I am erecting my first train set-up on 4' x 8' homasote over plywood. There are several questions I have and bear with me while I try and explain myself. I would prefer remote turnouts and some street/track lighting on my layout. Although, I am not at this point yet, I really know what power supplies/transformers I will need for the all the plug-ins I am sure to have. I am retired so I would prefer this becomes my hobby and I don't want a toy. The main line on my ever- evolving layout is MEcode83 weathered concrete tie and from there the branch lines and turnouts will be ME track because of its realism. I have been assured that the quality is there, and there will only be 4 or 5 turnouts on the layout. I am not emotionally prepared to try and lay my own turnouts as yet and I was advised by some old-timers to avoid DCC. I will be usin suitcase connectors whenever possible, but I still need help on what to plug in switch control machines, lighting, switch stands, etc.,etc. Can someone offer me some advise so I don't foolishly spend too much on products I can't use. Thanks....
Not that it's "wrong" per se (you can do whatever you want), but I'm curious as to your choice of using concrete tie track which is only found on class 1 high traffic mainlines .... seems rather unusual for a small layout.
For the few turnouts you have on your layout, you can easily power them from the accessory terminals on your power pack - which leads me to your other comment ....
The "old timers" are telling you to avoid DCC because they are afraid of it ! Small layouts can greatly benefit from the use of DCC as you can entirely avoid having to break your layout into a bunch of small blocks and insulated sidings just to move a few trains about. Take the bull by the horns and show those old timers just how easy and fun DCC really is !
Lastly - and there will be some contradictions to this - I am not an advocate of using suitcase connectors. A soldered connection is better than a mechanical connection any time. While they may speed up the wiring process, I've read many times of their failure to maintain contact.
Mark.
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missy1 I am erecting my first train set-up on 4' x 8' homasote over plywood...I have been assured that the quality is there, and there will only be 4 or 5 turnouts on the layout. I am not emotionally prepared to try and lay my own turnouts as yet and I was advised by some old-timers to avoid DCC. Thanks....
I am erecting my first train set-up on 4' x 8' homasote over plywood...I have been assured that the quality is there, and there will only be 4 or 5 turnouts on the layout. I am not emotionally prepared to try and lay my own turnouts as yet and I was advised by some old-timers to avoid DCC. Thanks....
For a 4x8 1st layout - will you be normally operating more than one train at a time? Do you want sound-equipped locomotives? If the answer to either is yes, DCC will be much easier to operate with. And you won't have to learn the soon-to-be lost art of blocking your track. If you are planning only 1 train at a time, without sound locomotives, DC will be just as simple, and cheaper for the same end result.
While ME track is more realistic looking than its Atlas counterpart, the ME track also takes a little bit more effort to lay properly. This may or may no be the route you want to take.
This from a person who still uses DC by choice (for the time being), and uses a mixture of handlaid and Atlas and Shinohara sectional track, flex track, and turnouts.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Welcome to the forums.Since you are an old-timer like me, you are probably used to books rather than looking everything up on the Internet. If that is the case, you might want to get a couple of books on layout wiring. Model Railroader has a good library to select from.Also, you might want to see if there is a model railroad club in your area that you could join. Getting together with other modelers that have some experience will do more to help you than just reading and researching, although that will be needed as well.You have made an excellent selection with the track you are going to use. As for the advice you received about DCC, I'm not so sure. Sure, you can do your first layout using DC, and you may not need DCC at all. But what DCC will allow you to do is make your track wiring simpler, have locomotives with sound and control those sounds individually. Also, you can have a friend over to "run trains" with you, and each of you can control your own locomotive individually. If (heaven forbid) you decide you don't like model railroading, you will be able to sell your DCC system. DC power packs are mostly paper weights now as far as resale value goes.
Hope this helps.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I have a DC On30 Christmas set made by Bachmann. Years ago, I had Marklin. They both work(ed) very well and are a lot of fun. We only run/ran one train at a time, so the wiring in DC/AC was simple and cheap. Both are simple ovals with a siding and maybe a spur. Simple.
DCC doesn't necessarily shine in those circumstances, although you can achieve all your decoder can do for you if you have a DCC controller. It's a choice. For me, as an inveterate steam fan, I want sound and I would like to lift my trains slowly and accelerate without having to continually adjust the throttle commensurately. Nothing wrong with that...the real hoggers have to keep reaching for the throttle and tweaking the cut-off as well.
To me, no matter what your layout size or configuration is, DCC shines when you want to run two locomotives at the same time, and not have complicated switches, detectors, and so on. Whether you want them nested in a consist (MU'd), or run as separate items trailing their own tonnages and on their own track warrants, DCC is a simple, if somewhat more costly initially, way to accomplish this.
So, I would agree with Fred, a single loco on a relatively smallish and simple track plan is great in DC. Add other requirements, and then DCC has an edge. Maybe not huge, depending on your interests, but it can be substantial as well.
Crandell
Congradulations on the layout. When it comes to the lighting, there are 2 basic lights, and then there are LEDs. The lights will be rated either 12VDC or 1.5VDC, and they will also include another number which tells how much current they use. If you are going to use a lot of lighting, I would recommend using a wall wart power pack. The good news is you might even have one laying in a drawer somewhere, if not, they are not that expensive at the stores. If you are using both 12VDC AND 1.5VDC bulbs, you can use resistors or wire them together in series (1.5vdc x 8lights=12vdc). The 1.5vdc lights are the smallest, and would be good for things that are visable and would look odd with a larger bulb in it. The 12vdc lights are good for building lighting where they are not really visable.
Welcome aboard!
I'm in my 60s, and I came back to the hobby about 7 years ago after a 40-year absence. A lot has changed.
I initially built a 5x12 foot layout, in HO gauge. I quickly learned that DCC is the way to go. If you buy your engines already DCC-equipped, the whole system is pretty much plug-and-play. As was pointed out, there is no need to "block" your layout with DCC, as you control each engine individually. As we like to say, "With DC you run the track. With DCC you run the trains."
I buy 16-volt bulbs for all of my scenic lighting - buildings, street lights, floodlight towers and the like. Then, I turn around and run them at 12 volts. I prefer the warmer glow of the bulbs this way, I think the light level is better, and running a bulb significantly below its rated voltage will extend its life immensely. I have a number of 12-volt power supplies bought specifically for this purpose. Others use the 12-volt outputs of old computer power supplies.
There are lots of choices for turnouts. I've used many of them for different applications on my own layout. The most economical is the Atlas Snap-Switch. These are not very prototypical, as the turning radius is quite sharp - 18-inches or the new 22-inch models. They are available with built-in switch machines for remote control. Atlas also makes a better line of more prototypical turnouts with realistic angles.
Peco is a British manufacturer. Their turnouts are geometrically similar to Atlas, but they have a built-in spring that holds the points against the stock rails, even without any kind of switch machine. They also make a machine, sold separately, which attaches to the bottom of the turnout. That combination gives a very solid, positive throw and connection every time. Plus, the switch machine is hidden beneath the track, so it's not obvious and visible like the Atlas models. Both Atlas and Peco machines are solenoids, or "twin-coil" machines. They "snap" from one side to the other, hence the name "Snap-Switch."
And then, there is the Tortoise. This is a "slow motion" motor, or "stall motor." It is designed to mount beneath the layout, and it drives the points using a stiff wire. When you throw the toggle on your control panel, the Tortoise slowly moves the points from one side to the other, and then holds them there. Circuitron, which makes the Tortoise, doesn't make turnouts. They are designed to be used with other manufacturers' products. You can use them with Atlas or Peco turnouts, but if you use Pecos you will have to remove that little spring.
Most of us generally have control panels to activate our remote control turnouts. If you go with DCC, you have the option (and it is an option, not a requirement) to attach more electronic gadgetry which will allow you to select and operate turnouts from your hand-held throttle, thus freeing you from the control panel.
Yet another option is the "speedometer cable" approach. This is a physical connection from the turnout to the layout fascia, and a mechanical system rather than an electrical one to operate the turnout.
My advice, since you have only a few turnouts, is to go with the Tortoise. After a lifetime of snap-switches, seeing the points waltz slowly from side to side is a thing of beauty to me. The Tortoise also has a set of electrical contacts which can be used to control signals, etc., which many modelers find very nice. The Tortoise give you your choice of turnouts. I've been using the Walthers-Shinohara line with these, and I'm very happy with the results.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Having been in the hobby a while (63 years, to be precise), I deny "fear" of DCC. I started my layout before there was DCC; it runs just fine on DC, and I don't have room in my weighted locos to put a DCC board in them. And I am not going to take my 7 scratch-built locos apart just to try to stuff a DCC chip in them. Better limit your statements about "being afraid" to specific old-timers; they are inappropriate for all of us.