Lester's  Model Railway

Welcome to my railway  web site

Do send me your comments about my site and get in contact if you are interested in meeting up to exchange ideas you never know it could even lead to a revival of a model railway club in Weston super Mare

The LMR  is LESTER'S MODEL RAILWAY and not London midland region it is not based on any period or region. The permanent way  consists of two loops of Peco code 100 track measuring approximately 24ft by 8ft.The two main line stations  will accommodate  a five coach train  and  locomotive.   The terminus  has 3 platform and 5 roads able to take a 4 or 5 coach train.

I have been developing the layout for many years and made a fair few mistakes, the major two are being over ambitious with the size of the layout it is too big for one operator. The other was the height of the lay out if I were starting again I would build it higher at chest height instead of waist height.

As can be seen from pictures one side is split level permanent way up top and canal and road beneath Also not shown is a 5ft long tunnel Several siding are used  for rolling stock    Most the locos are made by Hornby or Bachmann   and almost  all the points are electrical operated by push buttons I found DCC control of points to time consuming.

The layout is dcc  and most  locomotives  have sound decoders fitted  I tend to favour Hornby's railroad range rather than the super detailed.   I have had more than one or two crashes with locomotives due to forgetting the point settings, and there are less bits to get broken

 Fitting decoders to the locomotives  with out a decoder socket can be time consuming . I have found the Hornby Castles to be one of the most awkward 

It suits my needs to still have a few isolated sidings,on all   sidings  I have fitted small red LEDs to all buffer stops.

When the points are set the led illuminates indicating the siding is live. another use for an isolated siding is with the help of an insulated fish plate there's a dead section that stops the locomotive and prevents derailing  if the point  is not set.

2017 has been a busy year on the LMR, I have started fit servos for many or the non motorised points, switches if you are on the other side. I am using Megapoints and Micro miniatures comptrollers for the servos, for point switching I favour Megapoints and its expandability. However Micro miniatures Has some good features the remote control and the ability to use reed switches great for changing signals after the train passes.

As well as adding the servos I have been busy fitting mico LED's to signals and crossing gates