Greetings,
For the last few years, I have been building an O27 layout in my garage. I am close to completing it and I have enjoyed the simplistic nature of it. Post-war locomotives and the monster power pack from the post-war era. simple wiring and easy to repair and rebuild.
I had HO layouts as a kid and enjoyed their simplistic nature. I did dabble for a couple of years in DCC but couldn't afford it and after a while and sold off everything.
I was recently thinking how much I missed the simple brass MRC transformers and blue box Athearn trains I had. I decided I am going to build a 5 x 8 layout in my house to enjoy during the months when it is too hot or too cold to be in my garage. I am going to buy old pre-DCC trains and transformers to build this layout. I have been doing some digging around trying to refresh my memory. I did find a layout rendering and it meets many of my requirements. Looking forward to recapturing my childhood with this new project.
Hello All,
SBlanck-UPLooking forward to recapturing my childhood with this new project.
I started back in this great hobby because I loved the Tyco 34' Operating Hoppers that were added to my first HO set for Christmas of 1973.
My current pike is based on these same cars that I hold dear in my modeling memories.
Realize- -modern materials and DC control options have advanced.
There are many on these forums that have vastly more experience with DC than I have.
Have fun!
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
SBlanck-UP I am going to buy old pre-DCC trains and transformers to build this layout. I have been doing some digging around trying to refresh my memory. I did find a layout rendering and it meets many of my requirements. Looking forward to recapturing my childhood with this new project.
That sounds very much like what I am going to build.
I like doing it the "old" (1970s and 1980s) way.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
In some ways this is an ideal time for this kind of project because the trains shows and some hobby shops are flush with previously enjoyed HO trains, partly due to other people upgrading (either their modeling standards or their electrical system to DCC, or both) but also due to the aging of the hobby and the "estaet sale" aspect. This includes older power packs including Model Rectifier (and yes my early 1960s Model Rectifier power pack still looks great with its copper casing).
In other words you can afford to be patient and picky.
The only upgrade I would suggest would be to Kadee couplers versus the X2F/horn-hook couplers. And the one caution I'd express is about older power packs and whether the cords and plugs look intact and safe. I saw a lot of Troller packs on sale this summer at a big train show but also remember that some folks reported lots of reliability problems with Troller back when it was new.
Dave Nelson
Oh yes! I had Kadee couplers on my other stuff before. Definitely a must!
The new technology is very cool and fascinating but one can still have lots of fun model railroading with the ''old" ways! Welcome back to HO and wish you the best as you progress with your layout, trains, etc!
SBlanck-UP I was recently thinking how much I missed the simple brass MRC transformers and blue box Athearn trains I had.
I was recently thinking how much I missed the simple brass MRC transformers and blue box Athearn trains I had.
When I got back into the hobby in the late 1970s, one of the first books I bought was a primer for HO modelers written by the late Lin Westcott. He made the point that you don't use a transformer with HO. What you are calling a transformer is technically a power pack. I didn't know there was a difference either until I read that. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to electronics, but I think its an AC, DC thing.
SBlanck-UP Oh yes! I had Kadee couplers on my other stuff before. Definitely a must!
Simon
Keep in mind that to do DC you don't have to just buy stuff from like 50 years ago. I mean, if you're into collecting old HO stuff, that's great (there's a whole magazine dedicated to that now). But if you're just going to have a layout, you can search around online and at RR flea markets and find 1990s-2010s engines from Atlas, Kato, Stewart/Bowser and others at relatively low prices that are going to run much better than the old BB Athearn models.
Nothing wrong with starting over. Trying new things and improving is beneficial to the hobby aLao.
pls keep us info of progress.