So, here’s the deal - I’ve got a few rather expensive things to buy before I can get truly operational, but this summer hasn’t exactly been a windfall of profit for my photography business. (Got a trip to England in, and that pretty much wiped out all of my funding)
However, with a good recent corporate purchase I’ve got enough to purchase…
A: Enough fast tracks jigs and whatnot to start handbuilding turnouts
or
B: A DCC system.
Of course, I can’t have both yet, and it’s not like I can actually operate properly what I’m going to build. (I’m just building the peninsula of the layout as there’s work to be done on the walls, so there’s either 11 feet of mainline run (with no turnouts) or an inoperable 25 feet and yard (Turnouts, no DCC)
Another thing is whether or not I can build the layout and test it electrically using just a DC power supply to make sure things run smoothly and without shorting. Is that a bad idea, or can I just do that and treat it as one DC block?
How patient are you, and what’s your timeframe? When you talk about laying 11 feet of mainline, does that mean just laying it down, or adding scenery?
I’ve learned, among other things, that doing things on my layout always takes longer than I think it should. Part of this is that the work just goes slower, part is that the rest of my life gets in the way, and part is because I get sidetracked on small details, which only adds to my enjoyment of the hobby.
From a “just-in-time-scheduling” standpoint, I’d say to get the Fasttracks jigs, start building and laying turnouts, and save for the DCC system. By the time you’ve got that trackwork done, you should have time to accumulate enough for the DCC system. I’d buy a hefty 12-volt DC power supply to use as a test system, because it won’t cost you much, and once you get the DCC system you can use the supply for turnout and accessory power. If you’re installing switch motors, you’ll need the power to test those, too.
Alternately, buy the DCC system, glue, roadbed, ballast and a couple of structure kits. This, too, can be time consuming. Put down that track, and then enjoy it as you railfan through your ever-improving scenery on the main line. Meanwhile, save for the Fasttracks jigs.
When I was really, really tight for model railroading funds, I proceeded with a small layout with handlaid track. This was before Fast Tracks, but my 1st attempt at a handlaid turnout worked just fine. The benchwork alone nearly broke me for a couple of months.
This was before DCC, but there were other (expensive) command control systems available. For power, I used a broken DC power pack that still produced AC. I built a tethered walk-around throttle for less than $10 in parts. Although I put in block wiring, I never got around to adding a second cab (throttle). Didn’t need it, as I always operated solo. The second side of the block toggles went unused. The blocks allowed me to shut off engines on unused sections of track.
Bottom line is neither Fast Tracks nor DCC is at the top of my list for funding when times are tight.
My preference is to build a small, disposable layout that has some operating potential fairly quickly. For my present test layout, I am using sectional and flex track and a few turnouts to get me started on operations quickly. If I choose to expand the test layout, I will use handlaid track.
In your case, work on the walls is going to be messy - even sanding and painting dry wall is not clean work, especially with a layout in the middle of the room. So something small, portable, or easily covered would seem to be a smart way to go.
Most current DCC decoders are dual mode - they will operate fine on DC provided there is not a fancy pulse for slow speed operations. And DC engines without a decoder require DC. So starting with DC, especially if you already have a power pack or throttle will work quite well. Install SPST toggles to turn off passing sidings or spurs where you wish to “park” a locomotive. Or use power routing on the turnouts to do this for you.
My timeframe is…well, I’m young. I don’t really have a timeline other than the walls and electrics being completed when I’m finished college. Anything else is ‘when I feel like it’. The mainline I speak of includes scenery, and if I didn’t have enough money to do either of the options (I was preparing for this scenario) I was just going to start doing scenery. There isn’t much to go in, as my scenery is large (there’s a bay, a tunnel, a smaller bay and some forest that take up all of the run) but I’m hoping it will be quite visually impressive.
My only real worry with DC switching to DCC is that I’ll sudde
Do any wiring as if you are building for DCC. Run your power bus and feeders in just the way you would but instead of connecting a DCC system, just connect your DC power pack to the bus. Then you will have no worries when you convert later. This is exactly the strategy I used when I faced a similar decision point.
I am with Simon on this one. I started DC and changed later to DCC. When I went to DCC I had no problems. Then I added another 9 X 5 foot to the layout.
Long story made short is the Bus Wire I used to connect to the main bench was to thin and that caused problems. Slow lingering death to decoders. I was stupid at the time (well still am to a point) when it came to bus wire sizes.
Just wire for a DCC system (Proper Bus Wire Sizes) you will have no problem when you go DCC.
David, why a #12? Wouldn’t that cause problems with keeping the rails tightly in position? What about other things such as frog helpers and the filing tool for stock rail where the points meet? Also…do you model HO or N?
I would personally go with fast tracks, and take your time laying the track.
I find N scale track very easy to work with and I took several hours to get my trackplan and track down properly. in the 30 feet of track I laid, I only had to redo one joint. With this reliability in DC - I’m confident of being able to switch to DCC in the future without any hassles.
For the time being anyway I’ll be sticking to DC as I have a single track mainline and no more than two trains on the layout at once.
No problem building it with DC and runnign it as one big block. The Fast Tracks turnouts are ‘dcc friendly’ if built per the instructions, so there will be no future gotchas there. If it works well with DC power connected, it will work with DCC. Plus the DC power pack will come in handy to test locos prior to installing decoders. Conversely to the above, if a loco doesn’t run well on DC, DCC will not magically ‘fix’ it.
James, long time no talk! I didn’t realize you were into handlaying track. One of the main reasons I want to handlay is that I want better reliability, as I’ve had issues mixing peco turnouts and atlas track in the past - though that does seem to be the best combination hypothetically. Of course, once you start cutting corners, all bets are off, so I have reservations about that.
I’m glad that everyone agrees that switching to DCC is easy, I was worried because it always sounds like DCC freaks out over minor problems whereas DC doesn’t. Definitely time to start building turnouts!
My thought on this is what I did. Buy the DCC system first. Get it with what you want it to have. If you get a non walk around throttle you are stuck in one location just as with most DC. The track, engines, rolling stock, buildings, ballast and other items are relative inexpensive, well maybe not engines, and bought one or a few at a time. Get the biggest expenses out of the way. Then if money is a problem later at least you have track, some trains, a good working operating system and can get in running.