I am looking for as definitive an answer as possible to the following question, “Is it advisable to run a single DC locomotive on a Digitrax DCC track?” In the documentation that came with my Zephyr, the first thing they document in the Getting Started guide is running a DC locomotive. The only caveat is not to leave a DC locomotive stationary for extended periods on the DCC track. So my query is to anyone who has run, or is currently running DC locomotives, is have you had any problems.
Richard
I occasionaly run a DC loco for testing purposes. It's not usually a pleasant experience to run a DC loco alongside DCC locos, depending on the quality of the loco, it will either whine annoyingly (good motor) or buzz horribly (cheap motor). Never had any damage, but the most I run a DC loco is a few laps to make sure it works, then off it comes. Decoders are too cheap these days to compromise and not put decoders in everything you want to run. 15+ years ago when even basic decoders were $40-$60, and $40-$60 was worth more, it was a feature that made sense.
I've also used the harsh pulses of DC on DCC to break free locos that had never been run, 20+ years after construction. In this case, a Bowser PRR T1. The DC pack I had would just overload before the thing even moved. On address 00, it moved, slowly at first, but as it got some run time, it started to loosen up and run more normally, until it got to a point where it would run on the DC pack as well.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I would say if you want to run DC locomotives, it is probably best to run them with a DC power pack.
As stupidly simple as this sounds, it probably is the best advice on this subject.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
My I have begun the conversion of my locomotives to DCC but I have to manage the migration based on finances. I have a couple of steam locomotives that are going to be significantly more complex to convert than my drop-in Kato locomotives (read pay someone else to do it and pay much more). The track sharing is only until I can afford the conversion.
Not a problem. Before I added decoders, I could run a brass steamer and a brass doodlebug (one at a time, as Digitrax advises) and run them for several minutes at a time. I still run my 68-year old DC Varney Docksider (without a decoder but with a new can motor). If you want to store an idle DC loco on the layout for a relatively long time while DCC locos are running, I recommend isolating the storage track(s) so that you can switch off their power.
Dante
I added power switches to all of the tracks in my yard so that I can turn off power to any and all parked trains. I did it just in case I wanted to park any DC locomotives on the track. It has had the added bonus of letting me turn off the lights in my parked lighted passenger train.
Last night I ran a couple of DC locomotives on the track. Aside from the gut-wrenching whine when they are stationary, and the jittery performance at very low speeds, they worked just fine.
One thing nobody has mentioned is if you have anything with a coreless motor, do not run it on DCC without a decoder. The lack of an iron core to dissapate any heat build up will likely destroy the motor fairly quickly.
My advice is to put the DC locomotives away until you are ready to upgrade them to DCC. Realistically, you're going to just run your DCC engines anyway, because you'll be so dissatisfied with the performance of those DC locomotives compared to DCC ones. When you install the decoders after a few months, it will be like having a brand new engine and you will smile.
If you have a reverse loop or wye on your layout controlled by a DCC auto-reverser, you'll discover that DC engines don't work with those.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.