I dare say you have to factor in the impact of the reaction of the wife regarding the insurance company's value of your hobby. Hopefully, they won't ask you. Perhaps it requires a nice cup of tea and a slice of homemade fruit and nut cake. it just shows how many factors there are to consider in these situations.
@@ianf7246 I sold most of the DCC kit I had been buying for my resurrected old layout. I raised way over £2,000 for the Digikeijs stuff; and still got a hefty computer & screen worth £2k....then theres loads of locos and running stock. Plus the points, track etc etc. I'm checking my home insurance to see what level is covered as my large shed also is home to the house boiler; gas tumble dryer; washing machine and loads of tools. I'd wager Charlie must have well in excess of £30k worth of kit, locos, DCC kit; and of course the many tools. I did take a video of the contents of my shed just as a record, and listed stuff on a spreadsheet file too.
I converted a spare room into a den and then chucked it out for an N scale layout. Room for the trains, cabinet and stools. Not 1/20th the quality of Charlie’s operation but enjoying it immensely while adding some touches inspired by the CMR.
Hi Charlie. Thanks for all your RUclips videos. You have helped me enormously in my modelling endeavours. I will be 80 this month and still have about 20 years left to get my layout of the part of the southern mainline between Sydney and Melbourne (Harden New South Wales and the Boorowa branch line) up to scratch 🤪 I trust you and your family ere safe and dry with the terrible storms - thinking of you from Australia. Cheers Ernie
Thank you for the video and it is looking great. I don't know what surge protection you have, but a warning to you and others is some surge protectors are a one time use and they don't always tell you that they have been used, for example mains surge protection multiway sockets don't tell you. Also the surge protectors only protect in-coming surges, if an item caused a surge within your system, the surge protectors won't protect, unless that network also goes through the surge protector. I love the idea of the 2 into 4 tracks at the station to give play. Thank you Charlie.
Hi Charlie. Glad to see someone's got the bottle to list all the things that need to be done without having a nervous breakdown! (I know I haven't). Wouldn't mind seeing you build the mainline platforms?
@@ChadwickModelRailway Good point Charlie. I`m the bull in the china shop who would commit to the mainline platforms, then make a much better job of the branch platforms, then have to return to the mainline to tear it all out and start again. So if nothing else I would be executing the work in a very prototypical manner if one considers how projects are delivered in the modern world today. Don`t forget to waste local (imaginary) Chadwick Parkway tax payers money on consultation and feasibility studies. Great update Charlie, loved it.
Hi Charlie, Glad to see you're planning ahead. With regards to your cutting down to the helix I am thinking that you already have quiet a few masonry retaining walls and that a natural rock face would look different and perhaps more believable? The Welsh portal of the Severn Tunnel, the ex midland mainline through the Derbyshire Dales and to an extent the line around Dawlish are all good examples of natural rock faces.
Several years ago I sat down and created a spreadsheet of all my locos based on their purchase price at the time with a second section for carriages based on the then MRP for the coach. I did a count on freight stock according to £x per van etc etc and I hit £12,500 before I even thought of track and structures and electrics. My point however, is that I’d hazard a guess that based on my experience - Maybe a bit OCD driven I admit, as I hadn’t a clue on its value, but I’m guessing that given all of the electronics you’ve put in place under your layout you would probably be nearer £50k than £15k. An incredibly valuable share Charlie as I’m guessing many of your followers perhaps hadn’t given this too much thought and the point made about your layout not being in the residence was very well made. Brian
I find the amount of technology applied to model railways these days most impressive and I won't pretend to know what it all does ,so its nice to watch your videos and get some idea at least.
re you facia using flexible MDF. Flexible MDF can be used to make rigid curved panels by gluing two layers together with the grooves in the middle of the sandwich, this could make hinged doors around the helix.
Hi Charlie just a word to the wise…….from a time served ex builders merchant of 40 odd years. You refer to “Blue Engineers bricks and standard red bricks”, they made Engineering bricks from both red & blue clay so you can purchase Blue Engineering bricks & Red Engineering bricks. Hope that helps.
i’m just starting with modelling (definitely on a budget) and i am amazed at how expensive just a single coach is, so i’m not surprised that your railway costs that much, it’s amazing!
Another fine missive, thanks Charlie. Regarding "surge protectors" on cheaper models we have found that they cop a surge but only do so once? The insidious thing is they still allow electricity to flow. You may well have copped a surge and be unaware of it. Unless you spend some decent coin on devices that can reset, the only safe way is to leave your mains power leeds unplugged. Bernina Sewing Machine have tiny sticker on the rear telling their owners to do so! The other way is to have double pole double throw mains switches that turn off both neuteral and active ac. Good luck.
@@ChadwickModelRailway Charlie, I can add a bit more to the surge protector saga. When I was a computer network manager, we shunned them like the plague (surge protectors). One trick that we used was to tie 4 or 5 simple overhand knots as close together as we could near the male plug, onto the cables. The idea here being any surge energy generated from the mains is dissipated by the wires crossing over themselves. Much like twisting the dcc bus wires under our little empires! Although that analogy is not quite the same but you get the idea. Any way I never had a server failure, that might be down to good luck or good management, you choose? However, if you want a 100% safe way to protect your electronics, then price up a UPS. (Universal Power Supply for computers). I was a also a sewing machine techo' and here in West Ozzie power lines are a long way from the generating source and tended to be "erratic" in supply and voltage fluctuations! Anyway this caused all sorts of issues with my customers electronic and very expensive sewing machines et al. I rarely hear about that now, since they have been using UPS. I hope this gives you food for thought. Pete
Hi, Thank you for the video. It turns out my layout is in the basement. Because of the amount of loco's, rolling stock and track plus time to build, total insurance replacement would be around $75,000 Canadian. what a surprise that was.
Although i do not like videos with only talking about the hobby this caught my attention for the entire 35 minutes. It was a good move to tell something about insurance. It was fun to see that you went to the Chester hobby shop. I was there about 2 years ago during our holidays in Wales. I came back in the Netherlands completely jalous when seeing the number of hobby shops in the UK. Even my wife got interested in modelbuilding after visiting the Chester shop. I hope you will be able to clear the electrical issue soon. I think the best way to start is unplugging all the powered units in your lay out and connect them again one by one to figure out if one of them is causing the problem. I wish you all the best in that problem seeking journey. I think it will be an interesting subject for a next video. Trouble shooting at Chadwick. Afterwards you will know all the ins and outs of your lay out. That will be the positive part of this set back.
Great update on your plans! I'm afraid I'm going to leave it to you to determine what to do first! Hope you and Chadwick survive this and the following storms.
Thanks Charlie for the tip regarding insurance, I have never been happy that when needed my household insurance would cover my railway and needed info on a GOOD insurance company that would. I have just signed up with Magnet and will sleep easier tonight, Bill.
Hi Charlie, Blimey what an electrical nightmare! I love the branch terminus so would get my vote. As always thanks for entertaining and inspiring us. Although I don't have ant boards down yet, my accumulated locos and rolling stock already £1k estimate, so thanks for the insurance heads up. Cheers Dave 🙏
Hi Charlie. I would like to thank for all your RUclips videos you product and share with us all. For me they are of great value and easy to follow and learn from. Your comment about insurance is very valid and something think I will have to take up as my garden layout runs into a shed via a cat flap, where I can play trains in the winter once the garden part is covered. Many thanks again Ken.
Hi Charlie, you get another big tick from me! For your last tutorial I commented on how great I thought it was that people submitted their ideas and you gave a detailed assessment on what you thought of the proposals. Now you've gone another step having accepted one design you then were willing to change the plan based on a suggestion. This is great and for me, a struggling layout builder, I get annoyed with myself when I change my design for not having done it right in the first place. Your excellent video is another great lesson for us all.. we don't have all the good ideas and suggestions, from wherever the come, are always valuable. Thanks Charlie, I really look forward to the next installment on the journey. cheers, Graeme - from Bendigo, Australia.
You’ve kept me awake half the night! 😊 Chatted briefly before (we were on programing sidings last time) My background in electronics and electrical has me interested in your problem. Here are a couple of unprocessed thoughts that may be helpful. 1. How are you “blowing” stuff on the high voltage side? Couple of things to check… Sounds like you have a “proper” installation there BUT check for the obvious. a) Ground (earth you call it over there) Neutral reverse or contact somewhere. While Neutral gets connected to Ground - ‘out there’ there is a PD (Potential difference) that may be making the difference. b) Check too for a neutral / phase reversal. (You’d think this doesn’t matter - it does! c) you briefly mentioned TWO things tripping in the house. Is the feed to the out building one or TWO circuits and are you plugged into two different circuits with train controller and the rest - seems likely since you have a large layout that has grown. Good rule of thumb, have ONE place that ONE switch would kill EVERYTHING. ((Previous point huge BTW - you can potentially (pun intended) get 400 volts between the two circuits if that’s how it’s been wired)) cii) Even on single phase - if you are on two circuits - interaction between the two if you are running trains computers and accessories in BOTH can be trouble. GFI’s RCD’s and Earth Leakage Trips are dark magic. d) ‘Wall - Warts’ those transformers that plug in somewhere to give you low volts to your accessories - I’ve found a few that are what are referred to as “auto transformers” or had been poorly insulated and BECOME “auto transformers”. The details of why these exist aren’t important but essentially it’s where the neutral is physically connected to one of the output legs. So you have a DIRECT connection to the neutral from one of your rails/power supply plugs/computer case or whatever. It only takes one. Clue, when you UNPLUGGED a 5 volt thingie something happened. I had this sort of thing happen when I was using Train Controller on a computer connected to the interface box and stuff decided to die when I disconnected the Loco Net from the interface box to sort out the spaghetti one evening. This has got too long. (SORRY) I think though there are some relevant clues in there somewhere. Hope this ramble helps something.
Hi Charlie, great video good to see an overview of the layout and what still needs to be worked on, would be great to see the brachline worked on. Keep up the great work. Allan
Good morning Charlie, some very interesting subjects in this video. I have now added my model railway to the house insurance as it was not covered in the house contents, which is great because we dont think of these things when building our model railways. Biscuit factory i wonder what buildings you will using for that project. looking forward to seeing your railway evolve. many thanks again for sharing your time. Tony
Hey Charlie great idea to bring your viewers up to speed with the insurance and all the best for holding the course 🙂 Hope you all have a smashing time and it’ll be like a dads army day out! 🤣 The raised fright yard is going to look fab especially with lighting 👍
@@ChadwickModelRailway Charlie the meet-up is a brilliant idea mate and it’ll be full of peeps wanting to be there. If l was closer I’d spend the £50 quid just to be there and to make the tea, have a laugh and soak up the great atmosphere! PLUS we get to meet the man himself…..you! 😎
I don't know what sort of insurance cover you have but you could claim for the electrons. My wife put the vacuum cleaner nozzle though the glass front door and we claimed for that. what a win
Charlie, may I mention in relation to ballasting “Underground Eric’s” comments on the vast variation in ballasting across the network. It was something I’d never given consideration to, but being a driver it’s something he’s observed, and something perhaps to consider for Chadwick going forward. All the best, Nigel
Hi Charlie really useful as always and hope you survive the horrendous weather you are all suffering in the South in general, is relatively peaceful up here in Yorkshire ! Great tip re insurance and I will act on it.
Hi Charlie! Not sure how you’d feel about it, but I would suggest that maybe just carry on with the goods yard once you have done the retaining wall? Failing that, perhaps start doing extra to the station area as it seems a good while since anything significant was done to it. Also, since it is arguably the fulcrum of the scenic section, it might help to reveal unforeseen issues in terms of operating the layout which might not be obvious right now 🤔 To be fair though Charlie, I think whatever you next choose to do, you are right to focus on one area at a time, not necessarily to a ‘finish’ as such, but just so you can say something definite like “Right, that’s the platforms done and the foundation for the station, now I’ll take a break from the station until I have decided where to out the footbridge and other buildings. In the meantime I’ll concentrate on developing the hill and Road up to the freight depot.” 😎 I find setting yourself definite tasks and stopping points helps remain focused, but also stops one from overdoing it so it becomes like a job! 🤯🤪😅 Cheers mate, all the best 🍻🍀👍
Another great video and the most important not the most boring…insurance cover. Even inside may be a under estimate sometimes. Good reminder. Interesting subjects to cover. Which section next; maybe the smallest to achieve the quickest positive result then one of the larger ones: something to get teeth into. Retaining wall may have to be first; as say that allows you couple of choices. Lucky that may have some heating in the room/building so thinking about drying time is a consideration. Always great to watch and listen to your videos. Thankyou Charlie, all best for next step. Marc from Leighton Buzzard
Hi Charlie, Hope you are spared from any damaging weather. I am in a similar position weather wise, I know the unease that comes with stormy forecasts. Any scenic video is a good video for me, though the parkway area with accompanying possible farmland sounds appealing. All the best.
great video again Charlie loving the progress your videos are always enjoyable and i always look forward to them what ever you decide to do next will be entertaining and informative your a natural in front of the camera the double slip looks a much better option and look forward to it being done kind regards geoff
At Taunton, the stone was generally for retaining ground, the brick was for a building. The type of brick depending on the buildings date and use, and some later retaining walls are made of brick. The bricks in the example you shown was related to the engine shed (the graffiti was the pedestrian entrance upto the shed!). I think your choice looks nicer, but might not necessarily be prototypical. Although, the whole fun of model railwaying is putting on what you like on your individual layout 😀
Hi Charlie. Thanks for another excellent video. Re your Digitrax / Loconet problem, always start with the power supplies. Measure the voltages from each one separately, and whilst disconnected from a load. If one is overvoltage, it can corrupt or damage whatever it's connected to. I'm curious to know how disconnecting a 12v supply could blow the circuit breakers or RCD's. That power supply must be faulty and I wouldn't risk using it again until checked carefully. If you're using a single 12v supply for the layout, and it's gone overvoltage, you may have more than one module failure. Try another one and test each Digitrax module individually. Hope this helps. Regards, Chris
Hi Charlie, great video. Yikes, a big amount of work to do, but handily in nice segments. I think I'd like to see the branch line area progressed, but equally, the main station. Stay safe in the bad weather!
Thanks Edward, it looks like we’ve survived the weather! I think that you’re right in that the branch line station needs to be addressed first, on completion of the freight yard! Regards, Charlie
Charlie, The amount of money invested in individual model railway collections is enormous. Doing count ups on videos one place had about 300 locos on display, at £100 a go that's £30,000 for starters!
working direction: 1. From the backdrop / not so easy accessible to the rim / near 2. From the ready viaduct szene to the right, as well as, from "Cows Hill" via signal box left up the incline (I don´t think a farm would thematically fit to the left) 3. ~28:00 / river szene; find the fitting bridge first (then you may got less to rework) 4. TMD and freight yard board; decline afore (including retaining wall) see 1. 😉just my 2 cents Till next time
Thanks for the update Charlie. Have you ever thought about putting a backdrop between de tmd and the brancheline station? It gives the brancheline more seperation and 'distance' from the main station. And it is not nessesary to put in a huge retainingwall next to the mainline. Cheers from the Netherlands.
Hi Charlie, such a lot of work to do. I would suggest, retaining wall and then get the top work done, so at least you have the layout finished to then deal with the scenic bits. No matter what you will do the right thing. Take care. Lots of fun from Vietnam.
Thank you Sir! Another great update and a well spent 30 minutes on my part. On the retaining walls, interesting to see that many of them are not built vertically, and thanks for the “why”.
Another great instalment Charlie . Noticed you mentioned you have surge protection on the layout feeds , it could still be that as they are not 100% effective apparently
Thanks for this Charlie and I think insurance is a great topic to discuss. I’d be well happy with £89 a year too. I take the point about scrap value but £15k seems way too low - I’ve got a very basic layout I started last year (which I need to dismantle and reclaim as we will need the room back as our children get older). It’s an 8x4 loop with a siding with a station in. The cost of the wood to build it, the extra track, kits, cardboard/acetate, the train set bought to start it off, Scenics and two Bachmann EMUs is about £1000. So for your layout which is much bigger with so much more rolling stock I can see it being much more than £15k. That’s without all the DCC stuff and control/signalling. Not saying you’ve done anything wrong there Charlie but just acknowledgment of your layout and how it would be a very valuable asset. Looking forward to the next one, and take care, cheers Charlie
Awesome Video Charlie i had simillar problem with my DCC controller when i turned on my controller my controller would not power up .and i took me a whole day to figure out what the problem was .and i figured out it was the loco net port came off the curcuit board all i had to do was soilder the port back on the curcuit board and the controller started to work again and i have to sent showing my model railway setup with signal levers to you
Really interesting video and it was excellent as usual, thank you. Good luck with the fault finding. I would be interested in a video covering that aspect if your are able to fit it. I hope you don't get blown away or flooded. Cheers Graham
Thanks Graham, it looks like we’ve survived the weather! I’m now slowly working through the Digitrax items, and rest assured I will sort it. Regards, Charlie
Much to do Charlie but exciting and already you are now getting a real sense of what the layout will look like. Thanks for the thoughts about insurance. My layout is in an external garage and bring the stock indoor if away for more than a couple of days. Been meaning to have a proper count up and valuation of what I have and check the situation with insurance. A great prompt to get this done!
Hi Charlie, really enjoyed your video and what you have planned for the future. I guess it is a bit too late to suggest putting a curtain to cover up what the flexible board you have purchased is going to achieve.. Cheers Greg
Thanks Charlie - a comprehensive update! Hope you and Chadwick survived Ciaran (sp?). I'm sure you just omitted to mention this, and you're covered, but I wondered if your insurance cover also included rebuilding the railway outbuilding and the non-railway contents. I look forward to seeing how you fault find your way through your weird loconet troubles. On jobs for the future, I wondered if there would be any merit in compltely finishing the descent into the helix between the TMD and goods yard first - i.e. ballasting, associated scenics etc as well as just the retaining walls: it's not going to be the easiest bit to get too once the goods yard is installed. Finally, I trust Accurascale have now sent you half a dozen locos in recognition of your inconvenience.
Many thanks, Andrew, for such an interesting comment. My plan is to finish the cutting retaining wall, then lay the track for the freight yard, and then over to the branch line station. Regards, Charlie
Lot of interesting work ahead .I think the branch line station would be a good starting point . Good comment re insurance .I got a real eye opener when totaling up the locos and stock i own .Came to just over £7000 , Insured layout for 20K. Hope you have survived the storm. My place of work at Fort George near Inverness was badly damaged by a storm surge and high tide that breached the walls of the dog cemetery .Take care.
Charlie, yet another interesting video with lots of content. Good luck with the storm approaching, does sound worrying, we are now heading into yet another bad Bush Fire season, that has started early. Climate Change!! I would love to see you do the river scene, I am about to embark on my river, so ideas and pitfalls (sorry), would be great, but I am sure I will enjoy whatever order of scenics you decide to do. Good luck with it all, and cheers, and stay safe, Michael
Hi Michael, I'm so pleased that you found the latest video interesting. Please take a look at my video No 70. where I construct the river under the viaduct. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway I looked at your River video, No 75 I think it was. Great tips, and great tips on the trees. I would love to see now how you would do the river, as you were "very nervous" doing the epoxy. Cheers, and thanks again, Michael
I agree, that Taunton retaining wall will have a lot of visual interest. You also get to break it up a bit with the vegetation we see three in Taunton at the break in the walls. That's a bit more landscaping work on the layout, but that bit of "ledge" would allow making the retaining wall in two "goes" along with being visually interesting. And also being just the sort of thing a rail line might do--leave the upper slope natural until it can't be any more and add another wall. Likely a win-win.
the GWR wall in yeovil is probably gillingham brick it was used as a engineering brick on few railways as yard was right next to the station on the old LSWR
Cheers Charlie I presumed ( wrongly) that my railway layout was covered in my converted brick garage. I have good locks, burglar alarms and security cameras ( 2 at £30 each ) covering the garage. Plus fire alarm and numerous fire extinguishers I thought ibwas well covered. Well I am now thanks to your timely warning ❤
I’ve been meaning to insure mine for ages Charlie and this has just prompted me to get it sorted. When you total up new for old, it starts to get a bit eye watering!
Charlie sorry to hear about your problem. Way back in 2000 I had a Digitrax layout almost the size of yours and a similar thing happened. It turned out to be a faulty UP 3 which I replaced and all was well. It took many hours to find the problem . I must be getting old as I see Digitrax panels are now UP7 ! Kind regards Richard Willcox
Hi Charlie. Regarding your class 37 you are waiting for, I saw a reply to a comment on Facebook from Accurascale from two days ago in which they said “The locomotives have arrived and we will begin distributing orders later in the week. This process is expected to take approximately 10 working days to complete as there is a large volume of orders to be fulfilled.”
Thanks for the Insurance tip, have the same situation. Separate building, and 20k worth of Equipment, soon adds up. Off to the local insurance office Monday!
Hi ya Charlie 😃 Another fantastic video 👍 Absolutely loved it ❤️ I'm really looking forward to seeing how you resolve the stone / brick embankments and then to see the track work completed ( minus the track needed for Bishops Biscuits 😉 ) I personally would love to see you tackle the farm scene first please 🙏 Purely because I'm planning a very small farm yard scene on my layout and I'm sure that you will have some great ideas and techniques that will be very helpful to us all 👍 Thank you once again for your hard work Charlie and giving us all the chance to 'vote' on your next scenery project. All the best Russ
Hello Charlie - enjoyable video as always, and particularly good to get a reminder of the overall layout and the practical and “play-ability” considerations. (Who knew track rubbers on a stick and configuration of a headshunt would come up in the same 5 minutes!) As to what order to do things in, if it were me and if it’s scenic jobs I’d try to develop things starting from one end or the other of the viaduct section. That section must make you smile whenever you look at it and so doing things that increase how much time a train runs through the “finished product” without seeing any plywood would be more satisfying (to my mind) and makes it easier to see how things are growing. The fact that you’ve got two directions to go from there also means you can get some variety too. And selfishly, because I’m embarking on it myself, I can’t wait to see how you make your gently curving Chadwick Parkway platforms - especially if you’re planning to have lights as I’m keen to see whether you plan them in advance and wire up before building the platforms, or whether you do what I’d do and work them out later?
Thanks James, for an excellent comment. I think that you’re right, I ought to start at one end and work my way through. Sorting out the platforms at the branch line station, will make it easier to construct them for the main station which will be more complex. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Fair point about starting with the Branch platforms, Charlie. By the way, I know the industry is Bishop’s Biscuits, but I can’t recall whether you’ve named the station yet? Maybe a competition running up to Christmas?
Hi Charlie just phone Magnet and insured my layout , I mentioned I saw you on utube and you had just insured with them they asked me for your utube details which I passed on thank you kind regards rog
So many new things, Charlie! Everything looks great. I hope the electronic issue gets sorted easily. Over on this side of the pond, the two things people who know say is 1) always make a detailed estimate for insurance & then increase it by 30% to cover misses, and 2) always take copious digital pics of everything (including underneath) direct to the cloud because no one ever remembers everything they had when it's gone. I'd add take a good shot of all new purchases just out of the bag, too. I suspect you already have a decent cloud-based spreadsheet of your purchases & many layout pics, but don't under estimate its worth. That seems good advice. 👌
Hi, I have just heard a mention of your channel on Shedmouth Junction. They are talking about something they are going to do. I don't know what it is yet, it will be announced this week. 😊
I admire a man who’s pension allows such purchases😉 ……. As I’m just starting out on building my GWR Branch line, I just invested in a HELJAN GWR AEC Streamlined RAILCAR 😇
Always good to see the breakdown of progress. Just on a second listen through after watching intently, particularly surrounding the Digitrax issues, it sounds as if it might be a USB issue, as you say you can operate as per normal via the handset, yet you cannot via Traincontroller
An interesting range of topics covered in this one. I think you may be in for a shock, when you have the time to accurately assess the value of your layout! It soon mounts up and I think you will be surprised. Hope, like us here, you are weathering out the storm, with no damage. My best wishes. Nige
Thanks Nige, I think most of the storm has passed through, just the rain now. I think we all underestimate the value of our layouts, clearly it’s a job for a calculator! Stay safe, regards, Charlie
The problem with valuations is that the insurance companies will typically look at what the rrp is and for some models that could be much less than what it might cost to replace them, further to this, valuations for kit built and inherited items can be rather difficult to prove and may not be covered without suitable providence of valuation. A model railway show found this out a while ago when they were the victim of theft and vandalism , in the end the model railway community had to rally round to cover the insurance shor5 fall as they valued the kit built items at the basic cost of the kit and didn't cover the inherited items.
Hi Charlie, yet another great video and a great autumnal update! Would like to see the TMD develop and how that will tie in with the retaining wall. Anyhow, whatever you choose or decide upon, will be here to enjoy the video! Best wishes and stay safe with the storm 🙏
Our robots at work suffer as much from a voltage dip as a surge. We often lose powersupplies and computers in this instance. A second hand psu is £850 and a second hand computer is £1900 exchange so we have put uninterruptable power supplies like you would on a computer for the low voltage power supply to try to regulate the supply. It has improved things so long as the internal batteries are in good working order. Might be worth considering.
Hi Charlie, hope all is well after the storm. We're ok down here, the storm of a couple of weeks ago was worse. I'm really don't mind what you do first I do look forward to seeing new branch line station canopies in situ. I'm relieved that you can still operate the railway ableit without the high level control. I'm sure you'll get to the solution. Great update. Have a great weekend.
Hello Charlie, Re your Loco Net issue. I too have had a very similar experience with my layout. It so far has taken out 3 DR5000 units , I run iTrain and have several zones on the layout. ( by the way Magnet Insurance paid for replacements ). A long story very happy to compare notes Mike
Hello Charlie, In short (pardon the pun) no. However I did take a number of measures to further protect the system. The first major event happened October 22 , after which I was advised and duly installed optoisolators on the USB ports . I have five power zones , each with it's own booster (which has short circuit protection) the short somehow jumps this protection and hits the main control unit ( a DR5000 in my case in fact my layout has two DR5000 controlled by iTrain) . the spike took out both main units. I also added MERG district cut out units (DCU) in line before the boosters they have adjustable sensitivity so made the slightly more sensitive than the booster so they trip first. This has all allowed me to sleep at night and not be afraid turning on the layout. There is more to tell as this has happened twice since but to a much lesser extent but I don't want to bore you further. Mike @@ChadwickModelRailway
Hello Charlie, don't think I explained things very well in my last message. The short who's origin is still not obvious runs through my Loco Net B cables and caused damage in that part of the DR5000 , so that it was no longer able to communicate with the boosters and would not allow them to function. Its not a normal short that happens on a regular basis to all model railers, it is as if it's some sort of build up that then releases itself. The first instance was by far the worst and damaged both my control stations even though one was not connected to LNet B. James from DCC Train Automation tells me that they would have had a connection via the USB hence the installation of optoisolators. Re the two later experiences one took out a single DR5000 and the other a converted DR5000 to a YD7001 Yamorc. As you may know the DR5000 also has a builtin booster that was later disconnected and an independent booster installed, so now the Power Bus does not come into direct contact with it. Only the two Loco Nett communication cabling. As mentioned the cause of these shorts is still unknown but the precautions taken so far have helped , I'm sure of that . I did think the origin was via low grade loco decoders ,several reasons for that which would mean me rambling on even further. But truth is a catch 22 , need more of these shorts to pin down the cause, but don't ever want another short of this type. Will be very very interested in your investigations. Mike
I feel your pain regarding the electronics. I hope you are able to test each component without having to replace EACH one! I beg the question: "Are we making our layouts over complicated?" Issues with electrical devices can take away the pleasure of trying to operate a functioning railway. Horses for courses of course! Your layout is superb and I have no wish to denigrate the wonderful sophistication od Chadwick. Just food for thought after spending 2 days to find I had reversed the polarity on one drop wire!
The society i help produce the magazine for had the issue of insurance to consider recently as the Warley show no longer covers that for societies and requires they have appropriate insurance. Wasn't very difficult to organise really. It was with magnet too. My own collection is in the house so should be good with the house contents insurance, though not yet started building a layout, things seem to keep getting in the way!
Hi Charlie. For your curved boad, strong magnets might help , or cupboard door magnets ,which could also act as wedges for the board to rest on to counteract the wait. Hope it helps . Have a good one , keep up all the good work you do. 👍
Lovely video Charlie. Incidentally, great to meet you at GETS. I was the extra cuddly guy in the motorized wheel chair, dare I say the only person you had to look down to talk to 😉 It really good to get these updates and this one in particular as it brought together all the different project that you have been working on. Personally I would love to see the river section finished off. I may well be wrong but in my mind it's the oldest project to complete so far. It might not be the favourite choice but I think it would be a nice change of pace. I would have loved to see Bishop Biscuits done bur judging by your comments it is going to be the last thing on the list. What ever you decide to to I am sure it will be wonderful. Take care and happy modelling :)
Another great update Charlie ! Good to see all the work that’s been completed and the next projects to work on. Hope the issues with the electronics turns out to be easy to find ! Fault finding can be a long process, my advice for what it’s worth is to try and isolate areas and test then independently if it’s possible although I realise this may not always be possible. Look forward to hearing about the solution and hope it doesn’t get too expensive 🤞.
Next step, how to manage the wife not being in the room when you give the insurance company the value of your hobby.
An excellent point WHB. Cover your "tracks". Regards Charlie
I dare say you have to factor in the impact of the reaction of the wife regarding the insurance company's value of your hobby. Hopefully, they won't ask you. Perhaps it requires a nice cup of tea and a slice of homemade fruit and nut cake. it just shows how many factors there are to consider in these situations.
I would think that a £15k insurance valuation is way below the true replacement cost of such a exceptional layout (excluding labour costs)
@@ianf7246 I sold most of the DCC kit I had been buying for my resurrected old layout. I raised way over £2,000 for the Digikeijs stuff; and still got a hefty computer & screen worth £2k....then theres loads of locos and running stock. Plus the points, track etc etc. I'm checking my home insurance to see what level is covered as my large shed also is home to the house boiler; gas tumble dryer; washing machine and loads of tools. I'd wager Charlie must have well in excess of £30k worth of kit, locos, DCC kit; and of course the many tools. I did take a video of the contents of my shed just as a record, and listed stuff on a spreadsheet file too.
I converted a spare room into a den and then chucked it out for an N scale layout. Room for the trains, cabinet and stools. Not 1/20th the quality of Charlie’s operation but enjoying it immensely while adding some touches inspired by the CMR.
Hi Charlie. Thanks for all your RUclips videos. You have helped me enormously in my modelling endeavours. I will be 80 this month and still have about 20 years left to get my layout of the part of the southern mainline between Sydney and Melbourne (Harden New South Wales and the Boorowa branch line) up to scratch 🤪 I trust you and your family ere safe and dry with the terrible storms - thinking of you from Australia. Cheers Ernie
Thanks Ernie, that’s very kind of you to say so. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
For the helix, consider a curtain of sorts versus hardboard. A curtain will give a clean look while providing easy access for track maintenance.
Do the river scene first 👍👍👍
A great suggestion Karl. Regards Charlie
Thank you for the video and it is looking great.
I don't know what surge protection you have, but a warning to you and others is some surge protectors are a one time use and they don't always tell you that they have been used, for example mains surge protection multiway sockets don't tell you. Also the surge protectors only protect in-coming surges, if an item caused a surge within your system, the surge protectors won't protect, unless that network also goes through the surge protector.
I love the idea of the 2 into 4 tracks at the station to give play.
Thank you Charlie.
Thanks Mal, I never thought about surge protectors in that way. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie. Glad to see someone's got the bottle to list all the things that need to be done without having a nervous breakdown! (I know I haven't). Wouldn't mind seeing you build the mainline platforms?
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it. Peter. However, perhaps I ought to practice on the branch platforms first. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Good point Charlie. I`m the bull in the china shop who would commit to the mainline platforms, then make a much better job of the branch platforms, then have to return to the mainline to tear it all out and start again. So if nothing else I would be executing the work in a very prototypical manner if one considers how projects are delivered in the modern world today. Don`t forget to waste local (imaginary) Chadwick Parkway tax payers money on consultation and feasibility studies. Great update Charlie, loved it.
Hi Charlie, Glad to see you're planning ahead. With regards to your cutting down to the helix I am thinking that you already have quiet a few masonry retaining walls and that a natural rock face would look different and perhaps more believable? The Welsh portal of the Severn Tunnel, the ex midland mainline through the Derbyshire Dales and to an extent the line around Dawlish are all good examples of natural rock faces.
Thanks Julian, for an excellent suggestion. Regards, Charlie
Several years ago I sat down and created a spreadsheet of all my locos based on their purchase price at the time with a second section for carriages based on the then MRP for the coach. I did a count on freight stock according to £x per van etc etc and I hit £12,500 before I even thought of track and structures and electrics. My point however, is that I’d hazard a guess that based on my experience - Maybe a bit OCD driven I admit, as I hadn’t a clue on its value, but I’m guessing that given all of the electronics you’ve put in place under your layout you would probably be nearer £50k than £15k. An incredibly valuable share Charlie as I’m guessing many of your followers perhaps hadn’t given this too much thought and the point made about your layout not being in the residence was very well made. Brian
Thank you Brian, for your excellent revelation. I will revisit my value on Monday! Regards, Charlie
I find the amount of technology applied to model railways these days most impressive and I won't pretend to know what it all does ,so its nice to watch your videos and get some idea at least.
Thanks Mr SF, that’s very kind of you to say so. Regards, Charlie
Unfortunately your session in January is a little too far a trip but I'm glad to see you're willing to give your time to others wanting to learn.
Thanks BFJ, let’s hope that it all goes well. Regards Charlie.
Really great update Charlie. Especially important is the insurance aspect, which we all ignore till it's too late.
Yes SR, it certainly took me by surprise. Regards, Charlie
re you facia using flexible MDF. Flexible MDF can be used to make rigid curved panels by gluing two layers together with the grooves in the middle of the sandwich, this could make hinged doors around the helix.
Now that’s something I’ve never considered. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie just a word to the wise…….from a time served ex builders merchant of 40 odd years. You refer to “Blue Engineers bricks and standard red bricks”, they made Engineering bricks from both red & blue clay so you can purchase Blue Engineering bricks & Red Engineering bricks. Hope that helps.
Thanks Chris, and I imagine that’s what the Yeovil wall is made from. Regards, Charlie
i’m just starting with modelling (definitely on a budget) and i am amazed at how expensive just a single coach is, so i’m not surprised that your railway costs that much, it’s amazing!
I think the other half was about double it.
Thanks mate, it’s amazing how these costs escalate. Regards, Charlie
Another fine missive, thanks Charlie. Regarding "surge protectors" on cheaper models we have found that they cop a surge but only do so once? The insidious thing is they still allow electricity to flow. You may well have copped a surge and be unaware of it. Unless you spend some decent coin on devices that can reset, the only safe way is to leave your mains power leeds unplugged. Bernina Sewing Machine have tiny sticker on the rear telling their owners to do so! The other way is to have double pole double throw mains switches that turn off both neuteral and active ac. Good luck.
Well Peter, that’s an interesting revelation. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Charlie, I can add a bit more to the surge protector saga. When I was a computer network manager, we shunned them like the plague (surge protectors). One trick that we used was to tie 4 or 5 simple overhand knots as close together as we could near the male plug, onto the cables. The idea here being any surge energy generated from the mains is dissipated by the wires crossing over themselves. Much like twisting the dcc bus wires under our little empires! Although that analogy is not quite the same but you get the idea.
Any way I never had a server failure, that might be down to good luck or good management, you choose?
However, if you want a 100% safe way to protect your electronics, then price up a UPS. (Universal Power Supply for computers). I was a also a sewing machine techo' and here in West Ozzie power lines are a long way from the generating source and tended to be "erratic" in supply and voltage fluctuations! Anyway this caused all sorts of issues with my customers electronic and very expensive sewing machines et al. I rarely hear about that now, since they have been using UPS.
I hope this gives you food for thought.
Pete
Thanks Pete, certainly worth investigating. Regards Charlie.
Always good to have a tour round Charlie..great as usual
Thanks EW, so pleased that you enjoyed it. Regards, Charlie
Hi, Thank you for the video. It turns out my layout is in the basement. Because of the amount of loco's, rolling stock and track plus time to build, total insurance replacement would be around $75,000 Canadian. what a surprise that was.
At least it’s sorted Alan.
Regards Charlie
My Accurascale D6704 (ordered march 2022) arrived this morning, absolutely stunning. Worth the wait.
Thanks Ian, my arrived today as well. However, it’s still in the box! Regards, Charlie
Although i do not like videos with only talking about the hobby this caught my attention for the entire 35 minutes. It was a good move to tell something about insurance. It was fun to see that you went to the Chester hobby shop. I was there about 2 years ago during our holidays in Wales. I came back in the Netherlands completely jalous when seeing the number of hobby shops in the UK. Even my wife got interested in modelbuilding after visiting the Chester shop. I hope you will be able to clear the electrical issue soon. I think the best way to start is unplugging all the powered units in your lay out and connect them again one by one to figure out if one of them is causing the problem. I wish you all the best in that problem seeking journey. I think it will be an interesting subject for a next video. Trouble shooting at Chadwick. Afterwards you will know all the ins and outs of your lay out. That will be the positive part of this set back.
Thank you for an excellent comment Peter. I have now found the fault to be within the TMD area. I’m getting there, regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, good to read that you found problem. I am looking forward to the next video.@@ChadwickModelRailway
Great update on your plans! I'm afraid I'm going to leave it to you to determine what to do first! Hope you and Chadwick survive this and the following storms.
Thanks Gavin, we’ve battened down the hatches! Regards, Charlie
Charlie Quick flash to the building packed with fifty people ,kegs of nut brown ale ,and half chickens and chips for lunch! Good luck! Cheers
All in good time, Mark, hopefully. Regards, Charlie
Great update, would be cool to see the main station finished and operational. Hope you are able to quickly find the faulty components.
I’m getting close to the answer now, Chris. Many thanks, regards, Charlie
Great viewing. Gives me soo much encouragement for my own layout. 👍
It’s comments such as yours that make the whole thing worthwhile. Regards, Charlie
Thanks Charlie for the tip regarding insurance, I have never been happy that when needed my household insurance would cover my railway and needed info on a GOOD insurance company that would. I have just signed up with Magnet and will sleep easier tonight, Bill.
That’s great news, Bill, I’m so pleased that you found it useful. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, Blimey what an electrical nightmare! I love the branch terminus so would get my vote. As always thanks for entertaining and inspiring us. Although I don't have ant boards down yet, my accumulated locos and rolling stock already £1k estimate, so thanks for the insurance heads up. Cheers Dave 🙏
Many thanks David, my plan is to do the retaining wall then the freight yard and then the branch line station. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie. I would like to thank for all your RUclips videos you product and share with us all. For me they are of great value and easy to follow and learn from. Your comment about insurance is very valid and something think I will have to take up as my garden layout runs into a shed via a cat flap, where I can play trains in the winter once the garden part is covered. Many thanks again Ken.
Thanks Ken, I’m so pleased that you find the channel useful. Regards Charlie
Re track cleaning stick ... if you chamfer the cleaner end so the rubber is glued at an angle it is a bit easier to use.
I’m interesting point mate. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, you get another big tick from me! For your last tutorial I commented on how great I thought it was that people submitted their ideas and you gave a detailed assessment on what you thought of the proposals. Now you've gone another step having accepted one design you then were willing to change the plan based on a suggestion. This is great and for me, a struggling layout builder, I get annoyed with myself when I change my design for not having done it right in the first place. Your excellent video is another great lesson for us all.. we don't have all the good ideas and suggestions, from wherever the come, are always valuable. Thanks Charlie, I really look forward to the next installment on the journey. cheers, Graeme - from Bendigo, Australia.
Thanks Bendigo, I’m so pleased that you enjoy my amendments!
Regards Charlie.
You’ve kept me awake half the night! 😊
Chatted briefly before (we were on programing sidings last time)
My background in electronics and electrical has me interested in your problem.
Here are a couple of unprocessed thoughts that may be helpful.
1. How are you “blowing” stuff on the high voltage side? Couple of things to check…
Sounds like you have a “proper” installation there BUT check for the obvious.
a) Ground (earth you call it over there) Neutral reverse or contact somewhere. While Neutral gets connected to Ground - ‘out there’ there is a PD (Potential difference) that may be making the difference.
b) Check too for a neutral / phase reversal. (You’d think this doesn’t matter - it does!
c) you briefly mentioned TWO things tripping in the house. Is the feed to the out building one or TWO circuits and are you plugged into two different circuits with train controller and the rest - seems likely since you have a large layout that has grown. Good rule of thumb, have ONE place that ONE switch would kill EVERYTHING.
((Previous point huge BTW - you can potentially (pun intended) get 400 volts between the two circuits if that’s how it’s been wired))
cii) Even on single phase - if you are on two circuits - interaction between the two if you are running trains computers and accessories in BOTH can be trouble. GFI’s RCD’s and Earth Leakage Trips are dark magic.
d) ‘Wall - Warts’ those transformers that plug in somewhere to give you low volts to your accessories -
I’ve found a few that are what are referred to as “auto transformers” or had been poorly insulated and BECOME “auto transformers”. The details of why these exist aren’t important but essentially it’s where the neutral is physically connected to one of the output legs. So you have a DIRECT connection to the neutral from one of your rails/power supply plugs/computer case or whatever. It only takes one. Clue, when you UNPLUGGED a 5 volt thingie something happened.
I had this sort of thing happen when I was using Train Controller on a computer connected to the interface box and stuff decided to die when I disconnected the Loco Net from the interface box to sort out the spaghetti one evening.
This has got too long. (SORRY)
I think though there are some relevant clues in there somewhere.
Hope this ramble helps something.
Many thanks for your excellent ramblings. I have now traced the fault down to the TMD area, only a couple of hours to go! Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, great video good to see an overview of the layout and what still needs to be worked on, would be great to see the brachline worked on. Keep up the great work.
Allan
Thanks Allan, the branch Lane will come straight after the freight yard’s finished. Regards, Charlie
Nice update Charlie and I must say, breaking it down into sections to complete is a great idea. Thanks for the great videos you post.
Thanks Paul , that’s very kind of you to say so. Regards, Charlie
Good morning Charlie, some very interesting subjects in this video. I have now added my model railway to the house insurance as it was not covered in the house contents, which is great because we dont think of these things when building our model railways. Biscuit factory i wonder what buildings you will using for that project. looking forward to seeing your railway evolve. many thanks again for sharing your time. Tony
You’re most welcome Tony, take care mate. Regards, Charlie
Hey Charlie great idea to bring your viewers up to speed with the insurance and all the best for holding the course 🙂 Hope you all have a smashing time and it’ll be like a dads army day out! 🤣 The raised fright yard is going to look fab especially with lighting 👍
Thanks John, that’s really kind of you to say so mate. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Charlie the meet-up is a brilliant idea mate and it’ll be full of peeps wanting to be there. If l was closer I’d spend the £50 quid just to be there and to make the tea, have a laugh and soak up the great atmosphere! PLUS we get to meet the man himself…..you! 😎
Thanks John, it’s great to have you onboard mate. Regards, Charlie
Great video Charlie! Looking forward to the scenic work. No particular area of preference for me. Best of luck with the rain. Have a great weekend!
Thanks David, the storm has passed without incident, luckily! Regards, Charlie
I don't know what sort of insurance cover you have but you could claim for the electrons. My wife put the vacuum cleaner nozzle though the glass front door and we claimed for that. what a win
Let’s not lose sight of the compulsory access on these policies mate. Regards, Charlie
Charlie, may I mention in relation to ballasting “Underground Eric’s” comments on the vast variation in ballasting across the network. It was something I’d never given consideration to, but being a driver it’s something he’s observed, and something perhaps to consider for Chadwick going forward. All the best, Nigel
Thanks, Nigel. Yes ballast Colour is an intriguing part of railway modelling. Regards, Charlie
Well done Chas another work of art great job
Thanks John, that’s most kind. Regards, Charlie
Thank you for your segment on insurance. A job for me in the morning. Money well spent and piece of mind. Keep up the good work 🏴
Thanks Matthew, make sure you total it up properly. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie really useful as always and hope you survive the horrendous weather you are all suffering in the South in general, is relatively peaceful up here in Yorkshire ! Great tip re insurance and I will act on it.
Thanks Mark, the insurance is a real eye-opener. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie! Not sure how you’d feel about it, but I would suggest that maybe just carry on with the goods yard once you have done the retaining wall? Failing that, perhaps start doing extra to the station area as it seems a good while since anything significant was done to it. Also, since it is arguably the fulcrum of the scenic section, it might help to reveal unforeseen issues in terms of operating the layout which might not be obvious right now 🤔
To be fair though Charlie, I think whatever you next choose to do, you are right to focus on one area at a time, not necessarily to a ‘finish’ as such, but just so you can say something definite like “Right, that’s the platforms done and the foundation for the station, now I’ll take a break from the station until I have decided where to out the footbridge and other buildings. In the meantime I’ll concentrate on developing the hill and Road up to the freight depot.” 😎
I find setting yourself definite tasks and stopping points helps remain focused, but also stops one from overdoing it so it becomes like a job! 🤯🤪😅
Cheers mate, all the best 🍻🍀👍
What an excellent comment, Tim. I think you’re dead right, the retaining wall, the freight yard, and then the branch Lane station. Regards, Charlie
I imagine 'Bishop's Biscuits' would be shortbread, in the shape of bishops hats. Maybe also available dipped in chocolate.
Crumbs, I hadn’t thought of that. Regards, Charlie
Another great video and the most important not the most boring…insurance cover. Even inside may be a under estimate sometimes. Good reminder. Interesting subjects to cover. Which section next; maybe the smallest to achieve the quickest positive result then one of the larger ones: something to get teeth into. Retaining wall may have to be first; as say that allows you couple of choices. Lucky that may have some heating in the room/building so thinking about drying time is a consideration. Always great to watch and listen to your videos. Thankyou Charlie, all best for next step. Marc from Leighton Buzzard
Thanks Marc, i’m so pleased that you enjoyed it. The retaining wall, then the freight yard, and then the Branchline Station. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, Hope you are spared from any damaging weather. I am in a similar position weather wise, I know the unease that comes with stormy forecasts.
Any scenic video is a good video for me, though the parkway area with accompanying possible farmland sounds appealing. All the best.
Thanks Andrew , thankfully we survived the storms. I think I’ll tackle the branchline station first. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie, My class 37 (6702) arrived last Thursday. Hopefully yours will be in the platform shortly. Steve
With a little luck, Steve, it will be in my video number 207. Regards Charlie
Thanks for another interesting video Charlie. Best of luck with the storm.
Thanks Paul, we have battened down the hatches! Regards Charlie
great video again Charlie loving the progress your videos are always enjoyable and i always look forward to them what ever you decide to do next will be entertaining and informative your a natural in front of the camera the double slip looks a much better option and look forward to it being done kind regards geoff
Thanks Geoff, that’s very kind of you to say so. Regards, Charlie
At Taunton, the stone was generally for retaining ground, the brick was for a building. The type of brick depending on the buildings date and use, and some later retaining walls are made of brick. The bricks in the example you shown was related to the engine shed (the graffiti was the pedestrian entrance upto the shed!).
I think your choice looks nicer, but might not necessarily be prototypical. Although, the whole fun of model railwaying is putting on what you like on your individual layout 😀
Thanks JF, for an interesting comment. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie. Thanks for another excellent video.
Re your Digitrax / Loconet problem, always start with the power supplies. Measure the voltages from each one separately, and whilst disconnected from a load.
If one is overvoltage, it can corrupt or damage whatever it's connected to. I'm curious to know how disconnecting a 12v supply could blow the circuit breakers or RCD's. That power supply must be faulty and I wouldn't risk using it again until checked carefully.
If you're using a single 12v supply for the layout, and it's gone overvoltage, you may have more than one module failure. Try another one and test each Digitrax module individually.
Hope this helps. Regards, Chris
You’re bang on the money Chris. I think I’ve narrowed the defective component down to being within the TMD. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, great video. Yikes, a big amount of work to do, but handily in nice segments. I think I'd like to see the branch line area progressed, but equally, the main station.
Stay safe in the bad weather!
Thanks Edward, it looks like we’ve survived the weather!
I think that you’re right in that the branch line station needs to be addressed first, on completion of the freight yard! Regards, Charlie
Charlie, The amount of money invested in individual model railway collections is enormous. Doing count ups on videos one place had about 300 locos on display, at £100 a go that's £30,000 for starters!
Yes, Andrew, it’s shocking what we expend over time. Regards Charlie
working direction:
1. From the backdrop / not so easy accessible to the rim / near
2. From the ready viaduct szene to the right, as well as, from "Cows Hill" via signal box left up the incline (I don´t think a farm would thematically fit to the left)
3. ~28:00 / river szene; find the fitting bridge first (then you may got less to rework)
4. TMD and freight yard board; decline afore (including retaining wall) see 1.
😉just my 2 cents
Till next time
An interesting suggestion mate. I will be tackling the branch line Station first. Regards, Charlie
Thanks for the update Charlie. Have you ever thought about putting a backdrop between de tmd and the brancheline station? It gives the brancheline more seperation and 'distance' from the main station. And it is not nessesary to put in a huge retainingwall next to the mainline. Cheers from the Netherlands.
An interesting point Jasper. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, such a lot of work to do. I would suggest, retaining wall and then get the top work done, so at least you have the layout finished to then deal with the scenic bits. No matter what you will do the right thing. Take care. Lots of fun from Vietnam.
Thanks John, once the freight yard is finished I’m off to the branch line. Regards, Charlie
Great update Charlie, I look forward to watching you build the area's 👍
Thanks Alan, your support is much appreciated. Regards Charlie
Thank you Sir! Another great update and a well spent 30 minutes on my part. On the retaining walls, interesting to see that many of them are not built vertically, and thanks for the “why”.
Thanks Dakak I’m so pleased that you found it interesting. Regards, Charlie.
Another great instalment Charlie .
Noticed you mentioned you have surge protection on the layout feeds , it could still be that as they are not 100% effective apparently
Yes, I have heard that, but that Ship is now sailed as the damage is done. Regards, Charlie
My wife used to work with that flexible MDF. If you attach a length of velcro along the top and bottom with staples you can mount it that way. :D
Many thanks for the advice chicken fist. Regards, Charlie
Thanks for this Charlie and I think insurance is a great topic to discuss. I’d be well happy with £89 a year too. I take the point about scrap value but £15k seems way too low - I’ve got a very basic layout I started last year (which I need to dismantle and reclaim as we will need the room back as our children get older). It’s an 8x4 loop with a siding with a station in. The cost of the wood to build it, the extra track, kits, cardboard/acetate, the train set bought to start it off, Scenics and two Bachmann EMUs is about £1000. So for your layout which is much bigger with so much more rolling stock I can see it being much more than £15k. That’s without all the DCC stuff and control/signalling.
Not saying you’ve done anything wrong there Charlie but just acknowledgment of your layout and how it would be a very valuable asset.
Looking forward to the next one, and take care, cheers Charlie
You are of course, right Captain pub watch. I’ve been onto the insurers and upped it considerably. Regards, Charlie
Awesome Video Charlie i had simillar problem with my DCC controller when i turned on my controller my controller would not power up .and i took me a whole day to figure out what the problem was .and i figured out it was the loco net port came off the curcuit board all i had to do was soilder the port back on the curcuit board and the controller started to work again and i have to sent showing my model railway setup with signal levers to you
Thanks Christopher, these electrical problems can clearly be a nightmare. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway it was nightmare it was a i was run my new model loco i got at time
Really interesting video and it was excellent as usual, thank you. Good luck with the fault finding. I would be interested in a video covering that aspect if your are able to fit it. I hope you don't get blown away or flooded. Cheers Graham
Thanks Graham, it looks like we’ve survived the weather! I’m now slowly working through the Digitrax items, and rest assured I will sort it.
Regards, Charlie
Much to do Charlie but exciting and already you are now getting a real sense of what the layout will look like. Thanks for the thoughts about insurance. My layout is in an external garage and bring the stock indoor if away for more than a couple of days. Been meaning to have a proper count up and valuation of what I have and check the situation with insurance. A great prompt to get this done!
Good move John, we shouldn’t ignore the true value of our hobby. Regards, Charlie
You have a very patient wife allowing you to detour etc along with all your layout time
As they say, Chris, a happy wife is a happy life. Regards, Charlie.
Great advice about the insurance, it pays to have all your bases covered. Cheers Greg
Yes, indeed, Greg, a fire would be a dreadful outcome if an insured. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, really enjoyed your video and what you have planned for the future. I guess it is a bit too late to suggest putting a curtain to cover up what the flexible board you have purchased is going to achieve.. Cheers Greg
Many thanks for your comment. There will always be a curtain whilst the layout is not in use. Regards, Charlie
Thanks Charlie - a comprehensive update! Hope you and Chadwick survived Ciaran (sp?). I'm sure you just omitted to mention this, and you're covered, but I wondered if your insurance cover also included rebuilding the railway outbuilding and the non-railway contents.
I look forward to seeing how you fault find your way through your weird loconet troubles.
On jobs for the future, I wondered if there would be any merit in compltely finishing the descent into the helix between the TMD and goods yard first - i.e. ballasting, associated scenics etc as well as just the retaining walls: it's not going to be the easiest bit to get too once the goods yard is installed.
Finally, I trust Accurascale have now sent you half a dozen locos in recognition of your inconvenience.
Many thanks, Andrew, for such an interesting comment. My plan is to finish the cutting retaining wall, then lay the track for the freight yard, and then over to the branch line station. Regards, Charlie
Very good point about insurance. Glad I'm DC only 😊 cascade faults are a pain. Good luck
Thanks mate, it looks like the fault is in a TMD area. Regards, Charlie
Still lots to do. Love the work you have done
Thanks Redbank, it’s great to have you on board. Regards Charlie
Thanks for the tip on insurance all done now.
That’s great news Stephen, you’ll sleep more soundly now. Regards Charlie
Lot of interesting work ahead .I think the branch line station would be a good starting point . Good comment re insurance .I got a real eye opener when totaling up the locos and stock i own .Came to just over £7000 , Insured layout for 20K. Hope you have survived the storm. My place of work at Fort George near Inverness was badly damaged by a storm surge and high tide that breached the walls of the dog cemetery .Take care.
You’re right David, the branch Lizz station is the place to start. I also need to revisit my insurance! Regards, Charlie
Charlie, yet another interesting video with lots of content.
Good luck with the storm approaching, does sound worrying, we are now heading into yet another bad Bush Fire season, that has started early. Climate Change!!
I would love to see you do the river scene, I am about to embark on my river, so ideas and pitfalls (sorry), would be great, but I am sure I will enjoy whatever order of scenics you decide to do.
Good luck with it all, and cheers, and stay safe, Michael
Hi Michael,
I'm so pleased that you found the latest video interesting.
Please take a look at my video No 70. where I construct the river under the viaduct.
Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway I looked at your River video, No 75 I think it was. Great tips, and great tips on the trees. I would love to see now how you would do the river, as you were "very nervous" doing the epoxy.
Cheers, and thanks again, Michael
I agree, that Taunton retaining wall will have a lot of visual interest. You also get to break it up a bit with the vegetation we see three in Taunton at the break in the walls. That's a bit more landscaping work on the layout, but that bit of "ledge" would allow making the retaining wall in two "goes" along with being visually interesting. And also being just the sort of thing a rail line might do--leave the upper slope natural until it can't be any more and add another wall. Likely a win-win.
I think you’re bang on the money, Captain Mac. Regards, Charlie
Loved the tour Charlie! And as you said, a lot of work that needs to be done.
Thanks Babey, much appreciated. Regards, Charlie
Hello Charlie. I think the foam walls may be Noch. Another very informative episode; especially the Insurance feature.
You’re dead, right RT. Many thanks, regards, Charlie
the GWR wall in yeovil is probably gillingham brick it was used as a engineering brick on few railways as yard was right next to the station on the old LSWR
Thanks Alfie, much appreciated. Regards, Charlie
Cheers Charlie I presumed ( wrongly) that my railway layout was covered in my converted brick garage. I have good locks, burglar alarms and security cameras ( 2 at £30 each ) covering the garage. Plus fire alarm and numerous fire extinguishers I thought ibwas well covered.
Well I am now thanks to your timely warning ❤
That’s great news, however I’m interested in your camera purchases. Can you email me some details. Regards Charlie
I’ve been meaning to insure mine for ages Charlie and this has just prompted me to get it sorted. When you total up new for old, it starts to get a bit eye watering!
I agree, Mike, and actually I’m going to reassess mine next week. Regards, Charlie
Charlie sorry to hear about your problem. Way back in 2000 I had a Digitrax layout almost the size of yours and a similar thing happened. It turned out to be a faulty UP 3 which I replaced and all was well. It took many hours to find the problem . I must be getting old as I see Digitrax panels are now UP7 ! Kind regards Richard Willcox
Thanks Richard, it’s been a nightmare. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie. Regarding your class 37 you are waiting for, I saw a reply to a comment on Facebook from Accurascale from two days ago in which they said “The locomotives have arrived and we will begin distributing orders later in the week. This process is expected to take approximately 10 working days to complete as there is a large volume of orders to be fulfilled.”
Thanks Neil, my fingers are crossed. Regards, Charlie
This is a very good layout, must've been a fortune to buy all this! I've just started a new layout and already working on the hills.
That’s great news, Dan, and good luck with your project. Regards, Charlie
Thanks for the Insurance tip, have the same situation. Separate building, and 20k worth of Equipment, soon adds up. Off to the local insurance office Monday!
A sensible move Mustang. Regards, Charlie
Hi ya Charlie 😃 Another fantastic video 👍 Absolutely loved it ❤️
I'm really looking forward to seeing how you resolve the stone / brick embankments and then to see the track work completed ( minus the track needed for Bishops Biscuits 😉 )
I personally would love to see you tackle the farm scene first please 🙏 Purely because I'm planning a very small farm yard scene on my layout and I'm sure that you will have some great ideas and techniques that will be very helpful to us all 👍
Thank you once again for your hard work Charlie and giving us all the chance to 'vote' on your next scenery project.
All the best
Russ
Thanks Russ, rest assured it will be the retaining wall next. Then finish off the freight yard, regards, Charlie
Hello Charlie - enjoyable video as always, and particularly good to get a reminder of the overall layout and the practical and “play-ability” considerations. (Who knew track rubbers on a stick and configuration of a headshunt would come up in the same 5 minutes!) As to what order to do things in, if it were me and if it’s scenic jobs I’d try to develop things starting from one end or the other of the viaduct section. That section must make you smile whenever you look at it and so doing things that increase how much time a train runs through the “finished product” without seeing any plywood would be more satisfying (to my mind) and makes it easier to see how things are growing. The fact that you’ve got two directions to go from there also means you can get some variety too. And selfishly, because I’m embarking on it myself, I can’t wait to see how you make your gently curving Chadwick Parkway platforms - especially if you’re planning to have lights as I’m keen to see whether you plan them in advance and wire up before building the platforms, or whether you do what I’d do and work them out later?
Thanks James, for an excellent comment. I think that you’re right, I ought to start at one end and work my way through. Sorting out the platforms at the branch line station, will make it easier to construct them for the main station which will be more complex. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Fair point about starting with the Branch platforms, Charlie. By the way, I know the industry is Bishop’s Biscuits, but I can’t recall whether you’ve named the station yet? Maybe a competition running up to Christmas?
Hi Charlie just phone Magnet and insured my layout , I mentioned I saw you on utube and you had just insured with them they asked me for your utube details which I passed on thank you kind regards rog
Well done Roger, you have bought piece of mind.
Looking great, thanks, Charlie.
That’s very kind of you to say so. Regards, Charlie
So many new things, Charlie! Everything looks great. I hope the electronic issue gets sorted easily.
Over on this side of the pond, the two things people who know say is 1) always make a detailed estimate for insurance & then increase it by 30% to cover misses, and 2) always take copious digital pics of everything (including underneath) direct to the cloud because no one ever remembers everything they had when it's gone. I'd add take a good shot of all new purchases just out of the bag, too.
I suspect you already have a decent cloud-based spreadsheet of your purchases & many layout pics, but don't under estimate its worth. That seems good advice. 👌
Thanks Frank, that is excellent advice. We mustn’t leave the insurance companies with any wiggle room. Regards, Charlie
Charlie will of course be able to provide 360 hours of RUclips videos to prove his purchases!
Hi, I have just heard a mention of your channel on Shedmouth Junction. They are talking about something they are going to do. I don't know what it is yet, it will be announced this week. 😊
Thanks Duncan, do keep me posted. Regards, Charlie
I admire a man who’s pension allows such purchases😉 ……. As I’m just starting out on building my GWR Branch line, I just invested in a HELJAN GWR AEC Streamlined RAILCAR 😇
A good purchase David, I do fancy one myself. Regards, Charlie.
Always good to see the breakdown of progress.
Just on a second listen through after watching intently, particularly surrounding the Digitrax issues, it sounds as if it might be a USB issue, as you say you can operate as per normal via the handset, yet you cannot via Traincontroller
I’ve traced the fault now to the TMD area, I’m getting there. Regards, Charlie
An interesting range of topics covered in this one. I think you may be in for a shock, when you have the time to accurately assess the value of your layout! It soon mounts up and I think you will be surprised. Hope, like us here, you are weathering out the storm, with no damage. My best wishes. Nige
Thanks Nige, I think most of the storm has passed through, just the rain now. I think we all underestimate the value of our layouts, clearly it’s a job for a calculator! Stay safe, regards, Charlie
The problem with valuations is that the insurance companies will typically look at what the rrp is and for some models that could be much less than what it might cost to replace them, further to this, valuations for kit built and inherited items can be rather difficult to prove and may not be covered without suitable providence of valuation.
A model railway show found this out a while ago when they were the victim of theft and vandalism , in the end the model railway community had to rally round to cover the insurance shor5 fall as they valued the kit built items at the basic cost of the kit and didn't cover the inherited items.
Hi Charlie, yet another great video and a great autumnal update! Would like to see the TMD develop and how that will tie in with the retaining wall. Anyhow, whatever you choose or decide upon, will be here to enjoy the video! Best wishes and stay safe with the storm 🙏
Many thanks for your thoughts, and luckily the storm is now passed. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
Our robots at work suffer as much from a voltage dip as a surge. We often lose powersupplies and computers in this instance. A second hand psu is £850 and a second hand computer is £1900 exchange so we have put uninterruptable power supplies like you would on a computer for the low voltage power supply to try to regulate the supply. It has improved things so long as the internal batteries are in good working order. Might be worth considering.
Thanks for some sound advice Al. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, hope all is well after the storm. We're ok down here, the storm of a couple of weeks ago was worse.
I'm really don't mind what you do first I do look forward to seeing new branch line station canopies in situ.
I'm relieved that you can still operate the railway ableit without the high level control. I'm sure you'll get to the solution.
Great update. Have a great weekend.
Thanks David, yes will soon sort out that electronics issue. Regards Charlie
Hello Charlie,
Re your Loco Net issue. I too have had a very similar experience with my layout. It so far has taken out 3 DR5000 units , I run iTrain and have several zones on the layout. ( by the way Magnet Insurance paid for replacements ).
A long story very happy to compare notes Mike
Blimey, Mike, did you get to the root of the problem? Regards Charlie
Hello Charlie, In short (pardon the pun) no. However I did take a number of measures to further protect the system. The first major event happened October 22 , after which I was advised and duly installed optoisolators on the USB ports . I have five power zones , each with it's own booster (which has short circuit protection) the short somehow jumps this protection and hits the main control unit ( a DR5000 in my case in fact my layout has two DR5000 controlled by iTrain) . the spike took out both main units. I also added MERG district cut out units (DCU) in line before the boosters they have adjustable sensitivity so made the slightly more sensitive than the booster so they trip first. This has all allowed me to sleep at night and not be afraid turning on the layout. There is more to tell as this has happened twice since but to a much lesser extent but I don't want to bore you further. Mike @@ChadwickModelRailway
Hello Charlie, don't think I explained things very well in my last message.
The short who's origin is still not obvious runs through my Loco Net B cables and caused damage in that part of the DR5000 , so that it was no longer able to communicate with the boosters and would not allow them to function. Its not a normal short that happens on a regular basis to all model railers, it is as if it's some sort of build up that then releases itself. The first instance was by far the worst and damaged both my control stations even though one was not connected to LNet B. James from DCC Train Automation tells me that they would have had a connection via the USB hence the installation of optoisolators. Re the two later experiences one took out a single DR5000 and the other a converted DR5000 to a YD7001 Yamorc. As you may know the DR5000 also has a builtin booster that was later disconnected and an independent booster installed, so now the Power Bus does not come into direct contact with it. Only the two Loco Nett communication cabling. As mentioned the cause of these shorts is still unknown but the precautions taken so far have helped , I'm sure of that . I did think the origin was via low grade loco decoders ,several reasons for that which would mean me rambling on even further. But truth is a catch 22 , need more of these shorts to pin down the cause, but don't ever want another short of this type. Will be very very interested in your investigations.
Mike
Me Again , I also installed DCC Concepts BSS.2 Bus Spike Suppressors in each power zone
Mike
Have you measured the LocoNet voltages? Regards Charlie
I would suggest the mainline station is the place to start, as it pulls everything else together
I think it would be better if I practice on the branchline station first. Regards, Charlie
I feel your pain regarding the electronics. I hope you are able to test each component without having to replace EACH one!
I beg the question: "Are we making our layouts over complicated?"
Issues with electrical devices can take away the pleasure of trying to operate a functioning railway. Horses for courses of course! Your layout is superb and I have no wish to denigrate the wonderful sophistication od Chadwick. Just food for thought after spending 2 days to find I had reversed the polarity on one drop wire!
That’s a great question, but sometimes I believe we enjoy seeking out these faults! Regards, Charlie
Great and honest as usual.
Main station would be good to see finished.
Thanks A/T/S, I’m so pleased that you found it interesting. Regards Charlie
The society i help produce the magazine for had the issue of insurance to consider recently as the Warley show no longer covers that for societies and requires they have appropriate insurance. Wasn't very difficult to organise really. It was with magnet too.
My own collection is in the house so should be good with the house contents insurance, though not yet started building a layout, things seem to keep getting in the way!
Please, please check that your house insurance does cover your hobby. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie. For your curved boad, strong magnets might help , or cupboard door magnets ,which could also act as wedges for the board to rest on to counteract the wait. Hope it helps . Have a good one , keep up all the good work you do. 👍
Oh that’s an interesting idea Phil. Many thanks, regards, Charlie
Your welcome
Lovely video Charlie. Incidentally, great to meet you at GETS. I was the extra cuddly guy in the motorized wheel chair, dare I say the only person you had to look down to talk to 😉 It really good to get these updates and this one in particular as it brought together all the different project that you have been working on. Personally I would love to see the river section finished off. I may well be wrong but in my mind it's the oldest project to complete so far. It might not be the favourite choice but I think it would be a nice change of pace. I would have loved to see Bishop Biscuits done bur judging by your comments it is going to be the last thing on the list. What ever you decide to to I am sure it will be wonderful. Take care and happy modelling :)
Many thanks for your comment. I’m so pleased that we met up at GETS. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
Another great update Charlie ! Good to see all the work that’s been completed and the next projects to work on. Hope the issues with the electronics turns out to be easy to find ! Fault finding can be a long process, my advice for what it’s worth is to try and isolate areas and test then independently if it’s possible although I realise this may not always be possible. Look forward to hearing about the solution and hope it doesn’t get too expensive 🤞.
Sound advice, indeed Lee. I believe now it’s in the TMD area. Regards Charlie
Go for the Branchline station. And it should be the Bishops broken biscuit factory.
Cheers
An excellent suggestion, Ashley. Regards, Charlie