Cavalex - all new Class 56 in OO

[JN]

 

Well, I felt like a child at Christmas again when I heard the delivery man had arrived.

 

Still, I thought people might be interested in the video linked above. The locomotives were workhorses and were seen pretty much all over the country. Scotland. North-east England on the MGRs and steel trains. West Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire MGRs, sometimes going over to Fiddler's Ferry or going down to Didcot. South Wales on iron ore and steel trains (MGRs in around Cardiff were mostly 37s). Aggregate trains in and out of London. Oil trains from/to various locations.

 

I can see that people are pleased with their purchase and I hope the model/models will bring many hours of innocent fun.

 

is my purchase. Well, the in-real-life version of which my model looks just like. All the best for future projects and hopefully this will be the first of many purchases. Not too fussed about the Class 60, but a fine locomotive. Another workhorse that would be seen on many different at many locations on different operations.

 

Thanks for Cavelex for making an impressive model (also really smart idea for the tool to put on the plates and plaques - I will definitely need that given I am otherwise useless at lining things up) of an impressive machine and Ultimate Models Railways for being patient with me (sorry - a bit of a private story, but thanks nonetheless) and fulfilling the order promptly. This is starting to seem like an award night speech, so I will leave it at that.

[IOW O2]

18 hours ago, RBE said:

We are currently in contact with ESU regarding the fan use on DC. Our spec and the instructions received from ESU (they designed the circuit board) suggests the dip switch settings for the fans on DC however we need to wait for the ESU engineer to get back us as to why they don't seem to be working currently.

Hoping this will be a quick fix for everyone.  Having finally decided to get one yesterday and drive over this morning to collect from my retailer as they only have one blue 08 left,  I am now in a thinking do I need fans on DC only.  They do look cool on the DCC one I saw.🤔

[Wayne 56089]

20 hours ago, Southwich said:

Send us an email (cavalexmodels@gmail.com) with your address and we’ll get a spare in the post to you.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Arrived 5 minutes ago first class signed for delivery. 
 

Absolutely fantastic thanks ever so much. 
 

And to make today better 56018,019 and 55 are due for delivery later today. 

[farren]

This model is definitely growing on me, now I might be having a mishap with fitting the speaker,  but the one that was fitted to the decor seems just fine. More than load enough with enough bass without shacking the tiles of the roof. 
 

The 56 looks just has good as the Accurascale scale 37 both having their advantages.
 

But the 56 seems much easier to use sound wise. The start up with the ability to have a cold start and failed start is a lovely touch. Once the engine is running hit f5 and f6 throttle it up watch both fans running hit f5  release driver hold  let her start to move press it again to keep the speed, repeat if when necessary to gain speed. I’m sorry it’s almost like being a kid again the model invites you to play trains with it. 
 

what helps is all the little noises it makes before it sets off. I’ve been interested in trains for too many years (steam for the main) but I don’t know how you drive them and wouldn’t know which buttons to press if the sounds where assigned to f buttons. Where the 56 does some of these for you.
 

The 56 seems much more user friendly for the everyday modeler and wins over the 37. I well be voting the 56 as model of the year next year, and the only thing that might stop me is the class 60 when you release it later in the year. Which I was wasn’t going to get but I am now. 

Edited February 2 by farren
Changing 7 to 6

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

1 hour ago, farren said:

This model is definitely growing on me, now I might be having a mishap with fitting the speaker,  but the one that was fitted to the decor seems just fine. More than load enough with enough bass without shacking the tiles of the roof. 
 

The 56 looks just has good as the Accurascale scale 37 both having their advantages.
 

But the 57 seems much easier to use sound wise. The start up with the ability to have a cold start and failed start is a lovely touch. Once the engine is running hit f5 and f6 throttle it up watch both fans running hit f5  release driver hold  let her start to move press it again to keep the speed, repeat if when necessary to gain speed. I’m sorry it’s almost like being a kid again the model invites you to play trains with it. 
 

what helps is all the little noises it makes before it sets off. I’ve been interested in trains for too many years (steam for the main) but I don’t know how you drive them and wouldn’t know which buttons to press if the sounds where assigned to f buttons. Where the 56 does some of these for you.
 

The 56 seems much more user friendly for the everyday modeler and wins over the 37. I well be voting the 56 as model of the year next year, and the only thing that might stop me is the class 60 when you release it later in the year. Which I was wasn’t going to get but I am now. 

This or as you say the 60 is capable of taking the top spot off Accurascale in the awards for best model loco, and to be honest thats good for the hobby looking at what we have now against not so long ago. The Hattons 66 probably started the ball rolling but the running and lighting dulled its initial shine,but your right in saying it has to fun to use these models. Hats off to Cav and Alex and lets see where the next few years takes the models in the hobby.

[Gilbert]

Post deleted!

Edited February 2 by Gilbert

[farren]

1 minute ago, Gilbert said:

Is that "57" the unfortunate outcome of a bit of 56/37 coupling?

Either that or Fat fingers and not reading what I’ve written. I’ve changed it just has you where writing this. 

[ColinB]

I suppose the bigger question is what does this do to the Hornby class 56? I was never tempted to order one because of Sam's review where he stated that getting the body off was difficult because of the connectors that fall apart as you do it. As I run DCC it would mean I would have to take the body off, so for me it was a non starter, I don't think it has working fans either.

[spamcan61]

18 minutes ago, ColinB said:

 I was never tempted to order one because of Sam's review where he stated that getting the body off was difficult because of the connectors that fall apart as you do it. 

Did you check out other reviews or just take Sam's opinion as the be all and end all of the situation?

[andyman7]

26 minutes ago, ColinB said:

I suppose the bigger question is what does this do to the Hornby class 56? I was never tempted to order one because of Sam's review where he stated that getting the body off was difficult because of the connectors that fall apart as you do it. As I run DCC it would mean I would have to take the body off, so for me it was a non starter, I don't think it has working fans either.

The Hornby 56 was a very good model for its time and still does a good job. The tooling is however around 15 years old. It covers the significant variations pretty well, but the Cavalex model takes things to a new level matching the current 'expert' market, where the tooling doesn't just match the basic differences between builds but is custom honed to each specific example modelled. It also has the lighting and sound functionality that now accounts for multiple light operations and sound effects rather than 'lights on' 'lights off', 'sound on' etc which typified early 2000s models like the Hornby one.
Alongside my Cavalex 56 I have one of the recent Hornby blue ones which I picked up new for £130 in the recent sales - they sit happily side by side. My Cavalex one has replaced my more-than-a-decade-old Hornby Romanian one - I was able to sell it on to part fund the Cavalex purchase. That one did have working fans run of an elastic band drive from the motor; latterly however the band had perished and they no longer turned, and the feature was left off later models.

Remember that the Cavalex model is batch produced from limited retailers too - so Hornby can still sell their model through their much wider retail network with their higher brand recognition. 
As for getting the body off the Hornby one, it was reasonably straightforward. But a removable hatch in the roof is much more so! 

[rob D2]

I found the Hornby one and Hornby in general much smoother runners than Bachmann. I hope the cavalex is good .

What puts me off Hornby more than anything is the lack of after sales support and the feeling they are not really interested in DE 

[rob D2]

40 minutes ago, ColinB said:

I suppose the bigger question is what does this do to the Hornby class 56? I was never tempted to order one because of Sam's review where he stated that getting the body off was difficult because of the connectors that fall apart as you do it. As I run DCC it would mean I would have to take the body off, so for me it was a non starter, I don't think it has working fans either.

Getting the body off isn’t that difficult. Maybe he just made it look so 

[ColinB]

20 minutes ago, spamcan61 said:

Did you check out other reviews or just take Sam's opinion as the be all and end all of the situation?

No, I didn't someone else commented on it as well. I don't know if it was a certain batch but the connectors had a habit of disintegrating. Generally with Sam he always does a video showing the issues and like him or not, as far as mechanics go he is generally right. I think even then, they were competing with Bachman class 47 so looking at the wiring on a Bachmann class 47 you can see what is possible. Anything electrical with Hornby is an afterthought, it is quite common in mechanically based firms.

[ColinB]

58 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

Getting the body off isn’t that difficult. Maybe he just made it look so 

It wasn't getting the body off that was the issue, it was what came off with it. Actually thinking about it, it was a guy on the Hornby website that was complaining about it, I think in the end he hard wired the connectors.

Edited February 2 by ColinB

[Melly]

16 hours ago, James Makin said:

Thanks ever so much Cav! I may well fit sound at a later date, for now doing the economy option! I’ve just put in an order at DC Kits for the 59619s, and look forward to getting the beasties going! 
 

Cheers,

James

 One for Cav, and I apologise if I'm being slow joining the dots on this.  I'm a DCC ready purchaser and, to be honest, I'd never thought about what DCC Chip restrictions there maybe when I ordered them or whilst waiting.  There's been mention of getting DCC Chips configured for the multiple lighting configurations but then a recommendation to James on the LokoPilot 59619?  Will the 59619 'plug and play' all lighting options or do I need to wait for the CAVALEX mentored on?  I've got spare chips to just get them running in the short term and I've zero plans for sound as it agitates my tinnitus. SO . . .  get the 59619 now or wait for the bespoke CAVALEX one?

 

As an aside, gents (Cav Alex) you should be incredible proud of what you have achieved.  Looks great, colour pallet looks spot on and impressive packaging.  One of the things I've often chatted about with fellow enthusiast is my frustration in quality control and spares support.  Were a million miles away from the the Hornby / Lima (with a total of 25 constructed parts) 'Toy' trains of the past, to these high quality items of miniature engineering.  The packaging immediately struck me of being commensurate with an item of "miniature engineering" and not a toy. 

 

I look forward to participating in the brand growth (as a customer) in the future :-)  Cough PWA Pallet Vans 

[97406]

Just fitted the Roads and Rails sourced decoder to 008 and it’s sounding mint. I didn’t notice I had got a square Megabass speaker until I’d placed the order but even so it sounds good. It will get replaced with the correct ESU 50344 speaker when it arrives and the Megabass will get deployed elsewhere.

Edited February 2 by 97406

[Mr Grumpy]

Hi Cav Alex and all other delighted 56ers :-)

I have been playing with my gorgeous 56019 resplendent with red buffers.

Like most new owners I am more than over the moon with my loco, BUT believe it or not for my measly sized railway room, as fabulous as the sound is, it’s a tad loud for me. 
I would like to turn the sound down a little. I use a 20yr old Lenz 100 and wondered if anyone could be kind enough to let me know which CV(s) to tweak to adjust it?

Many thanks in advance:-)

Richard

 

[Grimleygrid]

1 hour ago, Melly said:

 One for Cav, and I apologise if I'm being slow joining the dots on this.  I'm a DCC ready purchaser and, to be honest, I'd never thought about what DCC Chip restrictions there maybe when I ordered them or whilst waiting.  There's been mention of getting DCC Chips configured for the multiple lighting configurations but then a recommendation to James on the LokoPilot 59619?  Will the 59619 'plug and play' all lighting options or do I need to wait for the CAVALEX mentored on?  I've got spare chips to just get them running in the short term and I've zero plans for sound as it agitates my tinnitus. SO . . .  get the 59619 now or wait for the bespoke CAVALEX one?

 

As an aside, gents (Cav Alex) you should be incredible proud of what you have achieved.  Looks great, colour pallet looks spot on and impressive packaging.  One of the things I've often chatted about with fellow enthusiast is my frustration in quality control and spares support.  Were a million miles away from the the Hornby / Lima (with a total of 25 constructed parts) 'Toy' trains of the past, to these high quality items of miniature engineering.  The packaging immediately struck me of being commensurate with an item of "miniature engineering" and not a toy. 

 

I look forward to participating in the brand growth (as a customer) in the future :-)  Cough PWA Pallet Vans 

 

Afternoon Melly,

 

Due to the complex nature of the lighting functions, you will need a specially programmed decoder for the Class 56 in DCC operation.

We recommend a properly programmed ESU Lokpilot 59619 decoder.

 

We are currently finalising the file with ESU and will then be in a position to supply, most likely through our retailers.

If you could please bear with us, however, we hope to have news on that over the next few days.

 

Thank you for your kind comments and to everyone that has posted positive feedback. 
 

[Ravel]

I'm looking for a Loadhaul model with sound, I was going to hold out until Model Rail Scotland but feel I may miss the boat by then, does anyone know of anyone with any stock left? 

[97406]

1 minute ago, Ravel said:

I'm looking for a Loadhaul model with sound, I was going to hold out until Model Rail Scotland but feel I may miss the boat by then, does anyone know of anyone with any stock left? 

Rails have DCC ready and today’s experience with the decoder from Roads and Rails is an option if you can’t find one with sound.

[georgeds]

4 minutes ago, Ravel said:

I'm looking for a Loadhaul model with sound, I was going to hold out until Model Rail Scotland but feel I may miss the boat by then, does anyone know of anyone with any stock left? 

Ultimate model railways still show Loadhaul sound ones in stock https://ultimatemodelrailways.com/products/cavalex-class-56-56055-load-haul-doncaster-dcc-ready?variant=40180993097893

[AForce]

3 minutes ago, Ravel said:

I'm looking for a Loadhaul model with sound, I was going to hold out until Model Rail Scotland but feel I may miss the boat by then, does anyone know of anyone with any stock left? 

@Ultimate Model Railways are currently showing stock of the sound model: https://ultimatemodelrailways.com/products/cavalex-class-56-56055-load-haul-doncaster-dcc-ready?variant=40180993097893

[nickb4141]

I wonder if anyone can help with a couple of questions re the model I received today. I pre-ordered a sound fitted Colas 56 from Rails in May 2021, but they managed to cock up my order and I’ve got an analogue one instead! 
 

1. Does the analogue model come with a speaker pre fitted? I’ve had a quick look through the manual, but strangely it doesn’t seem to mention DCC sound fitting? 
 

2. The fans appear to be non operational? Is this just on the analogue models (I’m sure I read the model had operating fans, but I could have got that wrong!)

 

Thanks in advance, if anyone knows the answers!

 

Cheers, Nick

[RBE]

17 minutes ago, nickb4141 said:

I wonder if anyone can help with a couple of questions re the model I received today. I pre-ordered a sound fitted Colas 56 from Rails in May 2021, but they managed to cock up my order and I’ve got an analogue one instead! 
 

1. Does the analogue model come with a speaker pre fitted? I’ve had a quick look through the manual, but strangely it doesn’t seem to mention DCC sound fitting? 
 

2. The fans appear to be non operational? Is this just on the analogue models (I’m sure I read the model had operating fans, but I could have got that wrong!)

 

Thanks in advance, if anyone knows the answers!

 

Cheers, Nick

Hi Nick, no the none sound fitted locos do not have a speaker pre installed. The speaker and chip are part of the extra price paid for the sound version. The fans do operate yes however we are currently in contact with ESU as to whether they should operate on DC.

 

Well will keep you updated when we know more. 

 

If you ordered a sound version then Rails should be able to swap the loco for the one that you ordered!

 

 

[uk_pm]

On the basis that a picture is worth a thousand words (and I cannot add more superlatives than have been used already), I leave this here.  56 120 sits in the centre road at Doncaster, fresh from a proving run across the Pennines