DCC Sound, Getting you started
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Running in a new Loco
Hi All. I have been considering the purchase of a rolling road ever since I returned to the hobby in 2015. But I was advised against such a purchase . Now I have seen the “ O gauge Pannier Tank “ C/ o of Two Bolt, on YMRC, “ Strutting its Stuff?â€I thought if it is good enough for an O Gauge Pannier ? Then it will certainly work on my “ OO Pannier with Sound “Even my 08 diesel shunter . Any comments please, best wishes. Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Essential if you build or bash, especially for quartering steam locomotives or determining where a tight spot is with rods. Or where that wobble is coming from. Good to have anyway even if all your stock us RTR. Mine get used mostly for setting up DCC speed tables and sound volumes (main, bell, whistle, etc.).
Not sure about running in, if it is tight it was designed (or built) with improper tolerances. The only area I could determine that gets better is the brush-commutator, where the end of the brush may not be fully in contact or there is dust and crud after a lack of use. Bearings and gears wear out, not in. 3D printed gears seem to me have less than ideal surfaces as well.
Back in the day when the new car arrived there were strict instructions to drive gently and change the oil and filter after a thousand miles or so, mainly to get rid of all the metal that came off the cylinders and rings (Austin/Morris mini's excepted, the short blocks were run in at the factory). If model locomotives need running in should we strip them down, clean and relube after doing so?
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Ideal for burning off the crud. Set it running, put the kettle on, tea and a couple of digestives, put it in reverse, have another cup of tea. Only needs a foot or so of track.
Get one with angle support pieces rather than rollers for the tender. Much less fiddly if you have power pick-up from the tender. Put the engine on the angle supports with tender drive.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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I do use a rolling road for initial running in purposes anyway, as it means I don't have to monitor the loco s it runs around the layout, with the potential for derailments or other disasters (Murphy's Law says it will happen if left unattended for more than 10 seconds!). Using the rolling road, I can set the loco or unit running and just leave it for half an hour (often longer, if I forget I have left it running - one recent loco got three hours in one direction!), pop back in to reverse the direction and leave again.
As others have said, the rolling road comes into its own if you have to troubleshoot problems like sticky spots or poor pickups.
None are particularly cheap but they will all last you a good while. Mine came from DCC Concepts, but it may be worth digging out reviews if you can find them. One of the magazines did a comparison last year, from memory.
Jeff Lynn,
Amateur layabout, Professional Lurker, Thread hijacker extraordinaire
Amateur layabout, Professional Lurker, Thread hijacker extraordinaire
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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All you need for a `rolling road` is a length of ready made track and a set of these `rollers`
https://wicknessmodels.co.uk/product-tag/rolling-road/
Thats all I did for mine.
The rollers are designed to pick up power from the track supply.
I use mine to clean heavy 7mm loco wheels and setting up the sound files for DCC.
Cheers
Twobolt John
Last edit: by Twobolt
Twobolt John
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Here's mine. IBacarus is the brand. 5000 series, HO-OO/EM/P4/S gauges (infinitely adjustable). Roller bearings for drivers, short plain sections for trucks and bogies, long plain sections for tenders. Reverse rollers and long plain section for tender drive locomotives where you just want pickup from the engine.
Nigel
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Last edit: by Passed Driver
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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