Yesterday I received a PCM Reading T1 for a birthday present (thanks Mom & Dad!). I’ve been breaking it in and was wondering about the sound effects. Overall the sound is cleaner and crisper than the QSI units (BLI) I have. However the “chuff” sound seems rather unusual. At slow speeds it has an odd echo that I really can’t describe. As the speed picks up it becomes less noticeable and actually sounds better.
I’ve read the review in MR (and at Tony’s) about this locomotive. They also commented on the chuff sound being disappointing. For me the biggest “Aw, shucks” is needing a separate programmer to change decoder CV’s and work the bell/whistle sounds in DC. I guess I got spoiled by those QSI decoders, which I can control by wearing out the direction switch on my power pack [:D].
I need to run the loco some more to “get used” to it. I do enjoy the random “steam engine sounds” that it makes while running… QSI units do that only when the loco is stopped.
I did not have the pleasure of seeing any of the prototypes run. I’d like to hear from others who did and their opinion of the sound effects.
Well, “Vamp”, I lived along the Philly to NJ Reading Main at Langhorne, PA in the late forties and spent a lotta time there waiting for my Dad’s MU from Philly. I can tell you that the T-1 was a REALLY impressive loco and it sounded much like any other steam engine in the late steam era. That is, they all seemed to be a lot quieter and smoother operating what with roller bearings and all. One of the most interesting vignettes was when an ABBA of FA’s caught the red at Langhorne and ground to a stop. But ,try as the would, backing up to take out the slack in the couplers several times they still couldn’t get it rolling again. After a few blasts on the whistle. They just sat there. In about 15 minutes more toots, and a crunching of the cars, and slowly inching forward and gathering speed. After the whole drag went buy, there was a T-1 huffing and puffing in lowly pusher service helping his replacement get going again.
At low speeds the extra sound is the booster working - these locos had a booster engine on the trailer truck to help get trains started. It was only good up to a certain speed, then it was disconencted and shut off. Pretty cool that they got the sound in.
Do you have DC or DCC? If you have DCC, try the whistle on F4 - that’s an accurate freight whistle for the T-1. The default whistle on F2 (and the default one you’d hear with DC) is a multichime passenger type, similar to what would have been used on one of the Rambles or AFT or Chessie Steam Special.
I may have witnessed one of these on the American Freedom Train charging southbound towards DC in the White Marsh area as a child. I dont remember too much of that day except that my folks made sure to keep us kids off the ballast. My memory is not that reliable on that particular event.
However other members of the family caught the T1 in the Chessie paint here and there around that same time period.
I also own the model and think it is a good performer. It has been a long time in coming.
If it was near DC and it was the American Freedom Train then yes indeed it was a T-1. The repainted 2101 was used exclusively in the East to pull the AFT.
I hope someday R&N can get 2102 running again, riding up the Lehigh Gorge behind 2102 would be an awesome experience.
Randy: I’m using DC, which is why I lament having to buy a DCMaster to alter CV’s and sound the whistle & bell. I also need to turn down the volume of the sounds. It’s quite loud now and I’m sure it’s set to max. However it does sound pretty sweet when it’s running and I’m glad it doesn’t have the same chuff as my QSI loco’s, which all have a near identical chuff sound.
I did not know that these loco’s had booster power. Thanks for that info. The instructions didn’t give much info on the prototype. My model is the Chessie Steam Special. Some may not care for this fanciful scheme but as a Chessie fan I think it’s pretty cool. The real challenge will be finding some Chessie System passenger cars for it to pull!
BigRusty: Great story man! Wish I could have witnessed something like that. I’ve read of similar spectacles on B&O’s West End. Oh for those days gone by…
You’re rght, I think the Chessie Steam Special looks lik some kind of clown car [:D][:D][:D]
But I’m a Reading modeler, mine’s one of the in-service units.
Yes, out of the box they have all the volume settings maxxed. i HATE that. It sounds MUCH better when cut back to a reasonable level.
If you have any of the newer QSI locos, you might want to look into the Quantum Engineer, too. The newer QSI decoders with QARC can also be fully programmed in DC if you use the Quantum Engineer. Jury’s still out if you can connect both the Quantum Engineer and the DCMaster together, although til you spend all that money you might as well just think about going to DCC.
The motor drive on the T-1 is phenomenal. I dunno why the MR review left out DCC performance, but mine starts on speed step 1 and crawls slow enough to count ties - takes a half hour to go around my 8x12 loop. QSI-equipped locos should be able to do this also after the new upgrade chp is released.
What is the minium radius the T1 will run on? I have a test loop of Bachman 22" raduius snap track. I tried running it around that loop and it bound up and derailed soon after entering the curves. I’m curious about the experiences of others. My layout in building has 30" mainline curves,but I’d feel more comfortable if it would perform on 22" curves. I thought I read somewhere it was able to negotiate 18". I’m curious about what others have experienced before I contact the manufacturer. All hekp will be appreciated.
I dout it will take 18". My layout has 30" radius curves except int he yard are where it’s about 24". You cna sorta tell even ont he 30" radius that it’s not on straight track anymore, and it runs through my #6’s at full throttle forward and ackwards, and can negotiate the yard lead, but I’d say 22" is probably the absolute minimum for it, regardless of what they might say. Make sure your front and rear drivers move freely ont he springs - some peopel had issues where the front drivers were stuck and wouldn;t move, that will cause derailments.
My T1 runs on 18" radius curves with no problems - it just looks silly. Check the drawbar hole you are using. One holds the tender a bit farther away so it doesn’t hit the cab.
I’m running mine around 22" radius curves. So far the only issue I have is an occasional derail of the front truck. Might need to add a bit more pressure up there as it doesn’t happen at the same place all the time. I am using the outer drawbar hole too. I think it would bind up if I tried the inner one.
I can vouch for an 18" radius. We have a real tight turn on the Club Layout, and the guys said it wouldn’t make it. Well, mine not only made it…but I took it through there at full speed and it still stayed on the rails.
And I have to agree, the default sound setting is way to loud. I reset CV 63 to about 30. That made a big difference.