Trix 11140, N-scale passenger train digital starter set

The product I'm going to write about today is definitely the deal of the year. For less than 300 Euro, Trix has decided to provide us with a complete digital starter pack. And it not only includes a train, a set of track and a central station. It also features a locomotive equipped with a sound module. Yes, finally an N-scale starter set with sound. This is Trix 11140.

For me the main reason to buy this item was its DCC central station. I needed one more controller for my coffee table layout and - being a long-time Fleischmann/Roco user - I decided to give the competition a chance this time. Trix 11140 was the most economical way to get it (considering all the extra stuff I got).

Let's take a look at the product. The side of the packaging shows all the basic information about the set. It is digital, it features sound effects, the locomotive offers white headlights and red taillights, and so on... and so on...

Another picture shows the content I'm going to find inside: a passenger train, a digital controller kit, an oval track set...

...and a bus model. A bus model? Interesting...

Let's open it already. Here's what was revealed to me right after lifting the lid of the box.

The product comes with a lot of documentation. Even the AC adapter gets its own small booklet.

The most interesting one is of course the locomotive description. Here we can learn that the model features an impressive number of 28 DCC functions.

There's also a guidebook included which attempts to describe the most important aspects of our hobby. I have not read it, yet, but I must say it does look promising. It might actually be useful for someone just starting his/her adventure with the trains.

The central station's manual is written very clearly with a lot of pictures and screenshots. For some reason I got two French copies of the text, and not a single English one. Well, I can't say I really care - it's all available online anyway.

This is what the content of the box looks like once I removed all the books and leaflets.

For me the most interesting part of the set is the digital controller kit. It consists of three elements: Trix 66955 mobile station (the controller), a connector box and a power supply.

Let's power it up. "Keine Lok" is the welcome message - obviously the device is not configured, yet.

This is where it gets interesting. Included with the set is a chip card containing information about the featured locomotive.

Once you slide the card into the mobile station, the data is read and the controller immediately becomes ready for operation. The DCC functions are configured automatically and the relevant icons show up on the screen. The programmed engine's image does not really resemble the model at all, but luckily it's something that can be changed manually.

What worries me more is the limitation of the controller. It seems to be able to access only the first 16 DCC functions of the decoder. So while the locomotive features more, I won't be able to use them all. That's a little concerning...

The language used on the mobile station can be changed easily. And a nice surprise here - it even features Polish!

My overall feeling about the Trix digital station is the following: it is simple, it is comparable to Roco Multimaus, but is definitely less than Roco z21. All in all, it should be fully sufficient for my coffee table layout.

But enough about the mobile station. At the very bottom of the box I found this little bag. I'm not sure what the content really is, but those strips look like power pick-ups for the passenger cars. I'll investigate it later...

Let's take a look at the locomotive now. It comes separately packaged...

...and again the side of the box lists all the main features.

Here's the model itself. It's a BR146.2 electric engine in red Deutsche Bahn livery.

It definitely looks simple with very few significant details, and almost no separately applied parts.

The pantographs however can be raised...

...and if you look closely, you'll notice it is very nicely painted indeed. It's definitely a budget model, but it will do very well inside my coffee table :)

Let's move onto the passenger cars...

The first impression - they feel light. And of course in this hobby "light" means "cheap". But did we expect more?

They don't look bad though, they're nicely painted and even feature some interior details.

But in the end the quality could be better. In my case, the roof on one of the cars was not even properly attached to the body. I'll have to fix it somehow...

Obviously they don't come "interior lighting ready". But those wheels look like they would accommodate the metal strips mentioned above really well.

OK, it's time for the last element - the bus model.

This one feels really cheap. It's very, very light and it's made purely of plastic. Still, it does look reasonably well and can definitely be used on a layout. Considering it's a free extra - I like it!

And a surprise. This little bus model can be customized! If you disapprove the wheels in a straight position, you can replace an axle and the wheels' angle will change. That's cool!

The set features a selection of track pieces, which I will not be describing. My coffee table layout is going to use Kato Unitrack anyway, so the elements from the Trix package are staying inside the box. Maybe one day I will find some use for them.

Alright, as always - let's take a look at the digital performance of the locomotive. Here's a short video I created:

Well, the DCC functions on this model are not bad at all. They are actually on par with the fully priced engines. That's a very nice surprise!

Summary

Trix 11140 starter set is definitely some sort of a compromise. The locomotive is simple, the quality of the cars is not what we're used to, and the bus model is just a toy. But we have to remember that we get all of that - plus the digital controller, plus the sound functions, plus a set of track - at a cost of a single regular engine. So it is still an amazing deal, and a great way to make a start in the hobby.

While I can't suggest purchasing this set to people who expect perfection and care about every single detail, I can definitely recommend it as a cost-effective way to begin your adventure with trains. Or - as in my case - a way to get a controller and an extra locomotive that can be run by your family members or guests without causing you much of a headache.

Faller 232509, N-scale natural gas tank

When I shop for models of trains online, I often run into a situation where I need to add something extra to my cart to qualify for free shipping. Sometimes it's a good moment to buy something I always wanted to have but hesitated. But sometimes there's just nothing like that, and I end up with a product that is only potentially useful. That's exactly how I got this little kit...

The item is Faller 232509 and it's a plastic model of a gas tank. There are two reasons why I picked this item. One is of course the price which was exactly what I needed. The second reason is the fact that the product was not a model of a house. Not being a model of a house could potentially mean its assembly will provide an interesting experience.

The back of the box features some relevant information about the miniature. For example - its dimensions are 106 x 66 x 68 mm.

Let's open it and... there really isn't much inside. It's only 22 elements after all. And obviously no glue. Well, I should not have expected more from a 6 Euro product.

Not many parts but we do get a very nice baseplate.

We also get a small set of decals. Interestingly, we can choose one of four oil companies when labeling the tank.

The instructions are short but precise - exactly what we need.

The build is very short. Combining 22 pieces takes less than one hour. And the outcome is a rather small, but quite interesting looking model.

The tank itself looks really good. It is pretty detailed considering the small number of elements. I really like it.

The small hut (or a shed) is just four walls and a roof. Nothing really worth describing. But the last element, which is supposedly a black lamp post, is definitely a part that needs a better replacement. Adding a real light source there will make the the entire scene much more interesting in the future.

I think the kit will fit nicely on my new coffee-table layout. Useful after all :)

Piko Taurus: adding power buffer and red taillights

The Piko Taurus locomotive in G-scale I bought earlier this year is without any doubt a very good product. A conversion to DCC and adding sound functionality made the model even better and allowed me to enjoy it fully on my garden layout. Still, I wanted to give it a little bit of a personal touch and improve it further. That's how I came up with the following two extra modifications...

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Modification #1 introduces a power buffer in a similar way I did it before for my Piko BR80 (more info here). The goal is to make the locomotive ride smoothly despite any dirt that could (and will!) accumulate on the track. Taurus is a large vehicle, so I have more freedom in choosing a capacitor that will compensate for any power disruptions. The largest - reasonably priced - I could find was 22000uF / 25V element. Its capacity is basically twice of what I added to my BR80 in the past.

The electrical part of the installation is very easy - the capacitor's pins need to be connected to the "plus" and "gnd" sockets of the decoder. And it's all described very nicely in the manual. Physical installation seems to be trivial, too, with all the empty space inside the Taurus...

...well, not exactly. The photo above shows my initial placement of the power buffer. This is what seemed like the natural choice to me. Unfortunately in this configuration, the chassis wouldn't close. I was forced to move the element and install it somewhere else. Only then I was able to close the model. The picture below shows my final location.

In my post about the BR80 upgrade I tried to come up with some "scientific" ways of deciding whether a power buffer of this size was useful at all. The results were promising back then. Now I can say I'm 100% positive the capacitors that I use do provide enough power to smoothen the ride...

My confidence comes from a mistake I've made during the upgrade. The manual is pretty clear about the need of disabling "analogue operation" if a power buffer is added. That's something I did not do. The side effect? Locomotive going forward at full speed once the DCC power is abruptly cut.

The decoder probably assumes it's running on a DC layout instead of DCC when the digital signal is suddenly gone, and consumes the capacitor's entire charge at once for a short but a very fast ride. This does look scary and it's something I disabled right away once I saw it (bit 2 on CV29). But it also proves the power buffer offers enough energy to actually push the model forward. In case of the Taurus engine, the locomotive was able to move by over 10cm. Nice!

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Modification #2 is about adding red taillights. For some reason Piko's Taurus does not offer those. I really miss them, so I've decided to install my own set. I'm using regular 5mm LEDs with 1kOhm resistors. All soldered in the simplest possible way shown below...

The 5mm LEDs fit perfectly into the slots in the model's chassis. It almost feels as if Piko intended to include those but for some reason decided not to at the very last moment. Everything is ready - all I needed to do was to stick my elements into the holes. A tiny drop of hot glue gave me confidence my lights would not fall out.

Of course some simple extra wiring is needed. And suddenly the leftover cables from the DCC conversion became useful!

What I'm doing is basically bridging the front red LEDs with the back white ones, and vice versa. I do not need any extra control over my taillights, and it's OK for me that they will light up together with the opposite headlights (function F0 in DCC). I keep it simple!

My solution works right away. And now in addition to the strong headlights...

...I can also enjoy a little bit more subtle taillights.

I'm very happy with the two above changes. And I'm actually considering a third one already - adding a cabin light. I'm just not sure if I really need it or not... What do you think?