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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 28, 2014 20:15:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply. Can I have use the Märklin turntable with Rokuhan tracks ? Kim Yes: Marklin turntable will use Rokuhan tracks (with maybe very small adjustments)
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 28, 2014 14:21:09 GMT -5
Hopefully it is Ok for me to post a link to a website merchant of videos and books... I found this online merchant when doing research on the AC-12 Cab-forward used by SP. I plan on getting a few of their videos. Mark pentrex.com/no problem - some other good video names are: Green Frog (good bargans - and they have blu-rays!) Herron Rail (expensive, but good stuff) Sunday River (expensive and not as good as Herron) All my opinions, of course! Oh, and for great original modern Swiss videos, I think this guys is the best, and he is on YouTube, so the price is right: www.youtube.com/user/trainfart/featured
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 20, 2014 22:39:39 GMT -5
I am not at all happy with this locomotive and have contacted my dealer for replacement but have not heard anything as of yet. Hi Mark, Sorry for the troubles. You are correct - it should work out of the box, and we did test them all before they were shipped, so I hope this was a problem that happened in transit. If your dealer does not respond, contact rob kluz on ztrack@aol.com and he will arrange to have it inspected and replaced.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 20, 2014 7:39:00 GMT -5
Rob, In this thread as well as in Ztrack I read about the E8 collaboration and more specifically that AZL would bring out the PRR E8. However, I see that Marklin has the PRR E8 out this fall. Will AZL still be bringing out the PRR or is road only with Marklin? AZL will sell the E8 in UP, SP, and PRR, as well as some other road names (Hint: Kentucky Derby & Grand Ole Opry) Marklin gets unique road numbers for their products. Marklin units also have a special truck to accommodate the Marklin coupler. The coupler pocket we use for the AZL AutoLatch coupler would not work for the Marklin coupler piece. The Marklin nits also get a special fuel tank that is designed to activate the Marklin action tracks (small switches in the middle of the track). There will be no noticeable difference in the fuel tanks unless you turn the locomotive upside down.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 19, 2014 18:24:03 GMT -5
How about this? MTL's model will never come back and the GP35 was one of the most popular ever. Since you guys have done all the work with the modular chassis it's more or less a matter of the shell. Hmmm.... Interesting idea!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 14, 2014 13:16:30 GMT -5
Can you give us the AZL product numbers for the SD70s? The SD70 was made with 2 completely different mechanisms. Once we know which one you own it will make diagnosis possible.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 13, 2014 10:16:58 GMT -5
and we thank you for your support!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 12, 2014 9:40:23 GMT -5
Never... ... ..! Are there plans for an injection SP Mikado? After purchasing the SP Sunset Limited heavyweight set that are of the vintage of the 30's and 40's they are screaming for steam. Mark Yes, there are plans for SP Mikado in the next run (sometime late next year) If you don't want to wait, SP AC-12 also pulled the Sunset, and we have those in stock. Mark, Welcome to the group. As I recall, SP didn't have any of the USRA Mikados. I think SP used mostly 2-8-0s (sorry not in Z) or the cab forward (still some available last I looked) for the passenger service. Mark Apparently, Hans found some photos of an SP Mikado, so that will be the basis of our SP Mikado project.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 11, 2014 19:16:58 GMT -5
Rob, I just recently entered the world of Z (takes much less acreage than G-scale) and have missed a very desirable release of a brass steam locomotive; the SP GS3 and GS4! Is it possible for one to special order one of these machines? Mark Hi Mark, Sad to say but we are sold out of the GS3/4, and we are not planing another production run.
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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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Tap Tap
Sept 8, 2014 6:04:15 GMT -5
Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 8, 2014 6:04:15 GMT -5
Problems with your locomotive?
In my experience, I would check things in the following order: 1) Clean your track. Take a paper towel and rub it down the rails with your finger. See anything? 2) Clean your locomotive's wheels. Rub that same paper towel on the part of the wheels that touch the rail. See any dirt on the paper towel? 3) Check the PCB board. Is it seated properly? That needs to be connected for electricity to reach the motor. 4) Check the gears and axles - any small carpet fibers or lose bit of scenery fouling your trucks? I have seen carpet fibers wrap themselves very tightly around the axles to the degree that they were difficult to see with the naked eye. 5) Check the wheel wipers and phosphor bronze tabs that provide power from the trucks to the frame. Again, dirt is usually the culprit here. 6) Suspect the motor last. It is sealed unit that if operates when powered directly (8 volts directly to the motor tabs with the locomotive off the track) then is is highly unlikely to have some internal issue.
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Tap Tap
Sept 7, 2014 11:28:36 GMT -5
Post by Rob Albritton on Sept 7, 2014 11:28:36 GMT -5
Happens to me when my track is dirty. Same thing in N scale.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 31, 2014 14:30:32 GMT -5
On a Danish forum someone told me: 1. Z scale is difficult to run in DCC. Ask the person if N scale is difficult with DCC, because it is exactly the same with Z scale. Drop in decoder available from Digitrax for AZL, MTL and Marklin Z scale locomotives. Everything else is the same as N scale settings. 2. Locomotives not able to pull anything. Obviously a stupid comment. Perhaps you should show them this Youtube video? I think this is about 60 cars... (watch the upper left corner to see things start to move after about 30 seconds of video) Again, a stupid comment. Here is another video of 15 minutes of Z scale action. We run trains at shows for hours and hours on end with no derailments or problems beyond any other scale. In fact, we are more reliable than the HO and N scale clubs we set up next to - they seem to have constant problems! 4. Locomotives extremely sensitive to dirt on tracks. Yes, this is *SLIGHTLY* more true in Z scale. But Extremely sensitive is an overstatement. With any model train, you will need to keep your tracks clean. I find N scale and Z scale to be the same in regards to dirt on the tracks. 5. Turnouts constantly burn magnets (I have no idea what he means) This comment explains the people who are writing. The old Marklin turnouts did have a problem with magnets over heating and burning out. This was something like 30 years ago! They were designed to apply AC power for just a moment to quickly pulse the switch and throw the points. Some crazy people hard wired switches that would stay on all the time (not a momentary contact switch) and that would leave power to the solenoid, and burn out the magnet. What this tells me is your Danish friends on the net have not tried anything except Marklin Z scale in a very long time, and they really didn't know what they were doing (and they did not read the instructions either!) They probably destroyed their own set and decided that they would blame everything in Z scale rather than themselves. (I'm also sure they told all their friends about how awful Z scale is too!) This reminds me of a 4 year old child who smashes his toy and then complains about how it is broken. I was just about to begin making some heavy investments but then I almost changed my mind. Give Z scale a try. I think you will really like it. I still want to run Z scale but this hate campaign agaist Z scale that I see on Danish forums scares me a lot. Can I please have som comments on the above issues ? Thanks again. Kind regards Kim I think that people are afraid of things they do not understand. It is true - Z scale had some issues when it was first introduced. We called that the 1970s. N scale had similar growing pains. We called that the 1960s. Things have changed in Z scale since the 1970s! It is now very reliable, more economic, and with a huge selection of locomotives and cars. In fact, it is probably the third best selection after HO and N scale, and honestly, not much is "missing" from the line up. Some people who are ignorant are going to hate Z scale. There is nothing anyone can do to help them. They are stuck in their own little world. On the other hand, I find most people who like Z scale are more friendly and willing to help instead of just complaining all the time. Best, -Robert
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 31, 2014 13:43:23 GMT -5
I was wondering if something else might be in the works for C&O? Nothing planned for 2014 or 2015.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 30, 2014 11:10:41 GMT -5
Normally, I like Rob Kluz's photographs, but in this case....
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