JT42CWRDriver

3 hours ago, LimboBrit said:

If I understand it correctly on goods worth less than 22 Euros they don't bother with VAT on imports. What was the value of your order?

Nearly 190 euro for the larger order and just over 40 euro for the smaller one.

Just before Christmas I ordered some spare parts from Roco via their website and a much smaller order on the Fleischmann section. I was hoping they’d get here by the end of the year, but they weren’t sent until 8th Jan. When I ordered them I paid the German VAT on both. They were delivered to me with no extra charges, but both parcels has customs declarations on them.

I was worried that I would be charged British VAT as well, so was relieved and happy at this point. Lo and behold a couple of days ago Roco refunded me the German VAT!

66 605 at Brill with one of last weekend’s engineering trains on the Chiltern line.

I've just fitted an Atlas GP38 with a Wow kit, purchased from Coastal DCC. Instead of the supplied speaker I cut down and resealed an iPhone 4 one fitted on top of the rear weight which I milled for clearance. The rear led was glued on top.

I'm very pleased with it so far, I especially like that when it moves along at slow speed it will sound like it's going into notch one or two and then back to idle whilst the loco speed remains constant. I drive Emd locos for a living and hate when you see a sound equipped loco running light at slow speed with constant revs. On the real thing the load regulator soon has you up to about 15mph with a continuous notch one selection. It has to be a notch one - off - notch one - off sequence for continued slow speed running, unless the slow speed control (pacesetter) is engaged.

The audio assist is easy to use and there are a multitude of bells and horns to choose from. If you decide at a later date you want to fit the decoder to another loco you can change the prime mover as well.

The keep alive function works very well too, the sound will keep going for quite a while after you lift it of the track.

The only down side so far is the standard slightly jerky TCS motor control, it is just not in the same league as ESU, Zimo or Lenz and unlike Soundtraxx you can't adjust it.

I don't think I'll buy another one until I've tried a Tsunami 2 with the Dynamic Diesel Exhaust function.

http://atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/4704/soundtraxx-tsunami-2-sneak-peak

New Tsunami 2

One thought (and yes, I know, this *is* supposition) - was there an (incorrect) assumption that the loco independant brakes gave the same braking force as applying the handbrakes on the loco's? That would lead you towards expecting there to be no difference between doing a pull test with the independant released versus doing it with the independant applied.

I'm not sure about a C30-7, but if they are similar to UK locos the independent brake would give more braking power because it applies the brakes on all the wheels rather than the handbrake which is only on one truck or even one or two wheelsets in some cases.

 

 

Further to my post #251 above, here's a close up of  66953 running light through Westbury on the 23rd, almost  "arm out the window" 

 

I was trying to be discreet! If I'd known it was going to end up on here I would have waved!

Here's a few shots I took around Cornwall in 2010.  First up is a couple of shots I took of 66603 on the 13/09/10 arriving at Moorswater with the Westbury cement train. These are some of my favourite shots of Class 66's.

 

66603 moorswater rmweb.jpg

 

66603 moorswater 2 rmweb.jpg

 

I should have a look on the storage disk at the series of photos I took on that day. It was quite a sight to see a Class 66 hidden in amongst the trees awaiting the PCA's to be emptied.

 

Lastly a photo I waited ages to take and unfortunately it was a really sunny day at Trevisco dries with the sun in the west making the shot difficult. Here we see 66093 running around her train ready to take a train of china clay to Fowey on the 27/08/10.

 

66093 trevisco rmweb.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

I was driving 603 in the Moorswater pics, I recognise my lunchbox in the window!

Great to see these, especially as that flow has now finished.

70804 at Westbury this afternoon, with 66953 running through light engine towards the Mendip quarries, probably Whatley.

 

That was me! Light engine to Fairwater after dropping off 6A84, MOBC vehicles.

Three ballast trains are booked to Dawlish this weekend, destination listed as "Smugglers". Two of them are mainly made up of empty coalfish so I'm guessing landslip removal.

Coming home  on the Exmouth train today, at St Davids, at 17:18 was surprised and pleased to see 2 Freightliner 66's with a massive load of Railtrack ballast wagons heading west down the mainline - really weird to see an actual train heading west, rather than the units, which sulk on the otherside of the bridge before being let back into the depot. Guess this is new ballast for the breach?

Guilty as charged. 20 Autoballasters from Westbury top 'n tailed, 1200 tons of ballast in 20 wagons.

Interesting summary at: http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/na0713_lac-magentic_c-rjweb2400f.jpg

Apologies if it's been mentioned before.

Peter.

Air brakes work by air pressure - the greater the pressure the greater the brake application. They do not fail safe in that respect. If a train is standing for a long period the locomotive handbrakes would be applied. According to Mr. Burkhardt all the locomotives had their handbrakes applied. In that case presumably the combination of train weight and gradient overpowered the handbrakes and the tank car handbrakes should probably have been applied as well.

Train air brakes do fail safe, the brake is applied by reducing air pressure in the brake pipe. The greater the reduction in the brake pipe the greater the pressure sent to the brake cylinders from the auxiliary reservoir on each vehicle. The device that does this in Europe is a distributor, in North America an updated version of the triple valve. In a single piped train the auxiliary reservoir is charged by the brake pipe when at it's full pressure (72.5psi in the UK, 90 odd psi in NA). When the distributor/triple valve "sees" a reduction in brake pipe pressure air from the auxiliary reservoir is allowed to enter the brake cylinder proportionally. When the brake pipe is reduced to zero the full pressure is applied to the brake cylinder. The problem then is that it will leak off over time. In the UK it is stipulated that enough handbrakes are applied to hold the train when the air has leaked off. What puzzles me is unless the train was dual piped (with a main reservoir pipe feeding the auxiliary reservoirs) and I have never seen a North American freight train that is, just leaving the loco running would only hold the brakes on the locos, not the train, unless the brake pipe was periodically recharged and destroyed, to make sure that all the brake cylinders still had air in them. Sufficient handbrakes should have been applied to hold the train, before it was left unattended, even if that was nearly all of them.

Cheers,

Peter.