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Dublo Three Rail Layout

8118 Views 40 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Anthony Richards
Back in 2016, after a break of a few decades, I decided to get back into railway modelling. For some reason I can't quite fathom, I decided not to create a scale model with modern models, but instead started accumulating a range of Hornby Dublo three rail equipment. Fast forward to 2018, and the layout that I eventually built took shape as a very old-school double track oval with reversing loop, goods yard, turntable and engine shed and a four track terminus, all on a board that is 8'x4'. The funny thing is, I'm getting more enjoyment out of it than I did from all the terminus to fiddle yard scale models I have had in the past. Both our grandsons love it too. It's too early to say whether or not our granddaughter is interested, although she has watched the trains go around, but then she's only one year old.

here is the track plan. All the points, signals and uncoupling ramps that are not easily reached from the control panel are electrically operated.

19998



Here is an overhead view of one end of the layout. The Flying Scotsman is a Trix model and the Caledonian locomotive at the far end, somewhat improbably hauling a rake of Gresley LNER teak stock is a GEM body kit on a Tri-ang B12 chassis converted to three rail. Everything else is Dublo.

19999
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Never thought about it before but 3 rails means no worrying about polarity hence the reverse cross link so makes in that sense more realistic operations, anyway nice to see layouts such as this 60 years after Dublo ceased being manufactured
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I rather liked the Dublo girder bridge that they made back along, tried to get one but have never found one
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I'll have a look I have most Dublo catalogs going back to the fifties and some books on the subject as well, let you know
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I had a look for my Dublo catalogs and found 2 neither of which shows a complete layout at all one has a lot of stock and maybe the last before they started 2 rail but they are a bit worn and may have a page or two missing, thought I had a book as well, tons of stuff on Triang Hornby and even others, anyway I might yet come up with something.
Yes very effective and looks very well, my father had lights on some of his layout and it looked well, my wiring is a bit of a spagetti mess so I have limited my ambitions to electrify everything. Anyway well done and please post more pics.
It does but as soon as you go electrofrog you have saved nothing, anyway you would be horrified if you saw my underfiddle yard wiring where I have 100 wires!
Yeah good point 34c so my fiddle yard is 30 points so that is 3 wires each so straight off 90 wires then the various feeds and some are electrofrog then 100 is passed easily then there are the wires just passing through to feed electrofrogs elsewhere, it gets so sometimes I abandon a line to rewire the thing to ensure I get the right ones wired up. I use Peco tabs as it is quick and reliable as other systems are slow and cumbersome. I did start wiring up to the Z21 but realised how slow this all was so gave up on that idea.
A frustrated rat looking at the provender store might be a neat cameo
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