Many thanks, much appreciated

Thanks Graham for your very kind words. I would love to have the space for a looped layout, I do enjoy watching the running sessions at Lakeside. As you know, I have been following your railway ever since I started Deresley and I have found your work an inspiration. I am hoping my attempt at 'realistic' operating proves as enjoyable as I think it might. It's taken a long time to get to this stage. All the best ... David

Hi, first let me say many thanks for your comments, much appreciated. However, best intentions and all that, I have not yet produced a full day running session. When this latest bit of scenery looks more complete that it is then I will do a full day goods running session. I have been updating all my couplings, just the coal wagons to do. Stay tuned, as they say, this is a priority for early 2018 - David

Many thanks Len - appreciate the comment ... David

Thanks davie, glad it gives the impression of a 'real' goods distribution system. Giving each wagon a reason to be there certainly makes shunting more interesting. Happy with the Sprat & Winkles, they did their job with no hiccups - all the uncoupling and push forward movements were filmed 'live' for this video. They still need an update though - but I'll leave that for 2017 ... David

Many thanks, appreciate your comments ... David

Very kind of you to say so Steven. Really appreciate your comment, thanks for watching ... David

Many thanks, much appreciated

Thanks Tony. I don't profess it to be closely based on true prototype operations and procedures but I am certainly flattered that you think it gives that impression. I will add more, encouraged by the comments from you and others ... David

Thanks again for your kind comments ... David

Glad it helped!

Hey, very kind of you to say - many thanks - David

Thanks Bob, appreciate your comments ... David

Many thanks for your comments. I will keep posting updates and goods op videos, hopefully to fine tune as time goes by. Good luck with your version and let me know if you come up with improvements. ... David

Many thanks Richard 👍👍

Thanks John. Appreciate your comment ... David

Thanks , really appreciate your comment ... David

Thankyou Greg. Yes I was influenced greatly by watching some of the large US goods operating layouts. I am hoping it proves interesting to operate on a smaller scale ... David

Nice of you to say Jim. I have plenty of on-going projects (or do I mean unfinished projects) still to complete so, in some respects, I don't feel that focussed at times. Good luck with your your new plan, and thanks again for your kind words ... David

Really kind Terry, thanks for your comment and a very merry Christmas to you and yours ... David

Many thanks, much appreciated ... David

Many thanks for your kind words. Yes an 08 with sound would be great - I am thinking about it. ... David

Thanks Rich, really appreciate your comment ... David

My pleasure! - glad to have helped

Hello Mark, thanks for your interest. I have found my method a bit too 'sophisticated' in operation. I have simplified it a little, which has improved the operation. I will be bringing another goods train operation video out at the end of this month, or the beginning of next - David

Thanks, appreciate your comment. I am about to start videoing an update to my goods operations - might take a couple of weeks. I find the book very useful and will refer to it again in the next video - David

Thanks, appreciate the comments - apologies for the cockerel, but they do have a limited vocabulary 😁😁 ... David

Hi, apologies for my late response. Thanks for your very kind comments. Regards ... David

Thanks James, apologies for the delay. I have been to the States a couple of times - great places, lovely people. Your railroad sounds good - glad I've helped 👍👍👍 ... David

Thanks Philip, appreciated ... David

Thank you Paul 😋 apologues for the delay - hope you enjoyed your breakfast

Thanks again for your comment, much appreciated. Glad you liked it. It's been a while since my last video but an update is coming, now the weather has cooled a bit .. David

Many thanks, appreciate the comment ... David

Hi Michael, thanks again for your welcome comments. I am enjoying running my layout, some 'tweaks' to come !! Wishing you a very happy Christmas ... David

Hi, apologies for my late response. Thanks for your posting and kind comments. Your layout sounds very interesting indeed. Up to now I have concentrated on my goods operation but I too will run some passenger and mixed trains. I want an integrated passenger and goods operating service. Under my bridge is a 10 foot fiddle yard with 7 storage sidings for trains. I plan to set up my goods and passenger trains at the start of day in my fiddle yard. A bit vague after this but I would like to sort it out sometime this year. Regards ... David

Many thanks Kev. Appreciate your subscription and very kind comments. Good luck with your goods operations. Happy New Year to you and yours ... David

Hi Mike. Thanks very much for taking the time to explain your dice operation - very interesting indeed. You have more goods wagons than me but I can handle a consist of up to 10. I am using different couplings on my passenger trains so mixed traffic is something I haven't factored in, but I will look into this. I did devise a more complicated system than the one I am using now!! - I wont go into too much detail here as I plan to video a days running session (passenger & goods) early in 2018. Glad you share the interest in ambient sound. I mixed my soundtracks (I have 2 - an early morning - cocks crowing, dogs barking, light traffic, and a daytime (seagulls, human hubbub, more traffic etc). I am working on a Sunday track, basically the daytime one with church bells added. I totally agree, it adds great atmosphere. Mine are mixed from downloaded mp3 files and played back on a continuous loop through my layout PC. I use a simple PC stereo with sub-woofer and speakers each end of the layout. I would be interested to hear more about your ambient surround sound set-up - I am guessing you play your sounds on a CD you have created. Have a great Christmas - David

Hi David, yes I just play mine on CD's which I've made up. I've got a free music mixing programme I use to multi-layer the sounds, most of the sounds I found here on KZfaq. One I did find was a loco shunting with lots of brake squeal and buffer crashing etc on it. I like the idea of making separate tracks for the time of day though, I'm going to do that soon I think. I don't know if there are many other modellers out there who take an interest in this but so far you're the only other one I've seen who has used it. Happy Christmas to you too. Mike.

Many thanks Desmond, appreciate your comment - David

Thanks. I was also inspired by watching US model railroad freight operating methods. Appreciate the comment.

Hi Dave, thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Yes I got some working timetables (freight only at the moment), they are really useful. Thanks for the heads up on John Elliot's channel, watched a couple and have subscribed. I agree it looks a very good layout, I will watch some more over Christmas. Thanks again ... David

Hi Scott, thanks for your comments. - Hey we could start a real trend in goods operating layouts - Have a good Christmas ... David

Thanks David, I am thinking ahead on that. Hopefully early in the New year ... David

Thanks Brian, really appreciate your comments. I agree the first examples I came across were from the US - 'waybill' seems more of an American word but I could not come up with anything better. My system will be modified as I go along - nothing is ever 'finished' in railway modelling ... David

@@davidhyde4329 How about 'manifest'?

Thanks very much for your interesting comments. The software approach sounds fascinating. Railway traffic generating software, wow, a brilliant idea. O.K. - if this helps then I will explain my waybills. The waybill is indeed a goods movement order (like the old wagon labels). The name came from American Railroaders who run more 'operational' layouts than we do. I did toy with the idea of more than 1 waybill per wagon. But, by using only 1 per wagon, the waybill doubles as a way of tracking its position on the railway. Even when the actual wagon is (in my case) in a storage box. Like you, I just refer to the wagon by type. I know some operators number their wagons and allocate a unique waybill. I don't know that the bar codes is such a bad idea. With software the bar code could be read automatically for loading/unloading etc. (not thinking it through I know, but you have got me interested). My timing is the same. I don't get up for the 4am shift! The clock does not drive my timetable. The movements of the locos and trains determine the times throughout the day. Part of the US hobby is to have a group of operators, a clock is important to them, although they can/do alter the rate time changes. As you say, this is impractical with a solo operator. Hope this all helps. Please get back to me If I can help further, glad you found my channel - David

I ramble a lot so I reduced and removed most of my comment this morning but obviously you saw it. Thanks for your reply. I only realised after seeing a recent Kathy Millatt video comparing US and UK layouts that my railway was a little unusual as it is both operational and multiple tier (the only way to fit in the available floor space). I have found so far that barcoding in OO has three problems, firstly space for a label under the wagon, two the cost of scanners and three their physical size. OEM type modules are still quite expensive and still tricky to fit under the baseboard. In operation the idea being that a scan takes place as the wagons pass particular points e.g. yard entry and exit, including FYs at the minimum, per yard siding a luxury. I started looking around again last night, £ ouch still, but prices coming down. Using wagon running numbers is not practical due to my eyesight, multiple RTR with the same number, and weathering/wear which makes visual identification beyond wagon type impossible. That is where I see (excuse the pun) barcoding as being useful, but only if under the wagons. Oh, and most of my wagons are stored in railway network pools (aka storage boxes) too :) Another missing link in my system is timetabling the network trains for dropping and collecting from the marshalling yard, thanks for that, I laid out my own tube style map some time ago but couldn't put my finger on that obvious omission. Have ordered the book and would be interested to hear of further developments of your system whether barcoded or not, Jim :)

Hello Jim - No problem, obviously you are ahead of current technology regarding bar codes, I see the problems. Ian Rice describes the use of wagon numbers in his book. He allocates each wagon unique number which he fixes to the wagon (like a wagon label) - either on the ends or sides - can't recall. Still too fiddly for me however. Brilliant 'Network Pools' - I must stop calling them boxes (lol) - please keep my updated with progress - David

Actually association of ideas -> Iain Rice labels on wagons (too small/fiddly in OO, me too) -> how small can those square 2D barcodes be to used as a wagon label -> or easier to fit a 2D label to the underside of a wagon than the original 1D (strip). Last night found a couple of possible (£ wise) OEM scanner modules to buy and try out but how practical they are to use, and also will the supplier be interested in talking to a few off purchaser as opposed to an umpteen 1000 unit purchaser remains to be seen. But worth a try. Jim

Hi Jim. Interesting. On my first reply to your barcode idea I had in mind fitting the under the wagons. You can make them bigger and they will be invisible. WELL worth a try with the supplier - good luck - David

Hi John, thanks for your very kind words. Part of doing this video was to see if there were more like-minded people. Sharing ideas is part of the fun of the hobby. I will certainly do some more weathering and detailing videos. Have a great Christmas ... David

Thanks Margaret, much appreciated - David

Many thanks Allan. I think it is the same here. A label showing the detail described would be raised at the point for origin and stuck to the outside of each van. The should have been removed when the destination was reached - often the were not which led to some confusion as you would imagine ... David

Many thanks for your kind words. I am really glad you have found it usefull. Thanks for taking the time to comment ... David

@@davidhyde4329 I'm enjoying going through your other videos.. have a look at my channel for some ops from across the pond using switchlists

@@moghobbystuff Thanks, I will certainly lake a look, I have taken past inspiration from US model freight operations ... David

Ahh you found it. Thanks for your comments Michael. Hopefully i will get round to doing some more goods train operations in the coming months - David

I would like to use a similar type of waybill system on my layout eventually but after looking at yours I'm unsure how to set mine out because my layout is colliery based so the only wagon movements are between the colliery and the disposal point then back to the colliery. I have searched for information but can find no mention of how these trains would be formed or even if waybills would be used. Michael

Thanks John, your comments are very much appreciated. I agree with every word, the virtual 'big wide world' adds to operating enjoyment. ... David

Hi there. Yes, hidden magnets. Have made a couple of videos on Spratt & Winkle couplings, here is the link to the hidden magnets. Thanks for your interest ... David kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qrFnppBy0sjdaWQ.html&index=4

Hi, yes I am still using the system. I had not considered other choices of dice - to be honest I never new they existed. Thanks for this - I will certainly follow this up. Really appreciate the comment - thanks 😊👍👍👍

Hi Phil, thanks for your kind comments. When I first started I used the free Windows Movie Maker software that came with my PC. Then, last year, I decided to 'upgrade' and bought a licence from NCH for their VideoPad Video Editor, which is what I have been using up to now. However, when I purchased the 12 month licence they offered a £75 pro license and a £39 licence (for the more casual user). When I clicked the options I am sure I clicked the £39 option but found I was charged £75 and my download was the full pro version. Of course it could have been me getting it wrong (it wouldn't be the first time) but, as the licence is now coming to an end I am not taking any more chances with NCH so I have recently bought MoviePlus X6 on disc - new for £35, and I am busy making my first movie with this. In short, the NCH software was great but for me the ongoing cost was too high. From what I have seen so far with MoviePlus it is simple and clear so I can't foresee any problems. From my short experience, the three editors I have used all work in pretty much in the same way. I would play around with your free software if you have some, buy your new software, don't lease it, and don't spend more than about £35 quid. Thant would be my advice - hope it helps ... David

Hi Michael. I use Photoshop elements 7. I created a template for each type of card and used the text options to create the individual cards (I even downloaded a typewriter font to make them look pukka). If you have some photo editing software you might be able to do something similar. Contact me again if you you want more information. Photoshop Elements 7 is old software and can be bought cheap on ebay. If you go that way I will willingly email my template files if you want them. - David

Hello David, thank you for the information and the very kind offer. I will have a look and see what's on offer. Michael

Hi David, I finally worked what the problem was with the printer when used with 'Open Office Writer' could you give me a rough idea of the size of your waybill cards, they look to be an ideal size. Thanks in advance David Michael

No Jim, by the end of steam they were filthy dirty. Steam was labour intensive and locos got dirty quickly. In their final years BR spent next to nothing on cleaning them, particularly lowly example like this one ... David

It's OO gauge Dave ... David

Of coarse they are, well spotted.

You are very welcome Paul, thanks for your comments ... David