Kernow GWR steam rail motor

[sjrixon]

1 hour ago, Kaput said:

Bare in mind altering CV60 will likely change all the lights.

If you want to try and dim the directional lights separately from the interior you'd need to use the swiss mapping and map out the functions and dimming levels there.

Easy (if a bit hard to wrap your brain around) with Decoder Pro but a bit of a nightmare with manual CV changes.

Swiss mapping.... Thinking of cheese..

 

I'll do some googling.....

[Harlequin]

I got my sound fitted No. 97 "back from the menders" today.

 

The accessories bag is definitely the one I had originally and the loco had the address I'd programmed into it so I extrapolate from that that it really is the same model that I returned due to her developing a "limp" when turning right.

 

A quick run shows that I don't see the limp where the whole body sporadically lifted up when turning right but now the motion obviously has a stiff point in it. Every wheel rotation goes through a point where it slows down then speeds up again, whether turning or running on a straight. And the sound file follows.

 

I'm a bit disappointed but I'll see if there's anything I can do to make it smoother over the next few days.

 

Edited February 20 by Harlequin

[outatime]

Mine had a stiff point as well, I had to disassemble it to where I got the motor out to see what the problem was.

The distance between the slide bars was to small at one end, so that the crosshead got stuck a little.

I used some small pliers to slightly tweak the slide bar and now mine runs fine.

[Chuffer Davies]

5 hours ago, outatime said:

Mine had a stiff point as well, I had to disassemble it to where I got the motor out to see what the problem was.

The distance between the slide bars was to small at one end, so that the crosshead got stuck a little.

I used some small pliers to slightly tweak the slide bar and now mine runs fine.

Did you drop the steam bogie out completely and if so how difficult was it to do?  I’m going to have to dismantle the model to convert it to EM so it would be good to hear your comments.

Frank

[stephennicholson]

I have installed Decoder Pro (and after a battle with my Hornby Elite - it needed a factory reset) have got it working. Following the settings that @Free At Last suggested for his Zimo  up the thread, I have successfully dimmed the directional lights without affecting the interior lights.  I compared the CVs before and after.

 

 

Googling "Dim masks", seems to be a means of excluding the effects of changing CV60 from all functions.

 

So on the face of it a suitable solution, but it would be good to have comment from someone who understands the detail.  Still puzzled by the Youchoose advice that the dimming of the directional lights cant be achieved and there is an impact that I havent appreciated.

 

 

[MG 7305]

I asked a certain supplier of Zimo sound chips and received a very swift and courteous reply:

 

"you set CV#114=252 and then use CV#60 to adjust the brightness"

[sjrixon]

Those settings look quite clear, as you say, odd that they say you can't, when you can. Youchoos are normally very knowledgeable. 

 

I'll have a play when I get a chance.. 

[outatime]

6 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

Did you drop the steam bogie out completely and if so how difficult was it to do?  I’m going to have to dismantle the model to convert it to EM so it would be good to hear your comments.

Frank

 

It was not that easy, you have to disassemble nearly everything to drop the bogie out.

-unsolder connections to the motor and the pickups

-unscrew the PCB

-remove all the details from the bogie, at least the white pipe.

-unscrew the interior

-unscrew the metal C-Clip and slide it away

-drop the bogie out

 

The Bogie is split in two parts which are attached to each other by three screws.

Anyway, there's a lot of work involved.

As you can see in the picture, one side bench is missing in my sound fitted model.

 

[Chuffer Davies]

45 minutes ago, outatime said:

 

It was not that easy, you have to disassemble nearly everything to drop the bogie out.

-unsolder connections to the motor and the pickups

-unscrew the PCB

-remove all the details from the bogie, at least the white pipe.

-unscrew the interior

-unscrew the metal C-Clip and slide it away

-drop the bogie out

 

The Bogie is split in two parts which are attached to each other by three screws.

Anyway, there's a lot of work involved.

As you can see in the picture, one side bench is missing in my sound fitted model.

 

Oh wow…. It’s even worse than I feared.  I’m going to have to wait until I’ve got a clear bench to attack this particular project. 
Many thanks for your feedback and the very informative photo.

Frank

[Michael Hodgson]

3 hours ago, outatime said:

 

It was not that easy, you have to disassemble nearly everything to drop the bogie out.

-unsolder connections to the motor and the pickups

-unscrew the PCB

-remove all the details from the bogie, at least the white pipe.

-unscrew the interior

-unscrew the metal C-Clip and slide it away

-drop the bogie out

 

The Bogie is split in two parts which are attached to each other by three screws.

Anyway, there's a lot of work involved.

As you can see in the picture, one side bench is missing in my sound fitted model.

 

That's an awful lot of small bits.

I use a magnetic ash tray to hold small screws when I'm doing a job like that. 

The magnetism only helps if they're steel of course. 

[Kernow MRC]

Whilst the last pre-ordered non-sound pre-ordered Railmotors have been sent, we are continuing to complete the pre-orders for sound-fitted models. These models are fitted at our workshop and we currently still have, over 300 to fit, as new orders are arriving almost faster than it takes us to fit them, however all sound fitted orders placed prior to December 2022 have been dispatched, so please be patient!

These models have been incredibly popular, we are down to limited stocks of K2302 and  K2303 and amazingly now sold out of K2305. 

We are of course also processing and dispatching our standard run rate of online orders at the same time! 

We thank everyone for your patience, the outstanding models will be with you very soon, there is no need to contact us to ask where the models are.

Edited February 22 by Kernow MRC

[Kernow MRC]

18 hours ago, outatime said:

 

It was not that easy, you have to disassemble nearly everything to drop the bogie out.

-unsolder connections to the motor and the pickups

-unscrew the PCB

-remove all the details from the bogie, at least the white pipe.

-unscrew the interior

-unscrew the metal C-Clip and slide it away

-drop the bogie out

 

The Bogie is split in two parts which are attached to each other by three screws.

Anyway, there's a lot of work involved.

As you can see in the picture, one side bench is missing in my sound fitted model.

 

 

Hopefully this goes someway to help appreciate the amount of work that goes into the production of the thousands of these models made with the level of detail and fidelity that the market demands. 

[didcot]

Thanks for the update. Must be getting close to my sound 93. 

[Andy Keane]

Has anyone added stay-alive to their sound fitted Railmotors yet? I am certainly going to need some.

Also what are those two fabulously vulnerable loops on the gutter rail for at the non-motor end. With my clumsy hands I doubt they will be there very long. They are clearly prototypical but I have no idea what they are for!

[Coppercap]

49 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Has anyone added stay-alive to their sound fitted Railmotors yet? I am certainly going to need some.

Also what are those two fabulously vulnerable loops on the gutter rail for at the non-motor end. With my clumsy hands I doubt they will be there very long. They are clearly prototypical but I have no idea what they are for!

I think it is the so-called butterfly valve, which has to be reset if the emergency chain is pulled. They rotate 90 degrees if chain is pulled, and in a train of several carriages, it can be seen in which carriage the chain's been pulled. They do appear to be vulnerable though, don't they? 

Edited February 23 by Coppercap

[Chuffer Davies]

1 hour ago, Coppercap said:

I think it is the so-called butterfly valve, which has to be reset if the emergency chain is pulled. They rotate 90 degrees if chain is pulled, and in a train of several carriages, it can be seen in which carriage the chain's been pulled. They do appear to be vulnerable though, don't they? 

The valve itself is in a box into which the vacuum pipe enters.  When the emergency cord is pulled the valve open allowing air to enter the vacuum pipe thus destroying the vacuum causing the brakes to be applied.  I think the items that were referred to are (red) flags which are normally horizontal but when the chain is pulled they move to vertical allowing a guard looking down the length of the train to determine in which coach the cord has been pulled.  The chain is reset by manually returning the flag to horizontal.

[Fair Oak Junction]

I notice the 1903-08 version has sold out. Probably for the best, saves my wallet from a shock.

[Andy Keane]

58 minutes ago, Chuffer Davies said:

(red) flags

 

58 minutes ago, Chuffer Davies said:

vertical

That means that when I have bashed them a few times it will merely look like the chain has been pulled :-)

[melmerby]

5 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

two fabulously vulnerable loops on the gutter rail

Funny you should mentioned those.

Both of mine were out of position. so just a gentle push back in place, except the carpet monster had the first one that just sprung off into the distance.😄

The other did move back but how long it will remain there, I do not know.

 

It's like my Dapol Mogul, whilst running on the layout both the smoke box dart and one of the buffers literally fell off without any help from me.

The buffer I found, the smokebox dart probably also fed the carpet monster.☹️

[Andy Keane]

Just a small warning - while handling my railmotor the chimney fell off and I cannot find it. The notes say it comes off to allow the roof to be removed but clearly it is also relatively easy to knock it off by accident. These models are really lovely but golly they need handling with care! Luckily Kernow say they should be able to source me a spare.

[Gwiwer]

These are very finely detailed models with many small and fragile parts. Touch wood I haven’t lost any yet but a delicate repair has been required to the plastic rodding. 
 

Very pleased I decided to invest just before they arrived. 

[Andy Keane]

While I had mine apart to add some passengers and crew I have added a Staco stay-alive kit. Plenty of room for this above the ceiling. This gives a couple of seconds of power-free running which helps given there are not that many wheels picking up power.

Edited February 24 by Andy Keane

[didcot]

My sound fitted 93 arrived yesterday. Very nice it is too. Runs better than my other out of the box. Very smooth. I did notice a small sag in the bottom slide bars which was easily rectified. I also found the same issue with the valve guide not sitting right as per my other, again easily sorted.

I'm really pleased with them and the sound of 93 reminds me of days spent riding in it and enjoying the muched miss Python bar.

[MPR]

On 24/02/2024 at 11:07, Andy Keane said:

Just a small warning - while handling my railmotor the chimney fell off and I cannot find it. The notes say it comes off to allow the roof to be removed but clearly it is also relatively easy to knock it off by accident. These models are really lovely but golly they need handling with care! Luckily Kernow say they should be able to source me a spare.

I used a little tacky wax to hold the chimney in place.

[melmerby]

22 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

While I had mine apart to add some passengers and crew I have added a Staco stay-alive kit. Plenty of room for this above the ceiling. This gives a couple of seconds of power-free running which helps given there are not that many wheels picking up power.

 

I thought it picked up on all wheels?

That's 8, well spaced out, surely more than enough to get over the biggest interruption.

Edited February 25 by melmerby