Some things are worth collecting
It has been five years since, in a quest to assemble a specific train, I acquired a model of an East German dining car in the then typical red Mitropa livery. At the time, I didn’t really know what I …
Fun with Signals
Some time ago I took delivery of my first batch of signals. These are generic 3-light signals made in China. They aren’t particularly prototypical – the aspects resemble a type of signal used here in Queensland, as well as some …
The Possibly Most Asked Question by DCC Beginners, Pt II: What to avoid doing
If you made it here from Pt I, and are willing to hear me out a bit more, let’s talk about a few things to avoid. And by ‘things’, I am mainly referring to certain brands that are likely to …
The Possibly Most Asked Question by DCC Beginners, Pt I: An Attempt at answering it
So you’ve decided to get into model railways. Congratulations and welcome to the fold. It’s a beautiful hobby that can be practised in many different ways, and all of them are equally valid. You’ve probably already read a bit about …
Past Highlights and Future Plans
Yes, it’s been a while. Again. You have my permission to chuckle. Amidst webserver woes and general life challenges I have not had the time or energy to post, much less make significant progress with my model train setup. But …
Point Motor Shoot-Out, Servo and Volley
Well over two years ago, I wrote about the conclusion of my quest to find point motors. At the time, the Cobalt motors became the solution of choice. But of course, that couldn’t have been the end of it. Why …
2022 In Retrospect
Another year has gone by, and while this blog was offline for part of it, sufficient things have happened in the train room this year. The layout has made progress to the point where we can at least run trains, …
Trainspotting: Grandchester Double Feature
Today I caught two trains coming through Grandchester in opposite directions. 2315D and 2309D pulled into Grandchester station waiting for a green signal. The dual track merges into a single track at this point. At the same time, 2308D and …
Trainspotting: Aurizon 2388D and 2313D
Today, I caught Aurizon’s 2388D and 2313D coming through Grandchester with an empty coal train. The voiceover is from my daughter, who delights in identifying the colour schemes of the locos. 2388D is a ‘Banana’ (late QR National/early Aurizon livery), …
Building a Programming Box, Part 2
Truth be told… the Mk1 of the programming box was always more of a proof-of-concept than an actually usable thing. It was used once or twice, but was so unwieldy that it really needed improvement. I had a few things …