RBE

1 minute ago, newbryford said:

 

Also bear in mind that stock changes over time.

I have one particular set of wagons ( see my workbench thread) that progressed from Bachmann 66 to Hattons 66 to haul them as they gradually went worse. It took a full strip down, bearing reamer, clean and dry graphite to make them more free running than new!

Yep there is that.

12 minutes ago, Lady_Farkham said:

Hi again.

 

Sorry for opening up the debate. That wasn't my intention.  It was a genuine question as it wasn't in the spec on page one. 

 

I love all four of my 56s, but pulling 33 Cavalex HAAs isn't possible up my 4th radius helix. I suspect the problem is more to do with the incline I have, rather than the locos. I'll address that when I get chance. 

 

However, my Accurascale 37s glide up it without issue even at slow speed.

 

Not a gripe, like I said.... probably my helix.

Watch the video I posted further up. We run it with 41 HAAs up a helix with no issue whatsoever. I would make sure that there is nothing wrong with the loco. I would also make sure that all of the hopper wheels are free running and not being hindered by brake pads etc. Timestamp approx 20 mins.

20 minutes ago, BR Blue said:

Some wagons are easier to pull than others and some scale length trains are easier to pull than others. I would be comparing like with like. The same train, difference locos. However once it can xomfortably match the prototype, it is good.

Yes but my point is that it becomes very dependent on how heavy or draggy those wagons are. As a manufacturer you shouldn't have to make a loco so powerful that it has to literally be able to pull a rake of bricks with no wheels on. There also has to be a responsibility for wagon manufacturers to not stress locomotives when hauling them. The longer the real life rakes the more free rolling they need to be really. 

As for our haulage tests it will be interesting to see the figures when we do the tests. I did note on Sam's Trains that he used a Newton gauge on the new AS class 60 and reported 1.3 to 1.4N as the loco was bouncing on the spring gauge (average 1.35N?). Not the most accurate gauge in the world but Sam seemed very pleased with that , stating that 1.4N equates to 70odd coaches or something, again not sure where that figure comes from but thats what he stated. We intend to go a bit more scientific on it. We tested our class 60 sample recently and achieved 1.34N on a high quality digital gauge with no bounce. It will be interesting to see the rest.

20 minutes ago, BR Blue said:

Once a loco can haul a scale length train comfortably on a sensibly built layout (no really tight curves and very steep inclines) I am happy.

 

I must admit to having a scientific interest in what can haul the most, but that is just academic. Weight is the main factor. Diesels have the most room for weight. All the new electronic additions (speakers, fan motors) to locos take up space and can reduce weight  but once it can match the prototype I do not care.

I am very interested from a scientific viewpoint as well and I intend to do proper measured haulage capacities for all of the main locomotives from all manufacturers using accurate strain gauges. I also intend to use those same gauges to see what is required to haul realistic rakes of wagon/coaches etc for a comparison. The issue is that rolling resistance and weight of wagon varies massively and can skew what a real expectation of the haulage capacity is for a given loco. Whilst the Dapol yeoman hoppers for instance are in my opinion unnecessarily heavy they do roll well so once underway are not a massive problem however in contrast the above mentioned Accurascale HYAs are reasonable heavy but very very draggy for some reason which holds back the train massively. No rolling stock should impede the loco in my opinion. Regardless of haulage capacity we are building models not hauling real stone and we shouldn't ever be taxing our locos like that in the first place. 

40 minutes ago, reddragon said:

 

 

My first test rake was a rake of 19 loaded Dapol open bogie wagons . All of my locos except my older Mainline locos & my 09 shunter could haul it.

 

Test rake 2 was 21 Dapol HIAs. This knocked off all my Lima locos & steam locos (exc the Garratt)

 

Test rake 3 was 20 mixed freightliner wagons. This took out most Bo-Bo locos, and the Bachmann class 70. This rake was the limit of my Garratt, most Heljan & Dapol locos and the Cavalex class 56.

 

Test rake 4 was a rake of bricks (Accurascale HYAs) the reason for the test as I'm fed up with their drag and intend to replace them. This was hauled by Accurascale 37, 55, 66 & 92,  Heljan Westerns & 53,  EFE 58, Dapol 59 & 68 plus a surprise with the Hornby 67. The Cavalex 56 spun all 4 driving axles on this rake.

 

I have combined rakes 3 & 4 before and it could only be hauled by the Accurascale 55 & 92, with the Dapol 68 close. I haven't tested the 59 or 66 on these yet.

 

Whilst I agree that you 56 is really incredible, 12 of my other locos out haul it

  

Fair enough however it will haul anything the real loco is expected to do and I can guarantee if we had made it 6 axle drive it would have made no difference to the capacity. Haulage capacity is a simple factor of weight on driven contact wheels and the friction generated by those wheels on the rail surface. There is no weight on the centre axles of our 56 and as such the locos weight is split over 8 contact points. The difference with the accurascale locos is that they weight a ton. Nothing to do with them being 6 axle drive. 

1 hour ago, reddragon said:

My Cavalex 56 cannot haul my heaviest rakes that many of my other locos can haul. I did some testing in July and must admit disappointment.

I would suggest checking to make sure that there is nothing wrong with it then. The haulage tests that we have done show that it can haul anything that the prototype can. Driven centre axles provide no more tractive effort than just having the outer ones powered. What rakes are you having issues with?

36 minutes ago, Lady_Farkham said:

Hi guys!

 

Will the Class 60 be All Wheel Drive?

No it will be the same drive system as the class 56.

7 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Quick question - which of these two supplied grid plates is correct to fit to the Colas model?

None of them as 049 doesn't carry them in Colas guise.

19 minutes ago, Dicky L said:

Thanks, I will check that out. 

No problem.

2 minutes ago, Dicky L said:

56097 weathered for me by @cairnsroadworks

 

Looks great but that buffer needs looking at. There is a keyway in the buffers to stop them turning so something is amiss there.

42 minutes ago, The Meerkat said:

 

hi RBE thank you

 

is it the same as on the website or different one?

Same one. Cavalexmodels@gmail.com 

51 minutes ago, The Meerkat said:

i think my 56 is is developing an issue,

 

i put power to it (25 on hm7000 app) and it moved very slowly and then stopped were it used to run at good speed,   i did cv 8 reset and it runs better but not 100% if it is running right.  can i send a video to the facebook page?

Hi there it would be better to send us an email and we will take a look at it and do a warranty repair if necessary.

Just now, SulzerPeak said:

Every days a school day, just googled it. Looks class 50ish style. Bit o ring looking the model though.

It's probably from fitting the later style light to the early model not quite sitting flush due to the difference in cab front shape. 

15 minutes ago, SulzerPeak said:

 Nice weathering but the headlight is a bit of a shocker. By contrast your 56019 looks bob on.

56010 had a later style headlight fitted in unpainted metal finish.

Awesome.

23 minutes ago, The Meerkat said:

 

ohhh and is that 37 on the back in some of the photos?

Yep, sure is.

57 minutes ago, Shoey said:

Hey Cav/Alex, just wondering will there be decorated samples of your Colas class 60 at Making Tracks in August? Cheers guys

I'm afraid not. The samples running at Making Tracks are the pre-production samples which have run elsewhere. We are expecting production samples soon but we are not sure if they will arrive with us during Making Tracks 4's run at Chester or just after.

54 minutes ago, Melly said:

Hi RBE - now I'm confused. As my post above - with a brand new 36-557 Bachmann decoder - was jerky as hell, had to turn the back EMF off to get it to run smoothly; but that's comes with significant handicaps. 

Hi Melly I am not sure why it was jerky, did you correctly set the dip switches under the roof panel. The locos have been run successfully without any running issue, albeit without correct lighting, using other dcc decoders (I wonder if the BEMF on the Bachmann chip isn't playing nicely with the powerbank?). However we do recommend getting the correct one with the proper file on board. As control and lighting gets more prototypical it unavoidably gets more complex and less generic. Sadly that means that special chips are required to operate them. I necessary evil. It on fast getting to the point where an ESU lokprogrammer is becoming essential kit for DCC locos. 

In the meantime drop us a line and we will see what we can do to help you out with this.

It's more of a case of easy change for variety in running but also locos on shed with detail both ends that you can then instantly change to something you can haul with.

3 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

What's the process for obtaining the revised DC blanking plug?

Contact the shop where you bought the model in the first instance.

It's down to minimum run requirements. Adding a T to one makes it different enough that you require a minimum order from the factory for each livery. Keeping them the same with just a number change means the run can be spit and the customer has two options to choose from from one run.

Just now, CazRail said:

True, mine will be Transrail'ed though 😊

Yes always easier to add the Ts rather than remove them.

5 hours ago, CazRail said:

56047 carried transrail branding in this livery... 🫣

Not the whole time it was in Dutch though.

17 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

You just can’t get the staff these days 😉

 

Roy

I know right. Head full of 60s at the mo. Lol

18 minutes ago, owentherail said:

I thought 31-33 are a bit different some how. 

Yes you are right, 31 and 32 had the full bufferbeam cowling like the Romanian ones. I'd forgotten that for a moment.