Part 4: Roco Z21 Double Heading

Welcome to part 4 in the series on the Roco Z21 DCC model railway control system! In part 4 I show you how to set up double heading...its not as easy as I first thought, as you will see!

[@glenshielrailway5696]

I had the exact same problem with the Bachmann Dynamis Ultima. Two Cl.20's with the same motors but completely different performance. I only wanted them to travel about 3ft and then reverse, but every single time they stopped in a completely different place. In the end my troubleshooting ended when I figured out I'd have to delve in to the world of messing with CV's, which can't be done with the Ultima, and so just gave up. It was an absolute nightmare! Give me a good old Gaugemaster dial controller any day. But you got there in the end! Cheers for now. Mike.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Fantastic Simon!!! The dreaded double heading... I used two IDENTICAL sound fitted 68s they couldnt be any more different... and so many other locos too.. Tried so many times and resorted to adjusting CVs which is also a nightmare. I didnt realise about the ‘regulation step’ setting - thats probably why, lol may try again. Thank you for your perseverance.

[@SimonsShed]

Thanks yes glad I persevered it was worth it in the end! I did consider mentioning CV values, acceleration curves etc but decided to leave that for another video.

[@exehavenharbour]

Crikey, well worked out Simon, I’m not sure if I’d have had the patience and I have plenty usually!!! Always interesting and informative, cheers Simon, John

[@SimonsShed]

Thanks, it was a bit of a test of patience! 👍

[@Jkngauge]

Fantastic Simon, keep up the great work

[@SimonsShed]

Glad you enjoyed it. Many thanks!

[@johnsrailwaylines7087]

Depending on which make of decoder you have fitted, CV's 66 which controls the forward speed and 95 which controls the reverse speed, need to be set at the same value.

[@SimonsShed]

Interesting, I didn't know that. Can't remember what chip I put in the class 24 as it was the 1st loco I bought, I'll have to check the values. I plan to do a CV programming video so I'll have to do more research 😅

[@sigvaldkolbjrnsen8598]

How do the Z21 handel turntable. Thank you for super videos.

[@Poliss95]

I haven't had any success double heading my RF-16 Sharknose A and B units. Same manufacturer. Same decoders. I suspect it's not the fault of the Z21. The locos seem to go at different speeds every time I run them. I'm going to try altering CV 2, 6 and 5 and then try the Z21 again.

[@SimonsShed]

Yes it does seem a bit hit and miss, it was a real test of patience to get it working 👍

[@EssexThameside]

Hi Simon, Going back to the diesels, could you make up two trains with a different double header name but using the same locomotives using one pairing for forward direction and the other for reverse? Brian Essex Thameside in N

[@SimonsShed]

Hi Brian, yes I think that's the only way to get it to work, set up 2 trains and do separate timings for forward. backward 👍