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Post by mgwsy on Feb 6, 2014 11:07:45 GMT -5
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 6, 2014 17:16:52 GMT -5
Nice looking,had expected the use of a PDT type power truck,that drive should work well  I don't remember the underframe color as grey,mostly dirty black/brown from road grime. Did you do a test run yet?? |
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Post by acelaphillies on Feb 6, 2014 17:32:06 GMT -5
Great pictures, thanks for sharing! I appreciate all of the pictures so we can get a good overview of the car. I think the fact that the end separates from the carbody sets up well for a cab car version later on down the road.
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Post by gmpullman on Feb 10, 2014 2:51:36 GMT -5
Thanks for posting all the detailed pics!
I opted for the PRR set and overall I am happy with my decision. I did have a chance to run the cars for a few minutes. I programmed them using decoder pro using the Tsunami> Walthers OEM> E-8 settings. I don't know if anyone has a current Decoder Pro definition for these cars yet but the Tsunami Walthers E-8 seems to work to program the engine number and of course, you have to change the ndot, or direction of travel, on two of the units to get them to run back-to-back.
One thing that I have noticed is that the interior lights will turn off if the track power is interrupted even briefly. When running my four car set the interior lights will be on or off randomly if there is any power interruption. The number boards seem to be extremely bright and we all seem to be in agreement that the headlight and Gyralight has a color temperature closer to the B&O's Lunar White signal color!
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 10, 2014 15:15:01 GMT -5
GMP,we have a link in the referece resources thread to get the latest version of Decoder Pro 3,
when you do an update to the latest version,all of your rosters will move to the new version.
It helps to get the latest version of Java,there's a link in the same thread.
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Post by antoniofp45 on Feb 11, 2014 6:06:42 GMT -5
Mgswy,
Thanks very much for posting these excellent photos! I was wondering if disassembling these units was challenging. I had considered purchasing a few units and refinishing them into the Penn Central scheme. But realized that with the complex body detailing, it might be more trouble than its worth.
Apparently Walthers felt that "Penn Central" versions wouldn't sell inspite of the fact that the Metroliners went into service under the Penn Central banner and that a good number of the units remained in their PC scheme well into the late 70s.
The Pennsy versions would have been perfect for those of us that wanted these in PC since it would have been a simple matter of removing the Keystone decals and replacing them with the PC worms. But Walthers decides to sell the Pennsy version in $1100+ sets of four. So, it's lose-lose for PC modelers as well as for those of us with extremely limited hobby dollars.
Ok, end of rant.
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 11, 2014 17:18:32 GMT -5
Antonio, If the PRR limited run sells out,Walters might consider a PC limited run in the future,
the same could said about the rebuilds with the roof blister.
The factories in China are now raising their prices to retain their workforce,and to keep up with
their "Inflation" rate.
Raw material costs have gone up as well,along with transportation,Customs Broker Fees,and space on
the Container Ships is becoming some what limited at times.
Most of modeling community is unhappy about "Limited Runs" to begin with, there might be some
manufacturing returning to Mexico or stateside from China as the $$$ goes up.
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Post by antoniofp45 on Feb 15, 2014 20:20:33 GMT -5
Thanks for responding.
I realize I was commenting out of frustration and have to remember that things have changed radically for manufacturers in this and other hobbies.
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 17, 2014 18:34:45 GMT -5
When Sader-Kahn became Bachmann's "private" factory(Bachmann UK,Europe)that knocked out a lot of the smaller
non-Bachmann companies.
Athearn,Walters,and Atlas lost their orignal factories to various reasons(Bankruptcy,shutdown,lost interest in
the product). 1 lession learned was to have reps in China to keep an eye on things there.
The other is to retain control over molds,dies,and tooling.
Walters,had the smoothest swap between Factories running the Passenger car models,a simple case sending the
molds and dies to the new,Athearn RTR(Blue Box) almost lost everything,the molds were considered property
of a bankrupt factory(court case). There was finshed product in the warehouse,sized by the Chinese Government,
for settling the bankruptcy.
Atlas retained control over the tooling,but,wound up having to rebuild the entire production line at the factory
that does the O scale track line.
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Post by antoniofp45 on Feb 17, 2014 19:31:20 GMT -5
Wow! Our hobby manufacturers really did get blind-sided. Saddening as it would seem that, other than Bachmann's executives, there were no winners in this situation.
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Post by gmpullman on Feb 18, 2014 4:43:27 GMT -5
Does anyone have the Sound Equipped Metroliners? When my four car Pennsy set arrived I was anxious to unbox them and set them up for a quick tryout. Now I have returned to the paperwork that was included with each car, an exploded view diagram and basic instructions; the standard "parts missing?" slip Walthers puts in every box and a little note about cars being set up for cab forward running so you have to reverse two if you want back-to-back.
SO the main instruction sheet refers to the included Soundtraxx programming and function instruction page... THIS I do not have. I didn't have time to email Walthers and they don't seem to have a .pdf of this sheet on their website.
I just wondered if anyone else with a sound unit is missing this sheet as well?
I'll let you know what Walthers says when I contact them.
Thanks, Ed
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 18, 2014 14:30:23 GMT -5
GMP,The normal direction of travel(NDOT) is set by CV29, for a 2 digit(up to 123)is 06(decimal)(the normal default setting) reverse is set as 07(decimal),that also reverses the lights as well. For 4 digit adresses,CV29 is set at 38(decimal) for front 1st or set at 39(decimal)for reverse mode,lights will reverse as well Take a look at http:// www.soundtraxx.com you should be able to download pdf files of their manuals from their site. |
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Post by gmpullman on Feb 19, 2014 10:15:32 GMT -5
I got a reply within a few hours from Walthers with the document that I was looking for. For $1,200 you think they would make sure all the documentation was in the box? Mainly I wanted the function map. I had previously set the road numbers and NDOT using a SPROGII and Decoder pro settings for a Tsunami Proto E-8. (stab in the dark but it worked) Maybe the v. 3.6 Decoderpro has the Metroliner definition but as far as programming, I'm done (maybe I'll play with momentum settings.) I attached the file here... hope it worked  Thanks, Ed  |
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Post by backshophoss on Feb 20, 2014 14:24:37 GMT -5
GMP,That file made it fine,glad you were able to get the changes you needed done. Still recondmend you download the soundtraxx decoder manual from their site for reference. I maintain decoder manuals for all the decoders in my fleet,for reference. JMRI tends to update around August-September timeframe,best bet is check around that time. Use the link from the Reference Resources thread. |
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cab4
Member
Posts: 149
Primary Railroads: Conrail, NJ DOT, Amtrak, SEPTA, NJT
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Post by cab4 on Mar 21, 2014 22:22:50 GMT -5
Great pictures, thanks for sharing! I appreciate all of the pictures so we can get a good overview of the car. I think the fact that the end separates from the carbody sets up well for a cab car version later on down the road. On its maiden run, my 861 Snack bar coach (on the rear of the train) derailed, and a passing train snagged one of the grab irons, and literally pulled the face right off the model! Fortunately, the shell is designed this way, and no obvious damage was spotted. I just snapped it back together! |
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