Rebuilt WC 'Wincanton' arrived this morning.

[Stevelewis]

Hornby rebuilt  West Country class  34108  Wincanton  R3160XS  arrived  here  this  morning.

 

Straight  on to  the  test  track,   smooth  responsive  running, absolute  crawl  achievable,  sounds good,  several  sound  functions on  board  18 in  fact  some  of  which  wont  get  a  lot  of  use, but  they  all worked!

 

The  loco  hauled 8 coaches  without  problems  and  would  probaly haul more if needed.

 

Thanks  Hornby  (and  Tim  at  Arcadia  for  fast  delivery)

[roundhouse]

Looks like that will be my 36th one!!

[Stevelewis]

A member  asked  me  earlier  if  i  could  test  the  WC Sound  loco  on  Analogue (DC) to see how  the  sound performed.

 

So I am putting   the  results on open  view  as  it  may  be  useful info  for  non digital  users>

 

To do the  test I  used  a  Gauge master 'Model D' power unit,  The  speed  control  is  graduated   in  a  scale  of  0 to 100.  100 being  'flat  out'!

 

Placing  the  loco on  the  track  (AND  MAKING  SURE  THAT THE TRACK BEING  USED  WAS NOT  CONNECTED IN ANY  WAY TO THE DIGITAL SYSTEM,otherwise  strange  things  happen  to  the  digital master  control unit, I know  I did it once  when I was  starting in DCC in '97)

 

Back to the  test, loco  on track  power on the model D slowly increased  from zero,  sound  started up ( steam  escape  sounds) at  around  35,  at 50 the loco started  to move  slowly as the  Chuffing  sounds started,,  control turned  up to  maximum,  loco slowly  built  up speed  to  full  ( the  decoder  doing  the  acceleration)  loco continued to run full speed,

 

Turned  control back to 60 loco  starts  to  slow  and  chuffing  becomes quiet just a low sound, when loco has  slowed to the  speed that setting 60 provides  the  sound level increases,  just  as  it  would under digital control.

 

Turned down to 40  loco slows to a halt,  steam sound  continues,  revrsed direction ( the  Model D has a reversing switch  not centre OFF control knob, so there is only a fractional power interruption time to the  decoder)   sound  continued to be  heard ( steam hiss)  then  turning  up the  controller  loco set off in  reverse. with sounds  exactly  as before.

 

The only thing to remember  is  that  with Analogue  you cannot  access the additional  sounds  (whistles etc) from a  normal DC controller,  although  there  is an additional item available  from  some  manufacturers  ( Gaugemaster,  and  Broadway limited??)  which permits extended use of  sound  functions  on analogue,

 

Hope this  info is  useful

[Ian Hargrave]

A member  asked  me  earlier  if  i  could  test  the  WC Sound  loco  on  Analogue (DC) to see how  the  sound performed.

 

So I am putting   the  results on open  view  as  it  may  be  useful info  for  non digital  users>

 

To do the  test I  used  a  Gauge master 'Model D' power unit,  The  speed  control  is  graduated   in  a  scale  of  0 to 100.  100 being  'flat  out'!

 

Placing  the  loco on  the  track  (AND  MAKING  SURE  THAT THE TRACK BEING  USED  WAS NOT  CONNECTED IN ANY  WAY TO THE DIGITAL SYSTEM,otherwise  strange  things  happen  to  the  digital master  control unit, I know  I did it once  when I was  starting in DCC in '97)

 

Back to the  test, loco  on track  power on the model D slowly increased  from zero,  sound  started up ( steam  escape  sounds) at  around  35,  at 50 the loco started  to move  slowly as the  Chuffing  sounds started,,  control turned  up to  maximum,  loco slowly  built  up speed  to  full  ( the  decoder  doing  the  acceleration)  loco continued to run full speed,

 

Turned  control back to 60 loco  starts  to  slow  and  chuffing  becomes quiet just a low sound, when loco has  slowed to the  speed that setting 60 provides  the  sound level increases,  just  as  it  would under digital control.

 

Turned down to 40  loco slows to a halt,  steam sound  continues,  revrsed direction ( the  Model D has a reversing switch  not centre OFF control knob, so there is only a fractional power interruption time to the  decoder)   sound  continued to be  heard ( steam hiss)  then  turning  up the  controller  loco set off in  reverse. with sounds  exactly  as before.

 

The only thing to remember  is  that  with Analogue  you cannot  access the additional  sounds  (whistles etc) from a  normal DC controller,  although  there  is an additional item available  from  some  manufacturers  ( Gaugemaster,  and  Broadway limited??)  which permits extended use of  sound  functions  on analogue,

 

Hope this  info is  useful

Yes,Steve....ahead of you there....been using sister 34040 with a Gaugemaster

for quite a while successfully.A pleasant surprise,is it not?

[Stevelewis]

Must  admit  I  have  never  really  tried  any sound  locos  on Analogue, having  been  digital  for  many  years!  The  only  thing  that  concerns me  is  the  fact  that   you only  get  the running  sound,  and missing  out  on  the  additional selectable  sounds.

[Market65]

A member  asked  me  earlier  if  i  could  test  the  WC Sound  loco  on  Analogue (DC) to see how  the  sound performed.

 

So I am putting   the  results on open  view  as  it  may  be  useful info  for  non digital  users>

 

To do the  test I  used  a  Gauge master 'Model D' power unit,  The  speed  control  is  graduated   in  a  scale  of  0 to 100.  100 being  'flat  out'!

 

Placing  the  loco on  the  track  (AND  MAKING  SURE  THAT THE TRACK BEING  USED  WAS NOT  CONNECTED IN ANY  WAY TO THE DIGITAL SYSTEM,otherwise  strange  things  happen  to  the  digital master  control unit, I know  I did it once  when I was  starting in DCC in '97)

 

Back to the  test, loco  on track  power on the model D slowly increased  from zero,  sound  started up ( steam  escape  sounds) at  around  35,  at 50 the loco started  to move  slowly as the  Chuffing  sounds started,,  control turned  up to  maximum,  loco slowly  built  up speed  to  full  ( the  decoder  doing  the  acceleration)  loco continued to run full speed,

 

Turned  control back to 60 loco  starts  to  slow  and  chuffing  becomes quiet just a low sound, when loco has  slowed to the  speed that setting 60 provides  the  sound level increases,  just  as  it  would under digital control.

 

Turned down to 40  loco slows to a halt,  steam sound  continues,  revrsed direction ( the  Model D has a reversing switch  not centre OFF control knob, so there is only a fractional power interruption time to the  decoder)   sound  continued to be  heard ( steam hiss)  then  turning  up the  controller  loco set off in  reverse. with sounds  exactly  as before.

 

The only thing to remember  is  that  with Analogue  you cannot  access the additional  sounds  (whistles etc) from a  normal DC controller,  although  there  is an additional item available  from  some  manufacturers  ( Gaugemaster,  and  Broadway limited??)  which permits extended use of  sound  functions  on analogue,

 

Hope this  info is  useful

Hi. I thought that on Analogue, with Hornby, you could only run the loco' in one direction. This is my experience with, among other Hornby DCC fitted loco's, a class 08 and a Thompson L1. They would only run in one direction on Analogue, but, on the DCC system that I use, both directions quite happily. Therefore they are run, of course, in DCC mode only!

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

[Stevelewis]

I have  never  heard  that  before,    unless  the  decoders  on  the 'one way' locos  have  been  specifically set  up   to run one  way  only  which   would be  pointless really,

 

I have not  got  any  other Hornby  factory fitted  decoder locos here to  try, but  i would  add that  I have  several  Bachmann 0n30  Factory  fitted decoder locos  which occasionally  get  'borrowed'  to  run  on  analogue  layouts,  they all run in both  directions

[toboldlygo]

Hi. I thought that on Analogue, with Hornby, you could only run the loco' in one direction. This is my experience with, among other Hornby DCC fitted loco's, a class 08 and a Thompson L1. They would only run in one direction on Analogue, but, on the DCC system that I use, both directions quite happily. Therefore they are run, of course, in DCC mode only!

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

 

That's very odd, I've been running a DCC Fitted Castle on analogue and it works fine in both directions.

[G-BOAF]

Which OEM made this model?

[andyman7]

The issue with 'one-way' running on analogue with DCC fitted locos is caused where there is a minute power spike as the direction switch is changed. It can create a stray command to the chip which seems to reverse the running direction (so that in effect the loco continues to move in the same direction even though power has been reversed).

[Market65]

Hi. Thanks for your thoughts, Stevelewis, toboldlygo and andyman7.The Analogue controller I have is a Gaugemaster Model D as well. The loco's were also tested in the shop prior to purchase and did the same thing there. I have had not one problem with Bachmann DCC fitted engines or multiple-units. I think that this really is a setting, somewhere in the CV's, by Hornby.

Thanks again for your replies, and the loco's in question will continue to be operated on my DCC system without problems - might go and run the L1 on a train a bit later tonight!

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

[Stevelewis]

As  a  matter  of interest  have  you  tried  a  decoder  reset on  the  'one  way ' locos  (usually  value  8  in  CV8)?

 

This  should  return  the  decoder  to  the  factory  settings  ( and  address 3  so you will have  to re-address the loco to your  desired address)

[Market65]

As  a  matter  of interest  have  you  tried  a  decoder  reset on  the  'one  way ' locos  (usually  value  8  in  CV8)?

 

This  should  return  the  decoder  to  the  factory  settings  ( and  address 3  so you will have  to re-address the loco to your  desired address)

Hi. No, not as yet. However, just out of curiosity, I will have a go and see what happens. It still is curious that it is happening on Hornby loco's only.

 

All the best,

 

Market65

[andyman7]

Hi. No, not as yet. However, just out of curiosity, I will have a go and see what happens. It still is curious that it is happening on Hornby loco's only.

 

All the best,

 

Market65

Just add my first experience of this was over 10 years ago with a Fleischmann factory sound fitted loco...

[Barry Ten]

I've also found that Hornby DCC-fitted locos won't run in reverse on DC, or at least run really terribly compared to the forward direction.

[Market65]

Hi. Well I've tried the CV8 to 8 to re-set to  the default settings, and as expected, it did not make any difference. Still, having a layout which is both DCC and DC, it is more of a curiosity than anything else. Just have to remember to run these loco's on DCC! Thanks for all your advice and thoughts about this everyone.

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

[G-BOAF]

No one able to check the bottom of their boxes? is this a product of Sanda Kan (SK code) or one of the new manufacturers?

[geoffwba]

I must admit to being tempted to buy a Hornby Bulleid pacific as I do like the real ones.  The price of this model puts me off as I don't particularly want sound and will wait for Okehampton to be released later this year.   I am wondering what the running qualities are like as I had a previous Hornby incarnation with 34003 Plymouth, which is not a good runner at all (I did alter the wiring and pickups when I fitted a decoder to it).

[roundhouse]

I have quite a few rebuilt ones (all those released plus some renumbered ones) and generally they all run fine, but do need ot tweek the pick ups on some of them when first out the box which is fairly common with many of the Hornby locos of recent years that I have.

[Stevelewis]

No one able to check the bottom of their boxes? is this a product of Sanda Kan (SK code) or one of the new manufacturers?

Just  read  this  but  Wincanton Box is  now in  the  loft with  the  rest!  I did not  specifcally  look at  the Mnfr  code  on the  sticker  but I think from the  quick glance  it  was  SK,

I have  got  some  more  items due  soon  so when  I store  their  boxes  I will check  and  reprt back

[Stevelewis]

I must admit to being tempted to buy a Hornby Bulleid pacific as I do like the real ones.  The price of this model puts me off as I don't particularly want sound and will wait for Okehampton to be released later this year.   I am wondering what the running qualities are like as I had a previous Hornby incarnation with 34003 Plymouth, which is not a good runner at all (I did alter the wiring and pickups when I fitted a decoder to it).

This  one  runs  well  , straight  out  of  the   box,  slow  running  was  achievable, I have  had  it  running  round a test  track in the  shed  and  it  seems to be  a  good  performer, I dont  actually  have many Hornby  locos in 00 these days  in fact  the  only  one  i have  here  to  set  it  against  is  an LNER  01 2-8-0 which runs exceptionally  well,  the WC seems  to be  equally  as  good. 

 

For  info  Wincanton  appears to be  sold  out  at  many of the  retailers now, supplies  were  much reduced  and  next  batch is   apparently  due  after September,

 

My supplier  Arcadia  in Shaw  www.arcadiarail.co.uk   had 2 instock this afternoon,   phoning  is recommended (phone number is on thier website)

 

Arcadia  has  lots of  stock  both  UK  and Continental outline  at  competitive prices.

[geoffwba]

Thanks for the running reports.  I am happy to wait now until Okehampton is released towards the end of the year.

[roundhouse]

 

My supplier  Arcadia  in Shaw  www.arcadiarail.co.uk   had 2 instock this afternoon,

 

They now no longer have 2 of them as 1 is on its way to me.

 

Will hopefully have it by Saturday morning.

[G-BOAF]

Just a thought - final Sanda Kan production was meant to be delivered by the summer (as announced in a recent Hornby report). This would imply that any later batches, or indeed subsiquent WC locos may be produced by another manufacturer, and as we have seen elsewhere, may not necessarily be to equivalent standards of finish and build quality... Get 'em while you can would be my advice... Or am I just scaremongering?

[The Stationmaster]

Just a thought - final Sanda Kan production was meant to be delivered by the summer (as announced in a recent Hornby report). This would imply that any later batches, or indeed subsiquent WC locos may be produced by another manufacturer, and as we have seen elsewhere, may not necessarily be to equivalent standards of finish and build quality... Get 'em while you can would be my advice... Or am I just scaremongering?

Although my latest 'Grange' has yet to arrive (but It's waiting fro me at Alton) I would say on the basis of the of the originally 'Concessions Only' 'Bucklebury Grange' that the latest edition is not quite so good as the original product - but they are clearly trying.  I get the impression that's it's probably a question of building up the experience in attaching detail but of course there's the usual seasonal re-training of staff in China which has sometimes meant problems in this respect in the past - and not just for Hornby of course.

 

So given time I think they can probably get there as they don't seem to have far to travel - provided the new factories can hang on to their labour forces and are prepared to strive for quality in detail assembly and finish.