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Battery vs Track power with digital controller

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I am a newbe to doing anything electric in a garden railway. I have been in R/C live steam exclusively until recently when I bought a Bachman Climax and converted it to battery and R/C for my steam friendly layout. So just as a casual observation from one not so experienced in this area, it seems counterproductive to spend a good deal of money on a system for independent locomotive operation such as DCC, then still have all the attendent difficulties of track power. I am not ANTI track power, I just think that there are probably better solutions for a railroad exposed to the elements. A radio controlled locomotive with batteries on board has a lot of advantages. You can either follow the train in operation or if your radio reception is good enough, sit back and watch your train run. There is never a worry about dirty track. As a live steamer, I can tell you my track is ALWAYS dirty. And is this a consideration? Would you ever consider adding live steamers to your roster? They make track dirty fast, so with track power and DCC, pickup would again be a problem. Since your layout is new, the economic factors can be weighed from the prospective of a clean slate. Good rail joining and other techniques for track power as well as ample wiring require effort and expense, they are not free. Neither is a good power pack, or a number of them. Does your track plan include reversing loops? sidings that will be de-energized when the turnout is thrown against it (directionally routed power)? this is a wiring consideration, too. With self contained locomotives, either live steam, live diesel or battery, there is no consideration necessary for the track as an electrical conductor. It's just a track, just as in the prototype. Battery power is not free,either, but it does not have to be as expensive as some outfitters of equipment lead you to believe. There are "AA" batteries in existence that can deliver 2 amperes of current for more than an hour, and they cost about $1.00 apiece. The 10 battery pack I made from the "AA" batteries will run my Bachman Climax, a two motor locomotive, for about 1 1/2 hours pulling a six car train, headlights and fire effecs blazing. Look at www.batteryspace.com You can use speed controllers from model race cars like the Novack "Spy" which costs about $60.00, and an inexpensive R/C transmitter and receiver such as the Futaba Attack SR which is another $50.00. Depending on your requirements for running multiple locos, you may buy one or two complete transmitter/receiver setups then buy receivers only for the rest of your locomotives. For my steamers, I have two transmitters and four locomotives, I just switch transmit crystals depending on which locos I am using. With the electric setup I just described, only one channel of the two channel R/C is utilized. If you want to get fancy, you can have one loco on one of the channels, and another on the other channel. You could control two locomotives from the same transmitter, one transmitter stick for each loco. A down side to battery power is charging, but with the smart charger available from www.batteryspace.com ($49.95) these batteries can often be charged in less time than their running time. Another down side to batteries is the work required to convert a locomotive. If you are electrically and mechanically handy, this is less of a problem. Some locos are easier than others, but my first and only was a Bachman Climax for which some battery outfitters suggest a trail car only. Where there is a will, there is a way. There is no room for sound in this loco after conversion, but that is a personal choice. With the newer NiMH batteries available now, fitting in batteries just got easier. Oh by the way, another positive for battery power is that you have constant voltage available for lighting, sound, smoke, effects or whatever. Another thing to consider is that if you completely disconnect the electrical pickups in your locomotives during the battery conversion, there is no danger of shorting out when running on a track power layout, DCC layout, or whatever. Unlike other forms of power or control, you can now run on anyone's railroad with anyone's motive power. I once doubleheaded my R/C-battery powered Climax with my live steam scratchbuilt 14 ton Shay. Now that's a combination! So there you have it. Am I pro-battery, guess so, but after suffering with small scale track power for many years, I find self-contained locomotives, whatever the power source, and R/C a welcome relief
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