Bryn_Bach_Railway

had a Quick Look on JMRI decoder pro, not sure if these are right but maybe try CV262 and CV270?

I believe all the marker lights are wired together and are on F0f and F0r

I’ll likely do a bigger post later within a couple weeks, including a playlist with some running shots of each loco. However I can’t resist posting this little clip here now.

Here’s 66 415 ‘You are never alone’ working an intermodal service of 4 realtrack FLA wagons. Possibly with a couple containers heading to Accurascale themselves ;)

I knew these would be good after having 001 earlier in the year, and they certainly did not disappoint! Hopefully there’s another DRS and a colas 66’s in batch 2, along with maybe 66 789 although it’s not like I need any more 😅.

Please do excuse the wobbly wagons and distinct lack of other stock, I’m in the middle of re-organising, re-programming, and sorting out all the small qwerks and imperfections across the whole collection. as such it’s all safely stored back in their boxes. but I simply couldn’t wait to be running the 66’s.

18 minutes ago, classy52 said:

 

Here you go...

 

That’s perfect thank you!, I was missing aux 11 always being on which has helped a bit but I still can’t get the day headlights or one end of tail lights working. And with the switches in ESU mode there’s nothing at all. Hopefully the pre-programmed chips arnt too far away now so I can get them working. 

Out of curiosity, is anyone here with a sound fitted 66 and either JMRI or a lok-programmer able to share the function mapping screen? Along with how the switches next to the decoder are set up? I somehow found a ESU lokpilot 5 (59629) and have spent about an hour now trying to get all the lights working but I keep getting mixed result and just can’t find a programming + switch combination that allows all lights to work and be switchable from the decoder. Worst case I’ll just wait for the pre-programmed chips but I’m curious to see where I’m going wrong with programming. 

Bryn Bach Model railway store now open!

Following 66 001 back in April, the rest of my 66’s arrived today while I was in work. thankfully there was someone home to accept them, although I did have to pre-warn them about the weight of the box!

The livery artwork on the exclusive models is simply stunning, as has come to be expected. And the packaging of the large box of 8 (66 415 was ordered later and so shipped in its own box) was superb too! Genuinely felt like the typical accurascale packaging with plenty of foam and a nice snug fit, all this before I’ve even opened one of the model boxes!
 

Time to get these out of the boxes and on the tracks, then patiently wait for the pre-programmed non-sound lokpilot chips to be available. Until then they’ll just use a Zimo MN330C, although in one decoder short so one of the EWS pair will likely have to wait for the ESU chips.

2 hours ago, Lyddrail said:

Looking at the motor coach I was surprised there was no motor in the body! The motors are in the two bogies and they must be very small with the size of the bogies.

The motors are not in the bogies, there’s a big motor behind the blocked out windows. If you look closely through the windows you’ll see a drive shaft connecting the rear bogie (Pic below). It can’t haul the set due to no grease being applied in the factory, once the coaches are all greased the model can haul the coaches just fine.

pic is a screen shot from the following video by Fyfield Junction (again, there getting some serious promotion in this thread 😂) showing a bogie replacement.

thanks for that! didn't realise you guys had a project update page but ill keep a note of that link for future. can't see an estimated uk arrival for these yet just that they are still in production, so ill go off the assumption their at least a couple months off due to shipping etc. thanks again for the link :)

the blanked out windows are present on the real things however they are only at the first class end, as replicated on the models. I believe they hide the kitchen area for pullman dining services. as far as I know the bearing design is the same on all the 80x's Hornby have done.

is there any update on when these are due? they look stunning and I have 3 log packs on order via ROS. suddenly had a thought while organising my other Pre-Orders that we've seen Deco samples for a while and so they cant be too far away now. need to make sure I keep the funds aside for when they do arrive.

For anyone who might be interested here, Fyfield Junction has posted an update video covering much of what was already investigated and posted here but in a video format. Might be easier for some people and also shows some running shots of a full 9 car finally working after oiling the axels. They’ve also added some weight to the power car just to improve performance that little bit more, they do however state that extra weight could well be a layout dependent modification.

Not sure if it will work the same way that rapido / Bachmann / possibly Accurascale models work on DC, where you just turn the power up and off it goes with basic sounds. However it should work via the hm7000 app. Just set the dc controller to full power and then the app gives you full and independent control of the loco with all sounds etc working just like on DCC. 

27 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

What i’m missing is the benefit of DCC but not having sound.

I think it fully depends on what is being modelled, if your just modelling a mainline and you done often have trains stopped on-scene then silent DCC does not really hold much benefit over DC. However if a depot scene or passing loops etc are being modelled, then you often see locos sat not moving with lights on which can't be replicated on DC but can be on silent DCC. as well as not needing to worry about if a loco is sitting in just a single block or over 2.

Also once you have your general settings decided, for the most part programming decoders for new locos is a 10-20 minute job at most. especially if its a pre-programmed chip from the manufacturer. Silent DCC Fitted models just remove the potential for the user's DCC decoder not working as expected in the model, which no one wants.

Personally silent DCC gives me the big advantage of I just pick a loco and start driving it. no need to worry about making sure only its track is powered so nothing else starts moving that shouldn't. especially with multiple locos of varying lengths on the same block or siding. DC and isolations is all good if you know the lengths of what will be in each block or siding etc, or are happy living with the restrictions that isolating blocks give you. silent DCC removes the set restrictions of isolating blocks, and so give more freedom for the user allowing sidings to have multiple uses while still only needing the 2 basic DCC feeder wires.

The other big thing I like is I can set every loco to have identical speed tables, so a setting of 60 on my controller will always result In all locos running the same speed regardless of manufacturer etc. 

27 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

configuring DCC chips is a job for life so may as well buy the sheep instead of the lamb and buy sound.

Theres also about a £70 difference in silent DCC vs DCC Sound. over just a fleet of 3 or 4, thats already the difference of an extra loco + Decoder. I'd personally rather have that extra loco as running sound locos continuously for a while eventually just becomes background noise. 

Even silent, DCC effectively gives each train its own driver. Meaning you can get near perfect replication of the real world, without needing to worry about wring up block sections. DC however regardless of how many block sections you have your still just driving the track. if you wanted to stage a loco brake down and rescue loco attending and subsequently towing, DC means you have to stage this on the border of a isolating block join. DCC allows you to do this anywhere on the layout, without that restriction. so it goes back to my earlier point of it depends what you wish to model, and if your happy with having some fixed restrictions the DC is great. if you don't want any restictions other than physics itself, then DCC provides that. both have their benefits and drawbacks but for me DCC is suits what I want pretty much perfectly, and gives customisation on top of that too. 

57 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Genuine question, but why ?

How is silent DCC a benefit over DC ?

 

I could imagine coupling up to a double header but what else, beyond saving on isolating track etc.

 

Personally for me, Silent DCC makes layout operations much much simpler. It also keeps the door open for sound to be added down the line too with just a new decoder and maybe some speakers needed. My layout is pretty much exclusively controlled via my phone or tablet now, for both loco control and points too. Eventually signals as well, and being able to pick any loco and drive it away without the need to worry about isolating switches or ensuring there’s nothing else in the same block is incredibly useful especially in the heritage line are where locos of varying lengths often share sidings and in some cases straddle points too.
 

DC could probably achieve the same operational result, but there would be a lot more work in each running session. on DCC however there might be more work to set the system up, but each running session is far simpler. That’s my opinion at-least for my needs, operating both a modern mainline and heritage line.

as for the class 60 announced here, the model truly does look excellent. I’m certainly a fan of announcing models roughly a year or so away at a stage of deco/production samples just like the 66’s. I will say tho unfortunately in this case with the duplication (which I don’t think is anyone’s fault), I will probably be sticking to the other one currently as they are doing the two livery’s I require. Going forward however I’ll most likely just pick whoever is doing the livery I want as from what’s currently been shown of both, the pair are going to be of incredible standards. I can guarantee if AS announce ‘Luke’ in Puma livery (60 074 I believe) , then I’d have to order instantly. I might even stretch to sound for that one!

26 minutes ago, EMA747 said:

I can't stop thinking I want some 66s. especially now I have some spare boards to build a small TMD layout!

 

I can't decide if I'd rather have 2x sound versions or 3x non sound for roughly equal prices....?!

you can always upgrade non-sound ones at a later date with the specific decoders from AS (due very soon as I currently understand). The non-sound fitted ones will probably be available for a bit longer too giving you more time to decide compared to the factory fitted sound stock.

Was just about to guesstimate that going off Frans latest update with 1,600 orders still left as of Wednesday this week, and estimating 200 orders shipped per day (lowest estimate from ‘hundreds’ being shipped each day. That we were about 10 days away from pre-order completion (again counting from Wednesday). 
 

however, pretty much as soon as I opened RM web to check up on the new AS class 60 thread and then make a post, the rest of my order (66 001 having already been delivered) got shipped! So hopefully they’ll be here either tomorrow or Monday.

now just need the pre-programmed lok-pilot chips, for the time being however I have enough Zimo chips to stand in temporarily for most the fleet. Of course tho I’m 1 chip short 🤦🏼‍♂️.

Interesting to hear they’ve only had a total of 4 people contact them. I’ll admit I’m guilty of not raising the issue with them as of yet. I’ll probably wait until I have the class 802 5 car pack too just incase there are and subtle differences between that and the previous releases. But I’ll certainly make a note to inform them after then. Maybe it’s just the wording used but also does surprise me that it seems no one replied to them after fixing their issue? Surly that’s just as important in diagnosing the cause of the problem.

I haven’t got one of these yet as I’m waiting on the steam an sound one. However surely the lamps having a little bit of glue to keep them in place during transit is no different to a lot of diesel’s having one end fully detailed with pipes etc which glued in for transit too? As they are intended to be removable too for people who want to have couplings on both ends.

Have people struggling to remove the lamps tried the old technique of using a hair dryer on hot to attempt to soften up the glue on the lamps? That technique normally works wonders on the diesels with fully detailed front ends

2 hours ago, Red Fox said:

Out of interest do the later batches have these washers or did Hornby amended the tooling to give that extra clearance?

Pretty sure they made a tooling amendment, as I can’t see any washers on 800 008. However comparing 003 and 008 I can’t actually see any difference.

also an update on the 802 coaches now that they’ve been greased. 
 

situation here is exactly the same as the previous videos, whole train on straight and mostly level track at speed step 10. Theres still a bit of struggling on curves etc so the grease might need time to bed in or I might need to add a bit more etc, but its a vast improvement on before. Again not sure how this gets missed out in QC checks but at-least it’s an easy fix.

My 802 coach pack arrived today so after I got in from work, I got right to doing some tests. 
 

first thing I spotted before evening running anything was the distinct lack of grease on the 802 (right) coach axels compared to the plentiful helping on 800 008’s (left) coaches. And yes I know 008’s coach wheels could do with a clean.

after discovering this difference, I decided to test the rolling resistance of each coach side by side, the video below shows one of the tests. For full clarity, I tried both coaches on both lines to eliminate any track issues and even made sure the 802 coach had no disadvantage by ensuring I let go of it after the coach from 800 008. After multiple attempts at varying force I got the same result as shown below.

After this, I then got the rest of the coaches out and paired them with 008 to make an un-prototypical 9 car set using the new coach pack. This is where I found 008’s power car could not set off unless given upto nearly 50% power on DCC, and instead just sat still wheel spinning. The video below shows the 9 car set, on fully straight track set to speed step 10. 
 

just to cover all bases I then went back and got out 4 extra 800/0 coaches from my other sets. Once again the train in the video below is on fully straight track and set to speed step 10. The only difference is it is now in a 9 car formation with solely previously released 800/0 coaches. 
 

when testing the other week, 800 008 was also able to haul the full 9 car set of 800/0 coaches around my whole layout at speed step 10, including a 112.5*  2nd radius curve. 
 

I would assume the same issue with a lack of grease also exists on the 802 5 car pack. And This was the only difference I could see between the 2 sets of coaches. If this is the sole problem then it is an easy fix, but certainly something that should’ve been spotted in QC checks. 
 

just to show the power in the 800 power cars. Here’s a video of the 9 car set of 800/0 coaches going up my heritage line incline. Which has 2 separate roughly 1% inclines on gentle curves, with a very short flat area in-between when crossing over the mainline.

hopefully this investigation helps some people here. Unfortunately I currently do not think I own the appropriate grease to fully test out my theory, however when I do obtain some I will apply it to the 802 coaches and report my results.

edit; out of a bit of curious googling I discovered road and rails have a sale on for certain accessories, and also happens to have 2 other items I wanted included in the sale. So I’ve ordered some grease from them which should be here sometime next week.

2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Silly boy question - why does the loco require different switch settings for ESU decoders to all other brands? 

What does each switch actually change?

I could be wrong, but when I was attempting to use a Zimo chip in the Cavalex 56’s, having the switches in the ESU position meant F8 needed to be active for any lights to work. With the switches in non-ESU the limited lights that worked did not need F8. Turned out F8 was working the stay-alive / power pack so I can only assume that the pre-Programmed ESU chips have this on by default. I will admit however I did not investigate the 66 as throughly and am instead just waiting on the pre-programmed chips to arrive.

47 minutes ago, scouse889 said:

Not good reading about these units. Watching this thread with interest as more information comes available.

Would be good to know if it is related to the PC or the coaches - seems from the info available so far that an 800/0 PC can haul a (non prototypical) 9 car train made from 800/0 coaches but the 802/1 PC cannot haul the 9 car 802/1 prototype.

Can the 802/1 PC haul a 9 car train made of 800/0 coaches?

I haven’t had any of the 802 packs yet but my current working theory is that it’s the new coaches. My mate has confirmed that both the 800 and 802 PC’s seem to weigh the same and so should have the same haulage ability. My 802 coach pack is on the way however so I’ll be able to do the same test as before but with the new coaches and see if there’s any difference in performance. Eventually I’ll be getting the 802 5 car pack as well but with the AS 66’s also arriving, the 802 has to wait.

53 minutes ago, Marcoblanco said:

Ok.. so is that with any decoder ? Or just hm? Soppose il wait for peeps to do their experiments...

Zimo MN340C’s give you the day headlight at each end too, but no night or cab lights. Best either use an ESU chip and program it you your liking or wait for the pre-programmed ones from Accurascale themselves if you want all lighting functions

Very surprising to hear the 9 car sets can’t haul their full trains, something in the design must’ve changed, or there’s a manufacturing issue etc.

I’ve previously had an 11 car set running (on DCC with the one power car) just for a bit of fun and had no issues, as seen here;

hopefully it’s just a small selection on models with an issue rather than a batch-wide problem.

Any idea what lok-pilot the pre-programmed class 66 chips will use? Not really familiar with the ESU family and there seems to be 2 options at my normal decoder supplier. (59029 - Lok-pilot 5 basic & 59629 - Lok-pilot 5 DCC MTC)

Just exploring DCC fitting options as I don’t mind having to do some programming on the chips, however want to make sure that after programming they’ll work as expected. It’s a big order tho so want to save a little if I can.