Bought a bunch of track,now I need a power pack ....MRC6200 ok ?

[Anonymous]

I have some credit at the hobby shop,and they carry this .Will it keep me running for a while?


What gauge wire should I be looking at getting?not the same stuff we use for ho and n gauge ???

Anyway thanks for any help.

[Anonymous]

update I just hooked up the dinky bachman power that came with the set to see what would happen,the big hauler and 2 cars made it all the way around without a hitch,no slowdowns nothing.

Mind you I want to buy a decent transformer but if this little turd of a power pack can put that much juice then remind me why I need to spend over $100 on anything else.

I guess I will probably pick up the mrc6200 .....its $100 and hopefully as I get further into the hobby I will actually need it

[piercedan]

The big hauler idoes not consume a lot of power.

If you run engines with 2 motors, sound, smoke and lights, then a stronger supply will be needed.

The 6200 will perform better than the Bachman power pack, but it is still on the small side of the spectrum.

Original Bachman power packs were 7va which at 14 volts was 1/2 amp.
newer sets have a supply near or at 1 amp.

The 6200 is a 60va supply but has both AC and DC outputs so I would guess the DC portion is around 2 amps for track power, and if nothing is on the AC side, perhaps 2.5 amps.

Most of my club members prefer to go to trackside power with 10 amp as a minimum.

The 6200 will serve you well to start and if you need larger later then the 6200 is a great supply for bench testing, or for a second/secondary RR line. It will not go to waste in the future.

[aspinallar]

I run this power pack. My track is about 60 ft long total.
The pack Works well. Can run two engines simultaneously. It does have AC and DC ouputs. The literature and the support at the company don't clearly state how the output is split between AC and DC.
I did replace the Bachman 1 am power pack with this unit with a significant improvement in performance.

[Anonymous]

My 6200 has been performing well for years, just don't overtax it.

[cutlass12001]

I have been running the MRC 6200 since I installed my garden railway over 4 years ago. I handled everything I have on it, with no problem. I even went as far as to install the Crest Walk around engineer so I could go wireless. It handles it with no problems. If anyone has any idea how to get my USA switches to work off the walk around engineer, it would be appreciated. I tried installing the additional components and they still won't work. Could it be the transformer? I hope not, but I will get the 10 amp if I need to. The switches worked fine before I went to the walk around system. I had everything mounted to a stationery site outside, where the switch controls were. Now power supply is inside the house where the weather can't get it

[Anonymous]

Piercedan makes a good point - if you run engines that do not require a lot of power and are not pulling a lot of cars then you can use a smaller power supply.

If you are looking to get a power supply that you can run almost anything with then opt for a power supply with a high VA rating - something of 240 or better if you want to go with the 10 amp rule (240VA means you can have 10 amps at 24 volts).

Not all power supplies have the same build quality either. I have seen the insides of some units that have, for lack of a better term, spaghetti wiring (a big mess which means lost power in the power supply. Also have seen "floating components" that is a omponent of the power supply that was only held with internal wiring - a very dangerous method as that can lead to shorts and possible electrocution.

Best bet is to get a power supply that meets your needs, your budget and is a quality product.