No.137 Well Chuffed – Bachmann 45504 Royal Signals DS locomotive running on analogue DC

As the year end approaches a new Blog Post is well overdue.

After a brief foray into the world of digital sound on analogue DC with two or three Bachmann Diesels (fitted with LokSound chips) I thought it time to investigate the possibilities of digital steam sound. I like the look and feel of Bachmann’s unrebuilt Patriots and I had been watching Giggleswick with a mind to making a purchase when I deemed the price to be right. However I was also keeping an eye on the Junction Box, run by Ian Hunter in Haltwhistle. Bachmann’s Giggleswick has an Early Emblem which is not ideal for the 1960s. How much better to buy Bachmann’s 45504 Royal Signals complete with LokSound chip and with Late Crest. Thank you Ian in Haltwhistle.
Bachmann 45504 Royal Signals digital sound locomotive (in service)

Straight out of the box I was not impressed. On my layout the engine struggled with five coaches on and the sounds were disjointed and spasmodic. The first task was to add some extra lead as detailed previously in one of my earlier Posts.
Lead lining to firebox

It is worth noting that for the latest digital sound locomotives that Bachmann have moved the digital chip from the engine to the tender.
Locomotive chassis - Bachmann 45504 Royal Signals digital sound locomotive

Having removed the DC chip I guess this creates an opportunity for adding even more lead. However when lining the inside of the firebox as carried out for the earlier models I now needed to form a couple of cavities in the lead over the top of the motor to accommodate the two capacitors which had previously been soldered to the rear of the motor.

Having added the extra lead I would have another play at making sound. The extra weight increased the haulage capacity and reduced wheel slip. Suddenly the engine became far more controllable and after a little bit of practice at driving I was soon well impressed (chuffed) with the noises.



As when running the Bachmann diesels on analogue, starting off requires a high degree of sensitivity to the position of the control knob which I think I understand. However I need more practice when stopping. I guess it is another of those situations where it becomes almost impossible for the model behaviour to follow prototype. It takes many minutes for the prototype to gather speed. It takes even more minutes to reduce power and to glide to halt. For the model, the starting, the running and the stopping all have to be compressed into fractions of a minute – no wonder the model sounds can struggle to match the movements.

Back to running digital sound on analogue DC. What do you get and what is missing? Running on analogue provides access to the main running sounds which ‘play’ in sequence according to motor current and speed as programmed by the chip designer. Separate to these movement related sounds the digital sound chips come loaded with sound packets associated with activities (literally the bells and whistles). On LokSound chips these extra sounds can only be accessed digitally using the ‘Function Keys’. If you don’t have a Digital Controller then the SPROG can be the next best answer. In a previousPost I pictured my SPROG and programming track connected to my laptop.
Laptop, SPROG and Programming Track (with Bachmann Peak)

For information I have made a short video with Royal Signals on the programming track with the laptop being used to access the Function Keys and then to drive the locomotive.


 From Bachmann the Function Keys are assigned as follows (watch the cursor on the video).

Bachmann Patriot

F1 Sound On/Off
F2 Whistle 1
F3 Whistle 2
F4 Whistle 3
F5 Coal shovel
F6 Blowdown
F7 Injector
F8 Cylinder Draincocks
F9 Coupling clank
F10 Guard whistle
F11 Handbrake
F12 Inertia CV 3/4 on/off
F13 Shunting speed on/off

If you have a small layout I can see that playing with all these sounds would be very absorbing. If however you have a larger layout and enjoy watching trains go by, then perhaps a lot of these sounds are superfluous. This being the case I would question whether it is necessity to use digital control with all its added costs and complications?

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