Hello all, my name is Justin, and I have recently dove into the world of N Scale modular railroading. I am faced with a few issues.
I, for one, get very scared when a locomotive is not DCC Installed. I was originally going to model NS, and had purchased an SD70M from Athern only to discover it was not DCC ready. I have a green box Kato BNSF C44-9W that needs DCC in it. How hard is it to install DCC in these locomotives and how can I tell if a locomotive is DCC ready?
What railroad should I model? I know this probably seems like a stupid thing to ask, but I just don’t know. I live next to the Norfolk Southern Lafayette District (Near Lafayette, Indiana) and was originally thinking about modeling NS, but after a train show, I came home with a Kato CP SD90/43MAC and, of all things, an InterMountian SD45T-2… [:|] Any tips for inspiration? I always swore I’d never modal a foreign road, and I feel like a traitor modeling CP, but is it justifiable?
I will be receiving my first module from a club member very soon. It is basically a Plywood Pacific and had nothing but Woodland Scenic Dirt on it. I can’t figure out what I want to do with it either… I had flirted with a gravel pit and even bought 2 ATSF open top hoppers for it, but I also thought of Cement, seeings how I have like 10 AFC 3 bay hoppers that are normally used in cement service. What would be a creative thing to model, or what have you seen that might be interesting?
I guess besides the DCC stuff I’m just looking for some inspiration.
It depends a lot on what the “module” is and what the rules are. Is it an NTRAK type straight, inside curve, outside curve? Is it some other format? What are the module rules for breaking off a siding from the inside track.
P.S. While I have installed 100s of command control decoders, zero have been in N-scale locomotives so I am not much help at that point.
Hey Justin - All of the Kato -9’s are DCC ready. That should make it a little easier! I have installed several and they are a 5 minute job. You can normally tell if a loco is DCC ready if you can remove the shell and see a full length circuit board. Examples are:
There are many more, but some you just need to remove the shell. Another way to tell is look at different websites, such as Digitrax, to see what decoder is offered for a particular locomotive.
Don’t ask me about what you should model; I finally decided after many years of modeling different scales and gauges!
Part of the fun of model railroading is sometimes modelling railroads that you have no personal connection to. Take me for example. I live within a five minute walk of the Canadian Pacific’s East/West mainline across Canada and see my fair share of CP red on a daily basis. What did I model in n scale? Amtrak and Metra around Glenview IL
I just happen to love passenger trains and commuter railroads so that factored heavily in my decision to go that route and I had a lot of fun researching and modelling a place and trains I have never seen, except on Youtube.
Unlike you, I am not scared when a locomotive has a decoder. I just excise it and fill the space with additional weight…
As for the matter of which railroad to model, I’d as lief tell you which woman to marry! Only exception? My main prototype would probably be a poor match, even though manufacturers support it with an incredible spectrum of N scale product Of course, that N scale is 1:150, not 1:160…
Your odd collection of locomotives would probably be right at home - on the BNSF through northern Arizona. (Eastbound stacker had units from BNSF, NS and CN on the point.) With present-day power pooling and lease-exchange arrangements, you can find units from almost anywhere on the major railroads.
I’m afraid I’m not sympathetic about your lament about `foreign’ railroads. Since the North American rail network shares a single track gauge and set of mechanical standards, from my vantage point it’s all one…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in twice-n, aka HOj, 1:80 scale)
Scale, era, prototype road or free lance, gauge, etc. are all preference decisions.
After dabbling in HO, O, G, and N, I finally settled on S.
After dabbling in freelance, PRR, and WWF, I have for the last 10+ years focused on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad.
While I considered 1905 and the 30’s era I finally decided on the early 50’s.
All of this has left me with a lot of equipment that doesn’t fit, but hey this is a hobby and it’s all fun. In addition to the basement filling S layout still in the early stages, I have a small test layout with loops of O27, S, and HO track using AC, DCC, and DC respectively.
Decoder manufacturers such as Digitrax, NCE, and TCS make decoders that should drop right into the locos you just mentioned. All you need to do is take the body shell off, loosen the frame halves, remove the light board, and replace the light board with the decoder. Check the web sites for these manufacturers to find out which model number of decoder you need for each loco.
I too have re-entered the world of N scale. When I was modeling it before, drop-in decoders were unheard of. Now they are the norm. Most all locomotives that are DCC ready, say so on the manufacturers web sites. What you should do is use the Internet to your advantage. If you have a loco that you don’t know much about, try and get the part number from the box or the instructions. Then do a search on the Internet. Somewhere along the line you will find a site that can give you some detailed information about the locomotive. I tend to buy from eBay, so I look up all I can about a particular locomotive that I can, because there are some sellers that are selling older stuff that isn’t DCC ready.
You should also look on the web sites of decoder manufacturers. Some of them have detailed instructions with photos of how to install the decoder. Most of them list the locomotive types and what decoders go in them. As an example, check out the TCS web site and look under product line, N scale decoders.
As to what to model, that is a little harder to answer. First you should decide what era you want to model. I have decided to model the 1990’s to the present. That way I can run just about anything that is a diesel, with CSX on the front and anything else running behind it.
As for an industry or two, it can depend on your modeling skill. If you have good building skills, you can model just about anything that you want. If you are just getting started, model something easy. Maybe a container yard or something where nice kits are available. Of course, it also depends on what you like. If you want something with a lot of variety, how about an automobile factory. Lots of
If you’re modelling the last 10-20 years, I would pick up a couple of lease units. Not sure what’s available in N, but in HO Kato and Athearn make (or have recently made) CEFX lease units, and Athearn and Life-Like have offered EMD lease units. Any railroad could operate lease units, so that way you can have engines to run now, but that later will fit with whatever railroad / region you choose to model.
I f you are going for a present day railroad, lease units are really a must. Also, part of the beauty with lease units is that you can just paint a locomotive a solid color, add decals and a decoder, and you’re ready to run! And what’s even better, you sometimes just need to make one or two detail changes before you’re ready to run.
As far as “foreign” railroads go, CP is as much a part of the US as is the Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and the CSX.
As far as an industry, I think that a gravel pit is a really good idea.