Hornby Select

[Nine Elms]

I need some help. I am just building my layout and have the track down. I have, as recommended, a bus wire in place with droppers to the track. All was well the other day with locos doing what they should in all directions and on various parts of the layout. I tidied up the wiring and thought I would have another trial run before pinning and ballasting. The "Select controller" is now showing EO (or it might be E0) with red light and flashing green lights!! There seems to be no reference to this fault in the handbook, can anyone shed some light on this?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All

John

[Rog (RJ)]

EO is Emergency Off - a short circuit. There is a list of error messages at the back of the Select manual. Short circuits were originally coded OL but this was changed in later firmware. There is an addendum to the Select manual in the downloads area of the Hornby website. https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/downloads/ ... /item/2213

Edited to add addendum info.

[yelrow]

Hi, whatever wires you tidied, need un tidying, as you have caused a short circuit. You will just have to back track a bit, and find which one is shorting out. I have masses of untidy wires, with buses etc, so understand how they would look much better, clipped up. Its an occupational hazard, that many of us face. Should be fairly easy to find, if you test Select, as you go, one wire at a time. Best of luck. Let us know the culprit.

[yelrow]

On the question of pinning and ballasting, thats fine, if you are never going to alter the layout, again. Many of us are constantly changing and adding, so some, screw track, rather than pin, and some, including me, dont ballast.

[Nine Elms]

Thank you for your helpful replies. Covid has forced me not to "socialise" so I have time to undo the wires to isolate the cause.
Yelrow. When you say screw, do you mean through the sleepers with very tiny Screws? How does you track look unballasted?

John

[yelrow]

Yup, tiny screws through sleepers. Easily obtained, and much easier , when you decide to add a siding, etc. May need a slightly larger hole in sleeper.. As to the look, baseboard, is painted grey, under track, than green for fields etc. It really depends on how you view your hobby. If you want to run trains, change layout to suit , etc, or if you want a set in stone, ballasted, finished, never to be altered, baseboard. I am 77, and have had over 50 years of various baseboards. Only ballasted once, and then got bored, being unable to change without drastic surgery, and new track. For many of us, the building, changing, trying something different, is more important than the overall scenic look. I run 3 rail, 00, TT, N gauge, Z gauge, and occasionally, 0 gauge clockwork, with something approaching 120 locos. At the end of the day, its Your layout, whatever floats your boat. I simply caution, newer entrants to modelling, that you will Never be satisfied with your first layout, so dont rush in to pinning, ballasting etc, just in case. There are some great layouts on here, where they do fix permanently, then move into landscape, houses, roads, lighting etc, and are very happy, whereas, others , like me, constantly change. I only, screw down points, and bent flexi. Hope this has given you food for thought. The newer locos, need kinder bends , for example, and my Rivarossi, Big Boy, is a case in point. It would never have run round many of my earlier layouts. Sorry to witter on, but over the years have spoken to so many people who said, ( i wish i had not spent so many hours ballasting, only now to have to rip part of it up, to fit my new sidings, etc). Over to you

[RAF96]

Ballasting would be my very, very last job on a layout. Once the world of model railways has settled down to my satisfaction and all trains run absolutely reliably and all points work as expected and all the buIldings are in place, then and only then maybe I would think about ballasting, painting rails, etc.

[Walkingthedog]

Quite right Rob. I told that to a friend of mine but he ballasted as he laid each section of track. Total disaster.

[Nine Elms]

Thank you once again for your replies, they have certainly given me food for thought. Ah well back to tracing the "short circuit"!!!.

John

[RAF96]

Thank you once again for your replies, they have certainly given me food for thought. Ah well back to tracing the "short circuit"!!!.

John

Tracing shorts is easier if you check as you go. Imagine if your track is all ballasted and you need to put bits of track apart to check for shorts...