young37215

Accurascale advise that the chip is a standard ESU Loksound V5. These are capable of adjusting by way of altering the CV's so that running characteristics can be customised to suit a layout. I have several V5 chips which have been adapted and now have more appropriate speed, acceleration and braking settings for my layout. Finding the right settings is a question of trial and error but in my experience, well worth the effort. Just remember to keep a record of what setting you have changed for future reference. When we get around to adjusting 37027 I'll post the details of the updated CV's.

I am an impatient so and so I know but with my taste buds wettened by the release of the new Accurascale 37's, I am wondering where release of Volume 4 from the SDEG currently sits? Can anyone clarify and manage my expectations?

The effect of adding landscape is transformational I find, it looks much the same here. I recognise some of those rock mould shapes! Have you tried cutting them?; I have found doing so a useful way to create different shapes and sizes whilst avoiding repetition. Please keep the posts showing the layouts evolution coming, it is always useful to watch how someone else works and potentially learn from their techniques.

I did not make the fishboxes, they were bought from a small supplier by @Mallaig1983 . See the attached link for the details of them, I had no involvment in the purchase so can't comment on whether they are selling the fish boxes as part of their product range. Edit, Anyscale have the fishboxes listed at 20 for £3 plus P&P. https://www.anyscalemodels.com/shop/railways/1-76-plastic-type-fish-boxes-x-20.html When runnng in my 37 performed perfectly on sound and DCC only. The only issue I have is the acceleration and maximum speed cv's needs adjusting to slow the loco down. I'm not an expert by any stretch on fault finding, my only thought is are you allowing the stay alive capacitor sufficient time to fully charge? I've seen comment that this can take up to a minute depending on the maximum amps your controller can output. Mine seems to charge quickly, just a few seconds but I have a 7 amp output from my control system. You might get better help on the Accurascale thread or by speaking to their support team whom I have found very helpful and knowledgeable.

37027 only carried the white stripe from July 1983 to April 1984 so right in the midst of my 1980 - 85 time window. I am looking forward to sorting the acceleration out which is the only minor negative with the loco that I have found. The rails on the roof which should be hinges are not a major failing but does go to show how difficult it is to achieve perfection. Lets hope that Accurascale choose to model a few more banger blue liveried split box locos in the future, I will not take much persuading to buy more. Autumn 1983

Thanks Warren. I had thought something along those lines might be an option, another thing for the’to do ‘ list On reflection I should have pictured the boxes from a similar view to the reference pictures. That’s enough for today, off to watch the cricket and golf for the rest of the day!

Thanks. Any excuse to go and play, I restarted 37027 and pressed F0. This illuminates the spotlight and head code lights although the head codes are just dimmer than I would like which is a Lokprogrammer adjustment The cab and engine room lights only appear to work when sound is shut down.

Detailing is an ongoing activity. Mallaig always had a large number of fish boxes lying around, a legacy of the traffic lost to road transport in the 1970's. Reference pictures are limited, the two from 1980 and 1982 below give a flavour. However the volumes of boxes required to create a representative pile were such that it would have proved expensive to buy any of the proprietary options. Mallaig1983 was kind enough to explore the option of resin molds and negotiated a favourable deal for a large run of several hundred boxes in differing colours which we agreed to share. Well done Andy, mine arrived yesterday and were simply tipped from the packaging into a rough position. Arguable the pile is not large enough and I still need to build the wire fenced security compound but the fish boxes move things a step forward.

I use ESU's cab control and am also struggling to illuminate the headcode and rear lights. The guide states F0 controls 'Marker lights' which illuminates the headlight but not, it appears, the headcode lighting. F0 is the standard lights on function on all other ESU chipped locos that I have. The Accurascale guide references auxilliary functions which I am not familiar with as potentially controlling font and rear light . Can anyone suggest how I access this using an ESU Mobile Control 2 unit?

There are a few videos of the layout on Youtube under the young37215 user name

All of the locos on WHL4 have modified CV's relating to their acceleration, top speed and braking which in my experience significantly enhances the sound. These have been adjusted to get the optimal performance from the locos using Doug's Lokprogrammer. This could be done using my control system but we have found it easier on the Lokprogrammer. Somewhere in the loft is a list of the revised CV's which I need to dig out to change 37027. We find the V4 chips are easier to adjust with their CV's showing up as numbers or graphically which is all detailed in the manual for the chip. With the V5 chip the data is only presented and adjusted graphically using the cursor which is more of a faff than simply typing a number. Overall the improvment in running and sound has been well worth the effort. Depending on the mood of the driver, departures can be sedate or more typically for an Eastfield driver, lively by simply opening the throttle wide. The best example I can think of to demonstrate this is my Youtube video showing 37112 arrive and noisily depart Ardlui where the loco takes full power immediately but accelerates realistically away from the station. I finished the running in on 37027 on Tuesday where all seems well with the loco which is pictured awaiting the road at Ardlui. Detailing and weathering will follow at a later date, for now the weather is such that I am enjoying being outdoors as much as I can.

37027 got run in yesterday spending an hour or so trundling around the loop on my west highland line layout. Everything about the locos performance served to confirm what an excellent model Accurascale have produced. I'll also commend their customer service people who have been first class in responding to a couple of my requests. The loco has been run straight from the box. The headcode lights brightness need adjusting as do a number of the acceleration related CV's. DHL delivered my loco crew which I need to work out how to fit where a quick glance at the guide indicates that I need to remove the whole bodyshell to access the cabs. I'll get around to these and learning more about the various sound features over the next few days. Ultimately I intend to lightly weather 37027 but that will have to wait for now.

I think you'll find that they said the panels are less efficient, not rubbish which is borne out by my personal experience. My panels managed over 20KW's yesterday in 30 degrees of ambient heat, had the temperature been lower as it was a month ago, I would have expected nearer 25KW's.

Agreed, acceleration is too fast out of the box. The CV's will get some tweaks to bring it in line with my other Loksound V5's. Running in continued yesterday. Whilst I have not explored the sound features yet, the loco is excellent and as to be expected, a step up on the older Bachmann tooling. That said the only area where I see a significant difference is the front windows. Overall I think the Bachmann models stands up pretty well which is reassuring because I did'nt want to find myself thinking about upgrading my 20 strong fleet of 37's!

I had solar panels installed 10 years ago and they have proved to be an excellent investment. My 3.5KW array produce an annual average of 3.6MWH ranging from less than 1 KWH on a dark winter day to over 25KWH on a bright summers day. Extreme hot weather negatively affects performance, they are designed for optimal performance at 25 degrees. I find that my highest daily generation ocurs in late spring when days are long and temperatures have not reached their summer peak. I average electricity use around 12 KWH per day. During the summer months my electricity bills are negligible and I spill a significant volume onto the grid. I do'nt have a smart meter or battery but will explore the options as and when my inverter needs changing. In hindsight I timed my purchase well, although the feed in tariff I receive is less than the large amounts paid in the early days of solar, it still covers a substantial part of the cost of electricty I import from the grid for which I am grateful. Since installation I have paid more attention to my electricity usage and as a result I have reduced what I use by around 20% annually. I am not a tree hugger but I do subscribe to the notion that the planets resources are finite and that using less of anything can only be a good thing.

37027 from Accurascale makes its debut on WHL4. Loco is still running in, everything about it so far is first class. As ever my video work is average but it does give a flavour of Accurascale’s offering.

Postman delivered my Loch Eil earlier today. Loco is currently running in with initial impressions matching up to the reputation earned to date. A big box with lots of packaging looking good in it’s natural environment

My comments are not strictly related to the thread but having spent 20 minutes attempting to find it using the search function, I decided I need to make a comment so that I can find the thread more easily in future. My issue is one of adding power to an ESU manufactured system by way of a booster. I have Cab Control and am exploring adding either a 4 Amp or 7 Amp booster. Although I would prefer the newer 7 Amp version ESU reference 50012, it appears to have limited availability at present with none that I can find in the UK. I am comfortable importing from reputable overseas sellers despite the additional hurdles and challenges. Ben ontspoord of the Netherlands has several 4 Amp versions ESU reference 50010 for sale at for $149 which keeps it below the customs duty threshold. Even with postal charges, this works out about 40% (£100) cheaper than I can find the 7 AMp version for. Comment above from Going Underground indicates that the controller being boosted needs to have the necessary firmware to enable it to communicate with the booster. I have 4.2.8 in my Cab Control and am assuming that this should be able to communicate with older versions of ESU kit such as the 4 Amp 50012. Does anyone know different?

Do the locos come with drivers fitted? If the answer is no, can I buy the driver accessories and get these included with my order for 37027? Just for clarity I am not expecting the accessory drivers to be fitted, just included in the same postal delivery

Excellent news, if this helps you move forward then I am pleased to hear it. Life has enough challenges without our hobbies getting in the way.

10 is just about visible under the home signal in the pictures below. An alternative view can be seen is this 1984 shot although it remains difficult to get a clear picture of the actual signal. It also shows a pile of old sleepers which, judging by the new ballast, were changed in the fairly recent past. Whilst searching I came across this 1987 engineering train just nort of Glenfinnan station. A little after my time line but something others may choose to replicate.

Impressive work, adding the scenery transforms the appearance. A Flickr picture of the signal box diagram indicates that 6,7 and 8 were spare. Robert Dey, @Corrour on RMWeb, may be able to add more to the debate.

Your modeling space is much larger than most have but based on my experience, whatever space we have as modellers, it is never enough. I feel constrained by my 45 feet by 10 feet of space because I can not fit in the one extra station that I wanted. I think that rather than lacking planning, you lack clarity over what it is that you want to achieve with your layout. By that I mean is it an operationally focused one like mine with lots of scenic compromises or an accurate replica of the real thing that you seek. Based upon a number of your comments it is not clear that you have this resolved in your head which, I suspect, is one of the reasons that you have not made the progress you had hoped for. Looking at your available space I make two suggestions based upon how I have developed my layout which might help you crystalise where you are heading: 1. Print out some of the pictures you use as background to show some of your rather fine buildings to create a backscene for Crianlarich. 2. Connect the track that you have and run trains to a timetable for a while to see how it feels. Neither task looks that onerous and I think a combination of the two will get you clearer on where you are heading. Being able to run trains has been a vital part of keeping my motivation on my layouts journey. It does not matter that your station is not built or that there are other gaps in the scenery, if you find that the layout 'works' then I am sure you will find the motivation to build these. Worst case is you find it does not deliver what you want; at least then you are clear on the point. Good luck

I'd be buying the new chassis, even if you can get the existing one repaired I suspect the cost will be similar to that of the replacement chassis plus you get the better wheels.

Another before and after example. The pictures show the coach after half of it had been immersed in Totally Awesome and toothbrushed clean. Amzingly the SCR coach number that I applied survived intact which is unusual in my experience.