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Post by domi on Feb 3, 2024 15:37:58 GMT -5
No. It’s beaujolais to describe one or an entity as bourgeois. … Wait uh minute. … Lemme get back to you on this. They put Bordelaise in Bolognese while I wuz dinkin’ burgundy. And if we’re that kind of Americans, what kind of Americans are the BAZ BoyZ? (Gotta be somethin’ admirable ’cause I really dig BAZ BoyZ convention vids and the lesson on wireframe evergreen tree-making.) Scott Beaujolais is interresting but I prefer the wine.  Dom |
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Post by domi on Feb 3, 2024 15:58:32 GMT -5
BTW, I'm not sure I'm going to purchase one of these jewels at the time beeing, but anyway I want to congratulate AZL, these units seem really awesome !
Dom
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Post by Rob Albritton on Feb 3, 2024 16:37:53 GMT -5
BTW, I'm not sure I'm going to purchase one of these jewels at the time beeing, but anyway I want to congratulate AZL, these units seem really awesome ! Dom And we Thank You very much! |
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Post by Scott on Feb 3, 2024 18:18:11 GMT -5
BTW, I'm not sure I'm going to purchase one of these jewels at the time beeing, but anyway I want to congratulate AZL, these units seem really awesome ! Dom And we Thank You very much! I am mentally prepaid … Au contraire, Monsieur Domi, comme poir moi, I am going to purchase more than one of these jewels (SD40-2s). Regrettably, I should have saluted Hans, AZL, et al, upon their rollout (Pun?). I feel natural succession standing on the shoulders of previous successes. Hans, in particular, I sense, put a lot of love into them. Indeed, awesome! Mentally prepaid, Scott |
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Post by ptitrainrouge on Feb 5, 2024 7:31:56 GMT -5
finally SHE has arrived
and it is far better in person than on pictures yes it is a jewel
now waiting for her sisters and DECODERS
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Post by DAZed on Feb 5, 2024 7:51:47 GMT -5
Man, that looks great on your layout.
Yes, getting decoders will be a key next step. I wonder if Digitrax and/or TCS is as excited about the "unique decoders for every single new loco is no big deal" idea as AZL thinks they are. I think not...probably excited in a bad way. Hence crickets when the locos show up. Thank goodness for Alex...we still wouldn't have a decoder for the SW1500 otherwise.
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Post by csxjoe on Feb 5, 2024 20:43:40 GMT -5
Has anyone else experienced any performance issues with the new AZL SD40-2's in general or specifically the new AZL CSX SD40-2's? The reason I ask is because I have close to 50 Z scale locomotives, many of which are AZL, a variety of 4 and 6 axle locos, and I’m running into a lot of performance issues with the 4 new CSX SD40-2’s I just purchased (2 of each of the blue roof units and 2 of the white roof units). I’ve collected model trains for close to 40 years and have collected Z for nearly 25 years so I’m familiar with the “break in” period of new locomotives, the importance of clean track, etc. DC power source is used for these locos. My layout is an L scale layout about 6'x4' in size and all MTL track. Of the 4 CSX SD40's I just purchased, 2 stop sporadically at multiple locations on the layout and one of them stops and hums like it's trying to move but won't move at all unless I push it to get it started again. The lights on these two also flicker a good bit like they're not getting good electrical contact. I checked the brass wipers that touch the trucks as suggested by the seller to make sure they are all touching the contacts on the trucks and all seems to be good there. The other 2 locos run fairly decent but occasionally have the same issues as the 2 more troublesome locos but are really poor performers when pulling more than 6 cars which causes them to stall and stop. I thought maybe the track was possibly the issue, but before and after cleaning the track all other locos I have run fine, but these 4 new ones I just purchased still have the same issues as described above. I ran these just like any other new locos I get, which is at a slow speed for about 10-15 minutes and then gradually increase the speed, ran them separately, together, etc., but nothing has helped performance. I measured the distance between the wheels thinking maybe the gap was too wide and causing stalling issues, but they all seem to measure very close if not the same as all my other locomotives. I also have large radius track on my layout which easily accommodates 6 axle locomotives and again, no issues with any of my other locos. Stalling issues occur on both straight and curve sections and is sporadic. Would like to know if anyone else is running into similar issues and if so were you able to resolve the issues?
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Post by ednadolski on Feb 5, 2024 21:15:56 GMT -5
I don't have any of these, but I'm wondering if it is hard to get the shell off? Perhaps re-seating the circuit board, and/or cleaning the PB contact strips would help?
Ed
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Post by bloodynose on Feb 5, 2024 21:20:44 GMT -5
Has anyone else experienced any performance issues with the new AZL SD40-2's in general... When I received my new SP SD40T-2s they were both running erratically, noisy, and derailing in the curves of my figure 8 test track (220mm Rokuhan curves). One was worse than the other. As I looked closer I noticed that the front truck was slightly rubbing and catching on the steps, also I noticed that the front coupler was sticking out farther than the rear coupler. It turned out the shell(s) were sitting back a little on the chassis(s). All it took was to apply a small amount of pressure to slide the shell forward and there was an audible click of the shell going back into place. They both run fine, actually great now! Not sure how this happened... there was [no] evidence of shipping damage or miss handling. |
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Post by ztrack on Feb 6, 2024 8:39:02 GMT -5
Good callout on the chassis slide. We see this is test running. It is such a tiny shift, but ti makes a huge difference.
What track are you using? Are the locos stalling in the same spots each time? HAs the track been cleared with a soft cloth and rubbing alcohol lately?
There may be slight deviations in the track that the SD40s are more sensitive to. If it is happening each time in the same spot, really examine the spot. More often, it is a vertical deviation that causes the issue. So a dip or slight flexing in the track. Shims may be your friend in this case. I test with a piece of cardstock in spots like this. Sometime just one piece of cardstock can make the difference.
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Post by stevew on Feb 6, 2024 16:40:29 GMT -5
I received my SP SD40T-2s. Thank you Rob and Hans, they are absolutely amazing! They run and look great. Between these and the regular SD40-2s I'm a very happy camper! (BTW mine are negotiating 195mm and 220mm without a hiccup). Steve W Attachments:
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Post by cwrr on Feb 6, 2024 19:26:35 GMT -5
That's a great pic Steve!
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Post by ztrack on Feb 6, 2024 19:46:10 GMT -5
That's a great pic Steve! I agree!!! Check out the SP light package on the back of the one loco! |
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Post by csxjoe on Feb 6, 2024 20:26:07 GMT -5
Thanks to everyone for the responses and ideas. The shell is easy to remove in my opinion and I did remove the shell from the worst performing loco as my first thought was that the circuit board was loose, but it's secured with 4 screws to the chassis and the one I inspected looked to be fastened down well. All my shells appear to be set correctly. The one shell I removed did click back into place easily. I use thin strips of balsa wood, about the width of the track, covered lightly with 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean all the track and I just cleaned it again when having issues with these locos and all appears to be good and clean as all of my other locomotives run fine. As noted in my original post, I use Micro Trains (MTL) track, the type with roadbed. Stalls occasionally occur in the same spots of the track, but more often than not, they stall in various places, straights and curves, makes no difference. Running them in reverse yields even worse results with at least 2 of them stalling and humming like the motor is still trying to turn but is experiencing some sort of issue/interference preventing it from fully rotating and moving the locomotive. I also shim my track with very thin pieces of cardboard/cardstock, especially in my curves to get superelevated curves. I removed those shims, and also added shims in areas where stalling occurred in the event the track was not 100% even, and I put a level on it to ensure it was level, and that also resulted in no noticeable difference in performance. I'm definitely puzzled as to what the issue is as I've never had issues like this before, especially with multiples of new locomotives and all my other locomotives which are mainly AZL and MTL all run fine.
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Post by louiez on Feb 7, 2024 0:27:26 GMT -5
Thanks to everyone for the responses and ideas. The shell is easy to remove in my opinion and I did remove the shell from the worst performing loco as my first thought was that the circuit board was loose, but it's secured with 4 screws to the chassis and the one I inspected looked to be fastened down well. All my shells appear to be set correctly. The one shell I removed did click back into place easily. I use thin strips of balsa wood, about the width of the track, covered lightly with 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean all the track and I just cleaned it again when having issues with these locos and all appears to be good and clean as all of my other locomotives run fine. As noted in my original post, I use Micro Trains (MTL) track, the type with roadbed. Stalls occasionally occur in the same spots of the track, but more often than not, they stall in various places, straights and curves, makes no difference. Running them in reverse yields even worse results with at least 2 of them stalling and humming like the motor is still trying to turn but is experiencing some sort of issue/interference preventing it from fully rotating and moving the locomotive. I also shim my track with very thin pieces of cardboard/cardstock, especially in my curves to get superelevated curves. I removed those shims, and also added shims in areas where stalling occurred in the event the track was not 100% even, and I put a level on it to ensure it was level, and that also resulted in no noticeable difference in performance. I'm definitely puzzled as to what the issue is as I've never had issues like this before, especially with multiples of new locomotives and all my other locomotives which are mainly AZL and MTL all run fine. Make sure the copper strips that run the length of the chassis are moving freely. I didn't have this issue with the SD40-2s but have run into it on a number of AZL locos where they rub on the shell or chassis making for poor contact. If they rub on the chassis then gently push the opposite end into the slot a very tiny bit. It should make the end that rubs move out slightly. If its rubbing on the shell then gently push that end in a little. You may have to go back and fourth a few times to get it right. Be very careful because if you bend the copper strips or damage them, then you may end up with an expensive paperweight. I have more than one of those. Too bad parts aren't available as they are in larger scales. Another issue may be that the solder joint for the motor wires are rubbing the flywheel. I've had to resolder more than one of those, especially in the E8s. |
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