atom3624 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 I'd mentioned in the 'on your workbench' thread I'd been fitting the detailing to the Dapol class 52. Whilst doing this I had the CavAlex class 56 hauling the 14 Bachmann bogie TEA oil tankers + 3 4-wheeled tankers - decent, but well maintained rake. I suddenly 'pinged' a small step I was locating in the 52, which could go anywhere, but strangely my eyes followed the step to the track - located!! I quickly had to reduce the 56 rail speed from ~60 mph scale to zero, but ended up reducing to ~21-22 on my Gaugemaster model D, when I recovered the step. I realised it wasn't down to zero, then looked again - despite the long, and heavyish train, it was crawling, smoothly passing each sleeper, ~one per second .... which it continued to do without any issues for a complete loop - absolutely fantastic!! These things perform as well as they look, which is superb! I tried similar with my smooth, fast Hornby SD class 56 - nearly but no cigar. My SD (super detailed) Hornby class 60 succeeded, but did increase / decrease a little more - extremely impressive - got to be one of Hornby's best. Quite fascinating to watch. I did post on the relevant RMWEB CavAlex thread and they say there's no risk to overheat / strain the motor as this was included in the design brief - perhaps ... but it was supremely impressive to see! Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 It is probably the "stay alive" in the Cavalex that is helping it. I fitted "stay alive" to my Hornby Jinty and was amazed by the effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 I have found with a PB fitted my locos will womble round my track, up hills and down dales on speed step 1, crossing express points without any problems. I now have to set aside time and effort to gather parts and make some stay lives for my TTS locos which are not as forgiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What About The Bee Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Hi Al This begs the question: How slow can the Cavalex go? Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 WATB TBH I don't think I have the patience! I could slow her to perhaps one Hornby track sleeper every 2 seconds, which she'd maintain. This really is one excellent locomotive!! The Hornby 60 runs it close I must say. There again, that new-to-me Dapol class 52 Western is pretty good too. Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 On a TT:120 08, I have speed step on down to glacial speed! It’s around 3 seconds per (TT sleeper) certainly decoder and stay alive really helps the motors run to their smooth potential. It’s amazing how far models have come over the years. 😁 well done on recovering the steps! Somewhere on High Fell there must be a hidden stash of lamps because they vanish never to be seen again! I think WHWW must employ borrowers to steal them in the tunnel…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What About The Bee Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 @RallymattThe maths tell me that is a scale 0.720km/hr. Sir! You do realize there is a speed restriction in place!?!?😉 ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ For those wishing to check my arithmetic 1.5mm sleeper + 3.5mm gap = 5mm edge to edge 5mm / 3sec elapsed time = 1.666 mm/sec 1.666 mm/sec × 120 tt = 199.999 mm/sec 199.999 mm/sec × 3600 sec/hr = 720,000 mm/hr 720 meters/hour 0.720 km/hr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Very impressive for the 08, 'though they are relatively low geared but very decent. That OO-Scale CavAlex 56 performed it's 'feat' around a 'full loop' of 12' x 5' without me touching the controller! That's what was more impressive for me. Al. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) I think the gearing helps a lot on the 08🤣. I did the speed test and its was 1/4 mph so the maths Bee did looks spot on. When they are good these models are amazing these days 😁 Edited March 25 by Rallymatt Spilling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 Well I've still got my Hornby EWS 60 048 hooked up to those bogie tanker wagons and slowed her down to 'Gaugemaster #22' setting - she was still just moving, and consistently ... The '60' was doing one Hornby sleeper per 20-25" smoothly without hiccup, intermittency or anything - super smooth, super crawl. I kept her going whilst searching my 'phone to film, and she was still progressing when I returned - don't have a cable at home to download and our company's network settings aren't permitting transfer anymore ... have to wait a while, but she continued moving for at least 5 minutes ... before the paint dried ( metaphorically speaking ) and I increased the throttle to a more-normal 40-45 which gives about that as mph scale speed. Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 'The Cloud' helped me out, so here's a small video of that Class 60 crawling. I counted based on watching the screen on my 'phone whilst filming - 20" in-between Hornby branded track!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What About The Bee Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Hi Atom Stellar! Just leaning in. What is your dimension, leading sleeper edge to leading sleep edge, for the 20 second elapsed time? Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 WatB - certainly was wasn't it? !! I tried an excellent-running Hornby 56 - too-high geared - it was surging. I tried a Bachmann class 70 - wasn't consistent, but could get close. Apart from running that Superb CavAlex class 56 again, only the H4-66 class 66 I have can perform similarly, perhaps even slower, but I'm not going there. The original performer, the Hornby class 60 was and still is an incredible performer. I actually hadn't used her that much through the coupling pulling off the leading bogies of some trucks on occasion - resolved with the help of some Pb in the truck. Dimension: Only approximately as too tight for my callipers. Looking at the steel rule I have it's ~3.5mm in 20 seconds. (3.5 x 3 x 76.2 x 60) / (25.4 x 12 x 5280) = 48,006 / 1,609,344 = 0.03 mph !! (mm full scale per minute, then x60 for 'per hour' divided by 33 --> inches x12 for feet, x5,280 for miles) I think that's right - amazed I could detect it - but we all can see it, just! Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I watched the video again - there's an error. It's ~5mm it travels when I count to 20, not 3.5mm, approximately. Replacing the 3.5 with 5mm I now get 'just under' 0.05 mph, or less than 0.1 km/h. I've kept it 'vague' as they're not precise measurements. Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 Definitely need to go to Specsavers!! Just over 6mm in 20". Recalculated is still very slow! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What About The Bee Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Atom! Sir! There is a speed restriction on that block! The Tower would appreciate you observing it 😁 If you want better resolution, get the elapsed time over many ties. For example, 10 ties and the elapsed time for that. Easier to measure 10 than 1, any error is minimized. Then simply divide the distance and time by 10. Bee ÷÷÷÷÷ the arithmetic: 6.5 mm in 20 seconds = 0.325 mm/sec 0.325 mm/sec × 76.2 OO scale = 24.765 mm/sec 24.765 mm/sec × 3600 sec/hr = 89,154 mm/hr =89.154 meters/hour =0.089 km/hr Wow! As a point of reference, walking speed is 3 mph or 4.8 km/hr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 Same result. Got to keep it approx., and agree, easier to measure over multiple sleepers / ties. Don't think 'we modellers' could ask any more from the suppliers - very impressive that I had to 'up the ante' to a Hattons class 66 to equal it - shows what an excellent job Hornby did with the class 60, speed moderation included. Al. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 All impressive however it’s measured 🤣 A slight side thought; Scale Time. I remember asking my maths teacher about it when I did my O levels. The actual maths is simple but the relevance is an interesting one. I think some modellers do use a reduced time in operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Same thing goes for motion, you cannot scale down motion of some things such as water and vehicles, they operate in real time which is why carriages rocking back and forth thru' points looks wrong as does a waterfall. They should run much slower at divided by scale speed, as if in slo-mo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Exactly! Imagine leaving a train running for several hours at a time? Oh, I did do with that class 60! I'll normally run whilst I'm in the garage, tinkering with something else. Sometimes there might be a locomotive I'm trying to get to run more smoothly, so may run for a while. Other times, tbh, a locomotive has surprised me, performing miles better than anticipated, so I'll leave her on the tracks .... like that class 60. Favourites of mine are Hornby or Bachmann super detailed 08 shunters I've left running for hours on end! In reality they're probably the most frequently operated but over the shortest distances before being assigned totally different tasks. If I've a higher speed / power setting train, I won't leave running for long - got the t-shirt on that (too many motors I've changed - just part of the hobby I guess!!). Also if it's higher speed, I'll like to be present as a 'minor derailment' can quickly become a very major one!! Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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