O Scale 2 Rail, what to use?

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I have been collecting O locos and rolling stock for a few years in anticipation of getting back into Model Railroading (I haven’t had a layout since my childhood). Now that I have the time and space I need to decide on what to use to control my lay out before I plan it all out. Eventhough I’m not going for proto48 accuracy, I am converting all of my Scale and Traditional locos and rolling stock to 2 Rail. With that said should I keep them A/C and go TMCC and DCS, or go to DCC. Keep in mind I want to convert everything over to ONE system and also converting everything to Can motors. Nothing I own is particularly valuable or collectable so I’m not going to hurt anything collectibility wise. I guess I’m looking best bang for the buck as far as the cost control system and decoders go. I’m very well experienced in mechanical and electronic repair so i’m not afraid of performing all the work myself. I’m never going to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a loco so I’ll probably never purchase a TMCC, Legacy, or Proto 3 unit. I DO NOT want to start any arguments…just looking for the advantages and disadvatages of the different systems(Sans the reverse loop wiring issues, don’t need to open up that can o worms).

Thanks

2

Not trying to chase you away, but most of the folks here are in HO or N scale. If you go to the top of the page to the fine gray printing, click on “trains.com” then on Classic Toy Trains you will find a group of folks that are more into O scale modeling.

Good luck,

Richard

3

A straightforward conversion from 3 to 2 rails can involve insulating an awful lot of axles, which is especially difficult on locomotives. I can think of a few other possibilities that you might consider if you haven’t already:

Outside third rail. This was popular with early scale modelers, who put pickup shoes even on steam locomotives, like Lionel’s prewar Hudson.

“Punkt-Kontakten”. You could imitate Maerklin’s center rail, which comprises “Pukos” or studs, not perfect but less obvious than a solid rail.

Battery power, radio control. We had a fellow on the forum a while back who did this. He repurposed radio-controlled airplane electronics for his outdoor O-gauge layout.

4

I think the biggest advantage of DCC is that there is a standard for it and multiple manufacturer’s support it. Since you plan to install your own decoders any way, I would go with DCC and have a choice of manufacturers.

Paul