If the locos go threw one switch OK and not the other that should tell you the problem is with the switch.
Installing a decoder will allow me to explore the speed range and to see how well the locomotives are speed matched. In DC mode on DCC the locomotive had a top speed of about 30 mph and it drew about 0.75 amp not moving and about 0.5 amp otherwise. I need to further explore why the locomotive shorts out on the double crossover. I have run dozens of different locomotives through this track in the past 3 years and none shorted. I have had locomotive wheels gauged too close short out going through the closing rails of a switch. Setting the wheels to correct gauge and sometimes slightly bending the closing rails fixes the shorts. I figure this shorting is just Murphy messing with me. Be that as it may. More homework.
Well... from what I've read so far... it appears that Arnold/Hornby has put out a pretty good initial model for their re-entry into N scale. Perhaps we will see more of these less common models coming from them in the future. Lets keep discussing the pros and cons of the model to confirm the value of paying essentially 20%-30% more than other typical N scale diesel models currently being produced by other manufacturers. Pros... Easy DCC install using an 8 pin connector. Cons... Not so easy to remove the shell... removal of couplers necessary. Pros... Heavy frame for better traction to pull longer consists. Cons... Has a traction tire (traction ring) which may be overkill for this heavy model. Anything else???
The U25C uses the 6 Pin NEM 651 type plug, example - Digitrax DZ126IN. I like the way the shell comes off, IMO it's easy and you don't have to worry about breaking something. Not real heavy I get, 3.7 oz. compared to a Atlas 628 at 3.0 oz. Traction rings, that's the only thing I don't like, I don't need them, 1% grade, but someone with a 2.5% grade should really like them. IMO Arnold did a great job with this model, I'm sure if it sells well they will continue to improve and make some more great models down the road. Even though the railroads I model didn't own any I still supported the hobby by purchasing three.
Same here, especially the couplers. Thinking out loud...... wonder if they will sell the couplers separately. Thanks, Wolf
The couple is the same as a MT 1015, same design, the box might be a little thinner? If so the MT couple should still fit in the MT box. That's just a guess by looking at them, I was in to big of a hurry to run the loco on DCC. When I received my first loco I thought there were MT couplers.
OK guys. Now you've got me wondering how hard it would be to do a sound installation in one of these. I don't need a U25C; never used on the NKP (they did test a U25B, though). But I like tinkering with this stuff . . . and with a LokSound, you could separately control the numberboard lights. Uh-oh . . . I need to quit thinking about this . . . John C.
I agree with Mark's observation regarding the handrails. While debugging why the locomotive shorts going through a double crossover I dislodged about a dozen. That's when I decided to take the shell off until I get the issue solved. Like the prototype railroads, this locomotive needs to be placed on the track and then left there. When you pick it up watch out. I haven't done any permanent damage fortunately.
For anyone interested, the Digitrax DZ146IN fits the 6 pin plug and has wires for two additional functions.
Excellent article, Mark! Arnorld really set the bar high--the knuckle couplers look fantastic! How do they compare to MT 1015's, size-wise? They look more to scale. One comment about the handrails--are not Intermountain's handrails (at least on SD45-2 and SD40T-2 units) the same tricky-to-handle design? I know for a fact, that when I have to handle my Tunnel Motors, I have to be very cautious. You cannot just pick up with the DB blister (as on older Kato SD40s) as I'm used to. The shells is very loosely situated on the IM units, so you must pick up gently by the fuel tank as well, just like the U25Cs it seems.
As noted in my review, these new couplers are a bit smaller than MT's (more like Accumates insofar as the grabby parts have a smaller vertical profile than MT's). The shell is screwed to the chassis, so you should be able to pick it up from the top without having to worry about anything falling apart. Of course, if you have big, clumsy sausage fingers like I do you're still going to knock stanchions loose no matter where you grab it from One other thing - be very very careful when removing the couplers (and then putting them back in). God help you if you accidentally dislodge one of those flimsy little cut-lever details pieces, because in all the universe there aren't tweezers fine enough, eyes sharp enough, nor hands steady enough to get those bleeping things plugged back in! Cheers, -Mark
Nice writeup Mark. A small quibble is your reference to "code 55 track" and the low profile wheels not being a problem. It isn't "code 55 track" that has problems with pizza cutter wheels and flanges that aren't real low-pros...it's Atlas Code 55 track that has the problem. Two other brands, Peco and Micro Engineering don't have a problem with even pizza cutter flanges, so two out of three brands of code 55 track are flange interference-free. The couplers supplied with the model are a design by Charlie Vlk, and are supposed to be much closer to a scaled-down real coupler in proportion and appearance than anything offered in N-scale before. They also have prototype detailing and (we all hope) eliminate the "slinky effect" that annoys most N-scalers who have been running MT couplers for decades. The inclusion of a miniscule centering spring is not good news and may be a portent of not taking care of the the slinky effect. Truthfully, the couplers deserve their own separate writeup. Guess we'll have to wait and see if Arnold/Hornby offers them separately...which I hope they do...before a valid writeup of how they perform on rolling stock would be possible. Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
