Author: traiNmaster

After spending 35 years in Malaysia, I have decided to spend the other 35 years outside Malaysia. First stop, Germany!
Diorama Development7 Comments

Small Shelf Layout #1: 130cm x 21cm – Timesaver & Inglenook

traiNmaster

Hi, this is traiNmaster again. It has been almost 3 years since I did any major modellling work. My office diorama is now completed and well, on display in my office. I placed it near our customer team DB Fernverkehr (DB long-distance; the ICE group) since it is an ICE-theme diorama. I popped by occassionally to make sure that the ICE does not derail 🙂 My mini ICE-diorama in office My previous segment layout is no more. I have thrown away the 2 large end-modules and 3 of 6 segment modules. I kept the other 3 so that I could … Continue reading Small Shelf Layout #1: 130cm x 21cm – Timesaver & Inglenook

Diorama Development, German RailwaysLeave a comment

Mini Diorama for Office

traiNmaster

I found it therapeutic to work on a model railroad in spite of its size. While my larger segment layout is stowed in the cellar for the time being, I found a small piece of wood 46cm x 11cm that makes a nice mini diorama for my office desk. I took a piece of medium right Peco turnout and laid some concrete Peco flex-tracks to each end of the wood. I used a 3mm cork roadbed which was made from cork wall panels (available at hardware stores). The platform at top end is also made from cork. I am modelling … Continue reading Mini Diorama for Office

DCC and Electrical System, Product ReviewLeave a comment

z21 Review: Booster Light and Detector

traiNmaster

It has been awhile (more than 1 year to be exact) since I touched my z21 digital controller. It lied packed neatly in the original packing. This means I have missed many firmware updates (hmm …. not a good thing to do). Anyway, even though I am not actively working on my layout, this does not mean that I have gave up the hobby. No, no way sir. You will just have to be a bit patient with my progress. This morning, I posted on a friend’s Facebook that I have 8 modules and if I work on one each … Continue reading z21 Review: Booster Light and Detector

Benchwork, Greetings, Layout Construction2 Comments

Season’s Greetings 2016

traiNmaster

Hello everyone, First of all, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2016 to all my readers. As you can see I have not been posting any updates since January this year. I joined a sales division in my company and have been busy setting up a new function handling lots of bids/tenders. I am expecting more bids next year as well as managing a new team of 6. As such, my model railway activities would have to take a pause for the moment. Please stay in touch. I hope to return to this hobby when time permits; … Continue reading Season’s Greetings 2016

DCC and Electrical System12 Comments

z21 Review: Settings and Programming

traiNmaster

Hello 2015! A good start for 2015 with my further review of the z21 controller. In my last post for 2014, I gave a quick run through of the setting up and running the trains. In this post, I would like to explain more about the Z21 settings and how to read and program decoder values. z21 Settings As mentioned in my last post, you need to change the default settings in z21 controller to suit your scale. The Output and Programming Voltages allow a value between 12V and 22V. The default settings are per the first photo. Track-Voltage settings … Continue reading z21 Review: Settings and Programming

DCC and Electrical System12 Comments

A Review of Surprised Birthday Gift – Fleischmann z21 Digitial Starterset ÖBB Rh1116 Taurus

traiNmaster

This is my 100th post on germaN160 thus far and so I would like to end the year by showing off my surprised birthday gift – a Fleischmann z21 Digital Startset with ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railway) Rh1116 Taurus and passenger coaches (Art. no. 931383) I wanted this set for quite some time. Guess, I was a good boy this year and thus, my Santa(rina) decided to reward me. If you have been following this blog, you would by now that I am modelling the German railways in Epoch 5/6. This era is marked by a few key characteristics, among other, … Continue reading A Review of Surprised Birthday Gift – Fleischmann z21 Digitial Starterset ÖBB Rh1116 Taurus

Greetings1 Comment

trai-N-master is Taking A Short Break

traiNmaster

Just a short notice to my readers and followers that I am taking a short break from my model railroading activities. The last few months have been a peak period for me, too many projects running in parallel and one after another. I am also moving on to a new role in the organisation in the next 3 months. There would be a lot of handovers of existing projects, which take priority over model railroading. However, I am not abandoning my germaN160 layout nor this hobby. See you again next year!   Jimmy Continue reading trai-N-master is Taking A Short Break

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book6 Comments

Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

traiNmaster

Last weekend I installed the track bus on all 3 modules (Segments F to H). This week, I added the feeders from the terminal points to the rails using AWG20 (0.5 sq.mm) wires. Each wire was connected to the respective points on the terminal strips. The DCC buzzer was helpful to detect any shorts while wiring. For such wiring, you would not normally make mistakes but as the layout gets larger and more tracks need to be wired, it is always good to have such buzzer. Thus, I started getting use to the habit of using DCC buzzer now. As … Continue reading Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book4 Comments

Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway

traiNmaster

It was a nasty Saturday this weekend but it was a good time to spend indoor. I corresponded with Jason Reis about DCC wiring my modules some 3 months back and in between, I let the notes of our discussions set for awhile. A recap of those notes: The bottom level (pic below) will be divided into 5 small power districts. For circuit breakers, Jason recommended auto tail-light bulbs. Cheap and effective. The top level (pic below) will have 4 small power districts. I started with the bottom level wiring first: the track 2 (dark blue marking). I have read … Continue reading Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway