GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Well, not much progresss on the layout itself, though I have been upgrading my equipment lately.

Metal Wheels and Couplers

Namely, I've been replacing the plastic wheels with metal ones, and as well as replacing plastic couplers with kadees or some metal equivalent. This is mostly due to my club's certification standards, but there are of course benefits. Some railcars that were formerly problematic appear to be running much better now, and all the couplers adjusted just right, the wheels checked and in gauge.

I would say most of my equipment is in the best shape its been in for years, from an operational standpoint. While most of my passenger equipment had already been fixed up, its good to see my freight cars get the treatment as well.

Decoder problems

The one major issue I'm having is that my new Arrow III single unit has already wrecked it's decoder (a TCS MC2). It was running weird right from the start.

At first it had no problem. Then after a while of running, the car would pause occaisionally, then keep going. The next day, the car would move only a few feet then pause, then run, then pause, and then it let out the blue ghost. I've never had a decoder smoke up like it did.

It seemed to burn out in three or four differen't locations. It has been upsetting to me, since I really hoped the railcar would be ready for show season (tonight is the last night to qualify. I have a far more expensive MC4, but I'm worried that one might fry too).



What I would like to know, is what went wrong. its not the first time one of these drives has had an issue like this. Nor is it the first time one of my MC2s seemed to explode for no apparent reason. Still, I didn't do any fancy programming or wiring, so I don't understand why there is a problem.

Thankfully, TCS has a no questions asked replacement policy

Your two last shots are great!

Working with resin always drove me crazy at some point. When I started using this material a decade ago, it was with large scale figures and pieces could handle lots of reworking and prep-ing without too much trouble. However, working with HO scale parts is an other story, quite hard to rework very small and badly casted parts.

Good luck with the Bowser kit. 4-4-2 have always been my all time favorite passenger steam locomotive, much more than Pacific. Atlantic with their small dimensions and high drivers look like hare ready for a fast run.

Matt

Forgive the late response! I really like the close up picture of the baggage car, since you can see the wire and the pantograph, and it looks like its part of a larger train (and it soon will be).


Resin might be a pain, but its the only option for these commuter cars, so I gotta roll with it.