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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by selector</i> <br /><br />Make sure you can easily reach into any part of the layout to recover derailed rolling stock and locos. If you are reaching further than about 30", you are asking for trouble...broken something, or toppled table? And, if you think that might be tough, wait until you have to repair a switch reaching that far![/quote] <br /> <br />This a very important issue. I year ago, when I started, I did not consider reaching everything as a big deal but now that I have a few months of hands on experience I am a believer. Once scenery is in place even items close to the front can be hard to work on without causing destruction. <br /> <br />If you want to start small build parts of your 12" dog-bone in sections. You could build the two end loops and later move them apart and add the long center run. <br /> <br />[quote]QUOTE: I can't emphasize how important DCC is for someone who wants to run more than one locomotive on his/her layout at the same time...on the same track. DC needs some complicated wiring to do that, and you will never get all the capabilities of DCC. If you can bring yourself to spend an extra $150-$200, you can get a loco with sound built in AND a decent DCC starter system for a controller. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />To start in DC you need a good power supply, $50.00 to $60.00 and a quality locomotive, $90.00. <br /> <br />To start with DCC NEC's Power Cab would on be about $80.00 more than a good power pack. The Bachman DCC set is about the same cost as a good MRC transformer. Adding a basic decoder to quality locomotive would only be about $30.00 more. <br /> <br />If I was starting over I would skip the DC step and go straight into DCC. Whatever you do stay away from the cheap toy set transformers.
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