Hello all,My name is Bob, Im very new to garden railroading. I bought a starter set last winter and installed it in my 10' x 10' flower garden in spring. Now I caught the bug, it had expanded to 20' x 50' by the end of summer. I have an upper loop and a lower loop connected by a graded section of track to transfer cars, etc. I currently power with mrc transformers that I purchased at an auction. I recently bought a bachmann three truck shay with the dcc and sound already equipped for my fathers birthday, which I would like to have him run on the top loop and I can run my USA GP38-2 on the bottom, but still have the ability to run them on either track. I want a DCC system is the best for my situation but I dont know much about DCC. A friend suggested the Aristocraft Revolution, and I really liked the wireless control. Can anybody point me in a direction of a system that would be powered from the tracks, controlled remoetly and control sound and lights? im guessing the dcc that is already in the Bachmann three truck shay isnt compatable with a system such as the Revolution? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for your time!~Bob
The Aristo Revolution is not compatible with anything else, and is sort of "half way" in capability to DCC.
There's all kinds of DCC options out there and you have tons of choices so you can get whatever fits your fancy.
I'd start by reading some forums on different systems. I always recommend NCE systems it seems.
It's the favorite of clubs, and it's in the "middle" price wise of DCC systems.
You can get more features with the Zimo and Massoth, and less features with stuff like MRC.
It's a one-time investment so trying to go cheap will limit you in the future.
Go visit some clubs that use DCC - no matter what the scale. Try the throttles and see what you like.
I've got a fairly good section on my web site on DCC, read that.
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
I'm new to Garden Railways too. Thanks Greg - I'll check your web site.
I started many years ago with the Aristocraft Train engineer at 27mhz and track power controlled.
I also use the 55475 switch control module. Works great to this day.
However, I did add a switch to my power leads and now can use my Zimo system which is a full featured DCC system, or go back to the TE for analog remote controlled track power.
The Zimo does have both a wired hand held and a remote handheld controller so guests can run one engine and I can run another on the same or different tracks/loops.
I did keep my turnouts on the Aristo 27 mhz system.
So things to consider is what you need in DCC and how much you are willing to spend to get it.
New systems that came out recently have many features such as color screens and color loco pictures on the screen to identify the loco.
Hey Dan, I know where you can get a discount on really nice track powered DCC switch motors!
Greg
Hey guys, well I am deciding on going with the ECU ECoS system. I am going to try the Loksound also and see how they work. Of course switching over is going to be slow since I'm cleaning up all my engines. I was wondering that when I transfer the locomotives over to DCC they will still be able to run on DC track system until I get the command center right??
Yep, most decoders will support DC mode... CV29...
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