Ever since I was old enough to think 'why do I find this such a pleasant way
to spend time' I have never been able to answer the question - anyway sod the
reason I just like playing trains & it does not upset anybody else.

I chose N gauge simpley for the amount of stuff you could get into a reasonable 
space.  British N gauge is a scale of 2mm to the foot approx 1/148.

The main layout consists of 2 'C' shaped boards with a return loop at 1 end,
giving an overal measurement of 12 x 6 feet which I figure gives a rough scale 
distance of aproximately 1 mile round the main loop.  
The design is a large oval with a return loop at 1 end & a branch line running 
parallel to the main line along 1 side of the oval.

The model is not based on anywhere, I'm not that skilled' but the mountains
& type of stock could place it somewhere in Scotland.  As for the period its 
somewhere in the mid 70's so allowing me to run both modern image & some steam 
outline locomotives as a sort of preserved thing, again my theory here is if it 
looks nice so bugger reality.

Here are a few photos of the layout under construction:-

The locomotives are by Graham Farish, the coaching stock and wagons are
largely Graham Farish but with some Peco & the track work is all Peco.

The layout had taken a back seat for several years while my main
efforts had been directed on the garden railway, but my mind has returned to it 
recently with the addition of DCC control & sound in the locos which has really 
rekindled my interest in the project.  With my lack of sight I'm hoping the 
sound will allow me to create a soundscape as well as a tactile model - watch 
this space & take a look at my sound scape pages for further details:-.

Pictures & videos will be added as soon as I get a chance & the list of links
to suppliers added to again when I get time.

I'm using a Gaugemaster Prodigy advance DCC02 with two handsets & DCC55 USB
computer interface.  The computer interface is being controlled by JMRI version
4.10 software on the PC & Engine driver software on my Android phone, more about 
this later as I get time to play with all the features.

Basically DCC control means that you can control multiple engines & accessories 
from the one handset & unlike older DC systems several engines can be on the 
same bit of track at the same time doing completely different things.

Gone are the days of a simple controller with a single knob & a switch to 
determine direction, the Gaugemaster hands sets have 24  push buttons plus a 
knob & a LCD type screen to let you know what is going on.

To use an individual locomotive you must enter the engines unique address
into the handset & then you can select direction, lights, sound & speed
plus being able to call up various sound effects such as brakes, door slams,
guard whistle etc.

The computer interface has allowed me to even link my mobile phone into the 
system & control the trains with it.  This is still in the early stages for me
& might not prove to be very accessible for the various bits of access software
I use.

There is just so much to DCC control, apart from the engines you can control 
accessories such as points & signals either from the handset or the computer.
Combine all this power with hours of time plus shed loads of spare cash & you 
could totally automate a layout - not sure if it would be so much fun when it
was computercontrolled!

In a moment of madness I started the process of adding point motors to the
layout, several are installed with many more waiting, I'm using Gaugemaster 
pm10, pm10d & pm20d's.  The 10d & 20d have the DCC accessory chip & CDU on their
circuit board.

It's planned that we can control the non DCC pm10 motors from a pm10d where
the 2 motors need to work as 1 for example where the train crosses from inner 
to outer loop or a single slip is activated.  Also the 'D' versions can be used
to control signals or leds on a control panel.

There are currently 10 locos on the line as detailed below.  For me the 
addition of sound just makes the layout come to life.  I've turned the volume
down on most of my locos to give a more realistic effect & some of the extra
sounds included just dont really work, for example the platform announcements.

Supplied by CR signals & fitted with Olivia's trainssound project.  This loco
also has directional lights & several other functions on the lighting rig.

The following videos show the model & the real thing in action:-

Converted to sound by Wickness models originally using SWD profile but now 
updated to the YouChoos sound project.  This loco also has working directional 
lights.

In March 2017 this loco was serviced & brought up to standard by CR signals.

Supplied by CR Signals this loco has Olivia's trains sound project &
has the usual range of lighting functions.

Vidoe clips to be added!

This is an off the shelf Farish loco complete with sound & lights, runs well &
looks good.  Introduced to the range late 2018 lets  hope that many more locos
will start to appear with factory sound.

This train consists of a powered class 43 with matching dummy & a further 8 MK3
coaches.  The power car & dummy have been sound fitted with the Legoman sound
& coaches have Dapol light bars.

Converted to sound by Chris Peters of Lancing using the Howes models profile.
This loco has had much extra work done on it including new bogies fitted
by Paul Folds of CR signals & now runs well.

Converted to sound by Wickness models using the SWD profile.  The loco has
working directional lights.  This loco has been updated by Wickness to the 
latest Youchoos sound profile & had speaker updates to keep it at it's best.

In march 2017 the loco was fully serviced & brought up to standard by CR 
signals.

This DMU was the first ready to run item produced by Graham Farish to include
DCC sound as standard.  Sounds are excellent & runs nicely as you would expect.

subsequently purchased a second set and run them as a joined together, a real 
benefit of DCC operation.

Converted to sound by Chris Peters of Lancing using the Howes Profile, this is
an older Farish loco so a bit noisy but I really liked it so had it converted.
It spends most of it's life in the engine shed just adding background sounds to 
the layout.

Converted to sound by Chris Peters of Lancing using the Howes models profile.

The loco has been serviced by CR signals after having some snags with the 
traction tyres, still needs some extra weight added to give it further power
on my inclines.

This loco was supplied by CR signals as part of the Farish Cumbrian mountain
express pack (370-500) the loco was updated to include sound, lamps, foot plate
crew & firebox glow.  This is a really good value pack if you can get your
hands on it.

Sound added by CR signals this lovely model is highly detailed & includes
interior lighting in each of the 5 coaches.  Lets hope Hornby continue 
producing more british outline N gauge from now on.

Not much to say here, just the normal range of carriages, wagons etc. all 
produced by Dapol, Farish or Peco.  Many now come factory weathered which adds that
little something to the appearance.  The MK3 coaches that form the HST set
also have Dapol light bars fitted but they are not DCC controlled.

Now gathering a nice number of buildings, really like the Farish scenecraft &
hornby Lyddle end range of resin cast items as they are not only good models but 
quite tactile too.

Also have a couple of the Lilliput lane plaster cast buildings which are 
beautifully finished but cant have any interior  lighting added.

So far the landscape of the layout is very basic, trying to get the buildings 
together before I decide where they will end up on the final street plan.

Any suggestions for other structures are always welcome.

Just a few of thousands listed here, I'll add as I find/use them.  I've pointed
the suggested link to Google if there's not a clear web page.

Engines, rolling stock, buildings & accessories. Vast range of liveries & new 
products always being added.

N & OO gauge signals plus more. Very helpful, good service and excelllent 
products.

Locomotives and rolling stock in N, OO and O gauge many of which are now DCC ready
plus many with sound preinstalled.

Model railway control equipment, both dc & dcc systems.  Very helpful staff.
Also vast range of other model railway items in many gauges.

Wide range of models & selection of DCC sound projects amongst other stuff.

Plastic building kitsin N gauge.  Seem to be marketed by Gaugemaster
and supplied via various model stores

Detailed cardboard building kits in several scales, these kits do need a 
reasonable level of skill to get the best from them in some cases.

a really brilliant online model railway magazine covering hints & tips plus
details of new releases in all gauges.

Highly detailed laser cut and 3dprinted kits and buildings etc
See Ebay, Facebook and google for more details.

Track, wagons & some building kits for many gauges

Another large online shop with a vast range of products at good prices. Orders
are processed very quickly.

Kit buildings with loads of very fine detail

DCC sound specialists for all gauges.

Vast range of stuff at very good prices, also very good postage rates compared
with many.

Detailed locos made to a high standard, heavy models with good pulling power.

Model shop with DCC fitting service.

Highly detailed DCC fitted locos & coache conversions including sound,
lights & people.
 

As you probably know the most common scale in the UK is OO (1:76) while in the 
rest of the world it is HO (1:87). This difference was caused by the fact the 
British engines are smaller in real life, so at the time it was very difficult 
to find a small enough motor to fit in a 1:87 scale British engine. It was then 
decided to make the models slightly larger to 1:76 while still running on the 
same track.

How does this all translate? Take a typical man who is 1.80m (6ft) tall. In HO 
scale, he will be modelled as 20.5mm tall. In OO scale, he will be 23.6mm so 
there is a 3mm difference.  By the same token, a 20.5mm figure in OO scale 
represents a real life man who is 1.55m (5ft2).  So your HO figure while 
smaller can still be used on an OO gauge layout. Rather than being a tall man 
he will be a slightly less tall one! That means you can use both scales & 
provided you do not put them next to each other, you should be able to get a 
pleasing result.

Now, what about smaller scales? I'm afraid to say the same issue arose in N 
gauge: the British standard is 1:148 while the Continental scale is 1:160. To 
add to the confusion they share the same name! Now, let's go back to our tall 
person who is 1.80m (6ft) tall. This will be a 11.3mm tall figure in 
Continental N scale while it would be a 12.2mm tall figure in British N scale.
This is a difference of less than 1mm, so most people cannot perceive it.

A big thankyou to:-
    Upstairs Downstairs 
   3 Pier Street, 
   Sandown, 
   Isle of Wight.  
   PO36 8JR

   Tel: 01983 406 616 

for this article in their weekly news letter.

The following table is for quick reference, as usual Wikipedia articles go
into much more detail.