Hey folks! I just got a bunch of trains from a guy. All Athern with kadie (sp?) couplers and one proto E8. He had TONS of Santa Fe and UP stuff..... but I just picked out the local lines. I notice there is a ton of diffrent stuff out there from when I was a kid. a few questions I have are....
Whats the best type of track to use? Is brass not the staple anymore? Switches?
What kind of road bed is best? I see its not just cork anymore.
Whats up with the DCC stuff? Do you have to get a seperate controller for that?
Im sure I will have more questions but this is a start.....
polishpower,
First off, to the forum! Good to have you aboard!
To answer your questions:
Best type of trackNickle-silver. Brass isn't made anymore. NS also doesn't need cleaning as often as brass.
Switches (aka turnouts)Atlas, Walthers-Shinohara, Peco all make decent ones.
Road bedEither cork or foam work well. Foam is generally quieter than cork.
DCCIn my opinion, this is one of the best innovations to the hobby in the past 20 years. You can individually control each of your locomotives - even if they are on the same track and right next to one another. You can also control more than one simultaneously.
You can also program it to run lashups or consists. Basically, the consist will be treated as "one big locomotive".
Yes, you will need a "controller" in order for your throttle to communicate with the locomotive's decoder. DCC systems are made up of a:
Here's a good primer from Tony's Train Exchange web site that should help explain DCC in further detail for you:
http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/dccprimer/index.htm.
You can either read it online or download it as a .pdf file onto your computer.
Hope that helps...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Welcome to the forum and back to the hobby. There are many of us here back after a while away.
You have questions, we have answers, some of which will even be useful.
NO brass track
I like Atlas flex and have used all the turn out. Thery still are hard to lay perfectly.
I am useing Woodland Scenics foam road bed and like it.
I resisted DCC for a while. Bad move. The radio version is now the best toy in the train room. I went with Digitrax, but there are others with admirers.
Keep us posted, we are all learning together.
First, I presume that you have been away from the hobby for 20 years and are coming back. If you are planning on buying stuff now to keep for 20 years and then getting in you would be wasting your time and money.
polishpower wrote:Whats the best type of track to use? Is brass not the staple anymore?
what kind of road bed is best? I see its not just cork anymore.
welcome to the forum,
I don't have a layout yet but have been doing a lot of research that I am willing to share. Like you I have been out of the game for a while and have been reading up on all the new goodies since 1966 (I think).
I have a lot of info on DCC and others things, would be glad to send it to you if you want.
e-mail me at leeroycowan@yahoo.com
Yes, you can add decoders to older locomotives. However, if they are old enough, you may have to isolate the motor from the frame before installing the decoder. If they are relatively new, you should have any problems.
how new do they have to be?
one thing I was looking for is a layout program. The atlas one didnt seem to want to work right for me. When I made my layout square it would always dissapear when I went to lay track and I looked in the help menu and did what it said..... still dissapeared.
I would say, 7-10 years?
Yea, the Atlas RTS software is a bit quirky. I would just use it to lay out track and try out some of your ideas.
XTrkCad is another FREE software package that some of the fellas use here on the forum. I've only tinkered with it so I really can't help you much. However, I can supply the site link where to download it from:
http://www.sillub.com
If you want something more sophisticated, 3DPlanit is a very nice program. As the name implies, you can create not only 2D plans for your layout but also 3D views, so you can get a better feel for what you creations are going to look like before you build them. Here's a link for that:
http://www.trackplanning.com
polishpower wrote: Hey folks! I just got a bunch of trains from a guy. All Athern with kadie (sp?) couplers and one proto E8. He had TONS of Santa Fe and UP stuff..... but I just picked out the local lines. I notice there is a ton of diffrent stuff out there from when I was a kid. a few questions I have are....Whats the best type of track to use? Is brass not the staple anymore? Switches?What kind of road bed is best? I see its not just cork anymore.Whats up with the DCC stuff? Do you have to get a seperate controller for that? Im sure I will have more questions but this is a start.....
Hi Polishpower,
I understand that you are just getting started so welcome.
First off I think it's important to determine the type of layout you want to build and then plan carefully, but it's even more important to know your budget. Some track and especially turnouts (Switches) can eat away at your budget in no time. Although I have not seen Brass track on store shelves in quite a while, it can still be found on eBay or for sale at train shows either new or used. I would recommend staying away from brass rail as it is not as good an electrical conductor and it corrodes. Atlas Nickel Silver flex track is good and seem to be the most economical choice. Peco flex track although flexible is more rigid which is advantageous when bending a curve as it will retain it's shape without having to be spiked or tacked in place immediately like you need to do with the Atlas flex.
As for switches, I've used Atlas when I first started and they were fine, especially the newer generation but if you can I would recommend Peco. Switche from all manufacturers can be operated remotely using a variety of mechanisms either motorized or hand operated but Peco switches are pre-sprung which means that if you plan on operating your turnouts manually they will hold their positions when thrown without any other devices.
Regarding Roadbed, I personally like the cork and it's worked well for me, I find it holds spikes and tacks better and offers a more stable track surface. I've used the foam stuff in the past and I don't like it, I personally think all these foam products are a gimmick "and I say this based on my own personal experience using them" although I'm sure there are people who swear by it, and that's fin if it works for them, the choice is yours. As for the Cork vs. Foam and the sound issue, I mean really, is there that much of a difference and does it really matter? I've heard these comments being repeated time and time again. Some people are so concerned with the amount of sound generated by the trains running on the track and roadbed yet many of these same people are running sound equipped locomotive, so where's the logic. Besides, has a train ever passed you by unnoticed? If you really want a quieter running layout then model Maglev trains http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_train or perhaps consider using Homasote roadbed. I've used Homasote on a previous layout and it does offer acoustic absorbing properties buts it's messy to work with as it creates a lot of fiber dust which can also be hazardous to your health if overexposed to the fibers if you're not wearing a respirator.
DCC, this is again a matter of preference and necessity. There are several threads regarding this topic but know this, you can spend anywhere from about $120.00 - $2500 for a starter system and then limitless amounts for accessories and decoders for your locomotives. I personally think investing in a DCC system vs. operating your trains with a standard DC transformer is a smart approach. DCC offers a world of features and benefits which will enhance the enjoyment of running your trains, whether you chose to use those features now or in the future. A great source for DCC is Tony's Train Exchange who specialized in DCC http://www.tonystrains.com/
The best thing to do is find a specialized hobby shop and get some books on the subject including DCC. Kalmbach Publishing offers several books that are great for beginners and experts alike. http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/model-railroading-books.html
Cheers,
Stephan
Hi, and welcome back to the hobby! Like you, I was out of it for 35+ years and boy have things changed!! My best advice is read, read, read. The websites I see in this article are good sources of info. See if there are local layouts or shows you can visit, or by getting to know the local hobbystore staff, you may get involved with interesting chatter. It's amazing what you think may be old-hat is really cutting-edge, or vice versa. No use inventing the wheel again. I haven't met a modeller who didn't like to talk about what (s)he is up to!
Most of all, have fun! It's a great pastime. George
Wow: you must be a young whipper-snapper; I'm getting back into the hobby after a 38 year hiatus. After having been active on this forum and a member of one of the local clubs in my area for the last year+, here are some of the decisions I've made regarding some of your questions:
(1) Plan on an O-shaped or around the walls layout(to allow perimeter and inside access to allow for broad curve radii--the latter a major priority for me for a variety of reasons)
(2) DCC--most of us starting or restarting the hobby do this--just more realistic train operations since you directly control the trains and not just a section of track power. I will be doing Digitrax, mainly because that's what my club uses and therefore a lot of local expertise available for problem solving/questions, which is a major consideration. If that weren't a factor, by the way, I might well have chosen NCE--I like the looks and layout of the controls on the throttle better than the Digitrax 400R, though haven't actually used the former. Major downside of DCC: cost.
(3) Flextrack--only way to go, it's "flexable"--no pun intended, so you can have any curve radius you might need. Also, being 36 inches (or one meter) in length, it also means longer distances between/and less number of joiners, so less number of concerns for current flow(if you need joiners to carry current--I plan on feeding every flex section, so this isn't a concern for me)
(4) Ballasted cork roadbed. Many like the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed. A criticism of cork is that it can dry out--discussed on several threads previously--that concern prob. becomes irrelevant unless you don't ballast the roadbed.
(5) Turnouts--probably will do Walthers/Shinohara (I'll be doing code 83)--though am possibly/maybe/? considering trying the Fast Tracks system for making turnouts.
Just my after snooping around here and my club--I strongly recc. you do the same and you'll figure out your "givens and druthers" as Chip likes to say and then you'll have a list of your own priorities. Good luck!
Jim
you don't say what scale you're in, but I'll assume it's HO (if it's N scale; no matter. All the answers-exept for the rail size-are for HO & N.)
First, track: the best kind is nickel silver. Brass isn't made anymore, but if you should happen to get some, you can use brass and nickel silver together. The only difference is, brass is a royal pain in the *** to clean, and keep clean, and it won't conduct electricity when it's dirty. Nickel silver gets dirty too, and you have to clean it, but it's much, much, much easier to do.
Brand: the best brands are Atlas, Peco-and in HO scale-Shinohanra.
trains:the best brands are: Atlas, Life-Like and Bachmann
you've gotten lots of answers about DCC, so I won't delve into that.
Also, check out some of the other forums. Atlas has a GREAT one at their website: www.atlasrr.com
The N.M.R.A. (National Model Railroad Association) website is also great, and they have a special section for begginers. Their website is www.nmra.org
Another good forum is trainboard.com
Yeah its all HO. sorry about that.
So what do you guys think is a good starter DCC system to pick up? any of you have any ideas on that? I read about half of that link on DCC. I think I am going to finish up the rest here in a little bit.
another question....... how do you know if the older protos engines are DCC?
On good starter systems. You'll get a variety of answers but the two primary one's on the market are the Digitrax Zephyr and the NCE Power Cab - $160 and $140, discounted. Both have their pros and cons, their advantages and disadvantages. It will really depend on your own personal preferences and what you want to accomplish with your layout. Either one will serve you well.
If you are interested in reading an initial review on the NCE Power Cab, click on my web page link below and go to my "Review" page. I think the review is a pretty fair assessment of the Power Cab. There are my intial thoughts and impressions of it, questions, issues, and some resolutions of those issues. There are also reviews of the NCE CAB-04p throttle and Smart Booster, too. The purpose of the reviews is to give you an idea of what you might expect from each of the items and to help you determine if that will best meet your layout needs.
Hope that's a help...
polishpower wrote:Can you put those [DCC] on old trains?
As for which DCC starter systems to get, you almost can't go wrong with any of those currently in production. Don't get an older out of production unit (like the MRC 2000, or the Atlas commander). I personally have a Digitrax Zephyr that is OK (sort of flimsy). My main system is a Lenz but I don't believe one would consider that a starter.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
My older Proto 2000 engines are NOT dcc equipped, but they DO have the plug. Simple DCC install, you remove the shell, remove a plug, plug in your decoder, replace the shell and you're done. Nearly any engine can be converted to DCC, some take more work than others. Nearly every Athearn produced in the last 30-40 years (the blue box variety) is a fairly easy conversion. One thing to watch out for: Manufacturers have (for some reason) come up with potentially confusing DCC terms to describe their products. Here's a breakdown:
DCC Ready: No decoder, but there is a plug (usually)
DCC On-Board: Decoder is factory installed, and ready to go.
DCC Friendly: No decoder or plug, but the motor is isolated (electrically) from the frame.
For any older engine to be converted to DCC, you need to insulate the motor from the frame (both poles). On many older engines, especially steamers and the Athrearn blue-box engines, the frame carries current and the motor connects electrically to the frame. You will need to break this connection, and have the decoder provide BOTH electrical inputs to the motor.
Hope this helps.
Brad
EMD - Every Model Different
ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil
CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts
polishpower wrote: one thing I was looking for is a layout program.
one thing I was looking for is a layout program.
I used the Atlas software to plan my layout. Xtrkcad is much better, or so I hear, but the learning curve for it frustrated me to no end.