if im trying to run multiple trains on say one big oval off of one power pac how do you regulate the speeds? I was told that I dont need separate power pacs to run more than one train. I remember when i was a child i had like 6 different transformers but i cant remember how they were all set up.
You will either ahve to break the track into wiring blocks, or go DCC.
I got back into trains a year and a half ago and slowy talked my self into getting a Atals Commander DCC system. I never regretted it! I tried the Digitrax Zyphyer, but sent it back, didn’t really care for it, and now run a high end Lenz Set 90.
To run more than one train at one speed, you need multiple speed controls. An MRC Tech II could probably handle 3 seperate engines, but it only has one way to control speed. It would probably be cheaper to buy another Tech II than come up with a schematic and build a speed control.
There are many different ways to do block control, different switches to use… You may want to find a book to help you. (I don’t know what’s on MR’s site…)
Without using DCC, you would have to divide your layout into blocks, a minimum of twice as many blocks as trains, and find some way to power the block as the train comes to it.
Or you could set up a signaling system that would “de-power” the block behind each train so that the following train wouldn’t catch it.
thanks for the replys. I think thats how i did it as a kid. different blocks. what exactly is a dcc and will it work with my old locos?
DCC is Digital Command Control, which in layman’s terms means you don’t have to use block wiring for controling trains.
The “old reliable” is DC, with blocks and all that. The wiring tends to be more completed, and you usually get less flexability. (It is awful hard to have “cornfield meets”, though.)
DCC will probably work with your old locos, but you have to install a decoder in them, and sometimes (especially in smaller scales) there’s no room for it.
DCC is like radio control for model trains, with the signal going through the tracks.
Have a look through the forum for threads on DCC (and on any other forums you visit) and see what people are doing.
DCC may look expensive, especially if you have a whole fleet of locos to convert.
if im trying to run multiple trains on say one big oval off of one power pac how do you regulate the speeds? I was told that I dont need separate power pacs to run more than one train. I remember when i was a child i had like 6 different transformers but i cant remember how they were all set up.
You will either ahve to break the track into wiring blocks, or go DCC.
I got back into trains a year and a half ago and slowy talked my self into getting a Atals Commander DCC system. I never regretted it! I tried the Digitrax Zyphyer, but sent it back, didn’t really care for it, and now run a high end Lenz Set 90.
To run more than one train at one speed, you need multiple speed controls. An MRC Tech II could probably handle 3 seperate engines, but it only has one way to control speed. It would probably be cheaper to buy another Tech II than come up with a schematic and build a speed control.
There are many different ways to do block control, different switches to use… You may want to find a book to help you. (I don’t know what’s on MR’s site…)
Without using DCC, you would have to divide your layout into blocks, a minimum of twice as many blocks as trains, and find some way to power the block as the train comes to it.
Or you could set up a signaling system that would “de-power” the block behind each train so that the following train wouldn’t catch it.
thanks for the replys. I think thats how i did it as a kid. different blocks. what exactly is a dcc and will it work with my old locos?
DCC is Digital Command Control, which in layman’s terms means you don’t have to use block wiring for controling trains.
The “old reliable” is DC, with blocks and all that. The wiring tends to be more completed, and you usually get less flexability. (It is awful hard to have “cornfield meets”, though.)
DCC will probably work with your old locos, but you have to install a decoder in them, and sometimes (especially in smaller scales) there’s no room for it.
DCC is like radio control for model trains, with the signal going through the tracks.
Have a look through the forum for threads on DCC (and on any other forums you visit) and see what people are doing.
DCC may look expensive, especially if you have a whole fleet of locos to convert.