how does the branchline stuff run?

smooth as atlas?

how about hornby?

I've admired all the euro stuff fro years, but have never seen how smoothly they run

Quote from: David(UK) on February 09, 2007, 10:04:51 AM
Hmmmm. NMRA -  National Model Railroad Association.
Definition of National
Characteristic of or peculiar to the people of a nation;
Limited to or in the interests of a particular nation;
Of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country.

ie We Brits don't have to abide by your national standards as our OO is peculiar to us!

few things are more precious than a proud Briton standing tall against the oppression of the NMRA

i just installed a sound system under my layout, and it creates an amazing effect. It is very atmosopheric to hear distant clattering, rumbling and other noise in the background.

I used an old set of computer speakers, and an MP3 player my daughter doesn't use anymore.

I downloaded one of the sample files from the website below, and, although it is only 90 seconds long or so, it plays in a loop, and when it plays at low volumes it is very cool.

http://www.fantasonics.com/store/store.html

I plan to buy one of their CD's. but for the time being, the short loop is very effective.

I got this from one of my favorite sites of all time, the Micro Layout Design Gallery, hosted by Carl Arend't.

http://carendt.com/scrapbook/page57a/index.html

this cheap sound system turned out to be a big improvement on my tiny layout. I highly recommend installing a sound system

Here's a couple pics of my layout.:

http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m191/haz43/?action=view&current=DSCN2134.jpg

if you want to try something less than 4x8, but which still has lots of interesting operations and scenicking, I suggest this great site:

http://carendt.us/

I've done two shelf layouts now, and both provide lots of operation, and plenty of scenery and detail work

here's a pic of the gas station, but i couldnt take a night shot that looked good.

you'll have to take my word that the lights look cool


http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m191/haz43/?action=view&current=DSCN2134.jpg

i;ve just finished installing LEDs in a warehouse, and in a gas station. The layout really looks good at night.

I'm trying to get some decent picks to put on my photobucket folder. Will put em up tonight

thanks very much to jesse and all that pitched in with tips;)

thanks jesse, you rock;)

omw to radio shack!

i bought one of those 100 dollar sw8's and just returned it. The thing had traction tires, which didnt impress me, and ran very poorly.  It was so light, that it lost good contact frequently with the track, and would shut down.

i took it to the local train shoppe, and the owner said that in order to fit the speaker into the frame, a lot of metal had to be cut from the frame, leaving the engine underweight (hence the need for traction tires)

incidentally, the Walther's lady (who was very nice) said that they had gotten quite a few returns on this sw8, and that walther's was discontinuing it.

i returned it and replaced it with a heavier machine from atlas and have had no problems.

hope you had better luck than i did;)

Hi Jesse, I am having a hard time figuring out exactly what gets attached to what in the wiring for your LED light setup.

I really dont know diddly about electrical stuff to begin with, so please bear with me;)

would you mind making a sketch or taking another shot of your setup?

I can't quite make out how the LED on the right is wired.

do both leads from the left hand LED go back to the battery?

thanks in advance..i feel like a dope!

very nice gas station, jesse;)

thanks for the tip!  that looks like exactly what i need

i would like to add a few lights to the buildings on my shelf layout

I switch out my structures now and then to mix up the look, so I would like to make some battery powered lights that i can use in the various buildings in put on the layout

(i also am pretty ignorant and terrified of electrical jobs)

..so i am wondering if there are any companies that make small, battery powered LED light kits, or if anyone knows of a site with this kind of information.

here area couple shots of my layout to give you an idea what i'm working with.

thanks in advance for your consideration and cleverness;)

here's a link to my layout:

http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m191/haz43/?action=view&current=debtrain008.jpg

just bought the beast, and it ran almost silently, creeping perfectly around the yard, a nest of dodgily installed turnouts.

I'm in heaven

Then, just now, I hear a scratchy humming when crank in some voltage.

the frequency of the thrumming goes up as I increase throttle.

the engine still runs very smoothly, it's just the sound that is driving me bats.

I guess I'm taking the thing back to the shop tomorrow, but if anyone has an idea what's happening, i'd be grateful to hear it.