Revolution Mike B

20 hours ago, 7013 said:

Hi Mike

Should the two speakers be wired in Parallel or Series? I have an EM1 waiting to go in but would like to add a sugarcube 

They're wired in series using an 8ohm sugar cube and the 4ohm EM1 giving 12ohms - perfectly acceptable for a Lolsound V5 in a Class 59 which doesn’t need to blow the windows out of your house. Hope that helps.

Mike 

Hi Folks

For those of you that have asked questions, here’s some info on the 66.

Our ‘Shed’ uses the same chassis as our Class 59, which incorporates a coreless motor mounted in a die-cast chassis block, driving internally geared bogie towers via cardan shafts. All 6 axles are driven, but the centre axle is slightly sprung which helps smooth out any bumpy track joints (it won’t unfortunately compensate for misaligned track though - we’re not miracle workers!).
 

The model will weigh approximately 105g and kinematic coupling mounts are provided at both ends.

All models will be supplied DCC ready (DC) and DCC fitted only, and use an ESU E24 decoder interface. Our sound fitted models use a Loksound 5 Nano decoder, and for those of you wishing to take the DCC ready option, there is a Lokpilot 5 Nano decoder that will be available shortly. RRP for the Lokpilot is yet to be announced but we believe it will be comparable to any decent ‘non budget’ decoder at around £37-£42.

Decoder access is via the lift off engine cover and all models come pre fitted with a speaker. 

Our models have fully functioning, prototypical lighting, as per our Class 59, which will allow for light engine, train mode (some people including us may call this by another name) to allow head or tail light only operation, park mode, shunt mode, day and night time running and directional auto off cab lighting. The lighting arrangements cover original BMAC light clusters (sometimes referred to as IOo) through to present day revised lighting clusters where all four lights plus the top marker can be illuminated. 

For DC only users, only the head and taillights operate and can be switched on or off via switches mounted on the decoder blanking plate.
 

We have tooled for three different body variations. Original Tier 0 (non low emission), and Tier 1 (low emission or ‘5 door’) London built and Muncie built locos.

Various ‘tie down loop’ arrangements have been catered for along with cosmetic swing head buckeye couplers where applicable.

There are three different horn grilles, original Class 59, U.K. and European.

There are two top marker lights, UK and European

We have allowed for both two and three piece cab side windows. 
 

There are two bogie types which are prototypical to each individual loco (however some may have been swapped during the course of the locos life) and will be fitted accordingly depending on the era that we’ve depicted the loco.

The models will come super detailed at one end. There will be a separate accessory pack containing one blank air dam, one air dam with a coupling slot, a standard Rapido coupling, and some additional pipework if you wish to either detail both ends, or add a coupling for double heading. 

‘Revolution Bespoke’ will allow you to pre-order certain models using a base version and have a number / name of your choice (within a given range) added by Rainbow Railways at an additional cost. Full details will be on our website in due course.

The decorated samples on display at Warley were hurriedly assembled and painted in order to get them shipped over in time for the show. As was the case with the Class 59, the production process will be tightened up and the fit of parts, and paint finish will be considerably better. 
 

We are currently finalising the rest of the livery drawings and the deadline for ‘early bird’ price is the end of January 2024.

I’m sure I may have missed a few things but I hope that helps to answer any questions.

Cheers

Mike B
 

I’ve had a few questions asked about the loco so I thought I’d post some information for people to reference back to.

The original radius curve specified for the loco is 457mm, however, as a light engine, it easily managed 263mm when tested.

Despite the considerable overhang and body mounted couplings, both loco and coaches ran through 305mm radius crossovers without issue. We will test again using 263mm but please don’t be surprised if that’s a little too optimistic.

At present, there are two versions of the loco. DC, and DCC Sound. The DC version has a blanking plate fitted to the decoder socket. The DCC sound version will have a Next 18 decoder fitted. There may be a DCC only fitted version but that will be for Model Rail to decide nearer the time of production.

Access to the decoder is via the smoke box door, and the decoder pcb is simply pulled forward to gain access for those of you wishing to fit non sound decoders. 
 

The factory fitted sugar cube speaker is also inside the boiler behind the smoke box door and sits below the decoder pcb. 
 

The loco has a glowing firebox, which works on DC and DCC.

The firebox doors can be opened and closed by using something small such as a blunt cocktail stick to push a brass lever inside the cab - DCC controlling this was a stretch too far. 😉

The loco is modelled up until 1986 with livery options and RRP still to be finalised.

Hopefully that helps to cover a few questions that have been asked. 
 

As a further note, The Vale of Rheidol Railway has been very helpful in assisting us and it’s an absolute pleasure to be working on this project. 
 

I’ll post another update in the New Year once we’ve had a chance to make some small design changes and carry out further testing.

Cheers Mike B

Me too Guy. I found that the sugar cube helped with the ying ying as it got a little lost with just the EM1 on its own. It’s even worse with just an EM2

9 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Consortium or a persuasive group to make an offer he can't refuse?

That’s probably a better way of putting it 😂

I had a good look at these at the weekend and I’m very much looking forward to the deco samples. Nice weight, wheels span well and the shape is bob on. They’ll be a welcome addition to a stone train that I don’t even need for my layout 😂

I’m now looking for a consortium of people to help me fund the shrink ray option as a Joel isn’t keen on doing them. 

4 hours ago, 9402 Fredrick said:

Any idea as to when pre-orders will be up for the models?

As PaulRHB has mentioned above, our client - Model Rail own the project and will provide further information when they are ready to release it. We (Revolution Trains) are just managing the project for them and to their specifications. 
 

Hope that helps.

Mike B 

For anyone that wasn’t at the Warley Exhibition over the weekend, myself and George from Model Rail Magazine were kindly given the opportunity to test the Vale of Rheidol loco EP sample on the Clyre Valley model railway both on Saturday and Sunday. The loco drew much attention, so much so that I struggled to get a decent video due to so many people clambering to do the same! 
 

For a first EP, it ran better than expected and although there’s a few minor points that need attention, the overall opinion was that we’ve done a good job - which is very pleasing to hear.

The next step is to provide feedback to the factory so that we can make some adjustments. 

If I could add to Ben’s reply, I’m very much a Zimo user, both for my OO gauge stock and N Gauge, but having extensively tested both our EP samples using the ESU Nano E24 format, I can assure you that the motor control is perfect. For comparison, the latest basic non sound Zimo 6 pin decoder (which was £20) is now £35 and doesn’t offer the functionality of the ESU Lokpilot V5 Nano. 

Job done, tested and happy. The next one can wait until I’ve got more movement and strength in my wrist as wrong handed workmanship takes forever! 

Much easier to connect / disconnect and handle without fear of ripping the wires out or causing a short. These are a trial run for the N Gauge layout which has  16 board joints! 

Time for a reliability upgrade! 
 

The interboard connectors have always been a little problematic due to them being easily bashed around, and because some of them connect feedback wires, I’ve decided to replace them. 
 

Here’s the original…

The hot glue had also failed and the terminal block was hanging in fresh air! 
 

The metal screw connectors seemed like a good idea at the time as it just needed one connector per board, but my dodgy soldering and wiring wasn’t really up to the task, so I’ve replaced them with these…

I can’t do it all with one connector but I’m happy to have something that won’t break when the layout is getting bashed around. To be fair, it worked fine at Taunton except for one plug causing an intermittent feedback signal but I’d rather fix it now than run the risk of failure later on down the line. 
 

It’s a similar set up to the previous one whereby there’s a lead an a plug on one board, and a socket on the other, or in this case two sets.

These are downlighter connectors that I’ve adapted to suit the purpose and it’s taken me nearly a whole day to do just one board due to my arm and wrist and still having to do everything left handed! Tomorrow’s job is to fit the sockets on the other board and check for continuity. If the job’s a goodun, then I’ll get Nicky to help me swap a board over for the next one in line. I also need to get my backside in gear and wire up the electrofrogs! 

Pretty sure I could get away with this on Oak Road even though it’s a few years too early 😉

5 hours ago, Craig1989 said:

Any idea when these will be going out through retailers as I’m trying to budget for these as I don’t want to miss out on the gbrf ones and wascosa ones 

 

cheers Craig 

Hi Craig

We’re still a little way off yet as the wagons won’t go in to production until the order book has closed. 
 

Regards

Mike B

20 minutes ago, alangdance said:

Still waiting for mine. Still no confirmation from either Royal Mail or RevolutioN. I am a bit surpised that dealers are getting theirs before people who support the crowd funding for the 128.

Mike H and Simon packed and sent another batch towards the end of last week. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of direct customer orders to work through. 
 

Regards

Mike B

56 minutes ago, Stu from EGDL said:

Hi Gang;

I have added my vote for the 'Swallow' IC Livery buffer fitted power car and the Colas pair. I didn't go for the IC Exec Livery Buffer fitted power car due to limited timescale and scope. The others are not really in my area but I assume the EMR buffer special will interest some.

 

I would really like to see a 'Harry Patch' too.

Later;
Stu from EGVN

I was about to type ‘traitor’……..and then I saw Harry Patch 😂

With many thanks to my friends at Cavalex, I was able to run this on my layout last weekend. I have a Colas one on order so it was good to have a sneak peek at what I was actually getting for my money. It’s safe to say that I won’t be cancelling my order 👍

Harry Patch gets my vote Adam. May not be as popular with the purists but it's the only one that we cannot recreate for the final days line up.

I had such a great time at Taunton that it got me thinking……and after some (read as quite a lot of) help from Nicky, this happened….

The front room of the bungalow has literally been used as a dumping ground but after moving some stuff around we (Nicky) managed to make some space to get two scenic boards up. Now this isn’t ideal, and memories of building the layout in the kitchen at our last house spring to mind, but it does give me the chance to do some work on the layout. 
 

The plan is to replace the interboard electrical connections with something more reliable and easier to connect. So I’ve (read Nicky and I) put up boards C and D first and this will allow me to add the cottages, finish the farm track and add some road signs and hedges to board D, add the cottage, road signs, permanently fix the portakabins and container, add railings, more line side equipment and fix the track dip on board C, along with the electrical connectors. Then remove board D, and add board B to complete the scenics to the station and the electrical connectors. Then the same again with Board A and B. 
 

Although I’m itching to get on with the N Gauge layout, I still don’t have the windows fitted in the loft, and my right wrist is still pretty much useless so I may as well see what mischief I can get up to with the bigger trains for the time being, which brings me on to this. 
 

37418 got a bit of a going over earlier in the week as it looked a bit ‘brand new’! 
 

So until next time….stay safe folks and steer clear of any five a side football games! 

On 23/10/2023 at 10:04, GWRPhil said:

Wish I could have seen the layout this weekend. Unfortunately illness prevented it. Its a great layout. I hope whatever happens it has a bright future. What is making you think to sell it?

No space to set it up Phil unfortunately….however…I may have a cunning plan! 

51 minutes ago, Shoey said:

Had the pleasure of seeing this layout for the first time at Taunton on Sunday. It looks incredible in photos but they honestly don’t do the layout justice, the detail is just superb 👌🏻 I could have stood and watched it all day! I also had the pleasure of being handed one of the KSA timber carriers and was instantly blown away by the sheer length of them! As you’ve said Mike they didn’t have the weights in them but the detail was spot on as you’d expect and I’m very happy to have already preordered a lengthy rake of these wagons to complement the Revolution timber carriers previously released 😎

Thank you for your kind words for both the layout and our models.

My layout was at Taunton RailEx last weekend, so we took advantage of it and ran a few of our EP samples, including the KSA Rover Cubes and the Timber Carriers.

As they were just deco samples without weights in them we weren’t expecting miracles, but as with our previous models, the factory has done a great job. We wanted to check the bogie to chassis clearance and the coupling mechanism, and they ran without a hitch all weekend on some of the worst laid track ever (if you’ve ever seen my fiddle yard close up then you’ll know exactly what I mean) and even without the ballast weights, coped perfectly with my super elevated curves.

If you haven’t already ordered any, don’t forget that you can take advantage of our early bird price on our website. 

36 minutes ago, VXDH92 said:

These look great Mike, thanks for sharing the pics. If I recall correctly, one of your updates said there were two different locating pins so you could couple the intermediate wagons closer or further apart as required. Presumably the above is the "further apart"?

 

Lovely stuff!

That is correct. They were coupled in the longest position. 

We took the opportunity to run some EP samples on my layout at the weekend and they ran extremely well. 
 

The weight is good and they hold the rails well. It shouldn’t be too long until we have some decorated samples which will really help accentuate the iconic look of these car transporters. 

13 minutes ago, Revolution Ben said:

 

Hi all,

 

For those who couldn't make it to Taunton here are is a shot of the Class 18 operating on Oak Road, built and owned by @Revolution Mike B

 

 

As with all EP samples there are some issues which need correcting - eg the fit of some parts will be refined and the sand pipes are a little too long, so they were catching on the high ballast on the rear siding of the virtual quarry - but broadly speaking the model is where we expect it to be at this stage.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

Obviously I’m slightly biased but for a first EP it ran very well over my rather uneven track and pointwork.