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Post by domi on Jul 16, 2014 11:12:48 GMT -5
Any plan to add pilots and pilot mounted couplers?
Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 15, 2014 22:03:44 GMT -5
... And for the undecs!
Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 15, 2014 21:55:33 GMT -5
Hi John, indeed I wasn't aware of this system. Didn't notice it in FT´s website. Will check that out. Many thanks! Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 15, 2014 13:00:46 GMT -5
Looks like there is a market out there for track. Just sayin... I think so. Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 15, 2014 12:59:32 GMT -5
Dom, Although an expense, I've found that a 100W resistance soldering unit with the tweezer handpiece both speeds up the process and results in cleaner rail-to-tie joints. John Thank you John. But FT recommands a small 35W iron for Z, and even with this, soldering is a quick process for me. Oddly what is rather long for me is cutting the PCB ties at a fair lenght and filing a notch into them in order to create an electrical gap... Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 14, 2014 22:58:29 GMT -5
As Mark pointed out theirs not many options for American tie spacing. As you've found out MTL Switches aren't the best. Wright turnouts were pretty good but I believe he went out of business a few years back. You may get lucky and find one or two of his turnouts on eBay but I wouldn't count on it. Rokuhan and Marklin seam to be more reliable but not American prototype. If you really want American prototypical tie spacing Fast Tracks system (Hand laying/building your own) is probably your best bet. David Infortunately the above statement summarizes all by itself. Myself I tried several brands and I came to the conclusion that right now, nothing else than Fast Tracks fits for me: -Wright: the best in my opinion. My current small layout consists of MTL flex and Wright turnouts with US style tie spacing. These turnouts work and visually fit all perfectly. But as Tjdreams points it, these are no more available as Peter Wright gave up his business for health reasons. I wish I had ordered 40 of them for my future layout when they were available... -MTL: I've been mostly disappointed with them: no derailments, only jerky motion on them, but almost worse, stalls due to bad contacts on some of these (I'm definitly in the very low speed operations, as I'm interrested above all with switching). Furthermore, ugly side mechanism for those which are remotely controlled. No more an option for me. -Marklin: not an option for me. Weird, not to say ugly look from another era. Insulated frog leading to stalls, for me not an option neither... -Rokuhan: I don't appreciate too much their look. In my opinion their tie spacing is too wide. Furthermore I don't appreciate that much their plastic roadbed (like MTL's indeed). But it looks like they work perfectly as far as I'm reading about them here and there. -Fast Tracks: perfect looking. US tie spacing. Electrofrog. But I'm not able to take less then ~4 hours to build one (FT states 45' for an experienced modelrailroader). Already 7 built, I'm needing 35 more or so of them for my future layout... True, in my opinion the next revolution in Z scale won't be a $200 DCC ready Big Boy or Y6b, but only a simple, fine looking, with no plastic roadbed, with no side mechanism, power routing reliable RTR turnout... Such as what manufacturers like Peco, Micro Engineering or Shinohara release for all other scales. Only what Wright made, indeed.... Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 14, 2014 16:51:56 GMT -5
I'm a fan of F-Units but mostly a modern era modelrailroader.
Like for every new model I've the same question: does AZL considers releasing undec samples in order to allow modelling the few examples of F-Units that still run on some shortlines nowadays?
Dom
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Post by domi on Jul 14, 2014 16:45:25 GMT -5
Awesome level of details!
Dom
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Post by domi on Jun 18, 2014 18:01:37 GMT -5
The first release of the SD70/75 are known to be slow runners. They have double bearings on the trucks. The fix is to remove the inner bearing. I have 3 of them. They're really slow indeed, but excellent runners (and switchers ). I'm not sure that's what our friend argues against. Dom
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Post by domi on Jun 5, 2014 23:13:29 GMT -5
Wasn't even aware of Heritage BNSF GP9s! An interresting paintscheme whom I hope it will appear in the future. Dom
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Post by domi on Apr 19, 2014 15:43:19 GMT -5
Excellent news! Any undec GP9 forecast for the future?
Dom
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Post by domi on Apr 19, 2014 15:22:51 GMT -5
... I'm affraid it would be a complete new tooling for chassis and shell, as the prototype SD60 is ~1 foot shorter than its grandsister.
Dom
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Post by domi on Mar 23, 2014 4:35:58 GMT -5
Automax? Would be useful for me as well (including some with mexican roads markings, such as those who run to Merida, Yucatan). Dom
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Post by domi on Mar 23, 2014 4:28:51 GMT -5
Thanks for your data. Dom
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Post by domi on Mar 13, 2014 17:09:48 GMT -5
Is this shorline still operative?
Dom
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