Super-Sloth

Mine arrived 2 days ago. I’m absolutely blown away by this model. I switched scales from OO to O in November, so I haven’t exactly been waiting long for this to arrive, unlike the majority. This was the very first O gauge model I ordered but not the first to arrive. The first to turn up was a Dapol terrier that I bought for track testing purposes, so I thought I knew what to expect in terms of size… Not even close. Upon lifting the lid to reveal the model… I had to leave the room for a moment. What an absolute monster! I wasn’t prepared for the size of this thing. P&P is beyond reproach. The massive box that arrived protected the contents with enough packing peanuts to fill TWO Tesco’s carrier bags. I’ll be recycling this for probably a year! The quality is absolutely astonishing. Hand on heart, I wasn’t expecting much from the sound. Steam sounds are often a bit twee, but this is absolutely next level. Easily the most realistic steam sound I’ve experienced. You’ll never replicate the real thing, but every exhaust beat has “bass-y” quality to it - totally beyond expectation. … and then there’s the motion. So smooth. So balanced. I even ran the thing up to max power - something I NEVER do and this thing just sat there with the wheels whizzing round - no rocking left and right, no bucking, nothing. Just smooth and balanced. You could set a coin on the cab and it’d just stay there such is the quality of engineering. Probably the height of praise came from my wife; “That’s easily the nicest model you’ve ever bought”. She’s right, too! Very much looking forward to the next announcement. I didn’t know who you guys were until October / November last year, but you’ve certainly gained a very happy (and hopefully repeat) customer! Best regards, Jon M.

Are the 5 Kriegsloks in Bosnia not still running every day? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH96yjd6BKU

This is the first o gauge loco I’ve ever ordered. Sadly for me it looks like I’ll have to hang on for batch 2 for the lined models! Having done a little research it seems there are all sorts of voltages suggested to run O dcc sound models anywhere from 15 volt right the way up to 24 volt for some of the German outline models with smoke generators? Is there any particular recommendation from the sound chip manufacturer? kind regards, Jon M.

Presumably those that display instead of using will be of the same ratio no matter who the manufacturer might be? I bought an ex display 20 odd year old Bachmann A4 that was unopened but faulty last year. No great shakes to me as it was mint and cheap so I didn’t mind cracking it open to address the issue myself. Ultimately, If it’s just going to sit on a shelf it may as well not have a motor at all.

Try setting cv63 to 185. That’s the max I can set mine to without the fire up cutout. That last little bit of volume won’t be missed.

Out of interest, are there any other O gauge locomotives in the pipe line at the moment?

So… * Diesel * not done in r2r before. That’s a pretty short list. 👍

We all enjoy the hobby in our own way. Some people just like to watch trains going round and couldn’t care less that, for example, an 08 shunter isn’t typically used to haul a 15 coach rake @ 150mph on the mainline. Other people blend modelling with interest in contemporary history and engineering and find something that wouldn’t exist in the real world annoying. To draw a parallel with cars… I don’t particularly like classic cars on modern alloy wheels. It just doesn’t look “right”. Others love it. You take your joy where you can I guess…

I genuinely don’t know which of my rolling stock has sprung buffers and which does not. Never understood how or why this is perceived as purportedly a mark of “quality”? -Jon.

I wasn’t aware of this. Now I can’t unsee it. Ignorance is bliss and all that…

Is that really true? All modelling is a representation of something else to varying degrees of success. When you look at a 4mm model you don’t believe for a moment it’s anything less than a model. You know it isn’t the real thing. Adding sound is just an attempt to add another dimension. Why, therefore, apply a different standard of measurement to other senses beyond the visual?

…but the whirr of an electric motor is just gravy? 🤔 All modelling has limitations. 👍

…well now I’m completely confused?

You can only buy (,or attempt to buy) what is available. However, going by how silky smooth the (admittedly much simpler) motion is on the new manor… I wouldn’t care to be the one to bet against them coming through in that respect. 👍

From personal experience, the Bachmann 9F’s are anything but “quality”. I ordered a pair. After multiple replacements I gave up. Issues with faulty decoders, a brand new model arriving with snapped detailed parts and all 4 of them had faulty motion on the LH side. That was almost enough to tempt me to spend money with Hornby, but I decided I wasn’t that desperate… If A/S do decide to get around to a 9f I’ll certainly take a couple. Appreciate that’s not neccesarily a business case, but there must be others who aren’t impressed with the Bachmann effort and don’t spend money with Hornby? Cheers,

The argument “X manufacture have just made one”, doesn’t necessarily make a difference to me and plenty like me. Bachmann and A/S have just recently launched new 37’s. I can’t be the only person who has ordered multiple variants from each manufacturer. Similarly, both Hornby and Bachmann have had a crack at the 9f. I don’t spend money with Hornby and similarly of the 2 Bachmann supplied 9f’s I purchased, one was replaced 3 times and I couldn’t be bothered to order a replacement for the faulty no2. So of 4 models that came to me, they have all gone back with a variety of issues. So… since this thread has turned into a wish list, can I have a 9F please? :)

A 9F would be nice… As would a definitive black 5. I know Hornby and Bachmann have recently had a crack at it, but neither have pulled it off.

Possibly? However, I did have the DCC (non sound) function sheet included in the box, so I’m going to assume it was an oversight at the factory? No great shakes either way. 👍

The I contacted the supplier who sent me a copy of the DCC function sheet in word. See below: Hopefully this will help. Thank you for purchasing the Class 52 ‘Western’ with sound. The sound project contains some unique features designed to enhance the driving experience and increase the authenticity. There are a number of sounds that occur when a function button is pressed, and a number of sounds that are played automatically. These are detailed on the following pages. We hope you enjoy the added realism and enhanced driving experience that this will bring to your layout operations. To get the best realism and satisfaction out of your sound decoder, you will need to practice a little bit of driving! Dapol factory-fitted sound The DCC address is set to 3. Some notes about sound functions: 1. Some sounds are always active (e.g. door slams, horns flange squeal). Others are enabled when F1 is ON (e.g. engine sounds). The active sounds can be played by pressing the appropriate function button 2. Some sounds operate automatically. These sounds will only be heard when certain prototypical conditions are met (e.g. brake squeal when braking to a stop). The ‘RealDrive’ Experience The driving experience can be enhanced by activating ‘RealDrive’. This changes the set up of the driving characteristics, such that you will need to apply the brake in order to bring the locomotive to a controlled stop – simply closing the throttle will not suffice! Explanation of ‘RealDrive’: In this mode, you feel you really are driving the engine; assuming the locomotive (train) is travelling at a medium speed as the regulator is closed (speed step 0) the locomotive will continue to coast for some considerable distance, slowing gradually. Applying the brake using F7 will bring the model to a stop. The braking speed can be adjusted by changing CVs as below. When F7 is ON the brake is ON. When F7 is OFF, the brake is OFF. The braking intensity can be altered via CV349. Some users prefer sharper brakes, which allows several short applications to bring the locomotive to a controlled stop (if possible set F7 on your DCC system to ‘momentary' operation). Other users may prefer a gentle brake (use a higher value in CV349) so that only a single application of the brake is needed to bring the locomotive to a halt. CV 349 factory setting is 30. Note: If the brake is left ON, the locomotive will not accelerate. This means that if it is stationary and the brake is ON when the regulator is opened, the locomotive will not move. Note: The brake will not 'win' over the regulator. This means that if the brake is applied whilst the regulator is open it will continue to run at the current speed. To activate ‘RealDrive’ set CV4 to 254, and CV309 to 7. To de-activate ‘RealDrive’ set CV4 to 40, and CV309 to 0. These are the factory settings Function key summary:- F0: White marker lights (directional) F1: Startup/shutdown F2: Two-tone horns F3: Two-tone horns F4: Passenger door slams F5: Guard's whistle F6: Single tone horn F7: Brake application/release F8: Flange squeal F9: Light engine mode (reduced inertia) F10: Red tail lights (directional) F11: Cab lights (directional) F12: All sounds fade out/in F13: Coupling/uncoupling F14: Cab door closing F15: Parking lights (red tail lights at both ends simultaneously) F16: Two-tone horns F17: Two-tone horns F18: Air release Sound and lighting modes F0: White marker lights When F0 is turned on, the white marker lights at the ‘forward’ end will be illuminated according to the direction currently selected. F1: Startup/shutdown On pressing F1 (F1 ON), with the speed set at 0, the sound of the engines starting will be heard. On pressing F1 again (F1 OFF) with the speed set at 0, the sound of the engines shutting down will be heard. Alternatively, the startup sequence can be by-passed by turning F1 on whilst the loco is moving. The engine sound will come on at a notch appropriate to the current speed. Similarly, if F1 is turned off whilst the loco is moving, the engine sound will simply cut off. Driving technique: The engine sounds work best if the throttle is opened directly to the desired speed and left there. The inertia will control the movement of the Locomotive in a realistic manner and the engine/transmission will be heard to go up through the notches as per the prototype. For deceleration, the best results are obtained with ‘RealDrive’ enabled as this allows the throttle to be closed fully and the Locomotive then being brought to a halt using the working brake (F7). In this way, the engine is heard to spool down to idling which simulates prototypically the behaviour of the locomotive coasting. F2: Two-tone horns On pressing F2, short high/low horns will be heard. F3: Two-tone horns On pressing F3, short low/high horns will be heard. F4: Passenger door slams On pressing F4, the sound of the coach doors closing will be heard. If F4 is left ON, more door slams will be heard. To reduce the number of door slams, turn F4 OFF when the required number of door slams has been heard. Note that, depending on the direction of travel currently selected, the door sounds will differ slightly to add variety. Remember to turn off the function when you have used it, otherwise the door sounds will be heard when changing the direction of travel. F5: Guard's whistle On pressing F5, the sound of the Guard's whistle will be heard. F6: Single tone horn On pressing F6, a medium low horn will be heard F7: Brake application/release When F7 is pressed, the sound of the brakes being applied will be heard. When F7 is pressed again (F7 turned off), the sound of the brakes being released will be heard. Note that if 'RealDrive' is enabled, the working brake will also be applied (F7 ON) and also released (F7 OFF) F8: Flange squeal On pressing F8, the sound of the wheel flanges squealing will be heard. The sound will play for 26 seconds, or F8 can be switched off in order to stop the sound playing. F9: Light engine mode With F9 ON, the inertia will be reduced to simulate a lightly loaded engine or train. F10: Red tail lights When F10 is turned on, the red tail light at the ‘reverse’ end will be illuminated according to the direction currently selected. F11: Cab lights (directional) When F11 is on, the leading driver's cab light will be illuminated according to the currently selected direction. F12: All sounds fade out/in When F12 is pressed (F12 ON), all sounds will slowly fade to silence. This can be used when the Locomotive is going 'off-scene' or into a tunnel to simulate the locomotive going out of earshot. When F12 is pressed again (F12 OFF), all sounds will slowly fade back in to their previous volumes. This can be used when the Locomotive is coming 'on-scene' or out of a tunnel to simulate the locomotive coming into earshot. F13: Coupling up/uncoupling On pressing F13, the sound of the coupling being placed on the hook will be heard. On pressing F13 again (F13 OFF), the sound of uncoupling will be heard. F14: Cab door slam On pressing F14, the sound of the cab door being slammed will be heard. F15: Parking lights When F15 is turned on, the red tail lights both at the ‘forward’ and at the ‘reverse’ end of the locomotive will be will be illuminated simultaneously regardless of the direction of travel currently selected. F16: Two-tone horns On pressing F16, short high/low horns will be heard. F17: Two-tone horns On pressing F17, short low/high horns will be heard. F18: Air release On pressing F18, the sound of the air being released will be heard. Automatic functions Brake squeal: The brake squeal will be played when the speed of the locomotive drops below the threshold AND the locomotive is decelerating. Note that if 'RealDrive' is enabled, the brake squeal will only be played when the speed of the locomotive drops below the threshold AND the locomotive is decelerating AND the brake is ON (F7 ON). Other useful CVs CV3 Acceleration rate ('heavy' engine (F9 OFF): As supplied this is set to a value of 120. This can be adjusted to give the required amount of inertia; a higher value will give slower acceleration whilst a lower value gives more rapid acceleration CV4 Deceleration rate ('heavy' engine (F9 OFF): As supplied this is set to a value of 40. This can be adjusted to give the required amount of inertia; a higher value gives a slower deceleration. A lower value gives more rapid acceleration. Note for 'RealDrive' this should be set to a value of 254. CV390 ‘Light engine’ inertia reduction: This specifies the amount of inertiathat is applied when the ‘light engine’ mode is ON (F9 ON). As supplied this is set to a value of 85. This can be adjusted to give the required amount of ‘light engine inertia; a higher value will give slower acceleration and deceleration whilst a lower value gives more rapid acceleration and deceleration. CV266 Overall volume: As supplied, this is set to a value of 64. A higher value will increase the volume whilst a lower value will decrease the volume. The recommended maximum is around 100.

I’ve had my DCC sound western delivered today. Are they supposed to come with a functions list sheet? I have one for lighting but not sound.

Much appreciated - thank you. -Sloth.

To save me wading through 200+ pages, can anyone recall reading when the original green / green + yellow versions are scheduled to arrive? Thanks in advance! 👍

Hi folks. Anyone else struggling with these? I’m currently on my 4th! First had decoder issues, 2nd arrived damaged, third was a rough runner and for some reason couldn’t make it around R2 curves and now we have the latest. please look at the video… Is that level of movement in the radius rod acceptable? It certainly moves much more than the other side of the loco and replacement no 3 looked the same. Is that just how these are?

The missing flange on the centre set of driving wheels makes the real thing surprisingly nimble in the real world. 👍

9f no1, had a decoder issue and was drenched in oil. Poorly fitting drive gears so when it did move it wasn’t particularly smooth. Replacement arrived damaged - the fine pipe work under the cab was bent upward and snapped by whomever put it into the packaging. 2nd Replacement inbound 9f no2 can’t make it round 2nd radius curves - I think this is a B2B issue - can’t test unfortunately. Motion is tight and not a particularly smooth runner. If I can get one decent example that’d be nice!