Erixtar1992

Try it… when pushed towards eachother it can force them in the wrong direction, which can lead to buffer lock. its a simple problem solved by a fixed bar coupling rather than something loose like tension locks ect

Only problem i find with Kinematics is when double heading locos with something like tension locks ect. Round curves the coupling is forced the wrong way and causes issues. the fix is to just use a solid coupling between the two. otherwise i much prefer them, plus the cavalex one works plenty smoothly enough

No!!! A FX is a Function ONLY decoder! It has no motor control! they are used for dummy locos/coaches ect. :-)

Awesome mate! Nice one

Following on from Volume Control with other ESU CV tweaks you can make.. If you have a pair of sound fitted locos (such as GBRf twin pack) you can adjust the engine/horn sound slot playback speeds to stop both locos sounding the exact same. This will allow you to make each sound slot play faster/slower which will increase/decrease the pitch too. The engine slot has the effect of putting the locos slightly out of time with each other, sounding more realistic when double heading. You only need to go a few percent, but make sure you set the value of the min/max to the same amounts. 128 is 100% (factory), you can see i have set them a little higher (135) for testing, so mine is slightly higher pitch and the engine runs a little faster. I would try having one loco slightly under and one slightly over the standard setting. Moving on to the horn sound slots, its much the same. increase/decrease the horn min&max sound speeds to change the pitch. just make sure you change all 3 of the slots to the same amount for each slot, or the 2 tone will sound odd compared to your single tones. again 128 is the base setting, mine are turned up a bit as i was having a play. You can also do this to fine tune stuff such as compressors ect too, just be careful with it and i would write down what you have done to keep track. CV8-8 should reset you to factory worst case of course :-)

Here are the CVs for you. this will put ‘volume control’ onto F19 along with ‘fade out sound’ so enable F19 and it will fade out sound, but cycling through F19 will adjust the volume in 5 steps. hope that sorts it for you. CV63 should be overall volume level also. obvs if all goes wrong then CV8 to 8 should reset to factory spec.

Could map volume control onto a function key… i will fire up the Lokprogrammer and see if i can find the CVs for doing so without one in a bit.

People are quick to assume its Bachmann doing the duplicating…

Brill if you dont realise the sound file is wrong! when have you ever seen a stationary 92 ticking over in silence

Also for DCC non sound users, to clear up confusion. Lokpilot 5 decoders come with a base setup, for standard directional lights on F0, then the Aux outputs are on F1 upwards. Obviously this wont suit the advanced class 56 with its independant lighting and cooling fans, so the decoders will all have to have the function mapping altered to suit this specific loco. Retailers offering a tailored version for the 56 will have to go through an entire batch of decoders and individually load on the correct settings, so it can take a little while. Its the same with other manufacturers that have multiple lighting options and features and why more of them are now starting to offer the decoders themselves. If you have a friend with a Lokprogrammer then you can of course do this yourself, it just takes some time, so easier to just grab one from Cavalex when they have sorted a batch out plus it also in turn supports them by doing so.

Floating centre axles….. I have a 5inch gauge class 52 western, it has the same setup as the cavalex 56, with a floating centre axle on the bogies, so only 4 motors. Its the same idea though, the centre axle floating means it doesnt take any weight, therefore it has the same tractive effort as it would even if all 6 axles were powered, it would just mean that the axle loading is higher on the driven wheels. It has no trouble pulling a rake of 10 steel mk1 coaches with an 18st fat bloke also sat on it!! just like the Cavalex 56 will pull a full length train in OO with ease. As i have come to realise in 5” gauge and now OO, the benefit of better stability on the track is huge. a 6ft long western needs all the movement it can get! This also scales down to OO gauge Co-Co locos especially on a layout like mine with baseboard joins everywhere and curved points ect. I can confidently say that a Cavalex 56 is the only Co-Co diesel loco i own that i could leave running around my layout all day without a single derailment, i dread to think how many laps its done now. As a result ive enjoyed the model much more since i can play with it properly rather than watching it like a hawk. Many of us will know the pain of a Bachmann 66 finding any imperfections on your track due to lack of compliance, so this is a great move i think.

I suppose so! Haha :-)

Chuffed to bits.

These really are just something else. OO gauge model locomotives have peaked. Wow

I had the honour of hosting the new Cavalex Class 60 sample today!! For a first EP i was very impressed. Lots of fine underframe detail, plenty of weight, all looks fantastic. If these are anywhere close to the 56 when done, they are going to be immense.

Whos gonna tell him that oo gauge isnt realistic? :-p people dont seem to understand the whole centre axle thing. Its starting to irk me if the centre axle is FLOATING it means just that. Its not taking the weight of the loco. this means that having the centre axle powered, would achieve nothing! As it has no weight on it! :-)

Sound will be available seperately. Fear not

This has to be one of - if not the most positive thread of responses on RMweb i have ever seen to a loco in OO gauge. Awesome.

Thats a polite way of putting it! Haha!!

Id imagine a spot of black tac would be quite good for fitting a driver ect, could be easily removed if ever wanted… though im a ‘super glue ALL the things’ kinda guy so what do i know haha

Does 9 months ago count :-) edit - i just clocked someone else put it in here a few posts back too lol, cant wait to have a play with the production model!!!

Unusual scene last night as both sets sat in Euston all night due to services being cancelled. They acted as a hotel for the passengers who had to wait until morning to head north. seeing 4x 92’s in euston is uncommon, especially seeing a set on P2. both ran in top and tailed, then in the morning both back to wembley. only P15 is long enough to properly take a full 16 coaches T&T. P1 it fits within the track circuits by about a couple foot or so, but you cant see the signal from the cab so have to stand halfway along the loco then jump in and go when you get the RA! Ha. P2 isnt long enough for a full set but as they were both only 14 coaches last night it made sense to have them next to eachother. they like to use P1 as much as poss now as the new lounge area is halfway along the platform. sadly i had the dull job to sit on the locos all night to babysit them incase of shut downs. made for an unusual picture anyway so every cloud and all that….. fun and games :-)

I assumed you signed to london already? Tbf rugby-euston isnt bad. 92s are nice to drive also, though its always a nervous trip wondering which end will go bang first. They normally get you home, but its a different style of driving. Treat them gently and do everything one at a time so the computers can keep up. as for 66s, no chance south of scotland other than failures. They cant physically couple to Mk5’s hence you always have to have a 92/73 in between. they only use them in jockland when short of 73s for traction. The 73/9’s can work in multi with a 66 but you have to have a 73 on the train to power it. cant send a 73 down south if short of 92s either as they wont power or pull a full rake. the only loco in the UK (atm) thats powerful enough for a full mk5 sleeper set is a 92. Nice bit of job security lol. the only time youd ever see a 66 hauling the full train would be if it fails somewhere and we are short of 92’s, but the failed engine can still run to power the train. The 66 could then go on the front of the limping 92 and drag the train. this has happened but with the tunnel 92s (they dont have dellner/mk5 mods)

dont shoot me if i mess this up…. Evening shunt driver goes to wembley, shunts/preps both trains ect, take 5S95 T&T Wembley-Euston P1 detatch loco on buffer stops start up northbound loco, power train up and brake test ect. 5S95 then becomes 1S25 (NB highlander) driver (london based) turns up and takes 1S25 north as far as Preston. Shunt driver fires buffer stop loco up and moves out the way into the up sidings. Lowlander driver (crewe based) meanwhile travels to wembley And brings 5S96 single engined to Euston P1 once L.E out of the way. shunt driver puts light engine on north end of 5S96 which then becomes 1S26 (NB lowlander) while Lowlander driver detaches buffer stop end loco. brake test when complete Lowlander driver takes 1S26 north as far as Preston. Shunt driver takes light engine on buffer stops back to wembley…………. the driver on 1S25 waits at Preston and brings 1M11 (SB lowlander) to Euston, then goes home. the driver on 1S26 waits at Preston and brings 1M16 (SB highlander) back to Crewe, then goes home, relief driver (crewe based) takes 1M16 back to Euston…. morning shunt driver heads to Wembley and fires up/preps light engine 1M11 (SB Lowlander) passes on its way into Euston and berths in P1 shunt driver takes light engine wembley-euston and attaches to north end of 1M11, then detaches buffer stop loco to become 3M11, brake test then depart back to wembley ECS 1M16 (SB highlander) arrives into Euston P15, shuts buffer stop loco down. moved P1 light engine over to P15 onto the front of 1M16 to form 3M16. brake test, and off they go to Wembley ECS. 3M11 sits on the tanking road at Wembley, moves up 2-3 times before being shunted into the shed. Shunt driver goes home if he is lucky! 3M16 turns up and follows behind 3M11 each time it moves until it reaches the stop board on the tanking road and then copies 3M11. crewe driver then heads home. Easy, right? Lol

They run well, only small issue i have had is the bogie retaining pins are just a press fit and have popped out a couple times, but you could always use a dab of glue. otherwise brilliant and i look forward to trying them with the Rapido Met1.