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Post by bloodynose on Sept 22, 2014 23:52:21 GMT -5
Hello Rob,
My dealer got in touch with me and I put it in the mail today. I am not a very critical person and really would rather not have to deal with returning something but after trying to do to much with the one GP38 and after reaching that point of no return because I "thought" I could fix it! I realized that I need to recognize when something is beyond my ability and maybe I need to deal with doing the return. I have about 20 AZL locomotives now and I have had to remove the skin and reset the board once or twice but when the tabs that hold the board in place break off one needs to stop and call the Doc before it slips out of your hands and hits the floor. I recognized in this case with this SD70 that I probably could not do anything for it without replacement parts at my disposal and the experience to understand what is wrong with it, in the end I would have taken my attempt to "fix" it beyond that point of no return.
Thanks for your support, Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 22, 2014 23:17:34 GMT -5
Rob,
I received my AC-12 a couple days ago and at first I could only look at it by removing the cover of the jewel case and admiring the very intricate detail for fear that I would break something removing it from the case. I finally got brave enough to take it out and put it on the tracks to test it out. I am very impressed by its weight and fine detail! There is no way I could build something like this even from a kit. It works great and negotiates the 220mm R curves just fine (a little rough at first but I expected that), it's amazing of how much that boiler swings on the curves. After a few times around the track I added a few SP Pullman heavyweights and boy does it look good. After doing some research I found that it was quite common to see one of SP's passenger lines behind one of these beasts but mostly in the 40's so prototypically the Sunset Limited set that I have would more than likely be pulled by a 2-10-2, 4-8-2 Mountain, or [maybe] a Mike (rare but possible). But anyways I am very happy that I took your advice and bought one of these before they were no longer available, now that I have had it in my grubby hands I can see why one would cost this much. I am curious though and noticed in the images on AZL's website before I ordered it of why it does not have "Southern Pacific" on the sides and back of the tender? I did get #4294, the last of the last of the last! What is the best lubricant to use on the side rods? I was thinking of putting a very small amount of a dry Teflon type lube on them so it wouldn't attract dust.
Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 17, 2014 22:56:03 GMT -5
I am starting to doubt my venture into Z-scale! Would you tell me what my expectations should be for an expensive brass locomotive since I have recently ordered one? A Rolex watch will cost the same but is not only hand crafted but also guaranteed to keep perfect time!
Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 16, 2014 23:22:42 GMT -5
I want to chime in on this subject because I have recently spent about a $1000 on 6 SD70s of different road names the latest being UP flag ships the day they were released. I wasn't able to check them out the day they arrived because we had family visiting that included small children. About a week after I received them I finally set up brand new track just to make sure that they worked and 2 of the 3 that I received in this shipment were ok (a little noisy but would probably clean up after break in) but 1 had issues when I got it out of the case. The right side brass side cover was not attached and the hand railing was not as "straight" as one would expect. I decided to at least put on the rails and see how it ran... It would bind up and slow down on a right hand curve (all curves on this test track are Rokuhan 220mm radius) and sort of smooth out on the strait. It went around the left hand curve a little smoother but would still bind some. I am not at all happy with this locomotive and have contacted my dealer for replacement but have not heard anything as of yet. There are those that believe they should take a defective loco and take it apart and attempt to fix it, I tried that a couple months ago with a GP38-2 that was dead on arrival and ended up destroying it (can't return it after that). This time I would like to see some good old fashioned "standing up behind our product" and have this made right without it costing me a bunch of money for something that should be working out of the box.
Best regards, Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 13, 2014 0:37:43 GMT -5
I hope you all are happy! I just spent nearly $1300 ordering the ugly duckling! Actually I have been toying with getting one of these very unique loco designs because they were almost exclusively used by SP. I needed to make sure that the GS3/4 (my first choice in brass) was not going to become available after I've spent this decades allowance. I just hope that I will not be disappointed, I normally like to hold it in my grubby hands before I spend that much money. The only problem is that the AC12 went into service after most of the Pullman cars included in the AZL "Sunset Limited" set were removed from SP lines service (from what I have read).
Rob, Thanks for letting us know that there is a SP Mikado in the pipeline, I will be anticipating its arrival.
Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 11, 2014 23:36:46 GMT -5
Mark, There is a place in my heart for SP as I have lived in southern AZ all of my life and to me it was a sad day when UP consumed SP. This link has a photo of the Sunset Limited at the Cienega Creek crossing (I live just a few miles from this bridge) and it is probably not a Mikado pulling but I think one could overlook that in a diorama. Mark azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/phfbtt/id/287/rec/23
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 11, 2014 22:33:10 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
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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 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 0:17:26 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
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 9, 2014 23:33:08 GMT -5
Hey Rob,
Is it possibly that we will see another release of the SP GS3 or GS4 sometime soon? It would be nice to have a Mikado with Southern Pacific on it in the mean time...
Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Sept 9, 2014 23:19:21 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
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Post by bloodynose on Aug 15, 2014 23:43:42 GMT -5
Bob
I have RC-01 and RC-03 controllers which have 2 turnout switches built in but they also have the expansion connections on the left side of the housing as does the RC-02 and I also have a C002 switch and all work very well. When checking the voltage at those terminals on the left side with the power switch on I get 12.1 volts with AC adapter and 12.6 volts with fresh batteries. You might check the voltage there to rule out a bad connection problem.
Mark
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Post by bloodynose on Aug 12, 2014 23:24:17 GMT -5
I just recently entered the world of Z scale railroading purchasing several AZL and MTL locomotives with a lot of running stock. After researching the track and controller manufacturers I chose to go with Rokuhan. Will I be safe with the max speed setting of these controllers? I have been able to run 6, 7, maybe more locos at a time without the built in breaker tripping.
Thanks for any opinion, BloodyNose
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