Allegheny1600 Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 2 hours ago, jasond said: Now be careful John. As you get older and, if you're like me, the fingers get stiffer and bulkier (I'll have to give up trying to learn the guitar again and stick to playing the drums) indulging your hidden desire for O-scale will be the only way to get that tingle Jason I have to admit, I AM looking at the good old Southern Pacific again - however, you'll never guess in which scale!!! (Zzzzzz). I appear to have this congenital defect - never satisfied-itus. A week or two ago, I was drooling all over the forthcoming Minerva Teddy Bear. Can't wait to get this house sold and get settled in so I can make a start on my next layout. Sorry, Jordan - you may have your thread back now mate! John. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 3 hours ago, F-UnitMad said: Maybe I should confess in the Model Railway Crimes Thread..??!! I think that's merely pragmatic modelling - if you get fed up with one side, you simply turn the loco round and change it's identity! A friend of mine from the Manchester club has a gorgeous JLTRT Western and it's maroon on one side, blue on the other! The ultimate dodge? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 After a bout of progress in various aspects of this layout early in the Covid19 Lockdown, in recent weeks that has all ground to a complete halt. Partly I'm now catching up with work postponed from March & April, just when I was getting used to being 'semi retired' - partly it's been too warm weather-wise to be in the loft for long - a pity as it's a good time for dilute pva glue to dry when ballasting!! and also partly a bit of a loss of mojo too, leaving my SD40 halfway through DCC Sound fitting. But whilst looking through my photos on the laptop I found these which I don't think I've posted here before - or if I did it was with Photobucket so they disappeared long ago!! They're pics of some "Concept Testing" I did on the old HO layout that used to occupy this benchwork; I wanted to see if O Scale would fit, & how it would look. Train lengths and spur capacity would obviously be reduced, but by how much, was the question? would O look silly? Would it get around that one really tight curve? Well that issue had to be re-addressed of course as regular followers will know The sight of O & HO trains together is an interesting comparison in "presence". Enough waffle, here's a bit of a Nostalgia Trip... First, why change from HO to O? Here's why.... At Shortside North, with O scale it was clear there was going to be no room for a proper warehouse building. Just as well, since Pikestuff don't make them in O anyway!! Strangely I found that an O Scale train of loco + 4 cars wasn't double the length of an HO loco + 4 cars. Although the HO Flat is an 89ft; the O one a 62ft (I think!!) The spur at Shortside South was going to be about the same physical length in either scale; capacity was clearly going to suffer in O. IIRC, in HO this spur held 6 cars easily; in O it's 4. The Deal Breaker - I had some stock that was almost identical in both scales. But somehow, having to divide my time between each scale meant I accomplished less in either. I had to focus on just one scale.... I can honestly say that I have never once regretted the decision to sell the HO stock & rebuild the layout in O Scale. The rest, as they say, is history....... 9 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted August 21, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 21, 2020 You did right, Hope the get up and go returns soon. The heat this summer did slow me down, and I haven’t rationalised like you, so still very slow progress. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 21, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 21, 2020 Well actually US 0 scale is 1:48 so not twice HO at 1:87. US 0 is a tad smaller than our 7mm. The real thing is the volume of 0 scale is about 6 times bigger than H0 in volume so it pack one hell of a punch visually. I Secondly if a train is long enough so you are seeing both ends at once it appears longer. Say a 6 car train compares to a 9 car HO or a 16 car N . You need longer trains in a small scale for the same effect. Don 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 3 hours ago, Donw said: Well actually US 0 scale is 1:48 so not twice HO at 1:87. Yes it's easy to forget that HO actually is half of 1:43.5, not 1:48. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) Haven't been doing much to the layout recently, but one thing I have done is replace the decoders in my Atlas Plymouths. They were fitted with Digitrax DH126D decoders, which are small but have a 1.5Amp capacity & 2Amp peak, & had been recommended on the OGR Forum I think. They seemed to work ok at first, but running started to deteriorate until it seemed like these little locos - which as everyone who owns one knows, are very heavy for their size - could barely pull themselves along, let alone any stock. Seems these decoders weren't quite up to the task after all. Well now I've replaced them all with Zimo MX635R decoders, which are a similar size at 26 x 15mm, but have a 1.8Amp rating with 2.5Amp peak, and what a transformation!! Not just in pulling power but in motor control too! I have never seen these locos creep & move so smoothly before, the difference is amazing, I am very impressed. Only teeny snag has been my utter failure to understand the manual, an affliction I have with most DCC instruction manuals, so I have gone halves with my young mate (my lad's mate too but he's still well into trains & my lad isn't anymore) - I digress; we've gone halves on a Sprog 3, he has the computer know-how to work it and is re-programming the lights for me, as & when lockdown allows. This is because I've wired front & rear headlights together to the white/F0 lead, and the beacon to the yellow/F0 lead, and want them all on at once, non-directional, and the beacon to have 'rotary beacon' effect. So far he's done #30 'Shortliner Jack', there's #21 & #24 to do. They speed match really well and all three can lash up & pull a decent train; here's a photo of tonight's playtime where they've hauled a 10-car train with ease. The Zimo decoders were from Kevin at Coastal DCC; best price I could find & fast shipping - superb service as always Usual disclaimers apply. Happy bunny. Edited September 19, 2020 by F-UnitMad Spelling!! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I have to agree with the excellent service from Kevin at Coastal DCC. Fastest service I've experienced. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted September 20, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2020 Fully approve of the lash-up, even if I can’t understand a word of dccspeak. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, andrew's trains said: F-Unit; Thanks for the information on the DCC units that you've used. I'd like to do the same to my four units. Are these DCC and sound units, or DCC only? Is there a version of the Zimo MX635R decoder with sound available? Mine are just plain DCC decoders; I think there is a sound version available, but I'm not sure where you'd fit a decent speaker in these engines, or if there's a suitable sound profile available. The decoder itself & the supplied stay-alive are small enough to tuck in one side of the cab, between the cab wall & motor housing. Edited September 20, 2020 by F-UnitMad 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 For the Plymouth sound project a recording of a bag of spanners being thrown about would do. Plus a moped failing to start and some choice expletives in a suitable NE U.S accent.... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: For the Plymouth sound project a recording of a bag of spanners being thrown about would do. .... I thought Alco had copyright on that sound? Sprinting for exit..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Modellers often make mock-ups of proposed buildings from cardboard. What's wrong with some hardboard & chipboard offcuts?, I say!!! Ok, so I don't have any cardboard to hand... Anyway at the Chemicals Distributor, I wanted a facility for tankers. Now a nice fully-detailed loading gantry would be nice - but in my world highly unlikely due to the time it'd take to build, and cost of suitable gantry-type materials. So the alternative is a covered shed, inside which the safe loading & unloading of chemical nasties can be assumed to take place, with any 'gantry' visible only in the imagination So I mocked up this shed wall to see what it looks like.... The shed entrance would be much lower and closer to the tanker's size, of course, but I think the side wall is too high altogether. Despite this being O Scale, I don't want it to dominate the scene quite so much, so next step is to lower it somewhat. A sloping roof up towards the back could help with height at the rear, and the 'warehouse' part of the building has to come forward a teeny bit too; it's all very interesting trying to model the actual scene as I see it in my head; I don't think it'll be the same in the end!! The various old caulk tubes will one day somehow be transformed into storage tanks for whatever chemicals the Company deals with!! 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Caulk,.presumably! ☺ 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) More DCC shenannigans today.... Replacing the Protocraft "boosted" Tsunami decoder in my GP40 with an ESU Loksound had the unexpected by-product of freeing up the Tsunami for use elsewhere, once I realised the decoder itself wasn't faulty. The EMD SD40 has the exact same engine as the GP40, of course. Now I already had a non-sound NCE decoder in my SD40, & hadn't planned to add sound. But having a spare speaker, and now a spare decoder, the opportunity was too good to miss. I had left the 'dummy' roof beacon (from 12vDC days) with the NCE decoder, but now really had to fit a working LED one. Easier said than done when the Soo Line inconveniently sited the beacon right over the headlights on the numberboard marquee!! But I'd managed it before on my GP35, so had to do it here. It involves drilling holes for the LED legs at an angle into the roof, so the LED can be fitted and the legs bent as flat as possible - after soldering the connecting leads - under the roof, so the perspex headlight 'block' can slide back in place afterwards. It's a bit of a faff, but worth it in the end. So here she is, my only 6-axle American diesel, idling away at Portway Center. This is a short video just to get the flavour of the sound, and show the strobe beacon. A small detail to note on the cab roof is a small blanking plate on the angled side, where the horns used to be. This is an accurate detail from the real #755; the horns used to sit on the angle (as they do on my GP35) but the Soo moved them to the cab roof proper at some point in the early 1980s. (thereby effectively obscuring the strobe beacon from one side ) Also, one of the Digitrax decoders out of my Plymouths has found a new home in my Atlas Soo Line caboose, to power the strobe beacon on that, also shown in this clip..... Edit - photo added for cab comparison between the SD40, 755, & GP35, 724. Soo Line Bore Mode /on. Note the difference of the angle of the red paint on the cab sides. The GP35 has the original version, the SD40 the later version, nicknamed "hockey stick". Soo Line Bore Mode /off.... Edited September 20, 2020 by F-UnitMad Photo added. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Cmon mate, lets hear it notch up to run 8! Sounds much better than my small stuff with sound.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: Cmon mate, lets hear it notch up to run 8! Sounds much better than my small stuff with Oh dear, well you did ask.... Edit:- Sorry about the shaky bit midway. The Powercab needs two buttons pressing to notch back down again - I needed 3 hands!!! The horns on Soundtrax Tsunamis however, I find rather feeble & underwhelming. Here's a comparison with the TCS Wowsound horn in the GP35. Tsunami first, then Wowsound... Ah, that's better!! Edited September 20, 2020 by F-UnitMad 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Hmmm... listening to the video playback there doesn't sound that much difference in the horns In reality there is!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Very nice. If you get a chance its worth exploring the ESU sounds... they do a nice variety of 645E in 12, 16 and 20 turbo. One of my CIE 071s currently has a V20-645E3 sound file... I think I've got away with it. ☺ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted September 20, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2020 Harking back to the Zimo decoders I thin the equivalent sound ones are 1.2A rather than the 1.8A although there are some more powerful ones. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 9 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said: Very nice. If you get a chance its worth exploring the ESU sounds... they do a nice variety of 645E in 12, 16 and 20 turbo. One of my CIE 071s currently has a V20-645E3 sound file... I think I've got away with it. ☺ Yes, I have ESU in my GP40 & Alco RS3, with another one waiting to go in my CSX GP38-2. They are very good indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 (edited) I have one last US loco that up until now has remained 12v DC. This is my Red Caboose/Atlas GP9, one of my first O locos and a very nice runner. I don't have many photos of it, in fact. Since this one was taken I dirtied up the walkways rather more following feedback on an American Forum. Anyway I digress; this week has seen this loco finally dragged into the 21st Century with the fitting of a Lenz Gold Maxi decoder. Due to the Atlas/Roco drivetrain filling much of the interior I haven't fitted sound to this one, but as the frame is plastic I've added some lead flashing bits where I can to add weight. It's still lighter than the other locos so won't pull quite as many cars; maybe I'll have to add more. The motor is a dreaded Pittman, which caused me so much trouble in my Weaver GP40, but the Lenz decoder seems to be happy with it at the moment, time will tell if I end up having to replace it with a Canon FN30 as in the Weaver, but it would be a harder job this time due to the way the motor cradle is designed. We shall have to see.... Had a Senior Moment with it this evening, though. Tried to select it on my NCE Powercab, & got no response. Tried again, no response. Time to panic??!! I checked again; I'd selected 409. It is, of course, number 401. 409 was the number of my N Gauge Atlas GP9, 25 years ago!!! Edit to add a Blast from the Past photo - my first 3 N gauge locos, all repaints by myself. The GP9 (1987 release) was rather inaccurate, for instance the body proportions had been 'stretched' a bit by Atlas to fit the mechanism from their RS3, & the model had dynamic brakes which Soo Line GP9s didn't, just for starters. Actually all 3 locos had inaccuracies, but I had great fun anyway at the time with them. Edited September 27, 2020 by F-UnitMad Add second photo. 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 How do you open the window on an old Plymouth? Skip to the 1:52 mark.... Other than that, a nice gentle video to while away some time on a rainy afternoon. It captures well the saying about a lot of small Short Lines - "We don't go far, & we don't go fast". Also reminds me I must get a couple of figures to do up as flagmen for my road crossings. Sure someone on this Section of the Forum made a chap in HO with a bit of metal for a foot, and there was a hidden magnet in the road, so he could be placed in position temporarily & didn't fall over. Unfortunately you might want to watch some parts of the clip with the volume down, as they're a bit keen with the loco bell, & reinforce that common UK Exhibition complaint from Unbelievers that "American layouts are all ding ding bl**dy ding".... 4 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted October 2, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 2, 2020 Thanks for that, Jordan, really enjoyed it. All you basically want is a Plymouth and a caboose, with a track laying lesson from yourself, and all the rest is just flim flam. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Northroader said: Thanks for that, Jordan, really enjoyed it. All you basically want is a Plymouth and a caboose, with a track laying lesson from yourself, and all the rest is just flim flam. You're trying to drag me back to April 1st, aren't you - O scale Plymouths and a 4 x 1ft layout... 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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