grriff

I do not 'cut corners' with track laying, as evidenced by perfect running of my 56XX. I have started a separate thread on the quality we should expect from new locos

I recently made a post on the Bachmann 94XX thread bemoaning the poor mechanical quality of this loco on delivery: Not all contacts pressed on the wheels over their full sideways movement After a short period of running, the soldered joint on the orange motor lead came adrift The loco does not have any sprung axles, thus is prone to stalling, like my Hornby Thomases (fitted with stay alives) but unlike my (and my neighbour's 0-6-0 Bachman locos which run fine over setrack points (insulated frogs) The general consensus was: To ensure good running your track needs to be laid perfectly flat You shouldn't expect the loco to work perfectly out of the box but be prepared to check the contacts, check back-to-back wheel measurements and possibly regrease the gears But am I being unreasonable in expecting locos to work out of the box (after running in)? not carrying out checks, such as on contacts and b-t-b wheel measurements, which buyers may not have the skills, or eyesight, to correct? not having perfectly flat track (and we are talking billiard table flatness)? The are several comments on recent loco quality, which suggest manufacturers, and model magazines, are more bothered about the accuracy of the detail more than the mechanical quality. Am I right to insist that ready-to-run-trains are just that, or do I need to get more realistic and accept that I will be disappointed?

'Confused', you raise an interesting point with tracklaying. You had to meticulously build your layout to get smooth running, as have some other posters. How many loco buyers build to that quality? Should the manufacturers assume track of this quality? I'm not trying to make a point here but open a discussion possibly in a new thread?

'The Jonster', many thanks for your comments. My track is laid carefully, though not perfect. My Bachmann GWR class 56XX has never given any problems although I have had to fit stay-alives to my Hornby Thomases. The existence of stay-alives implies I'm not the only modeller with stalling problems. I can understand why you say 'setting himself up for dissappointment and frustration in the real world' but if I buy any other electrical consumer goods I don't start with the expectation that I need to check it is built correctly. We recently bought a kitchen blender, I didn't need to strip it down to check the gears were properly greased. I haven't a clue what the correct back-to-back measurements should be for a loco but I had to correct two faults with this loco, poor contacts and a broken soldered joint, because I didn't want the hassle of sending it back. However, by doing this I am letting the manufacturer get away with selling a poor quality product. We need to be vigilant in that manufacturers are not beginning to compromise mechanical quality in order to keep costs down.

I take the point that, with insulfrogs particularly, track has to be laid flat and kept scrupulously clean, as well as loco wheels, if the running of locos is to be perfect. But have Bachmann the right to expect that, especially if they sell locos with some contacts not working? Remember, there are many modellers, like me and my neighbour, who expect to take a model out of a box and run it. They don't have the expertise, or sometimes eyesight, to adjust contacts, especially by removing the wheels. Presumably Bachmann recognised reality and fitted locos with a sprung axle - which I have proved work better. The question, which I will pose to Bachmann, is why they didn't fit a sprung axle to this loco, when they had done so to previous models. Are we seeing a move to locos where every rivet is perfect but the buyer must carry out extensive work on it to ensure contacts work on all wheels and gears are properly lubricated and then run the loco on track laid to billiard table flatness? I don't think that's their average buyer.

I will continue to work on the problem. I am presuming that the above posters have points with insulfrogs?

CJI I entirely agree - a loco with six working pickups on a point laid on a billiard table flat bed should not stall and I have achieved that with a test track. I will try and achieve that with my running tracks but I don't think it will be that easy.

I bought from the NRM shop at Shildon. I'm reluctant to waste their time on what is a design failure by Bachmann.

I've now had time to compare this loco (no centre sprung axle) with similar Bachmann tank locos on my neighbour's layout (same track as me - Peco Setrack) which have sprung axles. There is no doubt that locos with sprung axles don't stall on points. I don't mind paying £39 for a Hornby Thomas, which stalls, I do object to paying nearly £100 more for a loco which runs as badly. Every rivet might be in the right position but I can't see that. I can see a stalled loco! Has the desire for absolute accuracy pushed out the requirement for reliable running? I will write to Bachmann.

I have young grandchildren. You cannot make the assumption that they will not change points for no reason. Thus you cannot rely on the crossovers' self-isolation and you need both connecting rails to have insulated fish plates to prevent both controllers being connected. Ideally power should feed into the toe of a point, so I would move the blue power feed the other side of the crossover. You shouldn't need insulated fish plates on the curve. Ideally you should use DPDT switches as suggested but you can always see how the layout works without them.

It's unlikely that you can reflow older decoders with newer files. You ask, 'What function does what? ' This depends on the decoder you choose, especially when it comes to sound functions. Bachmann sometimes use Zimo decoders and a good starting place would be to download the Zimo manual which you can find from Google.

I'm not clear whether you are looking to change CVs in your existing decoders (which probably don't have your required options) or buy new decoders, in which case you don't need Bachmann. I'd phone up any retailer specialising in DCC.

Thanks for your advice David

Aha. I've found that wire to the motor from the board on which decoder or blanking plate sits has come adrift. Since I've not touched it, I'm not impressed with the quality of this loco.

Mike Thanks. When I checked several contacts were not constantly in touch with the wheels. Teach me not to make assumptions about the quality of new locos. I still have a problem in that the loco does now not respond to DC or DCC although the firebox Led works. I suspect the next 18 socket may be faulty. More tests...

I've just bought the 'Locomotion' version of the 94XX and am very disappointed that it does not have a centre sprung axle. As a result, it stalls on my Setrack points unlike my Bachmann 56xx which has a centre sprung axle. I will have to check any future purchases carefully.

It's worthwhile considering a new decoder to avoid soldering. DCC Concepts have a range which might be suitable.

Firstly I would replace the electrofrog SL points with ST points as they are not the same geometry and are causing distortions in your track layout which will result in derailments. Every piece should connect precisely with another - you shouldn't need to use flex track. You only mention one controller, although I would plan for one for each loop plus one for sidings. Without going into great detail, I would put insulated rail joiners in the middle of each crossover and at the ends of each coloured section. I'd put power feeds into each section and sidings. These can be wired to switches later if you have more than one controller. The problem of using points to switch sections is that it may limit your flexibility later. Bear in mind that modern points may not be self isolating. You need to consider the future as the last thing you want to do is rip up track to put insulated rail joiners in.

You should have a 'Lights' tab on JRMI which may give you the option of setting the 'White wire' effect to be 'Constant bright light' If not, looking at the manual p33 you should have a value of 8 in CV 33 and 16 in CV 34 assuming outputs A and B are linked to the lights. My first guess would be faulty wiring though.

A CV determines what the loco will do in certain circumstances. For example a value between 1 and 255 in CV5 will determine the maximum speed. A function will carry out an action depending on what values are in the CV related to the function. For example a value of 8 in CV 33 and 16 in CV 34 should result in function 0 turning the front and rear lights on and off - that's for the Bachmann EM1 decoder. Your decoder should have a table showing what each function does.

I understand from your post that one set of front lights is working but those at the other end are not. I presume both sets of rear lights are working. Therefore the problem is not likely to be with the DCC chip although it is possible one of the CV variables is incorrect. Before we get into that complexity I would check the wiring from the decoder to the lights.

The JMRI Software provides the link through your home WiFi with WiThrottle.

Search on Google Play for the Engine Driver app for Android

Once you have set up JMRI, my advice would be to use the DecoderPro part of the program. Use this to explore the decoder settings, change the default loco number from 3 and drive the loco using the throttle. You could also try loading 'Engine Driver' onto a smartphone and using that. You can then move on to PanelPro to control accessories. It's worthwhile joining MERG (www.merg.org.uk) if you are happy to solder

Not sure if this helps but do both decoders have the same address?