SeeYou190 I always have used 4 pin microphone plugs for my Troller Walk Around throttles with great success. -Photograph by Kevin Parson They only plug in one way, and screw down to prevent accidental disconnections. -Kevin
I always have used 4 pin microphone plugs for my Troller Walk Around throttles with great success.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
They only plug in one way, and screw down to prevent accidental disconnections.
-Kevin
Seen those used before- When I bought a troller for use on the narrow gauge the end had what I think seems to be the perfect connector for these- It is called a 4 pin Cinch Jones. These can only be put in one way and have about the same tension for removal and insertion as a grounded electrical plug.
John-NYBWI just read through that thread. It seems most of the DC guys are using plug in throttles although Sheldon seems to have a wireless system. It pretty much confirms I made the right choice going with DCC.
Yeah, my Stapleton PWM throttle runs off 'phone-jack plug-ins....
There are six of them (basically two in each aisle), but I could easily use just three, as the train will continue to run even when the cord is unplugged, as I walk to the next plug-in. I use a 30' springy-type 'phone cord...
John-NYBWI'm not trying to start an argument about whether DC or DCC is the better system. I'm just saying DCC was the right choice for my situation.
You're right, John, each of us choose that which best suits our needs. I did some reading on DCC and didn't see any advantage over DC, at least for my needs.
For years, (but not the last couple of years) we have a "layout tour" where you buy a $5.00 booklet that gives you directions to the homes of modellers willing to let you visit their layouts. The layouts range from plywood pacifics, to works of art suitable for even a museum, and in scales from Z to O.During those tours, I usually hit at least a couple dozen if accompanied by a friend, and, if touring alone, might get to see 30 or more. Along the way there were lots of older DC layouts, and also a surprising amount of not-quite-as-old ones that had been converted to DCC. There's also a fairly large club layout on the tour, all DCC and most of it pretty-well "finished", representing parts of my hometown (Hamilton, Ontario), and also nearby communities.The layouts that were fairly large made up the majority of DCC layouts, as most seemed to have multiple operators. The multiple trains running on those were interesting to watch, but I didn't care for the sound of the steamers...it didn't seem anywhere near what I had heard as a child, with real railroads nearby in the various locales where we had lived when I was a pre-teen.The diesels, however, did sound like the real ones, and I found it easier to enjoy.
I would consider my own layout to be a "medium" size (I've never measured the length of the mainline, which makes a circuit of the layout room, plus a partial upper level which would be close to the same length, not including industrial sidings, double track (through each town) and five staging yards.
I am the sole operator (although I do let visitors run a train if they wish to do so) and have no interest in running more than one train at a time (trains travelling to the partial upper level often have multiple locomotives, though, due to a long (45'-or-so) twisting grade of just under 3%.
For me, DC gives me everything that interests me, while the sounds of steam in my memory fill in that function. My tethered throttle will easily run over a dozen locos at at the same time, but that was usually a little game that I played with my grandkids when they were young and came to visit.
While I admire the work of the many who allowed us to visit, and also of those here who share the photos of their layouts, I have my own "druthers", which include no sound, no nighttime operations, and no more than one train running at any given time. The simplicity of DC suits the simplicity of my needs perfectly.
Wayne
Does the box have a blue and yellow paper label?
My father bought one of these in the early 1960s. I thought it was so terrifically valuable that I never dared take it out of its box... then my son got hold of it while he was a baby and demolished it. Glad to see one running!
If I remember correctly (from a couple of threads here) John English or someone like him had a better-made version of this locomotive (for example the rods were cast with detail instead of stamped or coined) and I am planning to repair mine with 'similar' detail...