Mansfield Hobbies AD 60 Garratt fitted with ZIMO DCC Sound Chip

It took 5 years to find a good Mansfield Hobbies AD 60 Garratt. The Unicorn of NSWGR Brass model, we have had a ZIMO DCC sound chip with custom file fitted. We hope you enjoy the review!
If you like our videos, please share, like and subscribe!
Leave a comment about what you would like to see. If you want to see something, just ask!
Find us on Facebook: / 810619889301129

[@user-yp5lq5us2y]

WOW !!!!!!!!!! what a fantastic locomotive. I can hardly wait to see it running on your layout. Cheers Greg

[@helmutsandner6964]

Thanks again for your excellent presentation. I remember when the Mansfield brass 60 class was produced. It is indeed worth every dollar. The quality is visible in the details and smooth running qualities. The weathering job is superb. I was fortunate enough to live next to the railway line in Cardiff in the early seventies. I was able to witness these fine steam locomotives in action. 6042 being one of these locomotives. I was able to sit in the driver's seat of 6042 when it was at Enfield depot in 1974. That was the last time I saw this locomotive in steel. 😆

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

Great memories! They are awsome!

[@Stanb662000]

Actually 6040 was the last steam engine into NSWGR service, which is why it was preserved at the RTM. 6042 ( which was NOT the same physical 6042 that was introduced in 1956 ) was the last steam locomotive in Service in NSW , being officially withdrawn in March 1973 - it has parts from I believe 6010, 6021 and the boiler unit is from what would have been 6043 had that one been assembled - The story of how it was swapped for 6042 (i) is outlined in one of Prestons books, and there are a few pics of both 6042's parked together

[@mysticrailroad]

amazing loco!

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

Thanks a lot!

[@terryflynn8830]

If you want to have the Zimo sound projects in your models not make sounds when the layout is turned on, simply change CV 313 = 0 and CV 310 =8. Then 8 turns the sounds on and off like your other brands of decoders.

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

Great tip Terry!

[@AussiePom]

People forget that not too long ago if you modeled NSW the you had crude Lima models or exquisite brass models from Korea and there was no alternative. The 38's from ARM are still crude being updated Lima models and the brass locos are still the benchmark but the Casula Hobbies Z12 shows that others here can produce a quality outline steam model which has been lacking for so many years. Even the Eureka 38 is not that great with unpainted stainless steel wheels and their Garratt is the same and they charge high prices. The running qualities can also be a bit like Russian roulette. Mansfield brass locos were always superb quality coupled with superb running.

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

Agreed, but the ARM 38's are a new mould, not Lima ones.

[@trw1089]

Lovely loco and beautiful runner. The sound file is an ok rendition of an AD60 and while the motor control of the Zimo is superb, you could probably get a much nicer sound reproduction on a Loksound. I did up a Eureka AD60 Garratt recently and I did up a sound file with my own recordings of 6029 for the whistle and other miscellaneous sounds. Nowhere near as nice as your Mansfield though.

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

I have an AD 60 DJH with a Loksound 5. It's okay, but it does not have the fine control as the ZIMO. They are both good!

[@terryflynn8830]

Comparing the audio specifications between Locksound and Zimo shows both support 16 bit sound. No real world sound quality difference between either option. You can have up to 16 different sounds activated at one time with the Zimo decoder compared to 10 on the Loksound alternative. The Australian Zimo sound project uses NSW 60 class sounds.

[@trw1089]

@@KingsviewModelRailway yes, it’s very hard to beat Zimo for motor control!

[@trw1089]

@@terryflynn8830 thought you might chime in. There is very little difference in the sound clips used but ESU allows for far more detailed sound flows to be catered for. If I was to be super critical of the sound file that Dallas reviewed, there is insufficient clarity of the chuffs, the Zimo decoder does not do the articulation well in what we hear in the video (sound clips are interfering with each other), the whistle recordings are clipped and the chuffs are not timed with the wheel revolutions properly. Some of this might be just the recordings, and I’m sure some of it is the Zimo sound file construction. I’m not here to say one is better than the other, Zimo has a hell of a lot of good points, but I develop sound files that provide an overall “sound picture” that is as close to prototype as it can be and I find personally that ESU gives me more flexibility than Zimo.

[@terryflynn8830]

@@trw1089, The chuff rate is adjustible, however the only way to get it exact is use sensors off the axles and use 2 seperate decoders for a AD60. All doable with both Zimo and Locksound. Any sound you hear on you tube has gone through the models speaker which changes the original sounds, then the microphone on the camera /phone recording the youtube clip, again changing the sounds from the speaker, then the speakers on your computer or sound system changes the sound you hear again. As far as clipping off the whistle sound, how do you know considering the final sound you have heard off youtube? I know it's not a clipped recording. As for a sound picture, Zimo decoders are capable of achieving all that is necessary to provide all the sound changes you get in a steam locomotive I am aware of. From a sound project makers perspective, it simply depends on which software you are experienced with. Cheers, Terry.

[@dougmarsh2267]

No emergency braking on the Zimo. It’s needed.

[@KingsviewModelRailway]

I just ran them, no braking needed!

[@dougmarsh2267]

@@KingsviewModelRailway Not for you maybe. But others would like it.

[@dougmarsh2267]

@@KingsviewModelRailway Yes It is needed.