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Martin, given your budget I would stay with DC and jump to DCC when it increases a bit more. I just got a Digitrax Zephyr for my N-scale equipment. The cheapest decoder will cost you $16 so right there is $320 IF you plan to hard wire them in. I know some of the Atlases are DCC ready so you can get a drop in decoder. Those will run $28 each. LifeLikes are not DCC ready so you'll go with the $16 job. Now, this doesn't include the cost of the console unit. A Zephyr will run you $150-$175 depending on where you buy it. You can also opt for the Bachmann one for $75 or so but I don't recommend it since you have a fair number of locos. Of course someone will chime in and say you don't need to get everything at once and start with a few converted locos. You can use ONE non-DCC loco on a DCC layout but the performance is lack luster. Before you say this sounds great in getting in slowly, I can tell you from experience that those locos that are sitting on the sideline will be talking to you really fast "Please convert me" "Please convert me". Nothing sucks more than having a big fleet yet only a few loco can be used. Lastly, how good are you with a soldering iron and electronics? Hardwiring decoders can be easy or hard depending on your skills. It is pretty tricky in N-scale where things are small as they are already. Most of the locos will require milling of the frame - cutting away metal so the decoder can fit. The DCC ready ones can be done in minutes by replacing the light board with the decoder but you can definitely not do this for LifeLikes. I just converted and think it's worth every penny but I don't have a large fleet, less than a handful. Don't let me discourage you by what I said. You need to evaluate the entire situation (which I think you are doing by asking here).
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