I've mentioned before how disappointed I have been with N gauge. It's now reached a point where I am afraid I have had to rethink what I'm going to do with the fairly large (for me) investment I have made so far.
I've completed laying the track for my layout, and have spent quite a bit of time test running the locos that I have. And it's fair to say that 'disaster' is the only way that things can be described. The Class 73 is probably the worst offender. It constantly derails at one particular set of points, even though everything else goes through quite happily. I've tried tweaking the point as Swiss John described, but the derailment doesn't seem to be happening there. The loco is okay until the trailing bogie meets the plastic frog (this is in the facing direction, btw) and it then tries to go the other way. On two of the sidings, power does not seem to get through to the locos at all, and at least one of the self isolating points in the passing loop doesn't self isolate, which is a bit of a problem for a passing loop!
I'm loath to spend even more money on replacement points, so I have abandoned all hope of doing the model that I wanted, which was to be the yard and engine shed area of a preserved railway. Instead I'm going to simply lay a double track circuit in order to portray a section of main line running between a tunnel and a bridge. In order to minimise the prospect of derailments, this plan will include the minimal number of points.....for 'minimal', read 'none at all'! So it will basically be a landscape with a railway running through it. Locos and rolling stock swapped by hand
On the other hand, at least I am able to report that my locos work okay as long as they don't get near any points. The new Peak is an excellent runner, even at very low speeds, the Class 73 is smooth and responsive, and even the Class 33, now that it has been run in, is becoming more reliable.
A name for the layout? How about 'Trev's Folly Cutting'?
