do, perhaps it's just a case of it going right over my head though
Once I get a picture of my track plan I'll start a new thread in the DC electrical section where I can explain what I want a little better, it's most probably a simple answer that the experienced and knowledgeable members here have seen and heard a 1000 times but I would appreciate any and all input as I'm really enjoying this new journey of mine

Cheers,Lee.

Hi Mountain Goat,

The layout will be a permanent fixture in the loft room, the basic shape will be an L with one side being left open for scope to extend at a later date if I want, I'm very much looking forward to starting the build and learning more about the hobby

Cheers,Lee.

Hello all,

I have now placed my question over on the appropriate thread, so hopefully you will find some time to take a look

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4653

Cheers, Lee.