I had planned to update on installing revolution in the new Bachmann Large Scale Dash 9 but in the process of checking it out I noticed a strange issue. I noticed when running it on standard track power that the directional headlights were not working as they should. After doing some research and talking to Stan Ames (Thank you Stan!) the issue was found to be PWM or Pulse Width Modulation. You may have heard this referred to as PWC or Pulse Width Control by Aristo-Craft and/or Crest. It seems that if you are using a power source that does not put out linear power it causes the electronics for the directional lighting to not behave as it should. I did testing using an older Bachman Spectrum linear transformer, Aristo-Craft PWC Transformer, PWC Motor Controller from Amazon and two different generations of the Revolution Trackside Base Station. I found that everything but the Bachmann Spectrum linear transformer caused issues with the headlights but you can get a PWM to linear adapter to put between your transformer and the track to correct this issue. I do want to point out this issue isn’t something new or specific to the Dash 9. Other manufactures have had issues with PWC/PWM over the years as well. This is an issue that a lot of people won’t see but for the ones that do I hope this info helps them as there is a solution to it.
Several Dealers have these in stock and ready to ship including (Prices below are as of the date of this post and may change): RLD Hobbies $769.89 Star Hobby $775.00 Reinedeer Pass Railroad $769.89 Train World $849.99 Split Jaw $899.00 Only Trains $879.99 Roll-EZ Wheels $750 (Free Shipping)
Written by Andrew Fitch
The Bay Area Garden Railway Society (BAGRS) will host the 38th Annual National Garden Railway Convention in the San Francisco Bay Area. There will be multiple layouts to visit, food/dining and even a BBQ. They will also have a variety of clinics and workshops, meet and greet opportunities, and a Fourth of July fireworks show. To attend […]
Written by Andrew Fitch
Well, we have to say goodbye and hello all at the same time as Shawn “Dakman” leaves us and Nico “4TrackRR” joins us to take Shawn’s place.
Written by Andrew Fitch
Decal Design, Printing and Application with Guest Charlie Zimmerman on Large Scale Consolidated Live
Welcome back everyone for another amazing live stream! Our guest this time should be someone many recognize if you watched our show on weathering last season (Link to that show below). That’s right, Charlie Zimmerman has returned and this time he is going to cover designing, printing and applying decals. Having been in model railroading since 1982 Charlie has done many custom locomotives and cars which we will see throughout the show but more importantly he’ll be taking us step by step through the decal process. If you are unsure about applying decals (Or already know how and want to learn new techniques) this will be the show for you. By the end of the show you should have the knowledge and confidence to work with decals yourself. Charlie also has his own garden railroad, the Smoke & Oak Railroad of which you can see many videos of on his YouTube channel “Garden RR”.
Written by Andrew Fitch
Well Large Scale Consolidated Live fans, we have another exciting show with a great guest we’re sure everyone will Enjoy! We’ll be talking with Jonathan Huse who has done some amazing things in G Scale and see what new projects he has lined up. Jonathan has been into large scale for around ten years now and has definitely made some waves with what he has done. Probably one of his most impressive projects was the creation of his g scale Union Pacific DDA40X! If you haven’t seen this locomotive in g scale before you’re going to want to see it! Jonathan also makes several different kits for upgrading, modifying and repairing g scale locomotives and cars. All of which you can see on his website listed below. Don’t worry, we’ll get to see Jonathan’s layout as well and how he controls his turnouts pneumatically.
Written by Andrew Fitch
On this episode of Large Scale Consolidated Live our guest is Charlie Zimmerman. Charlie has been into model railroading since 1982 and G scale since 2010. Charlie has his own garden railroad, the Smoke & Oak Railroad of which you can see many videos of on his YouTube channel “Garden RR”.
One thing you will notice right away when seeing Charlie’s railroad is he prides himself on having unique locomotives and rolling stock which includes doing prototypical weathering. During this show Charlie will show us some examples of custom work he has done but the primary focus is going to be on showing everyone how to weather a boxcar. We’ll go from a clean car to a fully weathered one by the end of the show and anyone should be able to weather their own trains after watching this show.
We would also like to mention that Charlie is also a Contributing editor of Live Steam and Backyard RR magazine. In addition to that he is also an excellent photographer with several photos in Garden Railways and Railpace magazine over the years.
Written by Andrew Fitch