I am relatively new at this. I have a layout with about 40' of track stretched a 4' x 25' area ouside in the garden. I am using the basic Aristocraft Train Engineer that came with my starter set, so I am looking to either upgrade to a better power pack, or to go to battery power. My question: for a small layout like mine, what do I need to invest in to begin to use battery power? I don't think my little Aristocraft engine has a plug to take a battery car. Should I get that Aristocraft battery car and a new engine, etc.? What is the least expensive way to get started?
I think short term, you're just as well off investing in a better power supply. A good 10-amp power supply would be plenty to serve you now and even into the future. That s small amount of space, that little amount of track doesn't exactly rank as a "maintenance headache" in the grand scheme of things.
Having said that, if you're going to go battery power, it's always advisable to so from the start, so to avoid the cost of converting your entire fleet at once a few years down the road. As for what you need to go battery power, the size of the railroad doesn't matter. You'll have to decide whether you want to build one or two power cars to power multiple locos (not at once, obviously), or if you want to put everything onboard the locomotive. The former is certainly the less expensive option, in that you only need as many R/C receivers as you have power cars, and then you're "done" in terms of expenses except for additional locos. The latter option gives you the freedom to run whatever loco whenever, however, but you're adding batteries and R/C gear to each locomotive, which will add anywhere from $100 - $300 to the cost of each loco depending on which R/C system you go with.
As for what you'll need, the most obvious is batteries. Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion) technology seems to be taking over as the dominant batteries in use. They're small, lightweight, and pack a lot of power into a rather small space. For instance, the Li-Ion batteries I use measure around 1" x 3" x 3", give me 14.8 volts, and will run my trains for 3 - 5 hours per charge, sometimes more. Make sure you get a suitable charger with your batteries. The biggest risk with Li-Ion (or any battery for that matter) is incorrect charging. You'll want to use a charger that's specifically designed for your batteries. The batteries run between $40 - $50 (for something like I use), and you can get a suitable charger for around $25. There are certainly more expensive chargers that you can use, too. I'm not sure what advantages they offer, as the $25 ones are "smart" chargers as well, and work with the circuitry attached to each battery pack to charge each cell properly.
Another popular option is Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. (NiMH.) These are the rechargable AA batteries you see at Wal-Mart or wherever. You can get them in similar capacities to the Li-Ion batteries, but the batteries take up about 2.5 times as much space. The advantage of them is that they're a bit cheaper, and you can get them at Wal-Mart. You can also use them in your digital camera and lots of other things, provided you do your installs so that you can remove them to charge them.
Personally, I prefer to do installs where you can get to the battery pack and swap it out for a fresh one. It's not always practical, but you can usually charge the batteries quicker than you drain them, so you can theoretically keep running and running.
As for which system you want to use, there are many options. I just finished up a series in my Garden Railways Basics column that looks at some of them and their attributes. I'll refer you to that rather than regurgitate the same stuff here. Many of thse systems also work off of track power, so you could conceivably start using them with track power, then add batteries as time goes on.
I'm sure others will chime in with more helpful hints, and reasons why they use the particular systems they use. At the risk of sounding like a politician, I've used most of them at one point or another, and there's not one that I wouldn't recommend. Each has its unique strengths that play to different user needs.
Later,
K
Thanks, kstrong. That gives me a good idea. I'll look up your article in the Garden Railways Basics for more info....
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