Ok, here is my new thread and I want only those willing to help me to reply. Do not turn this into another flame war and get it closed. This is a PUBLIC forum. Thank you
I used to have a model railroad when I was a child that my father built for me. I now have a home of own and I am about to start my own model railroad. I have yet to build my table (benchwork) but I know already the space, dimensions, it will occupy. I am go to do HO scale, I want to incorporate DCC technology into my railroad, I plan on using Code 83 track, electric turnouts, the late 50’s early 60’s is the time era I’m wanting to do. I still have some rolling stock and engines from my childhood by they are analog engines and really don’t work
The help I would appreciate from those of you kind enough and willing to help is the following.
What are good manufactures for DCC, engines, rolling stock, track, scenery objects. I’d like to see some links of other peoples model railroads so I can see what’s all possible out there for me, what all can be done, help give me ideas and options. After I get my table built, what’s the next logic step I should take, etc…
If you need to ask me questions to better help me, please ask. I want to learn, I want a cool model railroad, it was fun when I was a kid and I want to get into again and it be fun.
So please if your willing, help me and keep this thread on topic.
For DCC Systems. North Coast Engineering, Lenze, and Digitrax are all highly reccomended. I have the Digitrax system myself and find it highly relaiable and very flexable. And user Freindly.
Good Locomotives You can’t go wrong with the following.
Proto 2000/1000
Atlas
Stewart Hobbies (A Division of Bowser)
Bachmann Spectrum
Athearn
Walthers
recent production Rivorossi
and while I have no personal expereince I hear IHC comes highly reccomended.
For your Code 83 Track. While there are many suppliers of Flex Track. Atlas Turnouts are the easyest to install. Other brands have to have special complicated wiring That just make getting a reliable track arrangement that much more of a pain in the rear.
Most of the building kits that are out there are pretty good. And Woodland Scenics has you covered for scenery.
Might I reccomend you purchase the book HO Railroad From Set to Scenery and that will walk you through all the steps of building a model railroad on an 8’ X8’ layout.
[#welcome][#welcome] No clue on DCC but for Engines Atlas is wonderful. Katos are very good runners (in N scale any way) BLI is expensive. Athearn is pretty cheap but is ok for the price. Proto is good to. Rolling stock Atlas Athearn. design a track plan first. then build the table,lay the track,wire it up,scenery. Atlas offers a free track planning program at www.atlasrr.com
Tim
It sounds to me like the first thing you need to do is look at some layouts, There is a lot of info on what type of layouts to build. If you have an LHS near you, You should pick up a good book about layout planning. I am sure someone here can recomend one.
I suggest that this should be your first step because if you build your table before you know what type of layout you want, you may end up re-building.
You may want to take some time to read posts. This question you have asked comes up maybe once per week and there are great answers attached to most of those posts. I spend most of my time on this forum reading.
You can find posts here on what people think are the best DCC systems, Best engines, Best metal wheel and couplers. Best internet suppliers, best LHS’s, etc… you get the idea.
Yes it is and you’re welcome but remember, just like any other public space there are [censored]
So you’ve chosen an era that sets you into early / middle diesels. 4 axle GP units, F units, some 6 axle GP and SD units… Steam was all but gone by then but some were still running on small shortlines and excursion type runs.
Where you go from there is strictly up to you… Stewart, in my opinion, makes some of the finest end of transition era diesels out there (F units, switchers, etc)… They aren’t heavy on detail but what they lack in detail the make up for in performance. Of course you can always Add detail… Lifelike is another… I know you may be thinking lifelike of old = junk, not true anymore. They are currently owned by Walthers (http://www.walthers.com), just make sure you are looking at the proto lines. Bachman Spectrum is another good choice… Usually relatively inexpensive and make diesels to fit your era… If you were going more modern, I’d suggest Kato but they specialize more in the modern day stuff. Not to say you can’t go with them but… Of course there’s the old staple, Athearn but to find some of thier less expensive stuff, you may ha
I’m a DC guy so the DCC is not my thing but athearn is a good choice for begginers and for the money a good product…the detailing isn’t as good as say atlas or proto but they will meet most needs…be sure you purchase the DCC ready stuff and not the blue box…you can purchase blue box locomotives but my understanding is that you have to disassemble the motor and insulate it which is not an easy task with athearn equipment so dcc ready like the genisess line should work…I prefer shinohara turnouts (known as walther’s code 83 since you are doing code 83…shinohara makes the walther’s code 83 turnout) with tortoise under the table switch machines driven by DPDT switches…
I’m going to print this all out and do further reseach. I’ve reached the age where I don’t do too many things without doing so good research and knowing what I’m getting myself into. All of you that replied so far I thank you very very much in your help, suggestions and opinions. I like the look and style of the BNSF engines, but my scene I’m trying to do is midwestern US. I live in Illinois and the train engines I see mostly the operate in this area is Northfolk Southern. So I’m not opposed to using them. My plan for my model railroad is to have a decent railyard, (not too big), a town of the era, and possibly a farm on the outskirts with a grain elevator, livestock pens. Reasons for the trains to go there. The bridges are my transition point between the town and farm. I’ve been on Walthers website and have written down buildings that go with my era and theme. I hope this give you all some kind of visualization on what I’m thinking to do. It’s not going to be modeled after a specific town or place in real life, just a general freelance thing of the area from that time period.
Ok, since I haven’t even built my table yet I guess what I really want to know first is, is there any specific type of plywood to use for the surface?? Is one kind better to use than another?
One thing I know I want to do is have elavations off the table, to have bridges/tresils. I was thinking of having them go over a stream. How do you elevate the track up?? My dad use to take a jigsaw and cut the plywood along each side of track and slowly raise it up. Is there other options instead of doing that?? What do you do with the gap that is them made?? I can’t find illustrations or documentation that explains how to do this. It’s probably been dicusessed in these forums, if so and you know exactly where there at, can anyone post the link to them??
Like I said I’m am a newcomer to the hobby, and I am very excited about getting started and getting into th
James, good list, but you missed EasyDCC, also a great system and they have the closest of any system to a universal throttle with their wireless system that works with NCE or Lenz as well as EasyDCC.
Unless you are made of money–and if you are I know a cause you can donate to–I would hold off spending anything until you get a clear focus of where you are heading. You don’t want to buy a bunch of stuff only to realize that you interest are slightly different then they were at this point.
A good place to start is Track Planning for Realistic Operations by John Armstrong. IT will get you thinking about your “givens and druthers.” Another thing I suggest new people read is “Why Waste Space on a 4x8” by Byron Henderson, a member here and a professional layout designer. http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/id28.html
Proto 2000 locos have been mentioned, just thought you should know some of my experiences since I’ve been using P2K locos for over 12 years and they have gotten heavy use on my layout. Over the same period of time I have also used Kato and Atlas locos.
The P2K locos (I’m talking diesels here) look great, and run pretty good out of the box. However, they age poorly and develop many maintenance issues over time.
My Kato and Atlas fleets (I have over 60 locos) all run, and run, and run with very few maintenance issues. If I have to take a loco to the workbench for maintenance, 9 out of 10 times it’s a P2K loco.
Don’t know how the P2K steam locos do, but the SD9 and GP9 diesels fall apart with heavy use on an operationally-oriented layout.
I would add a strong recommendation to use flex track instead of sectional track. I am building an HO scale layout using Atlas Code83 sectional track and Code83 Snap-Switches. The sectional track went together quickly without any cutting tools needed, but it was harder to get straight sidings and flowing curves with all the rail joints involved. I would use flex track with the numbered (#4, #6, etc) turnouts if I had to do it over. Fewer rail joints to solder and no ugly switch machines (which will be replaced eventually). The link below should provide some idea of how it looks.
A bit of advice about trackwork: take your time. Don’t be in a hurry to get track laid. Work steadily but don’t ru***hings. Attention to detail here will pay huge dividends later when you start running trains. Getting in a hurry to put the track down leads to oversights that create havoc with keeping trains on the rails. And that is very frustrating.
Here are some pictures of the Atlas sectional track in action:
Thank you SpaceMouse, that’s also what I was wanting to know. I have a couple ‘how to’ books already but suggestions on others that I should read is great too. I have a clear focus on the deminsions of my table, how it’s going to be when complete, the surface area I’ll have to work with. I have a clear focus on the time era I want to do, and a pretty close focus on the buildings and scenery to accompli***hat. What is not clear to me is what all I have available to me. For instance, I’ve read a little on DCC technology to have a general idea what it does, but don’t know what all it can do, I don’t know how to wire for anything like that.
I’m not going into this blindly, I know I have alot to learn and research before I start laying track. which is why I joined these forums to see help. The one thing I can do without knowing anything else is to build my table cause I know where it has to fit and the over all look I want it to be.
You mention your older trains you still have. If you have the slightest interest, sentimental or otherwise, in running these go to the LHS with some of them and see if they will roll smoothly on code 83 track. I have serveral trains from my childhood that I like to run and they will only run well on code 100 track due to the deeper flanges.
Both BNSF and NS didn’t come into existance until the late 1980s or early 1990s… So Now you’ve moved into the later era for road names… Nothing Wrong with that though. If you keep it prototypical (realistic) you’ve ruled out a lot of rolling stock too… Anything with a roof walk on it for instance… Cabooses (or cabeese, you choose) are pretty much gone… Though I know that NS runs one on a local out of Oakwood yard 2 blocks from my house (outside of Detroit). I think both BNSF and NS have websites you can go to and get some general info. Of course there are probably hundreds of other sites dedicated to the names as well.
If you want to get some cool info for track planning ideas, nothing better than overhead photos of the real thing…
Just for grins and giggles, here are the coordinates for the throat of the yard near my home…
The company’s actually known as CVP Products and they keep bringing out lots of cool stuff. One of their latest is battery powered DCC for large scale.
Uhm, that’s not entirely true, Tom. Even though they don’t say a lot about it on their web site pages, you can still buy circuit boards or kits for some things like their boosters. You have to dig a bit to find it. For example, see: http://www.cvpusa.com/easydcc_boosters_ordering.php
But what you say is entirely true for the really complex stuff like their wireless throttles. No kits or boards. Preassembled only.