Turbo in hand!

[bbussey]

... Bump [the outrigger] once and it will bend at the bracket, return it into position and it will weaken, bump it a couple of more times and it will break off. It's not "engineering" plastic with any elasticity to speak of, like you would expect with, say, handrails...

There are spare outrigger parts in the Ziploc bag in the lower right cutout of the foam nest.

[C855B]

Thanks for the confirmation. Pete mentioned spares, but I've been away from the studio since and couldn't check the box. Good thing, they are both surprisingly fragile and in vulnerable locations. Even watching for the "hazard" while working on the shell I kept bumping them. I hope Jason has oodles on-hand for when I burn through my stash.

[nscaler711]

Well damn, here I was thinking that there would have been more pictures of it close up and pictures of how it goes together, I'm really intrested in seeing how it all couples up.

[bbussey]

It simply snaps together and apart easily. The orientation markings on the bottom of each unit eliminate any potential confusion.

[central.vermont]

It simply snaps together and apart easily. The orientation markings on the bottom of each unit eliminate any potential confusion.

Wow this is good too hear for some of us here!!!!   

Jon

[bbussey]

I read through the instruction manual and decided against swapping out the traction tires, as it’s recommended to have the traction tires installed for five-car and longer consists. The talgo wheels pick up power and relay it to the consist cars via the clips. Pretty freaking ingenious. The manual says to break it in for a couple of hours in each direction. I can’t do that currently, so I ran it back and forth through the station and played with the lights and sounds. It’s convenient and pretty nifty that there are station announcements included (F10-F17) for stops/destinations on my layout (New York, New Haven, Providence, Boston). The consist is treated as one locomotive address, rather than two separate locos linked in a consist. The sounds emanate from both power cars, but they are different depending on which functions are pressed. The horn comes from the forward power car, while station announcements come from the rear power car. Amtrak/Penn Central modelers must press F17 to flip the announcements from Canadian to American.

Very very cool.

[bbussey]

Also — it turns out the orientation markings are there for more than just having the train look proper. The train must be assembled in the proper sequence and orientation in order to function.

[C855B]

Also — it turns out the orientation markings are there for more than just having the train look proper. The train must be assembled in the proper sequence and orientation in order to function.

Yep - mentioned in the manual, that short circuits are possible if you don't assemble the trainset per instructions.

Jason is also not happy with those of us who install non-sound decoders in DC models, that all bets are off and you are on your own for synchronizing the ends. But it works fine. As mentioned, I had but one decoder on-hand, but I managed to get a single end functioning with no difficulty (power truck and a single Talgo axle), the decoder plugged right in and programmed (JMRI) without a hitch. Only puzzle to work out is the gyralight and which function wire it's on. F1 on the 54686 controls it for on/off, but special functions I haven't found yet.

Even in its "crippled" single-ended state right now I am very impressed by how smoothly it runs. Since I have the 3-car set the traction-tire axles are not installed. One less thing to mess with.

Also, I mentioned taking the shell off by the rear, below the vestibule. That works, but Jason says to unsnap the nose and separate the halves from the front. I'll do it that way when installing the decoder in the rear PDC.

[rapidotrains]

Yep - mentioned in the manual, that short circuits are possible if you don't assemble the trainset per instructions.

Jason is also not happy with those of us who install non-sound decoders in DC models, that all bets are off and you are on your own for synchronizing the ends. But it works fine.

I'm really happy you managed it. If you want to write up a quick "how to" we can put in on the support pages of our web site. I'm also happy you like the performance. It's certainly miles above the HO version!

-Jason

[C855B]

Thanks! Not difficult, really, just need to be careful in separating the shells (with or without Dan's fingers). I'll write it up after the second decoder arrives and the full trainset is done. Given the balky mail service to our town, likely not before Friday. Since my notes above, I've discerned F1 on the ESU 54686 controls AUX1, so once I get back to the shop I can configure the gyralight.

[dougnelson]

Let the weathering begin.  Providence, RI, February 1976.

[Point353]

Don't forget the rock guards for the cab windows:

[peteski]

It simply snaps together and apart easily. The orientation markings on the bottom of each unit eliminate any potential confusion.

I ran mine for about 2 hours on our NTRAK layout today. It ran flawlessly.  Some of the Talgo articulated sections were slightly askew (it was assembled properly), but that did not affect the operation.  Not surprising with the ESU decoder, the sounds were very impressive too (even in the noisy show environment). I'm sure that in a home layout environment I'll have turn the volume way down.  I was very impressed with several design features, and a very clean (for Chinese-made models) assembly and finish.  I remember during the design phase Jason was here asking for input on the design of the Talgo trucks and their electric pickup.  I would like to think that we (members of TRW) did play a role in the final design, which is very innovative (Peteski approves).    Even the packaging (the bookcase box and the humorous  instruction booklet) is well designed.

While I have to make the obligatory (to me) statement that it is "not a Kato", I'm still very, very impressed with how it came out.  It doesn't  really have to compare to Kato - it stands on its own.  Thank you Mike, Jason, and the rest of Rapido team (including all the people involved in manufacturing) for coming up with a winning design!  I LIKE IT!!  It was long-time coming and I'm really happy that it finally materialized (2-sets happy - my wallet is drained).    It's probably been about 10 years since I have heard the first rumors of the model possibly being made, and I lobbied for it every year at the Springfield show while talking the the Rapido folks.

Like Bryan mentioned, even the set's assembly is made super-easy with the markings printed on the bottom of the model.  I eventually like to do my usual technical review and commentary, but with the number of in-progress projects, that might take some time.



I do have to say that I also agree that those suspension rods might be an often-damaged item and I hope that Rapido has plenty of spares. I manged not to brake any today, but I did bend and straightened few (even when being careful).  4 extras are included with the set, but I will likely buy at least a dozen spares (unless the price is prohibitive).

I also uploaded severalmore photos for my future tech. review.  They are uploaded to this Gallery Album.

[nscaler711]

Well that is kinda what I was looking for but not quite,
I probably won't buy one as its way to pricey for me even though it is super cool.
I just was curious how they made it so it transfers electricity through each car and how they connect with the wheelsets.

[peteski]

Well that is kinda what I was looking for but not quite,
I probably won't buy one as its way to pricey for me even though it is super cool.
I just was curious how they made it so it transfers electricity through each car and how they connect with the wheelsets.

I'll eventually do a detailed dissection. It is quite clever.