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Post by mrja on Sept 10, 2014 4:26:29 GMT -5
Another name train idea... Orange Blossom Special I can here the fiddles now, especially that the E7 for SAL were released in citrus color. Would add the Cresent as well for SR and the Champion for ACL. I have a powered set of the SAL... A,B,B.
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Post by shamoo737 on Sept 10, 2014 9:37:37 GMT -5
Is not a question of what you have. The question is what you don't have.
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Post by tjdreams on Sept 10, 2014 16:43:28 GMT -5
I don't mean to change the subject but I have purchased quite a few AZL heavyweight passenger cars (mostly SP) and have read that the door diaphragms will extend out. To give you an idea of my situation I have to wear XL gloves or larger (my hands and fingers are big but I am truly intrigued with Z-scale) so I have been unable to extend them for the fear that I will break something. Can anyone give me advice on how to gently pull them out and how far I should expect them to extend? Mark Hi Mark Its XL or XXL gloves for me too so I know your dilemma all too well. I don't have any SP heavyweights but on the C&O cars I Have the diaphragms will move about 0.75 of a mm or 0.0295 of a inch on average. The ones I've check all seam to be all the way out and only push in. I used a tooth pick to try and pry one out with no luck. So I just popped the roof off of it. The diaphragms appear to be held in place with 4 pins that have the ends melted to prevent them from pulling out. They are at full extension and can only be pushed in about 3/4 of one millimeter. At least that's the way it is on the one I just checked. David
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 11, 2014 0:20:33 GMT -5
I don't mean to change the subject but I have purchased quite a few AZL heavyweight passenger cars (mostly SP) and have read that the door diaphragms will extend out. To give you an idea of my situation I have to wear XL gloves or larger (my hands and fingers are big but I am truly intrigued with Z-scale) so I have been unable to extend them for the fear that I will break something. Can anyone give me advice on how to gently pull them out and how far I should expect them to extend? Mark Hi Mark Its XL or XXL gloves for me too so I know your dilemma all too well. I don't have any SP heavyweights but on the C&O cars I Have the diaphragms will move about 0.75 of a mm or 0.0295 of a inch on average. The ones I've check all seam to be all the way out and only push in. I used a tooth pick to try and pry one out with no luck. So I just popped the roof off of it. The diaphragms appear to be held in place with 4 pins that have the ends melted to prevent them from pulling out. They are at full extension and can only be pushed in about 3/4 of one millimeter. At least that's the way it is on the one I just checked. David
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 11, 2014 0:34:50 GMT -5
Thanks David,
I guess I was expecting the diaphragms to extend to the length of the coupler (now that would be realism!) so I probably should leave them alone. I have already destroyed a GP38-2 with my clumsy fingers...
Mark
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 11, 2014 6:21:43 GMT -5
I guess I was expecting the diaphragms to extend to the length of the coupler (now that would be realism!) In our first meeting with our design team, the lead engineer asked "do you want the diaphragms to move?" I had no idea that it was even possible in Z scale so I said "sure, why not?" The point of the story is that movement of the diaphragms was really meant more as a fun novelty rather than aiming for 100% prototypical realism. Even in larger scales, it is rare to see functioning diaphragms that are reliable and look good. I'm not saying it is impossible, just very difficult - and expensive. If you want to create your own working diaphragms, I think that would be an excellent and incredibly cool project!
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Post by ztrack on Sept 11, 2014 8:24:52 GMT -5
Interesting story on the Marsilius passenger cars. They were originally designed with a sprung diaphragm. In testing, the cars would derail on mid-range curves and tighter due to the diaphragms pushing off against each other. The manufacturer wasn't quite able to get the tension correct, so Marsilius dropped the idea of sprung diaphragms. If anyone has these cars, you will not small loops on each side of the diaphragms. This was the point the spring would attach to the car and extend to the diaphragms.
I liked the Marklin approach on the first generation of ICE trains. This was a piece that sat between the cars and moved independently. It worked great. But Marklin abandoned this with later ICE runs like the ICE III in favor of a stylized connector. It just is not the same...
Many years ago, I saw a guy basically make a diagram out of paper he shaped much like the baffles of an accordion. It looked great and allow a seamless transition between the cars that was flexible. Just a thought, but this may be something worth playing with.
Rob
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Post by boxcarwilly on Sept 11, 2014 11:14:52 GMT -5
I enquired about this quite some time ago and even floated some suggestions on how this might be accomplished incorporating the existing coupler, but to get the correct length the coupler would have to be shortened considerably and the diaphragm attached to the coupler. They would have to be strong enough to stand on their own and not sag, yet be flexible enough to bend with the cars on turns and not cause derailments. I once presented this problem to a fellow who made his own diaphragms for his HO scale cars and he used soft, flexible foam cut and shaped it to fit the frame at the end of the car, then painted ridges in it to simulate the baffles. For his cars, they worked great but the only problem he had was the distance between the cars was not prototypical therefore they didn't look quite right. I supposed the same problem would exist in Z scale but I think it all comes down to placement of the trucks and length of the couplers. I've been thinking of replacing the existing truck/coupler assembly with just the truck on each car. Then using some kind of double ended clip, bring the cars together so that the diaphragms would actually touch but just barely. Two problems arise from this. 1. The existing diaphragms aren't flexible enough to bend on one side while negotiating curves and 2. I don't want to wreck any of my cars experimenting with this. So I guess the problem is left to more intelligent minds with the inventive skill to come up with a practical and prototypical solution. I'm convinced that if the engineers and design team were to really concentrate on this issue, a workable solution could be found without adding extra expense.
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Post by trainboy4 on Oct 17, 2014 15:40:04 GMT -5
Is there going to get an "PULLMAN" labeled observation in the standard pullman green?
Not the SP green but Pullman Green. Would be nice to have a matcing observation for the orignal pullman cars.
How about RPO and Baggage cars? Not sure if those were ever labeled "PULLMAN" with pullman green. I would think maybe not. But if they did those would be cool too.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Oct 17, 2014 17:44:00 GMT -5
Is there going to get an "PULLMAN" labeled observation in the standard pullman green? Not the SP green but Pullman Green. Would be nice to have a matcing observation for the orignal pullman cars. How about RPO and Baggage cars? Not sure if those were ever labeled "PULLMAN" with pullman green. I would think maybe not. But if they did those would be cool too. Yes - they are upcomming releases. The RPO just says "United States Mail. Railway Post Office" below the windows, since the Pullman company never operated RPO cars, but we made them to complete the set. You could easily put a road name across the top of them (Think MKT, or something like that) we did make this car with two different roof lines: Clerestory and Rounded "Harriman" type. Pullman did operate observation sleepers. Ours is a model of the 3-2-Obs car with "PULLMAN" across the top. We have two names: "Crystal Brook" and "Ponce De Leon" Enjoy!
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Post by trainboy4 on Oct 17, 2014 17:47:51 GMT -5
Cool, Thank you for the heads up.
Can't wait. Currently working on paying off the reefers.
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Post by trainboy4 on Oct 20, 2014 18:07:22 GMT -5
American Red Cross Heavyweight set might be cool. K-line back in the day donated per every sale made for these. Could be a AZL exclusive. Walter Reed Pullman Louis Pasteur Pullman Elie Metchnikoff Pullman I thought there was a real observation car for it too but now I can't find it on the web. I found it in 2002. Not sure if I saved a pic or not. Not sure if the real cars looked like what K-Line did. I would love this set in Z
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Post by trainboy4 on Oct 20, 2014 18:09:30 GMT -5
Fourth car was named Englishman Joseph Lister. Not sure if that was the observation.
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Post by alfred on Dec 27, 2014 22:00:28 GMT -5
Hi Mark Its XL or XXL gloves for me too so I know your dilemma all too well. I don't have any SP heavyweights but on the C&O cars I Have the diaphragms will move about 0.75 of a mm or 0.0295 of a inch on average. The ones I've check all seam to be all the way out and only push in. I used a tooth pick to try and pry one out with no luck. So I just popped the roof off of it. The diaphragms appear to be held in place with 4 pins that have the ends melted to prevent them from pulling out. They are at full extension and can only be pushed in about 3/4 of one millimeter. At least that's the way it is on the one I just checked. David I like them to release a different car each month rather then release the same car for six month in a row. samsung s4 mini handyhülle
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Post by ztrack on Dec 28, 2014 10:56:26 GMT -5
Here is something fun to think about. The latest run of AZL heavyweight cars was 187 different cars. So if we would release one a month, it would take over 15 and a 1/2 years to release all of these cars. So with that in mind, one a month really doesn't work!
Rob
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