blid

I promised to come back when I had tried the ESU Lokprogrammer. One word: disaster! It was not able to read any CVs and now the engine doesn’t respond to the CS2 anymore. The Lokprogrammer has a “cab mode” for testing functions and driving. To verify that I had contact with the engine I pressed F3 (start up) and the sound came on for about one second. I used the provided power adaptor and forgot that 1-gauge engines need more than 15VAC 700Ma. I swapped to my usual power source but by then there was no response from the engine in DCC mode. I have to open the engine to change to DCS – not fun.

I have now borrowed another controller, an old Marklin Central Station “Reloaded” (ESU software). It wrote a short address successfully. In other words, my Marklin Central Station 2 is causing this problem. I have ordered an ESU Lokprogrammer and will come back when I have tried that one. blid

I have installed MTH upgrade kits from PS2 to PS3 on my Triplex and Hudson steamers. Unfortunately I can’t change the DCC address. In fact, I can’t read or write any CVs with my Marklin Central Station 2. So far I have also upgraded an F3, Dash-8 and GG-1. No problem with those. Am I the first and only one trying to run the upgraded PS3 steamers with DCC? blid

Raymond delivered the PS3 upgrade for my F3 (and all the other engines) with sound already installed. To replace the PS2 I only had to disconnect and then reconnect all plugs to the PS3. The battery pack is not used anymore so I removed it. The only adjustment was to make one of the holes for the new heatsink oval to get the screw down. If I could do it, anybody can. I don’t know anything about the swapping of the frames though. blid

I’m afraid it is the plastic. Weather it is age or some manufacturing problem I don’t know. My SF F-3 Slave had a pillar broken off when I had to open it to fix the cable mounting that had broken off. Now the diaphragm (?) stays in place with duck tape. Now I know I can expect more problems. I have Marklin H0 too, and for a period of time some of their tracks with plastic roadbed became very brittle after a couple of years. As far as I have heard, it had to do with the environment where they were made, Not controlled and the humidity varied. Could be, I don’t know. Blid

No I was referring to MTH 1-gauge and H0 3-rail.For the one since 2012 the first shipping date was Feb 2013. Now it is Mar 2016, whenever that is.

Jens, while you wait you might go for the super compact Danish ABA all in one version, ESU item 30220. Just trying to cheer you up. I have been there too and am still waiting for a H0 engine since 2012.

I was also concerned about the stability when I started to build it in 2011. I first tried the solution I used for my transportable tables. They had tongues protruding from the tabletops that locked the trables together vertically and horizontally. It didn’t work here. I have attached another drawing that shows what it looks like where two boards meet. When the nuts are tightened the small pieces of board on the bolts makes the two connecting boards stick together almost like glued. If there were just straight pieces they would probably all wobble sideways together. The curves sort of anchor them sideways. The whole construction steadies itself and there are no movements at all. Not even where the legs are 85â€. If I were to make it again and had other skills and a bigger wallet, I would choose some lightweight metal grid instead of the boards. The bigger holes the better to let rain and debris thru. Forgot the attachment

By now I think you have noticed my location, Stockholm Sweden. If you check on a map you will find that it as far north as Anchorage Alaska. We have a lot of warm water coming our way from the Gulf. That helps, but in the winter the day are just as short and we do have snow and frost in the ground for a number of months. My pipes left in the ground are about one foot down but the frost can go deeper than that. When the frost melts in the spring things in or on the ground tend to move. For some reason my pipes have remained in place – so far. I haven’t started to set it up for this year yet.

I have googled SSVR O-gauge but no hits. GarGraves Phantom with Plastic Ties seems to be a good choice for 3-rail.

Jim Miller gave a reference in my thread “Any O-gauge outdoor layouts?â€. I suggest that you read that article even if you don’t want to go for O-gauge. If you do, it will save money and space. You will also have so much more to choose from.

Thank you so much for these tips! The reason I’m asking is that there are some engines and trains I would really like to have, but they are only available in O-gauge. With my layout it shouldn’t be any problems replacing a loop of LGB track for O-gauge. I will probably put the LGB tracks back after a week or two. Well, that is if I ever get those engines and trains – but it is doable. Shipping the stuff over here is a totally different matter.

I haven’t shown my layout in this forum mainly because I think it isn’t much to see, but perhaps it can give others some new ideas. My background is H0 and tabletop layouts. When I retired and moved, I realized that I could have a garden layout in a small part of the garden. I didn’t want it on the ground and the area wouldn’t allow it anyway. My crafting skills are limited, but driving pipes into the ground and cutting boards with a hand saw is Ok as long as furniture finish isn’t required. Elevated. It is from 15†to 85†above ground. Semi permanent. The only things left outdoors during winter (October – May) are the short pipes in the ground. Pic 1 Technical. A fancy word from my dealer meaning a layout without any scenery. In the pipes I put longer pipes as legs and a beam for the boards to rest on. Pic 2 On top of this I place the boards and tracks. Pic 3 The thing that proved to save it all, are the bolts with, what we call, wing nuts. Pic 4 Before the nuts are tightened the boards are fairly easy to adjust to the geometry of the tracks. When tightened, the whole assembly gets surprisingly rigid. The grey things on the pipes are old fashioned garden hose clamps of steel. I haven’t had to adjust the height, but it can be easily done. The tracks are held in place sideways by the pieces of board. That is all for the tracks. Here is the track plan. Pic 5 This is what it looks like from a distance. Pic 6

Since you already have O-gauge; why not try O-gauge tracks on the timber around the sitting area (and into the shed) to get a feel for it. Depending on the answers on my new post about outdoor O-gauge, it might not be just for a temporary test. The downside is that you will not get to learn the new things. The upside is that you can use what you have and will only have one kind of rosters. Another good thing is that you won’t have the polarity issue if the O-gauge is 3-rail. Yet another point to mention is the space needed for a loop. An O-gauge (1:48 scale) 72†curve will require, for the same appearance of the train: 108†if OneGauge (1:32) 153.6†If LGB/Bachmann Big Haulers (1:22.5) 170.25†If Bachmann Spectrum (1:20.3)

Does anyone have experience of, or heard of an O-gauge outdoor layout? Successful or unsuccessful. Are there O-gauge tracks suitable for outdoors? 3-rail or 2-rail. The material used for tracks might be able to withstand sun and rain, but electrical turnouts are a problem I guess. Any comments are appreciated.

I have some MTH 3-rail H0 engines with ProtoSound3E+. If the DCS/DCC switch is still in the DCS mode this will happen.

To me it looks like the inside of the boiler is above the center of the rails. According to the catalogues the engine is 4 3/8†wide. If you have 4†from the edge of the ties(?) and the ceiling posts are vertical, you should be alright with your 138†diameter.

Here is a short video of my MTH Big Boy. It is from the first run 2006. The track is LGB R3, about 94†diameter. It might give you an idea. blid

A point worth repeating. When you try engines as candidates for a consist – don’t hook them up. Leave a couple of inches between them and then start running the consist. This will show any differences in acceleration, deceleration or speed settings.

The PS3 decoders still talk DCS like the PS2 do. No need for a new TIU. But, after flicking a switch, the PS3 talk DCC. That’s what I am after since my Marklin controller talks DCC too. Then I will be able to mix MTH and Marklin engines on the same tracks. Might be worth it but my main concern is whether I will be able to do it myself. I have a couple of month to think about it. Bjorn

OK. I will keep an eye on shipment of items 50-1911 and 50-1912. Bjorn

I should have included the link to the new upgrade kit: http://mthtrains.com/news/571 As I understand your reply Ray, you can provide upgrades for my OneGauge MTH PS2 engines to PS3 already. Is that correct? Bjorn

I have heard about the 3-2 upgrade kit for a long time now. Someone (at MTH) told me that there is no difference between the 0 gauge and One gauge components. Now, when the upgrade kit is announced, One gauge isn’t mentioned. Ray, do you know why? Bjorn

The F3 slave is now back in operation thanks to you. Since it is the slave I realized that I didn’t have to unplug the cable. I just put a piece of tape on it as a reminder not to unplug that end. The broken post inside is now back thanks to good advice from Ray. To my surprise it is exactly in the old position so the screw hit the hole! One more picture for Jens to show that the slave now has power. The smoke is on max, but there has never been much from these two.

I did scan the manual before issuing this topic. Somehow I missed that page. It is good to know that the information was there. I have to look more carefully in the future. Thanks again! Bjorn