New engines

Some new engines .... 

BB 17003

This is my first model from R37 - https://www.r37.fr - and probably my first BB 17000. Its reference number is HO 41057. I need to do more research, but I believe it would run well with the orange version of the VB2N from Vitrains.

Class 66212 ECR

This is my second class 66 ECR from REE Modeles / ESU and I had it renumbered into Class 66212.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/43432994@N03/36619305802/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jobiwannn/50757407828/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130916788@N06/17544786196/

For some reasons, the ESU decoder shows up as M4. I do not understand this, but I made it work somehow ...

I need a new screenshot here, because I believe I managed to config it as DCC and address 6612.

BB 22278RC

This is a unique model of the BB 22200 Nord Pas-de-Calais with a specific front band.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/162250473@N02/27432487838/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/135235560@N07/34917413410/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/182992690@N03/49773479487/

I have two issues with it:

- one yellow headlight doesn't work on the coupler side

- the machine starts running then stops. The decoder seems fine, so it might be dirty rails or wheels

Traxx Lineas E 186 291-1

This is another custom made model. This one is based on a Roco model.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tram-photos/52774439387/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/192132982@N05/51387201569/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tram-photos/52019878760/

Digitization of BB 16671 from Vitrains - part 2

After careful review, it seems that the decoder would not fit with the sound speaker in that space. I ordered the micro version of the decoder to give it a try, I ordered:

• ESU 58810 LokSound V5.0 Micro 8 Pin ~ DCC/MM/SX/M4

This fits very well:

Before closing the engine, I thought I would start working on the details:

 

It turns out that adding the details will be a long and tedious process ...

Switch, Rail joiners, Ballast, Weathering ... part 8

 

Ballast ballast ballast ...

Switch, Rail joiners, Ballast, Weathering ... part 7

 

A while back I experimented on adding rust weathering to the tracks with the airbrush. Here's the link to the post. Not long after I found this video on Instagram that gives an idea of track rust:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cucajkcoxm4/?igshid=M2MyMzgzODVlNw%3D%3D

L'am96 n°455 entre en gare de Lille Flandres son terminus. Elle est en provenance de Courtrai. La rame auras desservie les gares de Mouscron, Tourcoing, Roubaix et Lille Flandres avec +3 minute à l'arrivée.

Custom test bench - part 4: Improvements

I was planning to make improvements for my test bench and with my recent issues with the BB 16000, it is now a good time to act!

General switch

A while back, I added a 120V switch to turn on and off the main power to the test bench. The issue is that the switch was dangling on the side and I still had no idea if the power was still on. My goal has been to properly install a main switch with LED indication.

I choose this one on Amazon:

The wiring diagram is pretty straight forward:

I already wired out one side from the power extension; I now have to do the other side, which is the white cable below.

It works great and it's exactly what I was hoping it would look like:

DCC protection

After a bit of research I decided to install several products from DCC Concepts. I reached out to them and confirmed that all three products can be installed together and offer optimal protection:

1. Intelligent DCC Circuit Breaker - link
2. DCC Surge Protector - link
3. Bus Spike Suppressors - link

I will install and test on my test bench, and also plan to install them on the main layout later on. For now, I will connect those into Track 1, but ideally I'd need to find a way to protect Track 2 and the ESU Tester. Here's the wiring diagram:

I did a quick test and it certainly handles shorts. In the iP-CB, there are two available extensions: one for the LED status and one for the reset button. I decided to put those on the front panel of the test bench:

And voilà !

 

Autorack Ars Altmann

There are quite a few Ars Altmann trains pulled by Lineas and Roco released what looks like those autorack wagons, or so I thought ...

Formations

A few of the formations I've recorded:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/195041659@N08/52836561893/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnybrauns/52779916109/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wdaelmans/50831839208/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/102645470@N03/50683847262/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasmartens/50523535203/

A couple of videos:

Prototypical wagon

The company Ars Altmann actually has the exact type of wagons on its website:

https://www.ars-altmann.de/en/services/rail/

Here are the details for those 3 wagons:

https://www.ars-altmann.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Datenblatt_ARS_Hccrrs5.870.pdf

https://www.ars-altmann.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Datenblatt_Hccrrs-5.860.pdf

https://www.ars-altmann.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Datenblatt_Hccrrs-5.833M.pdf

Miniature model

Roco recently (in 2024) released a set of type Hccrrs wagons with the Ars Altmann livery. It is reference 77049:

As it turns out, Roco released similar wagons in the past:

A couple of videos from the models released in 2022:

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it is not exactly the same wagon. The differences are pretty obvious on the roof and the location of the break wheel, just to name a few.

This is not it. Very tempting, but this is not it ...