RBE

The screwing in of the model is fine it's just the potential for damage if not done right. We are looking at a redesign of the cradle to illiminate the risk currently.

2 minutes ago, LNERandBR said:

 

Actually, where exactly do the sideframes attach to the towers? 

 

Do they sandwich the pickup strips?

The bottom keeper plate has 4 clips, one at each corner and locks the sideframes on. If that is unclipped then the side frames can slide out on 4 rails to release the wheels. The pick ups are in the sideframes.

17 minutes ago, LNERandBR said:

Do you mean at the front and back of the bogie?

One end wasn't correctly seated but I corrected that as well.

 

I can't see any gap between the side frames and the bogie towers. 

Front and back of the bogie and against the gearbox.

There certainly shouldn't be any difference in play between the two.

3 minutes ago, LNERandBR said:

Having noticed that my 56008 had both bogies misaligned with the packaging upon arrival, I took the top off before even running it at all. 

 

I found the same issue as above at the fan end, the bogie gear tower clip had come adrift. I clicked it back in but sadly there was a gear clicking sound when I tried it for the first time.

 

I therefore removed the PCB and removed both gear tower clips and gently reseated both worms. Upon putting back together and trying the click is still there but far less noticeable. I'm therefore hoping it will disappear with running in.

 

A question though, should there be sideplay on the driven axles? I've noticed that one bogie has sideplay on both driven axles whilst the other has none. 

There will be a small amount of side play but there shouldn't be very much. Are the bogie side frames correctly seated or is there a gap between them underneath?

3 minutes ago, WILLIAM said:

 

Thanks! Just followed these instructions and now fixed. I used a small flat head screwdriver through the access hole to re-seat the worm cover. Before and after photos below.

 

 

Yep that's exactly it. Thanks for sharing your fix with us. 👍

Just now, andyman7 said:

The Combi is not a feedback controller so won't damage a decoder. The decoder will also need to have been configured to allow DCC running - I'm assuming that's as supplied?

The sound chips are configured to run on DC as well as DCC.

1 minute ago, Garry D100 said:

Thanks for clear instructions just in case.

My 56008 arrived with ine wheel set off the cradle but i do not have a dcc controller to test yet.

Can i do a simple mechanical test run using a dc gaugemaster combi ?

I ask as ive heard of people frying chips with feedback controllers but im pretty sure the combi isnt one of these but would prefer some reassurance before testing :-)

 

Many thanks

I can find out what ESU recommend however you could also do a visual check through the access port with the body off just to see if the cover looks to be correctly in place.

57 minutes ago, WILLIAM said:

Have exactly the same noisey running problem with my 56008 which too arrived with one bogie not sitting straight in the cradle although this could just be a coincidence.

 

Could you expand on how to fix this please? Really don't want to send this beautiful loco back unless really necessary especially as I doubt they could replace it as the sound version is sold out.

Update for all with gear issues. It looks like after testing a fraction of the locos were packaged but not always correctly positioned on the cradle before screwing down, this pivots the bogie unduly under the pressure of the screws and appears to have popped the worm cover (part 31 below) off of the offending bogie causing this issue. It's an easy fix but one that requires in the first instance to take the body off and attempt to clip the cover back on though the access holes in the side of the chassis block (69 below). Whilst easy it can be fiddly and if it proves a problem the tower can be accessed by removing the circuit board above and clipping the cover back on. We can understand if you do not want to do that and instead prefer the retailer or ourselves to do the work but in the first instance doing the job yourself is the fastest route to resolve the issue.

1 hour ago, MartynJPearson said:

Quick question, I've seen the outermost fan (fan 1 I believe) spin quite a lot, but never seen the innermost one (fan 2) running? What are the circumstances in which that one would run? I've checked I've not got it turned off via F23.

Have you got a sound version? The second fan should kick in once the loco has been under load for a while at slightly higher revs to simulate the engine and turbos getting hot. It's worked fan on all the ones we tested so should work on yours.

9 minutes ago, farren said:

Well I’ve put in a 21 pin decorder and gave it a little run. Can only run the lights for now. But I was expecting that will be getting a sound decoder in the future. It’s almost silent and runs very smooth straight out the box. 
 

you guys at Cavalex have managed to pull off a excellent job. I hope you guys are proud of your achievement. I know I am and I only bought it! 
 

I have only two little niggles, well one suggestion really. the securing screws, could these be made so they stay in the cradle so us older folk (suffering from a slight hangover) don’t have to go rummage around the floor to find when they fall out. 
 

the other 

 

In all fairness I have paid in full for 56 023, only to find out I am going have to pay the same amount all over again for…..

 

for 56 074! After I told myself ohh I only need one 56. 

Good idea with the screws. We will see what we can do moving forward.

4 minutes ago, big jim said:

if you wanted the real driver experience you need the engine room lights on so it shines through the door porthole window illuminating the speedo! 
 

the photoluminescent speedos are awful at night, you can barely see it which is strange as all the other dials are illuminated! I think some of the current 56s on the network have had illuminated speedos retro fitted though 

 

Yeah one of the reasons we didn't bother with illuminated dials was that our consultant driver said not to bother as you couldn't see them in the cab let alone from outside it!! 🤣

1 hour ago, Phil Mc said:

I know this seems to be a common ‘feature’ with decoders, and probably works fine for many people.

But, I have a depot layout for my DCC loco’s, and the cab lights going on and off with every move looks ridiculous!!

The one’s that I know how to change the cab lights to work from a function button, I have done….

 

Not saying either is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, just that the manufacturers can’t please everyone all the time….

 

My 56023 looks stunning, and did 2 1/2 hours on my rolling road last yesterday, and never missed a beat….😃

 

Many thanks Cavalex.

 

Cheers,

Phil.

We have set up the 56 as a driver experience, and as such the driver turns the lights on and off on the real one so does on the model. You are right we can't please everyone and for sure we have made decisions based on how we want the loco to drive (having an ex driver as a consultant on this) which may not line up with what you (the customers) are used to.

In real life the cab light is rarely used so having it going on and off every time you stop is a very odd request. 

23 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

 

So is the purpose to get easy access to the brake? A good idea, I think the F2 horn seems a bit redundant anyway with the playable being on F3/F4. 

 

 

 

it's not really redundant because it's hard to play a nice horn tone when you only have one momentary button available. The latching ones have to go on then off so a quick two tone sounds bad.

4 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

I think the poster was agreeing with you (3rd para).😉

Haha yes I agree, I was just clarifying for others reading.

55 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

I must admit to being a little surprised it's not all-wheel-drive, having seen that earlier video.

 

For me this has never detracted the performance I've seen both of this actual model, and also of similarly propelled locomotives from Heljan - my 52 and 58 have no problems at all.

 

'Surprise' was probably that it seems a default to be all-wheel-drive.

 

Having a 'floating' centre axle will mean it won't have the problems one video presenter was observing with a certain Class 37, so can't wait to receive mine early / mid-next week.

Fantastic job and still waiting for more 'video reviews' ...

Al.

The loco is better for not having all wheel drive as it allows all wheels to stay in contact withe the track for road holding, and pick-up. Having the centre axle powered give no benefit and in fact hinders performance sometimes because of it. 

I am planning a video explaining all this as some point so I'll post links to that when I have had 5 mins to put it together!

Just now, ac1874 said:

@RBESorry if I have missed this but will speakers and sound chips be sold separately at a later date? 

We are currently assessing how best to provide these. We obviously want customers to be able to buy both the chip and speaker at the same time so we are looking into how to make this work commercially.

14 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

 

As others have said, the point is all down to how the sound file has been designed. So the designer will know what the intended use should be, that's why I was surprised not to see it documented. Nearly all the sound files seem to use F2 for the brake function, so that fits in with the momentary action mentioned and perhaps it might be a problem with some controllers if it were not F2. For the door slam Hornby TTS use a momentary action which makes perfect sense to me, Bachmann use a latch but state it is on/off so at least I know I have to press it twice to reset it, otherwise I'd be guessing. Not a big deal but I'm sure this information must be available from the designer.

I do have the functions etc of what does what on the chip. I have also told you that the only things that need to be momentary are the horns and brake really, and the door slam if you want that. Not everyone can program that with their controllers though so F2 as the brake or two tone horn made sense as we knew that could only ever be momentary on F2 on the prodigy. Everything else is workable latched if necessary. If you want to make it momentary and can do then that's an operator choice. As for double functions such as F2, that was basically due to having more operational scope than the 30 functions allowed, we were also adamant that the most used functions should be in the top 10 functions to allow the most amount of people access to them. The 56 is all about the driver experience and that has meant that we have set it up as we wanted it rather than follow other manufacturers set ups.

Personally I don't like manual stuff such as notching and manual brake, but others do, we get that. In that regard we simply allowed for a manual mode giving notching and brake by having F25 on and a standard normal mode with automatic engine sounds and braking when F25 is off. 

7 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

 

 

You'll need a decoder with a minimum of 8 outputs by the looks of it. Cabs x 2, head lights (4 off) x 2, Spotlights x 2, tail lights (4 off) x 2. In the past I've used the Dapol Imperium 3 for such an application but the LokPliot is a similar spec and price. I'd go with whatever the manufacturer recommends, so if that's a LokPilot then go with that - make sure its the correct version. I fitted the Dapol Imperium 3 into a Dapol O gauge 121 at their recommendation, they also stated that a v2 decoder did not have enough outputs for all the lighting functions.

 

It looks like the Hornby HM7000 has at least 8 outputs, I thought I'd read that not all can be DCC controlled, only Bluetooth which sounds a bit odd, so I'd check that as I might be misreading it.

This issue with sourcing alternative decoders is whether the functions are set up on the decoder to control the functions on the loco correctly. The Loksounds that we will do will be set up properly with a list of functions.  No reason that you can't do the same at home if you have equipment that can program functions on the decoder.

4 minutes ago, Marcoblanco said:

ok thanks.. I have a few decoders around and may experiment or one option is a HM7000 sound decoder which has Aux fcts on 21-24.. I believe

The issue is that the lighting set up has lights on various aux inputs which obviously can be assigned their functions differently inside the chip rather than the loco depending on the decoder. Without using a correctly set up decoder the functions selectable will be limited to basic defaults.

3 minutes ago, Marcoblanco said:

Has anyone got a fct list for non sound versions ie where the cab lights and headlight/tail lights on /off options have been placed?

We recommend a custom programmed lokpilot. Richard at Road and Rails is currently working on one I believe and so are we.

43 minutes ago, tlm said:

My first one, 56070 in original blue, arrived from Rails today. Only changes I have made are CV2=1, CV3=200 and CV4=150 - and dimmed the cab lights. It runs superbly, and looks and performs like a 123 ton loco should. The sound files are excellent with plenty of bass and volume. The horns are worthy of note with just the right amount of echo, and even the shut down procedure is complete and doesn't fizzle out part way as many others do. Get one while you can. Well done Cavalex - just wow !

Glad that you like it. Can I ask what you changed the cab lights to as we went pretty dim already, you should have seen them on the first iteration of the file! You needed Oppenheimer's goggles to drive it  🤣. No issue doing so of course.

7 minutes ago, APT Fan said:

 

Exactly, air valves and compressors do they time out or are they continuous? Same with flange noises (manual), do you press every time you want the noise or is it a continuous random sound? All my Hornby and Bachmann factory fitted sound instructions define whether the functions should be latched or momentary. Hornby TTS instructions are very detailed explaining exactly what the sound function does.

That's all well and good but every controller doesn't have the ability to choose. My Prodigy for instance only has momentary on F2 so that's that. All of the sounds except the horns and brake should be latching really though. The compressor works automatically anyway but can be put on constant using the function, the manual flange squeal will do it's thing whilever it's engaged but it's not a constant screech so works well as a latched function and is also loco speed dependent as to what sounds it plays, it plays none over a certain speed as well. 

To be honest though we just assumed that people would set up their equipment as they see fit after playing with how the sounds worked. 

30 minutes ago, Garry D100 said:

Well 56008 has just arrived, less than 24 hours from clicking Pay Now to knock at the door.

 

Im in total awe of this model, I can only describe it as museum quality.

I must have spent 5 minutes just staring at all the bogie detail, its so exquisite its almost as if the mechanics, springs and brake blocks would happily move.

 

My wife actually asked me if I was ok as I had gone quiet for a while !

 

Hoping BR Blue 56002 maybe in the pipeline for one of the next batches, according to my notes my late father spotted it 1984 so that would be a special one for me.

 

Surely a contender for model of the year.

 

A big thank you to Cav and Alex for bringing this model to market.

Their obsession with detail is truly astounding and all I can say is when your model arrives just sit with it for a while and enjoy looking it over and their hard work and dedication will dazzle you.

 

Thank you chaps.

Thanks Garry, this is exactly why we do what we do. We want our customers to feel delighted and happy that they have the model in their hands. 

No better thanks for us. 

30 minutes ago, Southernman46 said:

and it could equally be said why are are Cavalex version's body grills blue when they're quite clearly black in your photo - both versions are good - one is just 20 years older 🙄

Looking forward to 2nd batch which will hopefully include 56036 in LLB.

Well the Cavalex versions grilles are blue because the prototype ones are blue. So actually two thing wrong with the Hornby one not a tit for tat. 🤷

5 minutes ago, Mark Forrest said:

I've had an email from Rails this morning saying they don't have the wheels in stock yet.  I guess it may be that they physically have them, but don't have them on their stock inventory yet for some reason.

 

I'll keep looking out for updates from Rails (and other retailers) for a change in the situation.

They have them, we delivered them personally.