I recently discovered an HO train club in my town. A few years back I inherited a rather large HO train collection from my uncle and grandfather. I can remember running some the trains when I was 8. I'm 38 now. I went to a few club meetings and decided to join. I'm new to the DCC world, that of the club. 95% of the trains that I have (36+ boxes) are DC trains. I want to put up a small 4x8, maybe a little bigger, layout in my garage to learn scenery, layout, scratch building, electronics etc.
My question, what would you do if you were in my shoes and had so many trains from the late 70's, 80's, and some from the 90's (DCC ready). I want to sell some of them, keep some of them, display some, but in terms of the layout, I was thinking about setting it up with a switch to run both DC and DCC. I don't have the money to change everything over to DCC and some of the steam locomotives I was told would be almost impossible to do because of a lack of room inside the loco for the things needed to make DCC w/sound. Suggestions?
You have 36+ boxes of locomotives?
sdgaston, welcome to the forums. This topic may bring more responses if posted in the "general" forum. You don't mention your location, but if you are lucky enough to be in an area that has several train shows or swap meets close by, that may be your best bet to find new homes for the equipment you don't need. The other alternative would be listing them on eBay. There are re-sellers that advertise in MR "Buying collections". You will find they offer about 10 cents on the dollar for your items. You might ask around the club for ideas. They could give you guidance on where to sell locally as well as the p[otential value. Good luck and happy modelling.
sdgaston I recently discovered an HO train club in my town. A few years back I inherited a rather large HO train collection from my uncle and grandfather. I can remember running some the trains when I was 8. I'm 38 now. I went to a few club meetings and decided to join. I'm new to the DCC world, that of the club. 95% of the trains that I have (36+ boxes) are DC trains. I want to put up a small 4x8, maybe a little bigger, layout in my garage to learn scenery, layout, scratch building, electronics etc. My question, what would you do if you were in my shoes and had so many trains from the late 70's, 80's, and some from the 90's (DCC ready). I want to sell some of them, keep some of them, display some, but in terms of the layout, I was thinking about setting it up with a switch to run both DC and DCC. I don't have the money to change everything over to DCC and some of the steam locomotives I was told would be almost impossible to do because of a lack of room inside the loco for the things needed to make DCC w/sound. Suggestions?
Your call but most of the really good trains have been produced in the last 15-20 years. Thats not to say that some trains from the 80's and 90's are decent and worth keeping when you see some of the products that have been made, especially in the last 10 years, the older stuff can seem really "dated" - especially engines.
Engines made before the mid-1990's generally will take some work to be made into DCC, such as isolating the motor etc.such as Athearn blue box. Kato, Atlas or Stewart can usually be conveted with a DCC circuit board type decoder replacement. Since the mid-1990's, many/most better brand HO engines are DCC ready, so they have a DCC plug or connector in them where you remove a dummy plug and plug in a DCC decoder.
Sell off what you don't care for and check out some of the newer stuff; the prices are a lot higher but you get so much more too. Your call of course. Of all the stuff I've collected over the past 30+ years, I've sold off every engine I've owned that older than around 20 years old, and replaced them with newer ones. Freight cars etc. I still have some Athearn, Model Die Casting and other stuff going back into the 1980's all though they are far outnumbered now with newer Intermountain, ExactRail, and Atlas rolling stock.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
My read on this is that he has 36 boxes of trains and somehow thinks that they are not compatible with DCC. That's why I asked him if he had 36 boxes of locos. Certainly the cars don't care if they are DCC or DC. Or maybe, as usual, I'm just not understanding the question.
Hey Maxman, thanks for responding. No, they aren't all locos, about 10 of them are. I have just about 2 boxes that may contain about a dozen locos that are DCC ready. The rest aren't and are the older DC steam locos that smoke and light up. The main question is would you build a DC and DCC layout that operates on a switch so you could run both, but not at the same time? If so, do you have any advice on that and if not, why?
Maxman, thats often problem understanding a persons post when it's not very specific or facts are muddled.
Thanks for the advice Slammin
Hi sdgaston:
Welcome to the forums and back to the hobby!!
I have a couple of suggestions:
First, figure out what you want. In other words, what era, what types of locomotives and rolling stock, what types of operations (just getting trains to go round and round on a track can get boring really fast). You already know that you want at least some DCC.
Second, figure out what you've got. There may be some real gems and keepers in your collection, and there may be some junk. You might ask some of your fellow club members if they would mind having a look at what you have to see what's good and what isn't. 36 boxes is a lot to go through in one sitting. Perhaps break it up into two or three sessions, and provide refreshments if you are doing it at home. Have a few empty boxes at the ready so you can sort the keepers from the others. The sessions could turn into quite the adventures for knowledgable modelers.
Don't assume that all 'toy train' items have little value. Some of the rarer pieces are collector's items if they are in good shape.
Get rid of the things you don't want. Most newer modelers acquire a fair amount of stuff before they really focus on what they want to model so they end up with things they don't want or need. In your case somebody has already done that for you. If you have a lot of undesirable pieces perhaps consider renting a table at a swap meet close to you. The earlier you book a table the cheaper they usually are, at least in some shows. Before selling at a show you may want to visit a couple so you can see what things are going for.
EBay can move a lot of stuff for you. I would suggest grouping inexpensive items in lots of 3 - 5 pieces simply to reduce the number of transactions you might have to go through. EBay is also a good spot for determining value but don't believe everything you see there. There are also a couple of on-line swap forums specifically aimed at model trains. Others might be able to recommend them. I haven't used them as of yet.
The point is to focus your collection on what you want and eliminate the clutter as much as possible. You don't have to sort it all at once either. Once you have things at least partially sorted and you have chosen some suitable candidates for both DC and DCC, then you can start on cleaning up/lubricating the locomotives and doing some conversions.
Have fun!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
While you may not have the money (or time) to change everything over to DCC, the good news is, you don't have to!!
My layout is 8'x20' two 100' mainlines built 30+ years ago. I just installed DCC less than two weeks ago. And all my DC locos and lighted passensgers cars run just fine (even better than on DC) on the Digitrax system I bought.
For your purpose on a starter size layout I would think something like a Digitrax Zephyr would be more than enough to get started and expand into the forseeable future for years to come. You can buy new for $175 or less. You could probably raise enough at a swap meet to cover much if not all of that expense.
The only caveat to remember is don't leave the DC locomotives sitting still on a live DCC track. I have had no issues running DC equipment with my Digitrax system, not even any of the so-called motor "chatter" or "singing" noises. Smoother & more quiet running than on DC.
What's nice about the Zephyr (current model - don't know if the older models do this) is you can jump ports on it for using DC power packs (like you probably already have) as additional throttles.
Your relatives collected what they wanted. That may not be what you want to model in the future. Your grand daddy's 45 that he carried on D-Day is a family heirloom, never get rid of that. The blue box Athearn GP-9 isn't quite in the same class.
I expect what you remember most fondly is not the most detailed or valuable piece of the collection. You may want to keep it, upgrade it to DCC or replace it with something with more detail.
Overall it's a good problem to have.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I have my trains from the 1950s and 1960s, so maybe my experience will be helpful.
First, the locomotives. How many do you have, because that's the only thing that is an issue with DC vs. DCC. If these engines run well, they can be converted for as little as $15-20 each, although that won't get you sound. It would be worth setting up a test track and cleaning up a few of your engines to see how good they are. If an engine runs poorly on DC, it will be even worse on DCC.
Mine, sad to say, were not very good. I ended up just buying new engines, some model-for-model replacements and some totally different ones. Yours are a bit newer, so you might have better luck. I still run many of my old engines, but as dummies rather than motive power of their own.
Your rolling stock will still run. I replaced all my horn-hook couplers with Kadee knuckle couplers and put them back in service. Over the years, I've gradually replaced the plastic wheelsets for metal ones to improve performance, but that doesn't have to be done all at once.
Once you start running trains with DCC, by the way, you won't want to go back. I would not waste my time setting up a layout for "dual-power" options, as attractive as it might sound. Your DC engines will become "shelf queens" until you gradually add decoders to them.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
sdgastonI was thinking about setting it up with a switch to run both DC and DCC. I don't have the money to change everything over to DCC and some of the steam locomotives I was told would be almost impossible to do because of a lack of room inside the loco for the things needed to make DCC w/sound. Suggestions?
I think one or two double pole double throw switches are all you need to switch between using DC transformers and DCC transformers. Build your layout for DC with traditional blocks. When you want to run DCC set all of your blocks in the on position, then flip the switch.
Hi,
Welcome to the fascinating world of model railroading! You've recently visited a club and by now, you have probably realized that this hobby has many dimensions. Here is the catch: when we start, we usually have tons to discover, about the hobby obviously, but also about what what will like most about it. My advice: keep all what you have and play with it. Start small: 4X8 is fine to start with. The only real thing you should probably buy for now is brand new track. If you have a decent powerpack (try it out!), then start with DC and start to learn the basics. In fact, the learning part is probably the most rewarding aspect of the hobby for most of us. Read this forum - search for topics you are interested in. Buy a book or two that will provide you the basics.
After a few months of playing with what you have and building track, you will discover the aspects you like most of this hobby. Maybe you will realize that playing with old equipment is not your thing - and that's fine. Chances are, you might be able to give a second life to a few items. I haven't sold anything I have and I never regretted it because I realized that old equipment is GREAT to practice and hone your skills, such as painting things, fixing engines, changing wheels, etc. Unless you have a deep pocket and exceptional skills, it would not be advisable for you to start tinkering with new and expensive locomotives and cars. Use your old stuff to practice various weathering techniques. And at a certain point, you may want to scratchbuild things and swap components between locos or other things. My parts box is a treasure box that I dig into every week...
I agree that there is no rush to go DCC. At some point you may want to have a toggle switch and use both systems (to use one or the other, not DCC in one section and DC in another section - you may fry some decoders if a loco goes from one to another by accident). And then, if your are like most of us, you will go DCC full time. But jumping directly to DCC is unecessary. Many on this forum like to build scenary and modify locos to make them look so real, it fools the eye. Yet there is no DCC on their layouts...
I guess the point I am trying to make here is that being hasty in this hobby is rarely a good idea. Take your time, tinker with what you have, and buy stuff once you have built a bit of knowledge about model trains. And if you want to sell stuff, go right ahead. But what's the rush?
Simon
If the track is nickel silver, I would just clean the track you have as well as you can with alcohol, and attach it to a 2" thick piece of extruded foam you can move around. Google the newest DC power pack you can find in your collection on the web, and see if it works. If it does, just use that setup until you can go to DCC. You will want to save the track money for after you've designed your layout.
You can get an MRC DCC starter unit for $90, and it's expandable so you can use it with more throttles, and even a computer.
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/MRC-Prodigy-Explorer-DCC-System-p/mrc-1422.htm
Decoders can be had for as cheap as $12 for no-sound, $45 for sound (I use Digitrax SDH166D decoders, and like them a lot). You will require a soldering iron, solder, and a multimeter. You can get these all for (together) less than $30 from Harbor Freight Tools.
With DC, the lights will come on whether you want them or not, and they will be noiser than on DCC. You can also only control ONE loco at a time(or all will do the same function). On DCC, you can turn the lights on and off, and do functions like MARS lights, ditch lights, and beacons. You can also run several locos on one section of track at a time, all performing different functions. When you buy the DCC unit, you will want to then buy the new track.
I wouldn't invest money in more DC equipment if you don't have to. Learn how to care for what you have first.
Oh yeah, and use your local library for interlibrary loans, you can get any book you need that way easily. These model railroading books aren't cheap, and I only buy the ones I think I'm going to keep.
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
I would be slow to sell anything until you have a better feel for what you want to do.
For your garage layout, if you have the room I would build a 5'4" x 12' table top. Have the lumber yard cut 2 sheets of plywood at the 5'4" mark and you can arrange the 4 pieces into 5'4" x 12'. Since you are in the experimental/learning stage, this will give you enough room to try out some different track arrangements and scenery, yet still run some decent length trains.
One thing to consider is having 2 separate loops of track with sidings, etc. One for DC and one for DCC.
Good luck
Paul
Hi everyone:
I don't want to seem critical of some of the suggestions that have been made (including my own), but I think it would do us well to remember that we are talking about 36 boxes of stuff! Listing it all here with pictures would be a colossal task, and I'm not sure its even allowed. The collection needs to be sorted for sure. That's where I would recruit the model RR club members. If the OP wants to hang on to all of it, then I suggest that he start with a half dozen or so boxes instead of trying to do the whole thing at once.
I really am envious. This is like discovering an old model railway gem hidden in your grandfather's attic, but multiplied 1000 times.
sdgastonMy question, what would you do if you were in my shoes and had so many trains from the late 70's, 80's, and some from the 90's (DCC ready). I want to sell some of them, keep some of them, display some, but in terms of the layout, I was thinking about setting it up with a switch to run both DC and DCC. I don't have the money to change everything over to DCC and some of the steam locomotives I was told would be almost impossible to do because of a lack of room inside the loco for the things needed to make DCC w/sound. Suggestions?
I've got lots of equipment from those time periods. I don't know that I will ever have a layout large enough even hold a fraction of them. I convert them when I want/need to and the rest stay in their boxes or display cases.
Not able to convert a steam locomotive? Those usually have lots of room in the tender.
So I would suggest to just choose the ones you want, put a switch in for DC/DCC and convert the fleet as funds become avaliable. Worry about how hard each conversion is to do when the time comes.