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 CZcams 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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 😀
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, 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 🙏
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 😇
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.
15K sounds very low when one DCC sound loco sells at about £250 each nowadays, let alone the building. ( The 2nd hand double-slip cost you £21.......) Re detachable screening boards ..... I have used cupboard magnets fixed to the base boards, and the mating metal strips hot glued to the screen. NO screw driver required for removal.
To add to your "finished" goal, be assured that when you think that you are all done, something will pop-up that need to be changed, adjusted, modified, and so on. We also always NEED some new rolling stock, don't we! That's model-railroad for you. It looks like that you may have a major short somewhere.
Blimey! Thank heavens I'm DC analogue... As for which area to tackle, I think the main station and scenic wise, the area that isn't going to take up a lot of time.
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! 😎
Re Insurance. One other tip. If the shed burnt to the ground, the insurance company would not write you a check for 15K pounds. Rather, you would have to document the exact details of what you loss. and you can't just say 6 locos, etc. You have to be as specific as possible with every little thing you lost. The best way is to document ahead of time with pictures and description of everything. remember, they are not in business to lose money.
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!
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
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
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.
I would like to see the river and branch line approaches done. I would also consider doing a grass embankment for the grading to the goods yard with cluster of trees to separate the farm scene from the grade. You would have to look at using semi relief trees and a whole bunch of rock formation. I see many years of layout building to come. The idea that you should price your own layout is flawed. Just looking at what you have 15,000 pounds seems to be on the low side. It would be a good restart from partial losses but some parts are irreplaceable (90 odd Tortoise points) and the rolling stock has been going up in price every year. An example might be a single express set replacement. One locomotive/engine and 6 to 8 coaches could easily cost 1,000 pounds. That does not include the hours you would spend sourcing the like for like replacements. Other modellers talk about spending 1,000 pounds on 10-12 wagon sets for a train. Have someone check your figures. Insurance is never enough and I hope you ever have to use it. On a positive note: Sorry to hear that your layout has a major electrical issue. Hope you can fix it or get someone else in to check its safe soon. I look forward to the next step. Hoping that it is the River scene and into the station including the back scene track to your goods yard. thanks for the uppdate.
Many thanks, George, you have made some interesting points. Yes I am going to reassess the insurance valuation next week. As for layout progress, the branch line will get attention as soon as I finish the freight yard. Regards, Charlie
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.
The branch Line Station First... And I cant believe you only have 15K replacement value in your layout. I think you need to look at that again. You have to have at least 5K in engines alone. Keep up the good work.
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 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
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!
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 🍻🍀👍
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, 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
Hobbies can be very incremental. You spend £20, or £40, even £50 enough times and it all adds up. I, tool would snap up coverage at £90/year--but, that's due to the fact that, here in the States, water damage requires special riders, and varies from State to State based on that State's Insurance laws.
Hi Charlie, tripping the house is bad... but it could indicate a power supply issue (an isolated power supply should make an earth leak issue impossible, unless it has failed, which could damage all connected devices.)
Many thanks for your concern. It was the Earth leakage circuit breaker that did the deed. I’ve now replaced one of the DC power supplies and things seem to be improving. Regards Charlie
You might want to check your surge protectors themselves. Just to make sure you ain't got a bad one. The chances of that may be slim however for that peace of mind.... Worth having a look. Good luck charlie.
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 Charlie, I see the poppy you are wearing for November, well done. Please ensure your insurance does cover the value, or a subsequent claim may be reduced as a result. If your insured value is set at, say £15k and the true value, following an investigation by a claims adjuster, turns out to be £30k, then the claim will be reduced prorata. I.E., if the goods are insured for half the value, the claim will be paid out at half the replacement value.
Hi Charlie, great video, thoroughly enjoyed it, packed with information! The insurance for my attention so will be looking into my current policy as layout is in the attached garage. Will definitely be looking to use that flexible mdf board for my cover at the front of the layout! Finally a list is a great idea to focus but I still struggle and jump around all over the place and never get anything finished! Love the idea of the CZcams course I would not qualify really as have over 1K subscribers but still don’t fully understand CZcams 😂 Cheers Gary
Email me Gary, I’ll still accept you. You appear to be a butterfly modeller, one that flits from job to job. I suggest you only go to your railway room with a job in mind. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie yes a butterfly modeller is very apt!! Thank you got your comment about emailing you on the CZcams course but after checking my diary I have unfortunately another commitment on that date so I would not be able to attend. Cheers Gary
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
Used to it after 15 years Charlie, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, about to start a new layout, last one was about 43yrs ago! Started collecting Triang, HD, South African Lima brand items, then kit-built locos, some Hornby, old time USA, brass, so prefer DC to run the older stuff. May combine UK steam in onecsection with mid 1800s US on another. Finally have some space & it'll probably be a folded dog-bone plus another return loop on the other side of the room - need to leave space for French doors onto rooftop patio & door into room which is also my office - running Tambopata Travel specialising in rainforest experiences in the Tambopata rainforest a short flight fom Lima or Cusco & have also started UrTops on Redbubble with exclusive model railway/railroading designs on t-shirts, mugs, caps etc. Looking forward to your next video & congrats again on the award - very well-deserved 😊
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. 👌
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
Insurance is nothing but legalized extortion. Some of the largest skyscrapers are owned by insurance companies. They always find a way to say: Not covered, if you had this coverage..... Thanks for the video... Informative as always.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
Good point about insurance. I am strictly a DC chap, but I have priced up the gubbins (I believe that's the term the industry uses) you have under each board, and I think you may have underestimated a bit. But, fingers crossed, you'll not need to claim. I get the feeling there's a bit more than twelve months worth of work listed there! ;-) In the spirit of "your layout, your rules", do whatever you want and we'll still be here to watch your struggles and occasional triumphs. Cheers
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!
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!
I'm probably telling you what you already know Charlie but, for what it's worth...... In my experience, problem-solving computer issues often comes down to asking, what changed between it last working and it not working now? That's after you've done the ubiquitous power off and power back on check. I'm not familiar with how all the different components on your layout work together but another useful problem solving technique for complex setups like yours - if it's possible to do this - would be to switch everything off and then switch each item back on, one at a time. As you switch each item on, make sure all the powered up items are working together as expected. If they are, add the next. If not, then try removing items until you have clearly identified either (a) the faulty component or (b) a faulty connection between 2 components. Repeating this process in different order can also help to confirm your initial findings and/or identify other faults. Best of luck with the problem solving....... I look forward to hearing what you finally identify as the underlying root cause of your problem. Kind regards, Vernon
@@ChadwickModelRailway Glad you're narrowing down the root cause Charlie. In some ways I hope it's a simple thing to fix. Then again, you've gone and purchased a new electrical component so I also hope that doesn't turn out to be a needless purchase. Keep up the great work. Best regards, Vernon
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.
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 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.
I love the video, much info I can use. If I pay full price for a loco & the co. takes a long time to deliver, I’d put that at the start of the review. 👍🏽👍🏽✌🏽
@@ChadwickModelRailway the phrase about “a slow boat from China” is so true. (I am blessed that my sister in law got me a railroad gift certificate from Atlas, after 28 years she bought me something for my favorite hobby) Thank she looked up train cars and Atlas was the first she saw so I had to use the gift certificate through the “Atlas” website. 5 Atlas hoppers for my Birthday in February: 2 arrived in August, 2 are supposedly on a slow boat from China that should be here in Virginia USA by the end of the year & the 5th hopper hasn’t been manufactured yet, but I’ve only had to pay for the 2 I’ve had delivered. The first two are very well done by the way.
I've used Model Train Catalogue Software to just orangise my collection that fitted into 4 really useful boxes... ...£11k genuinely couldn't believe it!
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
Hi Charlie, I think your estimate maybe a little light for the insurance cost. A comment below suggests £50 K. Probably near the mark given replacements always cost more than you originally paid as does the electronics and model scenery.(and you do have an extensive system) Great vid. Well done.
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
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
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.”
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!
Thanks for the info about insurance something easily forgotten! However, with the current prices, you could probably multiply your cover by 10+ times eg loco + decoder + sound could well be £300+; coaches £40+; wagons £15+ then points, track, etc etc - soon adds up!!!! On next projects, it would be nice for the branch line terminus to be finished - it's been waiting patiently a long while. Biscuits aren't really made with milk but butter, flour and sugar - you may need to adjust your consist?
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 ❤
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.
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.
Another great video Charlie on your Autumn update sorry to hear about the power on chadwick which ever option you choose to do first it’s going to look great after chatting to you at GETS about your freight yard and goods and industry at the branch line end l took inspiration from your and have put a couple of holding sidings for a class 158 East Midlands trains DMU when not in service when one of my class 43’s are running on the main line a hornby container wagon whichl bought along with a peco point from GETS the third line I have created is a parcel train siding for my heljan class 128 parcel train which I still have to put a decoder in have you any ideas and also got a hornby skaledale goods shed which will be a great parcel depot so thanks for all your inspiration and great ideas to hopefully give us great enjoyment from our hobby Take care Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
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 CZcams 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
15K sounds very low when one DCC sound loco sells at about £250 each nowadays, let alone the building. ( The 2nd hand double-slip cost you £21.......) Re detachable screening boards ..... I have used cupboard magnets fixed to the base boards, and the mating metal strips hot glued to the screen. NO screw driver required for removal.
Thanks Rob, for an interesting solution. Regards, Charlie
To add to your "finished" goal, be assured that when you think that you are all done, something will pop-up that need to be changed, adjusted, modified, and so on. We also always NEED some new rolling stock, don't we! That's model-railroad for you. It looks like that you may have a major short somewhere.
I think that you’re probably right mate. Stay safe, regards, Charlie
Go for the Branchline station. And it should be the Bishops broken biscuit factory.
Cheers
An excellent suggestion, Ashley. Regards, Charlie
Blimey! Thank heavens I'm DC analogue...
As for which area to tackle, I think the main station and scenic wise, the area that isn't going to take up a lot of time.
Thanks Douglas. I think that once the freight yard is laid, I’ll tackle the branch line. 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
Re Insurance. One other tip. If the shed burnt to the ground, the insurance company would not write you a check for 15K pounds. Rather, you would have to document the exact details of what you loss. and you can't just say 6 locos, etc. You have to be as specific as possible with every little thing you lost. The best way is to document ahead of time with pictures and description of everything. remember, they are not in business to lose money.
Thanks Les, for an excellent comment and advice. 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
A row of stretchers and a row of headers is called English Bond, wheras a header and stretcher in the same row is called Flemish Bond
Interesting stuff, many thanks. 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
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
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.
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
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
The branchline station area would be my area of interest 👍 Thanks, Chris
I think that’s the primary objective straight after the freight yard. Regards, Jai
Still lots to do. Love the work you have done
Thanks Redbank, it’s great to have you on board. Regards Charlie
I would like to see the river and branch line approaches done. I would also consider doing a grass embankment for the grading to the goods yard with cluster of trees to separate the farm scene from the grade. You would have to look at using semi relief trees and a whole bunch of rock formation. I see many years of layout building to come.
The idea that you should price your own layout is flawed. Just looking at what you have 15,000 pounds seems to be on the low side. It would be a good restart from partial losses but some parts are irreplaceable (90 odd Tortoise points) and the rolling stock has been going up in price every year. An example might be a single express set replacement. One locomotive/engine and 6 to 8 coaches could easily cost 1,000 pounds. That does not include the hours you would spend sourcing the like for like replacements. Other modellers talk about spending 1,000 pounds on 10-12 wagon sets for a train. Have someone check your figures. Insurance is never enough and I hope you ever have to use it.
On a positive note: Sorry to hear that your layout has a major electrical issue. Hope you can fix it or get someone else in to check its safe soon. I look forward to the next step. Hoping that it is the River scene and into the station including the back scene track to your goods yard. thanks for the uppdate.
Many thanks, George, you have made some interesting points. Yes I am going to reassess the insurance valuation next week.
As for layout progress, the branch line will get attention as soon as I finish the freight yard.
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
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
The branch Line Station First... And I cant believe you only have 15K replacement value in your layout. I think you need to look at that again. You have to have at least 5K in engines alone. Keep up the good work.
I believe that you’re dead right Steve. I really need to revisit this next week. 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
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
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
I think you have under estimated the value of the contents of your studio, especially when you add in all the photographic gear
I will be revisiting that value this week Kelvin. However, my filming gear is not part of that calculation. Regards, Charlie
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.
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
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
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
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, 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
Thanks for the tip on insurance all done now.
That’s great news Stephen, you’ll sleep more soundly now. 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
Hobbies can be very incremental. You spend £20, or £40, even £50 enough times and it all adds up.
I, tool would snap up coverage at £90/year--but, that's due to the fact that, here in the States, water damage requires special riders, and varies from State to State based on that State's Insurance laws.
As you say, Captain Mac, the money soon mounts up. Regards, Charlie.
Hi Charlie, tripping the house is bad... but it could indicate a power supply issue (an isolated power supply should make an earth leak issue impossible, unless it has failed, which could damage all connected devices.)
Many thanks for your concern. It was the Earth leakage circuit breaker that did the deed. I’ve now replaced one of the DC power supplies and things seem to be improving. 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
You might want to check your surge protectors themselves. Just to make sure you ain't got a bad one. The chances of that may be slim however for that peace of mind.... Worth having a look. Good luck charlie.
An excellent point, but how do you test the surge protector? Regards, Charlie
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
Thanks Charlie, I see the poppy you are wearing for November, well done. Please ensure your insurance does cover the value, or a subsequent claim may be reduced as a result. If your insured value is set at, say £15k and the true value, following an investigation by a claims adjuster, turns out to be £30k, then the claim will be reduced prorata. I.E., if the goods are insured for half the value, the claim will be paid out at half the replacement value.
He make an excellent point Brian, and I am going to revisit the value next week. Regards, Charlie
Great tip about insurance. I think you really underestimated replacement value!
You’re right Karl, I’m onto it next week. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, great video, thoroughly enjoyed it, packed with information! The insurance for my attention so will be looking into my current policy as layout is in the attached garage. Will definitely be looking to use that flexible mdf board for my cover at the front of the layout! Finally a list is a great idea to focus but I still struggle and jump around all over the place and never get anything finished! Love the idea of the CZcams course I would not qualify really as have over 1K subscribers but still don’t fully understand CZcams 😂 Cheers Gary
Email me Gary, I’ll still accept you.
You appear to be a butterfly modeller, one that flits from job to job. I suggest you only go to your railway room with a job in mind. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie yes a butterfly modeller is very apt!! Thank you got your comment about emailing you on the CZcams course but after checking my diary I have unfortunately another commitment on that date so I would not be able to attend. Cheers Gary
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
Another great vid Charlie! Watching from 11000ft in Cusco, Peru 😊
You can get oxygen sickness up there!
Regards, Charlie
Used to it after 15 years Charlie, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, about to start a new layout, last one was about 43yrs ago! Started collecting Triang, HD, South African Lima brand items, then kit-built locos, some Hornby, old time USA, brass, so prefer DC to run the older stuff. May combine UK steam in onecsection with mid 1800s US on another. Finally have some space & it'll probably be a folded dog-bone plus another return loop on the other side of the room - need to leave space for French doors onto rooftop patio & door into room which is also my office - running Tambopata Travel specialising in rainforest experiences in the Tambopata rainforest a short flight fom Lima or Cusco & have also started UrTops on Redbubble with exclusive model railway/railroading designs on t-shirts, mugs, caps etc. Looking forward to your next video & congrats again on the award - very well-deserved 😊
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 CZcams videos to prove his purchases!
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
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
Insurance is nothing but legalized extortion. Some of the largest skyscrapers are owned by insurance companies. They always find a way to say: Not covered, if you had this coverage..... Thanks for the video... Informative as always.
Thanks B68C, but insurance can be ignored for piece of mind.
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
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
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
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
Good guidance to check insurance......few would realise what you found out.
Yes, the insurance was clearly an eye-opener. Regards, Charlie
Well done Chas another work of art great job
Thanks John, that’s most kind. 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
Brilliant video Charlie I picked up a mag you may be interested modeling British railways just with you doing a fuelling depot cheers 🚂🚂🚂🚂
Many thanks for the offer, however, the fuel depot is probably the last thing on my list, as I have to lean across to do the TMD. 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
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
Good point about insurance. I am strictly a DC chap, but I have priced up the gubbins (I believe that's the term the industry uses) you have under each board, and I think you may have underestimated a bit. But, fingers crossed, you'll not need to claim.
I get the feeling there's a bit more than twelve months worth of work listed there! ;-) In the spirit of "your layout, your rules", do whatever you want and we'll still be here to watch your struggles and occasional triumphs. Cheers
You’re right Davey, I may need to reassess. 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
Charlie I would like to see the station finnish 1st. Great video thanks.
Hopefully you mean the branchline station Mark. It will be easier to do at one to practice before the main one.
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
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
I'm probably telling you what you already know Charlie but, for what it's worth......
In my experience, problem-solving computer issues often comes down to asking, what changed between it last working and it not working now? That's after you've done the ubiquitous power off and power back on check. I'm not familiar with how all the different components on your layout work together but another useful problem solving technique for complex setups like yours - if it's possible to do this - would be to switch everything off and then switch each item back on, one at a time. As you switch each item on, make sure all the powered up items are working together as expected. If they are, add the next. If not, then try removing items until you have clearly identified either (a) the faulty component or (b) a faulty connection between 2 components. Repeating this process in different order can also help to confirm your initial findings and/or identify other faults.
Best of luck with the problem solving....... I look forward to hearing what you finally identify as the underlying root cause of your problem.
Kind regards, Vernon
Many thanks for sharing your thoughts Vernon. However, I believe now the fault is within the TMD area. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Glad you're narrowing down the root cause Charlie. In some ways I hope it's a simple thing to fix. Then again, you've gone and purchased a new electrical component so I also hope that doesn't turn out to be a needless purchase.
Keep up the great work. Best regards, Vernon
Thanks Charlie, just arranged by insurance with Magnet online (10 mins)
Well done mate, it’s so much more reassuring. 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
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
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 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
I love the video, much info I can use. If I pay full price for a loco & the co. takes a long time to deliver, I’d put that at the start of the review. 👍🏽👍🏽✌🏽
Yes, Stephen, delivery times can be shocking. Regards, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway the phrase about “a slow boat from China” is so true. (I am blessed that my sister in law got me a railroad gift certificate from Atlas, after 28 years she bought me something for my favorite hobby) Thank she looked up train cars and Atlas was the first she saw so I had to use the gift certificate through the “Atlas” website. 5 Atlas hoppers for my Birthday in February: 2 arrived in August, 2 are supposedly on a slow boat from China that should be here in Virginia USA by the end of the year & the 5th hopper hasn’t been manufactured yet, but I’ve only had to pay for the 2 I’ve had delivered. The first two are very well done by the way.
I've used Model Train Catalogue Software to just orangise my collection that fitted into 4 really useful boxes... ...£11k genuinely couldn't believe it!
Thanks Ex E100, I shall check it out. 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
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.
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
Hi Charlie, I think your estimate maybe a little light for the insurance cost. A comment below suggests £50 K. Probably near the mark given replacements always cost more than you originally paid as does the electronics and model scenery.(and you do have an extensive system) Great vid. Well done.
Rest assured, I have revisited my expenditure and adjusted the insurance accordingly. 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
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
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
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
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
Thanks for the info about insurance something easily forgotten! However, with the current prices, you could probably multiply your cover by 10+ times eg loco + decoder + sound could well be £300+; coaches £40+; wagons £15+ then points, track, etc etc - soon adds up!!!!
On next projects, it would be nice for the branch line terminus to be finished - it's been waiting patiently a long while.
Biscuits aren't really made with milk but butter, flour and sugar - you may need to adjust your consist?
Perhaps it will be. Bishops Beer! 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
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.
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
Another great video Charlie on your Autumn update sorry to hear about the power on chadwick which ever option you choose to do first it’s going to look great after chatting to you at GETS about your freight yard and goods and industry at the branch line end l took inspiration from your and have put a couple of holding sidings for a class 158 East Midlands trains DMU when not in service when one of my class 43’s are running on the main line a hornby container wagon whichl bought along with a peco point from GETS the third line I have created is a parcel train siding for my heljan class 128 parcel train which I still have to put a decoder in have you any ideas and also got a hornby skaledale goods shed which will be a great parcel depot so thanks for all your inspiration and great ideas to hopefully give us great enjoyment from our hobby
Take care Kev Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Thanks Kevin, I’m so pleased that you have found my videos inspirational. Regards, Charlie