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Post by NS4122 on Nov 16, 2023 9:23:52 GMT -8
FYI, The lastest run of ScaleTrains ES44s are here. Got the billing notice last night and the shipping notice today for the NS Conrail Heritage unit.
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Post by nsfantodd on Nov 16, 2023 13:15:06 GMT -8
I've got a NS Conrail unit coming also. Sold my MTH version a while back in anticipation of this.
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Post by prr 4467 on Nov 16, 2023 22:55:38 GMT -8
Although this is not the best time for me, I had promised my son that I would get him a Conrail Heritage unit...so after seeing this post earlier today, I did order him one. Thank you for posting this thread. Looks like they will be gone from ST inventory relatively soon.
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Post by gevohogger on Nov 17, 2023 7:04:55 GMT -8
Yeah, here we go again! all this stuff from all the manufacturers all coming out at the same time. They want you to pre order, you spend the time to see when things are coming out, and then there is a delay. Next thing you know everyone brings everything out right before or right after Christmas. Then they say "you have to put a little back every month" like they are talking to a 15 year old. Sorry, but life just isn't working that way the last couple years. I just had to pay an $1800 vet bill for my German Shepherd. Had to cancel my order because they wouldn't hold them long enough for my SS to catch up, so I guess I'll just stop the pre orders until these people can meet their schedules. Obviously it is a conspiracy between the manufacturers and their Chinese factories to bring everything ashore around the same time.
And just to add insult to injury, your dog is in on it as well.
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Post by richardthomasatal on Nov 17, 2023 7:42:40 GMT -8
Yeah, here we go again! all this stuff from all the manufacturers all coming out at the same time. They want you to pre order, you spend the time to see when things are coming out, and then there is a delay. Next thing you know everyone brings everything out right before or right after Christmas. Then they say "you have to put a little back every month" like they are talking to a 15 year old. Sorry, but life just isn't working that way the last couple years. I just had to pay an $1800 vet bill for my German Shepherd. Had to cancel my order because they wouldn't hold them long enough for my SS to catch up, so I guess I'll just stop the pre orders until these people can meet their schedules. I'm not one to defend Scaletrains much but they did meet their schedule. They have had a mid november ES44 arrival date on their website for several months now. On the opposite end of the spectrum, with Athearn we have no idea when anything will show up. ETAs are completely unavailable. It's a three ring circus over there. I don't know what other items are coming in you are referring to but the only deliveries I've seen at my shop are Athearn and ScaleTrains in the past couple of weeks. |
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Post by gevohogger on Nov 17, 2023 8:14:04 GMT -8
OK... Make fun... Just forget I said anything. Everything is a conspiracy. Some of you people on this site are just assholes! No, it's just that arrival times are mostly coincidental. We all have different interests, and my last big purchase of new releases was in April. Tangent (just to name one) has been on a roll this year with all-new models coming in April, June and September (and maybe more?) if my memory is correct. |
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Post by NS4122 on Nov 17, 2023 8:20:09 GMT -8
The original release date for the ST ES44's was October 31st, so they are two weeks late. So you choose to rant about about something that was pretty much on time. I guess you can now join the ranks of other A..holes on the forum. Rapido NE cabooses U25bs RS18 Bowser rs3s bowser hoppers just to name a few of what has come in in the last few weeks. ST original release date on the heritage units was Sept |
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Post by wmrdgfan on Nov 17, 2023 8:41:50 GMT -8
NS4122 You're one of them I'm talking about, so you know what you can do.
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Post by middledivision on Nov 17, 2023 9:22:19 GMT -8
Wow.
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Post by richardthomasatal on Nov 20, 2023 9:51:10 GMT -8
I have seen a few posts and a video floating around. It looks like they had problems with the Iowa ones because they aren't shipping those to people.
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Post by upmodeler1973 on Nov 20, 2023 11:53:13 GMT -8
Any idea on what the issues are.
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Post by NS4122 on Nov 20, 2023 16:38:04 GMT -8
It was noted in the latest email that the Iowa Interstates would arrive at a later date so maybe there was an issue at the factory that delayed them.
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Post by tony on Nov 20, 2023 19:00:42 GMT -8
I've been thinking about getting the Ferrosur or Ferromex so I can create a migrant train with little people in gondola cars and groups camped on top of covered hoppers.
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Nov 20, 2023 19:21:06 GMT -8
NS4122 You're one of them I'm talking about, so you know what you can do. Nap time….  |
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Post by sd80mac on Nov 21, 2023 8:11:50 GMT -8
I received my NS 8098 (Conrail) yesterday. Beautiful, as expected. Threw it on the track for a few quick loops, the sound is set to a pretty tolerable level out of the box, and it sounds a lot better than the older run Gevos I've owned. I wonder if they've upgraded their speakers since then.
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Post by middledivision on Nov 21, 2023 8:40:24 GMT -8
In the few pictures I've seen of the CR unit, the blue looks a tad dark.
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Post by NS4122 on Nov 22, 2023 6:52:39 GMT -8
My CR Heritage Unit arrived yesterday and I'm happy with it overall. I think the blue is slightly too dark, but I don't find it objectionable. The only thing that bugs me is the "powder blue" PTC array. It sticks out like a sore thumb and will need some weathering. Looking at prototype photos, the PTC array was CR Blue to match the paint when it was first applied and then faded to a lighter blue over time. I'm guessing the faded look is what ST was going for.
I updated the ESU firmware to the latest version and added some bass in by increasing CV 196 to 22 and it sounds pretty good. It ran a little jerky out of the box, but with some break in time that went away.
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sdevo
New Member
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Post by sdevo on Dec 1, 2023 9:09:15 GMT -8
My 2 Canadian National Gevo's arrived a few days ago. Took some glamour shots in the photobooth.   |
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Post by prr 4467 on Dec 1, 2023 9:52:28 GMT -8
My son got his Conrail unit. The blue is maybe perhaps just a bit dark, but I bet it would look ok in real sunlight. It does not to my eyes appear to be different from the freshly painted units I used to see while a student at PSU Altoona Campus.
I do wish the pilots on so many of these engines wouldn't look as if they had too many hard couplings. These AC units are significantly worse than the ScaleTrains Tier 4 units (of July, 2023, and previous runs) in that regard.
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Post by cemr5396 on Dec 1, 2023 11:05:10 GMT -8
My 2 Canadian National Gevo's arrived a few days ago. Took some glamour shots in the photobooth. I see Scale Trains has still not bothered to or can't figure out how to fix the droopy pilots. It's only been what, 4 or 5 years since they brought out the ET44 and EVERY GE model they have made has this issue? I really hope Athearn decides to get head to head with them on this one and make their own late-phase GEVO. Their early phase units are fantastic models. |
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Post by richardthomasatal on Dec 1, 2023 11:59:52 GMT -8
My 2 Canadian National Gevo's arrived a few days ago. Took some glamour shots in the photobooth. I see Scale Trains has still not bothered to or can't figure out how to fix the droopy pilots. It's only been what, 4 or 5 years since they brought out the ET44 and EVERY GE model they have made has this issue? I really hope Athearn decides to get head to head with them on this one and make their own late-phase GEVO. Their early phase units are fantastic models. There are also considerable drive problems. I have several from the past two runs and they do not move smoothly at all. |
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Post by NS4122 on Dec 1, 2023 16:39:36 GMT -8
Taking a quick look at my CR unit; there is a little bit of droop, but not nearly as bad as the photos above. I can see it on the engineer's side, but the steps on the conductor's side look straight. It is perplexing that this is still an issue. Meanwhile the BNSF AC4400 and the NS Dash 9 that I bought earlier this year are perfectly straight so it seems to be hit or miss. Regardless, it should've been resolved by now. The photos above look almost as bad as the SDL39
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Post by D Bradley on Dec 2, 2023 11:55:40 GMT -8
I have the KCS ET44AC and the KCS ES44AC from past runs and they don’t have that pilot issue.
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Post by Mr. Trainiac on Dec 2, 2023 13:57:03 GMT -8
Isn't the pilot issue caused by the coupler box? I thought the first-run SDL39 has a problem like this. I think the issue is misalignment between the metal frame and the pilot draft gear opening. The solution was to add a washer or file the pilot opening larger. I'd check the coupler height with a gauge. If the box is too low, that could be what's pulling the pilot downwards. You may need to file the mounting pad on the frame to raise it up slightly.
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Post by NS4122 on Dec 2, 2023 18:37:54 GMT -8
Here's a video showing the fix for the drooping pilot on the SDL39, which might be worth a try. |
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sdevo
New Member
Posts: 22
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Post by sdevo on Dec 5, 2023 9:48:46 GMT -8
Here's a video showing the fix for the drooping pilot on the SDL39, which might be worth a try. I found a similar video and followed what they did. I'll post an updated picture when I get a chance. This really shouldn't be something we have to do right out of the box. I can understand small pieces falling off. But, modifications to the frame is not acceptable. Ahh well, at least I haven't had to replace the board......yet. |
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Post by prr 4467 on Dec 5, 2023 10:12:47 GMT -8
This is exactly the issue that I've found on current production diesels, far too often.
I should not have to be making adjustments like this to a brand-new diesel model (certainly not modifying the frame to get what I want), and it is quite off-putting when seeing new models in person, at a store or at a train show, and they can appear to have excessive camber. It makes you wonder, since that issue isn't right, what else isn't right about the models? What else did they not bother to get right? I'm essentially rolling the dice that I will be able to fix the drooping pilot issue, but it is not always possible for me to actually make a positive improvement on every diesel so affected. There can be multiple issues at play. At times in the past, I've been able to successfully bend Athearn diesel frames a little bit to straighten them out when needed, just with my bare hands. I've tried that on P2K diesel frames, and they will literally just snap in your bare hands (SD45 frame actually did).
My son loves ScaleTrains diesels in general, for all the details, sound and lighting features they offer, and the way they do such a great job on the most "modern" diesels, so for him they are a "have to have". But we've experienced too many motor and decoder failures this year, that even though they fixed them under warranty and quickly, we are always wondering which unit will fail (again) next (even replacement motors and/or replacement decoders have failed for us) and have to go back to them yet again. We are always watching the amperage readout on the NCE controller as it catches problems quickly.
With some other make diesels, if the pilot is a little low, sometimes I've been able to file down the manufacturer's coupler box. By making it thinner, when re-installed sometimes the pilot droop will simply go away. I often begin with that first, or at least assess if that looks like it will do the trick.
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Post by richardthomasatal on Dec 5, 2023 12:21:22 GMT -8
Unlike where they were transparent about the SDL39, not so on the ES44AC. They claim to not be aware of drive issues, decoder issues and other problems like the pilot that have plauged these ES44AC models even though I know many members of my club have reported the issues. I don't know why the transparency ceased but I guess they are hoping most modelers just shelf the model and never run it, test it or look at it much.
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Post by NS4122 on Dec 6, 2023 9:50:52 GMT -8
A Walthers .020" washer (947-1272) did the trick for me. It had to be filed some to fit, but the pilot is now straight. It's a simple fix, but it shouldn't be necessary.
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Post by riogrande on Dec 6, 2023 10:10:08 GMT -8
Good that there is a fix, but now that's twice on two different engines. Seems like that should be remedied in production going forward.
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