I have decided to move from the arm chair to active status. After reading many articles over the years there are many things that make me say huh?
code size of tracks…83, 100 what’s the diff ??
couplers…magnetic? looked at the local hobby shop seems to be about 500 choices, why?
trucks…wheel sets…probably the stock ones are cheap and dont perform ??
just the beginning of many questions…thanks for your patience…
oh yeah what about all those toggle switches…maybe next time
Dave “Chooch”
Dave,
Welcome aboard. Love the avatar!
Having gotten into the hobby a little more than a year ago, I had tons of questions just like you probably do. My approach was to spend some time researching these forums to kind of find out what I did and didn’t know. That helped me focus in on the basics and post the right questions - I got some excellent advice. The questions you have are all discussed many times throughout the forum.
Gradually you can increase your level of knowledge and take it as far as you want. Armed with this knowledge, you can develop a plan and make some really good decisions that support that plan.
There are others here that will probably chime in with some excellent advice.
Good luck.
I consider myself an amature, too, but I’ll take a crack at one question:
code size of tracks…83, 100 what’s the diff ??
The code refers to the height of the rail in 100th of an inch. Code 100 is .10" high. The prototype (real) railroads use different weight of track, expressed in pounds per yard. in relation ot this, the smaller the “code” the lighter the prototypical track.
For example, I model Maine narrow gauge railroads. The real rail is pretty light, so Code 55 track works just fine.
Here is a nice MRR link:
I hope these answers help.
Welcome to the forum and to the hobby. I have been in and out of the armchair a couple of times.
Good questions.
In HO - code 100 works the best and code 83 looks the best and still works. Code 55 looks great but is hard to use, though some do it. Whatever, use nickel silver, not brass.
Most will use Kadee # 5 or later, some specialty variations. If you just change everything to Kaydee, it will work.
I use the trucks that come on the cars. Only rarley have I had to change any to get them to work. The exception are the things that are bought at a flea market and are old or from overseas(they use a different system.)
Keep the questions coming, we all learn as we answer and read the answers.
To answer your question about “all those toggle switches,” they aren’t necessary if you start with Digital Command Control (DCC) from the very get-go. Control panels full of toggle switches are for DC power pack controlled layouts where individaul track blocks have to be turned on and off for whatever reason, such as parking an engine on a siding and being able to turn the power to that track on and off.
With DCC, it doesn’t matter whether or not a track is left turned on, because your DCC controller selects which engine will run and whether or not its lights will be on or off. It’s possible to park an engine on a siding and leave its headlight and sound effects (if it’s a sound-equipped engine) on, but it won’t move unless you select its address with your DCC controller. With DC block control, there’s no way you can do that.
I use code 100, its looks pretty good once touched up with some brown paint, and runs/operates smoothly, never used code 83 or 55.
I am in the process of converting my couplers to Kadee #5, the look prototypical and work well.
I usually change my wheelsets to Proto 2000 metal wheels, they work smooth and stay clean, but if the quality of plastic is good and smooth, the stock wheelsets work fine.
Good questions and good luck in the hobby!
*beegle55
Thanks for the kind response.
That explains the switches, the DCC thing is great…especially the sound and ability to operate lights when needed. The thing I have always admired about the hobby is that it requires a little bit of many kinds of techy specialties…i like it…thanks again.
Chooch
hey beegle…thanks for the kind response…what type of paint do you use for the track and how to you apply it?
sounds like kadee #5 is the hookup(no pun intended) will it work with dcc ??
thanks for clearing up those things along with the wheels…i’m starting to get the hang of it
worked last night on reclaiming my corner of the basement from the war dept. time now to break out the paper and t-square and put this thing on paper…one step closer, perhaps thanks again
chooch
Hi Chooch let me add my welcome as well…
The whole choice of track code is really one of personal preference. Code 100 is probably more common, at least the Atlas brand, but many prefer a smaller code like 83 as it tends to look more prototypical. I chose 100 because I had some old trains that had deep wheel flanges that clattered down the tops of the ties on code 83. I also paint and weather my track. I get cheap acrylic paints from Wally World or Hobby Lobby, you know those 50-90 cents a bottle type. I make a dirty RR tie brown color and go to town brush painting the ties. I am not all that precise about the mix so that I can get some variation in color. After that is dry, I use a fine brush and run a bead of rust colors down the sides of the tracks and onto the spike details. I’m not too bothered if it gets on the ties because I figure rust runs. Then clean the tops of the tracks good and you end up with some presentable track. I ballast after it is all dry. I know that some folks even ballast before the rust goes on to get rust flowing onto the ballast as well.
This is Atlas code 100 painted and with cinders as ballast in my mine area.
I also agree with others above that Kadee’s are the coupler of choice.
Good luck with the plans.
On track painting, I use Rust-Oleum Rusty metal primer. I mask off the ties then spray the rails. After the paint dries I use a piece of 800 grit sandpaper to remove it from the top and inside top edge of the rail.
Make sure to cover the nickel part of the rails before your paint, and usually I just use a brown paint marker and then touch it up with some grimy black.
*beegle55
Other than size as so many others have pointed out there is the look and ruggedness. Code 100 translated to real life would be very large rail, so code 70, 75, or 83 look much more realistic. On the other hand I have found that code 83 track is much more delicate. I made a portable module with code 83 track and it was getting damaged every time I set it up. Then I switched it to code 100 and haven’t had as many problems. Code 100 is more durable. I can lean on it, drop stuff on it, bend it a bit further and it will still be OK.
Other than the new various vendors who have entered the market when the Kadee patents expired, Kadee has greatly expanded their line. This allows one to choose a coupler that will just drop in to a given piece of equipment. This is instead of all the cutting, filing, and shimming that we used to have to do to force a #5 to fit. Then there are the newer #58s that are smaller and look much better than the #5 size series.
True for certain brands while other “stock” are better than the replacements. There has been a big fad in the last few years to move to metal wheel sets to enhance rolling ability and theoretically reduce dirty track. The downside of the metal wheels is the noise they create. Another reason for different trucks is that people are going for the exact scale models. Many people are no longer satisfied with a model of a car that has 33" wheels when the real car had 36" wheels. Then there are the newer technology trucks that have exposed roller bearings. They look really nice. Newbies really don’t need to worry about this until i
slickchooch2
You should go to the Atlas websight and down load their Right Track software. It is a free down load and is easy to learn plus it is free. It will make planning a lot faster and more accurate than pencil and paper especially if you plan to use Atlas track.
Dale