I, like Calebtrain, use a fog machine for my videos, but with the way I've set everything up, there is little to no residue left behind. I'd love to add smoke generators to my locos (the extra maintenance isn't a problem with me), but in order for them to work properly I'd have to convert the models to DCC, and I really don't want to do that lol

Thank you very much! Very glad you enjoyed it

Here's a short video showcasing the final section of the layout: Tidmouth. Hope you enjoy this RWS-based location

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RDHjIP9R9Y

Quote from: sodorfan on July 28, 2013, 12:23:41 PM
Sorry for double Posting, but I do remember hearing lady's/Millie's whistle in a WWI documentary but it might have been different, I don't really remember that well.

Just to clarify, King of the Railway was not cancelled. I think mrrailroad may be a bit confused, as Fergusfan17 meant that the WWII movie was cancelled. The only place I could see that movie being brought up is from a misread of the above post. Sorry if I'm wrong, just clarifying if anyone is confused

Yes, I believe you are correct. They were (apparently) 'Arry and Bert's season five models but repainted.

No problem

Quote from: PasqualeCS96 on July 03, 2013, 12:05:12 PMJust in case this does happen to other models, what do you use for juice? Oil or some sort of lubricant?

You don't need to lubricate him if he's brand new. You'll probably do more damage over lubricating him

He's a stunning model, both to look at and performance wise. But I must say this...I was running him in this morning after he arrived in the mail, and after about 15 minutes running in reverse, he started to jolt and he died out. I managed to get him to move a few inches after waiting several minutes, but he wouldn't go more than a few seconds before he died out. I took off his shell and gave him some juice. He inched forward, but I noticed that there was an orange glow coming from the motor. I used a tiny flat head screw driver to pry two little copper contacts away from the main rotating section, and voila! The glow was gone, and he started running again. My guess is that the contacts were shorting out the motor I'm hoping the problem isn't persistent in all the models out there, but if you find you have this problem with your Duck model, I hope this helps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MtG83uF0NU

My pleasure

Quote from: TobyTheTram16 on July 01, 2013, 10:26:54 AM*Silly questions alert* when the track has been soldered, will it provide power to the entire layout? Or only a certain part of the layout? how many transformers would you reccomend for a layout of this size? Again sorry for the sort-of silly questions, this is my first time building an ACTUAL layout. Thank you jward and ThomasFan247 for the info. ThomasFan247 your layout is fantastic by the way, and yes I live in the U.S so atlas is my best bet for now.

Yes the whole layout will be powered, but you will choose when each part is powered. I don't think me explaining it will do you justice, so here's a diagram:



Using the Atlas selector, you can either use one or two transformers. The diagram shows that two are used, but I only use one for each main line, at least for now. For your layout, I'd suggest using one unless you want to operate multiple locos independently at the same time.

Thank you very much for the comments! There are no silly questions here, and we're happy to help you out

Quote from: SodorAdventures on June 29, 2013, 04:51:01 PM
Hey, you asked a lot of valid questions. I can give a little advice and that is to say stay away from peco. Aside from its' ridiculous cost, its not better than atlas flex. In fact, atlas code 83 flex track is better than the peco. Anyway, I would also stay away from DCC for now because it is a lot more complicated. I'll be back and edit this with more, as now I have to go!

                                                                                         -Tanner

I wouldn't say that Atlas is necessarily better. For what it's worth, it most certainly does the job and looks great. I use Atlas code 83 track myself, and I love it. But Peco does have its advantages.

1) Peco track is more detailed than Atlas, specifically when it comes to the spikes and rail heads.
2) Peco's track comes in code 100 and code 75, prototypical to British railway modeling. Though Atlas' code 83 rails look just fine, they are (prototypically) wrong.
3) Peco's track utilizes the bullhead structure seen on British rails. Atlas uses the flat-bottom rail typical in North America. Again, this makes Atlas track the 'incorrect' track because of the prototype. Here's a comparison of the two rails:

4) The switches made by Peco are powered by a spring that throws the point to one direction once it passes the center point. This snaps the moving tongue (moving part of the points that guides the train in a specific direction) against the stationary rail. This allows the lack of point motors and switch throws. Atlas track, however, does not use a spring, so the switch will only loosely stay in position. A stray bump or imperfection of a flange could push the tongue out of place, causing a derailment or allowing the loco/rolling stock to 'jump' the point and proceed along the other direction.
5) Peco's insulated frog switches are insulated with plastic, but the tops of the insulation are covered with a strip of metal to enhance detail and realism. Atlas' insulated frog switches do not have this metal. Instead, the frog is painted brown like the ties, which decreases the realism. Also to add to the frogs, locos tend to run smoother over Peco frogs, while they tend to jolt and stall on Atlas frogs.

Quote from: TobyTheTram16 on June 29, 2013, 03:55:22 PM
Hey guys I plan on building a new layout resembling Thomas's branchline. Design or scenery is not an issue, it's power and track. What do you think is the best way to power an entire layout with AC/DC control I heard that soldering works preaty well, but I'm not sure how to do that. How do you guys power your layouts? Also what track brands would you recommend? Simierski from YouTube recommends PECO Code 100, what are your thoughts? And finally what are your oppinions on DCC, is it worth it? Are there any good tutorials to convert your locos to DCC? Any specific benifets from DCC?

As I stated above, Peco is actually a very good brand of track, and it has its benefits. If you live in the UK, I'd go with Peco as it is easily available to you. If you live in the US, I'd suggest you buy Atlas as it's the cheaper of the two brands and it still gets the job done with very nice quality.

As for DCC, it's really not too complicated once the decoders are installed in the locomotives. Here's a video tutorial on how to install a decoder in Thomas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDSbVQgVfec. Installing chips in the other Thomas brand locos should be very similar if not the same.

If you're not going for DCC and you want to be able to control when each section is powered, you'd have to go with block wiring as jward said above. Block wiring is okay on small layouts, but if you have a big layout with loads of isolated sections, you may just want to spend the money and go DCC. I, of course, didn't listen to my own advice just given, and I went the block wiring route. I have about 30 'blocks' on my layout, and I can't even tell you how many holes I had to drill, how much soldering I had to do, and how much wiring is beneath my 10x10 layout. To clear things up about soldering, it's actually pretty simple. All you need is a soldering iron and rosin core. I purchased a handheld, plug-in soldering iron from Lowes hardware for $30.00. This is the exact one: http://www.lowes.com/pd_357336-273-WPS18MP_4294772306__?productId=3402986&Ntt=soldering+iron+tips&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dsoldering%2Biron%2Btips&facetInfo=. There should be plenty of tutorials on YouTube on how to solder wire to rails.

I hope that all helps!

Thank you It is a Walthers Cornerstone Kit

Thanks very much, both of you SA, I actually just found a high-quality picture of a brick wall online, printed and cut it out, and pasted it to the backdrop

You could go SodorAdventure's way, which I would definitely look into if price isn't a huge problem, but if it is you could always insert short straightaways throughout the outside loop if the radius is not big enough