[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]I set my camera on a wagon being pushed by a passenger train, the loco being a 2-10-2 Harz Mountain type Large Narrow gauge Tank engine. Hope that you enjoy the ride around the side garden. YouTube - Tom's Garden Railway video No 2 Regards Tom
Brilliant ! No other words for it !!!!! One question only......... Where do the train sound effects come from ? Best regards Ron
There is a sound card in the loco electrics which has digital recordings of the original loco sounds, such as steam, coal shovelling, brake squeal, station announcements etc. The whistle and bell can be controlled automatically with track magnets, which I have placed around the layout in strategic places, but all can be controlled from the handset. I went digital from the start as it has advantages such as permanent lighting, which also can be switched on and off. I can also programme the loco chips to doublehead any combination of locos as each loco is provided an individual code. You can also run several locos on the same track, but this gets difficult especially when children are using the controls and get carried away. The resultant crashes are not too bad as LGB is pretty strong in construction, but I do try and avoid crashes wherever possible Regards Tom
Boys & I just enjoyed watching that, cheers. Tom, how are they powered, is it 'live' track like in smaller model railways or are they radio controlled with their own power. How does the track stand up to a German winter?
Amazing! All you need now is a bonsai garden And the dummies were the ones moving, not the fixed ones
Boys & I just enjoyed watching that, cheers. Tom, how are they powered, is it 'live' track like in smaller model railways or are they radio controlled with their own power. How does the track stand up to a German winter? Owen, My railway is Digital and takes 20 Volts AC. This enables all the various functions to be sorted out. My digital workings were the first produced for LGB and the impulses work in series to work the different sounds and commands. This produces a slight delay when say 7 impulses have to be conveyed. The newer system sends impulses in parallel and therefore pretty instant compared to mine. However it would cost a lot to replace as you have to purchase a new central station controller and I do not see the point at my time of life! especially as it works ok. I could go R/C from the handsets by adding a plug in piece, but I find the long remote handsets ok to use. As for the track standing up to the German winter, no problems with LGB track, it is strong and durable, but the problem is electric connectivity and conduction at the joints. I was having problems after two winters due to earth movement with tree roots and the like and was constantly frustrated with loose connections which you could not see. I decided to take it all up and cleaned each individual piece of track and took the oportunity to replace sections of track with metre pieces to cut down on the connections. I then set to work with a handy little drilling tool with two bushed 2mm holes. You place the track in and drill two holes at each end of the track, which ends up looking like a prototype rail. I bought 2mm bolts and nuts and fishplates with four holes already stamped which when used to connect the track, they produce the correct space between tracks to allow for expansion and contraction (bearing in mind summer and winter tmperatures vary from sometimes 30oc to -20oC) After relaying all the track using carbon paste between fishplates and rail, I drilled the track sleepers about every two foot and used rawplugs to screw the track down to the concrete foundations. This allows the track to slide under expansion and contraction and has worked perfectly since. After three months of terrible weather, where the snow formed thick ice for several weeks, the track was just vacuumed to clear away all the winter debris and the rail surface cleaned up. Electrics connected and it worked perfectly first time, for which I was extremely grateful. Hope that explains how I made my railway function. Many people have different methods of laying track and it is usually down to local conditions. I have to say it was a great project to build from scratch with no previous experience, just reading how other people did it and deciding what to do yourself. Regards Tom
I have just found these photographs buried away whilst looking for old photographs to make up an album for our middle daughters forthcoming Confirmation. The photographs are from my initial construction stages, showing the front and rear garden without the side garden connections. The garden has matured quite a lot since the photographs were taken about 6 years ago, come to think of it so have the children. Regards Tom
Some photographs of last weeks train running at our daughters Confirmation party. I have to say that these photographs were taken by a family member who's hobby is taking photographs. It really shows. Hope you like the shots including the going dark scenes. Regards Tom
As it is a milestone on my life tomorrow as I hit the big 60th Birthday, I was convinced into having a party at the house and so I have spent most of the day cleaning up the track area to remove all the rubbish accumulated over the winter, followed by a light cleaning of the rail heads. Rain most of the week prevented me from getting on with the cleaning of the track, but the weather changed for the better yesterday and hence the last minute preparations. I am now paying the price as I have several aches! The big bonus was that I set up the electrics and placed a Meyer Loco with sound on the track and off it went fault free. I am now looking forward to a garden full of friends and neighbours, who will be able to enjoy the sight and sounds of the layout whilst indulging in much BBQ eating and drinking. I just have to hope for a nice day . Regards Tom
Tom, All the best for tomorrow. Hope you have great weather to go alongside what surely promises to be a great time with family and friends. Many happy returns. D PS You sure it's aches from the work and not just old age?
Hooraaaaaaay! When's the great day? Is there going to be free beer? Hope it all goes well Tom. We look forward to the photos. W Tomorrow is the big Day and yes I have adequate amounts of beer etc stored You may have to wait a few days for photos as I am travelling South on Monday for a few days at a wellness hotel. Regards Tom
