Last Chance, DCC is NOT that expensive!! NCE, smaller Digitrax, and MRC systems are in the $200-$300 range, and locos, with sound, are $200 or less for an Atlas diesel. Sooner or later, most of us that had DC are converting to DCC, which makes it more expensive than starting with DCC.[:)]
I disagree. DCC is not that expensive . $150 for a system and 12 bucks a decoder. Where do you get $1,000 from?
Analog engine for $40 bucks? Maybe some crappy bachmann, but for a nice analog engine you’re going to pay upwards of $80 or so. Even athearn knows the value of a smooth running engine offering their Genesis line.
With the answers above, you’re not really answering the original poster’s question about power supply. Since he already has a DC power pack and DC locomotive(s), that part will cost him nothing. Since he had it running and discovered the derailment problems, he must have the switches and wiring. Any DCC equipment will be a completely new investment. Better for him to test the operation on DC and later convert to DCC as finances and time permit. The time and money he’ll need to invest as I suggested in my post on page 1 would need to be done regardless of the DC or DCC choice.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned giving the wood framework a coat or two of paint on all exposed surfaces to seal it. This could improve greatly the stability of the track by preventing the wood from expanding and contracting in the attic.
Drew
Frank
I thought for sure you were going to give me the coke bottle glasses treatment. [;)]
Deano
Last Chance - I missed the part about the MRC decoders last time. I wont get into the MRC decoder argument, but the MRC Prodigy Advance system is a very good one. I’ve operated on Digitrax, and for me it was a little harder to get used to than the Prodigy Advance that I have. Please don’t confuse their decoders with their system.[:)]
I will take my medicine and be happy.
Thanks to everyone who corrected me. There are times I get rusty in my thinking if it does not get flushed with facts from time to time.
Oh by the way a Digitrax Chief System goes for about 350 dollars, power supply another 50 at least (I used a 2012 supply at 150) and then you have the engine at about 450 retail. No one pays retail so call it…350. Pretty durn close to a thousand. Now a caboose and 10 cars… they can be as much as you have cash for it.
Compared to that… wood, track, cork etc is CHEAP.
Cheers.
And as I tried to communicate before the DC / DCC issue is actually irrelevant to the question of what to do about completing/razing the unfinished layout. One can choose DC or DCC whether or not all the track is ripped up or left or the whole thing is razed. All the other issue are more important at this point.
I’m reviving this thread I started about a year ago to update everyone on my new situation, and new dilemma. I don’t really have any hard questions to ask, but maybe some members can share any personal experiences with me that will help me decide what to do here.
Since I wrote my original post, my wife and I have bought a house - and thankfully, I have an approximately 5x10 area in our nice climate controlled basement which my wife has begrudgingly agreed to let me put some trains. My father has offered (or rather encouraged) me to take the half completed HO layout and equipment I wrote about originally out of his attic.
My son is turning 4 in a month and absolutely loves trains. My parents bought him a Lionel remote controlled plastic G gauge set which runs on the floor in an oval, makes some great noises and he plays with it for hours. He wants to expand it though but also wants just about every train he sees on Youtube and in my catalogs, magazine, etc.
Over the weekend I went to my local hobby shop with one of the plastic G tracks to see if they had any extra ones I could use to expand this set. I thought this could be a good temporary solution while I work on getting the HO set over to my house. However, once in the store, they sold me on these MTH Railking O-Gauge sets. They seem to be the perfect solution for me and a great way to get started with a solid quality, digital set. For about $350 I could get a DTS/DTCC equipped die-case metal steam engine, with a full range of sounds, smoke, etc, a transformer, digital controller, 4 or 5 cars, and enough track for a nice sized oval. He gave me a demo of the engine and I was really blown away by how easy it was to set up, and the sounds etc. The thing I like about this, is that I can buy this for my son’s birthday, and then expand it, and maybe make this our “main” setup rather than continue the HO set.
I know the topic of HO vs O is sort of sensitive but I’m really stuck on what to do here. The thing that makes m
Drilline. Your wife in the 4th pic earlier has the “what the hell did this thing actually cost?” look in her eyes. [(-D]
Heh - funny thing - I was getting annoyed at my son because when we watch train layouts on the computer he is constantly saying “no, I want that one”, etc over and over and over. So I said to him “why do you keep saying you want everything?”. And he rightfully replied “because there are so many cool things to get.” touche…
[quote user=“hominamad”]
I’m reviving this thread I started about a year ago to update everyone on my new situation, and new dilemma. I don’t really have any hard questions to ask, but maybe some members can share any personal experiences with me that will help me decide what to do here.
Since I wrote my original post, my wife and I have bought a house - and thankfully, I have an approximately 5x10 area in our nice climate controlled basement which my wife has begrudgingly agreed to let me put some trains. My father has offered (or rather encouraged) me to take the half completed HO layout and equipment I wrote about originally out of his attic.
My son is turning 4 in a month and absolutely loves trains. My parents bought him a Lionel remote controlled plastic G gauge set which runs on the floor in an oval, makes some great noises and he plays with it for hours. He wants to expand it though but also wants just about every train he sees on Youtube and in my catalogs, magazine, etc.
Over the weekend I went to my local hobby shop with one of the plastic G tracks to see if they had any extra ones I could use to expand this set. I thought this could be a good temporary solution while I work on getting the HO set over to my house. However, once in the store, they sold me on these MTH Railking O-Gauge sets. They seem to be the perfect solution for me and a great way to get started with a solid quality, digital set. For about $350 I could get a DTS/DTCC equipped die-case metal steam engine, with a full range of sounds, smoke, etc, a transformer, digital controller, 4 or 5 cars, and enough track for a nice sized oval. He gave me a demo of the engine and I was really blown away by how easy it was to set up, and the sounds etc. The thing I like about this, is that I can buy this for my son’s birthday, and then expand it, and maybe make this our “main” setup rather than continue the HO set.
I know the topic of HO vs O is sort of sensitive but I’m really stuck on what t
You could tell him that with that attitude a small “closet” sized layout might be in order [swg]
“And MTH mentioned around here will get you jabs from voo doo dolls”
Really? I was pretty impressed with the engine I saw. It was fairly detailed and seemed pretty solid. I’m wondering if this was one of the “premier” line rather than the Railking. I don’t like buying something like this without seeing exactly what I’m getting first. If I stuck with O-gauge, what is the more “acceptable” line around here?
I’m still torn between the HO and O. What would be the minimum startup costs to get something similar to what I described up and running in HO? i.e. with DCC, sound, etc. Also, I know its not the most realistic but the MTH O track I saw seemed incredibly easy to put together with little or no derailments. Does such a thing exist for HO?
Thanks…H
What needs to be decided from the outset is just what sort of layout/scale you wish to tackle. Your question is somewhat nebulous regarding O-gauge, since you do not specify whether you are talking “scale” models, or “tinplate (toys).” The latter would be cheaper, but still far from “cheap”!
It’s also a matter of what you are aiming for with your layout’s appearance. Is it acceptable for it to be a fairly crude test bed intended to cut your modeling teeth on, or do you envision something more sophisticated that has at least some modest degree of quality and realism to it?
If done with mid-range products, to a mid-range degree of realism, it will run you a minimum of several thousand dollars in HO and I would personally set a reasonable figure at $4,000-$5,000 if starting from just the existing benchwork stage. The Atlas sectional track package for this trackplan is $800 alone.
In O-gauge, there is no way you could fit anything like that trackplan in the space occupied by the HO version. An O-“scale” version would require several times as much room to be allotted, while a tinplate arrangement could not be quite as complex as the HO example and fit in the space. In all probability, either O-gauge version would run between the same as HO to perhaps 3x as much.
Incidentally, attempting to split this Atlas layout design in half would likely create an alignment/derailment nightmare for you.
CNJ831
if this layout exists now and you want to tackle it…
just go over each section of track and test/align it, if the roadbed is glued down, you won’t be able to adjust very far.
Have an engine ready a car or two and check as you go. It could take pulling up track pieces and re-aligning as needed and can change alignments down the way. Be ready to make some custom sized track pieces.
I just relaid my trackwork on my modules getting it closer to my designed layout, nothing is cutout yet, just testing design, then it gets cutouts.
Thanks for the info. I eventually would like it to grow to something thats scale and somewhat realistic. I originally thought the same way as you about the O-gauge layouts but then when I started doing some research I saw some layouts that were surprisingly interesting in a small space. What do you think of the layouts on here for instance? http://www.thortrains.net/marx/funlayo1.html
They are 4x8 and have a decent amount of complexity. I’m thinking of building an L-shaped layout which would afford me a bit more space. One side of the L could be approximately 5x10 with a 4x4 or 5x4 piece jutting out to form the L. Thats about 65 sq ft of surface area to work with. I have lofty ambitions for what I want to do with it but how much I actually accomplish would depend on how much time I can devote.
The thinking was that I could buy this MTH O set for my son to start out with, and then build it up over the next year or so, and eventually make a big push to turn it into my dream layout. I’m just not sure if this MTH Railking equipment is the right direction to go in. Once I start down that path, it would be expensive to switch. If not MTH railking, what would be the next best that would give me the most value for my money? For $350 I get a starter set with digital controller, engine, etc. The main downside I see is the track that it comes with has the plastic roadbed attached which is certainly not realistic.
~H
Hominamad, what you’ve illustrated in your most recent post are trackplans for three-rail O-gauge tinplate train layouts. These employ O-gauge toy, rather than scale, trains and are regarded by most hobbyists as a distinctly separate hobby from either O, or HO, scale model railroading. This website has a separate forum devoted to the toy train hobby and you might take a look at what they have to offer in the way of advice as well.
CNJ831
Hmm - I guess I have some things to learn then. What makes O “toy” different from “regular” O? Is the size different? How can you tell this from the layouts? Is the MTH railking series considered toy? I wish this were simpler. Not only does one have to decide between HO, O, N, etc, but within each there are several variations. Is there a “generally accpeted” O track system that I should look into?
hominamad
Here are a couple of other thoughts for you to think about.
First a 4ft. wide top requires that you be able to access to it from both sides meaning you have to have a space 8 ft wide as a bare minimum. You would also need access on at least one end. It is generally accepted that you can only reach between 24 to 30 inches. Also you will have to decide on the height or maybe you alreadyhave. Many build to a height of 40 to 52 inches high.
Is this what your son wants? Reading between the lines of one of your recent posts I get the feeling that your son would like the larger gage and play with them as a toy. When I was a child that is what I did. I had Lionel trains and I can tell you they were built tough and with stood the abuse I gave them. HO is definitely not toy like. If you don’t pick up an engine carefully you can easily brake off details.
My suggestion is that you buy your son a larger scale to play with for a few years and when he out grows it and if he is still interested then consider HO.
But remember the cliche, “I’ts your rairoad so do what pleases you”
Happy Railroading
Bob