Getting Power to Sidings on a 00 Gauge Track

Sidings can be tricky. They're a great place to store rolling stock when it's not in use (i.e. in a hidden fiddle yard) and can also make excellent scenic features when you just want to show off your collection of weathered coal trucks.

However, they're often out on a limb slightly, fed by a single track, probably via an insulated set of points. This can mean that they either don't get power, or it's not reliable. 

The sidings may even be part of a bolt-on fiddle yard that is constantly being removed for storage.

None of these situations are ideal, but there are a few ways to make sure that, if needed, power gets to the sidings reliably.

Sidings That Don't Need Power

There's a line of thought that says that sidings are for storage, and as such don't actually need power at all.

As long as you can back the train in, drop the carriages, trucks or wagons, and roll off again, sidings don't need power in their entirety. They do, however, need a powered section for the locomotive. Consider the following track section with hidden sidings:

In this example, the Hidden Sidings don't need power, and the transition could even be disguised as a bridge (it's currently just behind a shed!)

Getting Power to Sidings

It could be useful, though, to power the sidings, even if they are part of a removable fiddle yard, but relying on the track to power itself (even via fishplates) is probably not a good option.

Clearly soldering a drop-wire (or dropper) from the on-scene to off-scene track is also not a good idea, if the fiddle yard (or hidden sidings) are to be removable.

The answer is to source the power directly (i.e. not from the track) and use a 3.5mm jack connector or banana clips to deliver the power to the siding. For those not wanting to use solder, banana clips don't need to be soldered to the wires, whereas a 3.5mm plug and jack do need to be soldered.

On the other end of the wires, there are also solder and solder-free solutions. In both cases the webbing between the track and the chair needs to be removed to expose the track.

Holes can then be drilled under the track, and the wire fed through, and soldered to the exposed track.

For non-solder users, a small conducting screw should be used - the wire can be wound round the screw (which is screwed into the hole) and the head of the screw pushed up against the track, thereby providing it with power.

In this way, you can get power to sidings, hidden or not, without worrying about lining up the tracks or risking bending the connecting fishplates.

Folkestone MRC Annual Show

On the 7th of October 2012, I was lucky enough to visit the Folkestone, Hythe & District Model Railway Club 2012 exhibition.

It was the second time I'd visited the exhibition in as many years, and the weather was, once again, superb. There's something about a Sunday morning on the cliffs of Folkestone - the crisp air, gentle breeze, and sunshine just seem to come together to set the mood for the day.

I was, predictably, early, so took a gentle stroll along the cliff top path. There's an interesting funicular railway (the Leas Cliff Railway) that dates from 1885 which is worth a look, and often a car boot sale in the car park beneath the cliff.

Eventually it was time to meander back to the Leas Cliff Hall, buy tickets, and stand in line for entry to the show.

Flicking through the programme (I tend to buy one as a kind of souvenir), it became obvious that the day would be special - at least for me - as there were several layouts that I'd seen in magazines, but never in the flesh, so to speak.

One of these is the military themed Rowland's Castle, which I've always wanted to see running, and was surprised at the amount of detail that's left out of magazine articles on it. If you're lucky enough to see Rowland's Castle, look out for the Standstead Forest infantry camp.

The attention to detail is stunning.

The Folkestone MRC show itself is liberally spread on two floors, plus balconies and corridors, full of things to see, operate, and buy. All the stalls from last year were much as I remembered, all well stocked and relevant, but once again I was surprised that only a few of them seemed willing to accept card payment.

Hornby was there, again, extolling the virtues of their DCC system. I'll freely admit that last year I gave them the cold shoulder, after having a few bad experiences with low quality DCC gear from them in the past.

This year, I decided to have a second look at what they have to offer, as I'm evaluating computer control options for my two layouts. For those who don't know, the options are to stay with Piko, and use an IR transmitter to control the layouts.

This isn't ideal, and the feedback options are limited, so the next option is a Sprog 3 plus Heathcote Electronics interfaces, but it's still a bit of a chewing-gum and sticky-tape solution. Flexible, but tricky.

From what I saw, the Hornby Railmaster software, plus the Elite Controller (and a laptop) is the way forward, and something that I'll be investigating whilst I put together my Christmas list!

So, at the Folkestone MRC show, I saw layouts that I'd previously only seen in magazines, found a few answers to some pertinent questions relating to DCC, and saw how layouts get operated once they're built.

It's a full day for a model rail enthusiast, and perhaps half a day for those with only a casual interest, not including shopping time!

More information about next year's exhibition, which I also hope to be attending, can be found on the Folkestone MRC web site.

How to Add Sound to a Model Rail Layout

A little bit of sound on a layout can add an extra dimension to the experience, albeit at a cost.

DCC Sound

The sound is provided by a speaker, connected to a special DCC decoder that can store sound files to be played back through the speaker.

The decoder can store several sounds, depending on what the locomotive is supposed to be doing:

• idling;
• starting;
• running;
• braking;
• etc.

The decoder and speaker are then mounted in the locomotive.

DCC Sound on Locos

This can be a delicate operation : as with fitting any decoder, it requires taking the locomotive apart, and fitting both the decoder and the speaker.

Larger diesels will have space between the bogies, steam locomotives ought to have space in the tender, or in the body itself.

Smaller locomotives, such as the Class 08 diesel or 0-4-0 steam engines will be fiddly, and where possible, pre-fitted DCC sound models should be bought in preference to trying to retro fit the sound kit.

DCC Sound on the Layout

There is, however, another way, and that is to use one decoder for all the locos, mounted on the baseboard.

This has some obvious advantages, such as sound quality, and some clear disadvantages, such as the sound not following the locomotive around the layout.

Of course, a big advantage is that the decoder and speaker do not need to be mounted in the loco, although they do still need to be DCC. This is because the decoder needs to decode the control signals, decide which loco it is destined for, and play the appropriate sound file.

So, in a nutshell, that's how DCC sound works. It's a complex topic, covered in some depth in the book DCC Projects & Applications: Digital Command Control for Your Model Railroad (Model Railroader). It covers all aspects of DCC, and provides information that can be applied immediately to those who want to add DCC to their layout, or extend an existing layout.

Getting Started in Model Rail : High Street Brands

Everyone has to start somewhere in the model rail hobby, and one of the best ways is to buy some ready to run, off the shelf kit from one of the main high street brands.

There are many, many manufacturers of model rail equipment, locomotives and rolling stock, and they range from fairly specialist makes to two or three brands generally available on any high street, or via the web.

So, gauge by gauge, here is a guide to some of the most popular readily available brands for those just getting started with model rail.

OO - Hornby Railroad

Hornby International is one of the oldest established brands, with sub brands including Hornby, Hornby Railroad, and Lima.

Railroad is a hobby oriented brand, offering slightly cheaper, less detailed and lower specification locomotives and rolling stock. 

Since the acquisition of Scalextric, some of the Railroad locomotives allegedly come with a Scalextric motor, leading them to be less smooth to operate, and with unrealistic acceleration and top speeds.

Despite this, it's a good starting point for a model rail enthusiast; but be aware that the couplers are not generally compatible with other brands such as Bachmann and more expensive Hornby models.

Railroad boxes are easy to spot, as they have yellow flashing on the bottom, below the window.

OO - Hornby

Within the Hornby range, there are also various levels of finishing and price. While any model from this range will be of good quality, some are better value than others.

Where Hornby does stand out is with the excellent selection of starter packs, which are available from many toy shops. Often these are laid out next to makes like Mehano, and Lima, which can make Hornby (and Bachmann) seem a bit expensive, but the additional investment is well worth it.

OO/HO - Bachmann

Like Hornby, Bachmann has a number of sub-brands in the group, some of which produce European outline stock in HO, US also in HO, and British outline in OO.

Personally, from the various models I have purchased, Bachmann locomotives seem to be better finished, and smoother than the Hornby equivalents, but that some of the Hornby rolling stock (brake vans, for example) offer better value.

Bachmann rolling stock also all comes with standard NEM pockets, making it easy to extend the collection with more rolling stock. It is organized by era to make it easier to cross-match rolling stock without needing to overload on research!

HO - Piko

For European outline stock, Piko is probably the most accessible, and is available in Expert and Hobby, mainly French and German stock, organized by era and region. This makes it easy to match up stock and keep a consistent rake together.

Piko also make good value packs of both freight and passenger trains, complete with track, controllers, and layout ideas.

Piko Hobby boxes can be spotted by the red flashing with Hobby written on them. Piko Expert boxes have blue flashing with Expert written on.

N - Graham Farish

While the smaller gauges (N and Z) are less popular, they require less space, and are gaining in popularity.

Graham Farish, a Bachmann sub brand, provide excellent quality models, at very reasonable prices.

Z - Marklin

Marklin is a bit of an odd-ball, having chosen to implement a 3 rail power system for its locomotives, rendering it incompatible with all the others mentioned here.

For all that, in Z gauge, it does have some interesting starter packs, and is a very space-conscious way to get into model rail as a hobby.

Finally, a few notes about track. Peco is perhaps the largest manufacturer of track, but Hornby also manufactures its own. Generally, it is not possible to mix track between manufacturers, so if a Hornby pack is bought, future expansions will also need Hornby track.

However, HO and OO will both run on the same set-track (i.e. pre-cut, slot together pieces) regardless of manufacturer.

Power is supplied to the track via a special adapter, as either DC or AC. 16v AC is used for so-called DCC (digital command control) trains, while DC is used for analogue sets.

If in doubt - start with a DC (i.e. analogue) solution, as DCC can always be added at a later date. It's far harder to start with DCC as it comes with a whole slew of options, settings, and possibilities that baffle even experienced model rail enthusiasts!