I want to go to DCC , but I can’t justify converting all 18 locomotives to DCC right now. My current layout I rotate 5 locomotives for use . I have debated if I should sell 2/3 of my locomotives and go DCC or stay with DC and keep everything .
One reason I have so many locomotives , I bought them for a larger layout in the future , but even at this point that day is at least 6 years out when my youngest is ready for college , so I realize that 6 years from now the locomotives that come out will be even better .
If you want to go DCC you don’t have to convert all 18 of your locos at one time. Select the ones you want to change over first then do the remainder one or two at a time.
NCE sells a package of 10 decoders for around $150. That would be more than half your fleet.
You could always start a DCC fund and stash your loose change or a couple extra bucks away when you can. The nice thing about DCC is you don,t have to buy everything at once. You can add to your layout any time. Make sure you preplan your layout well.
You can do the same thing I’m doing. I’m converting my locos one at a time as I go along. I have 44 locos in my collection. So far I’ve converted 18 of them to DCC.
You can also wire in your DCC system to the layout at the same time as your DC, simply install a single pole switch at the head end to determine which system is in command.
I find this useful for running all those new eBay acquisitons that I haven’t transitioned over yet.
Start with the five that you use regularly and put decoders into them. Get decoders for the remainder of your fleet later on as you have the funds. Depending on whether or not your locomotives are DCC ready, purchasing decoderes in bulk lots is the way to go. NCE decoders have already been mentioned as available this way, and Litchfield Station offers discounts on other brands when purchased in lots of 4 or more. NCE and TCS would be good choices to begin.
Some DCC systems will let you run DC engines. They will have a extra hum from the motor, so far after a year I have no motor problems with my DC engines ran on DCC.
Before you start mass conversions, think about sound. Go to a shop that has an in-store layout, if you can, or maybe a club or train show where you can hear these in action. Those of us who have started down the sound path often report that we don’t run our non-sound engines much anymore, or that we’re slowly upgrading non-sound engines to sound. You’d might as well go direct to sound if you’re going to do it.
Consider what kinds of engines you have. If they’re all relatively new, then there will likely be appropriate drop-in decoders specifically made for each locomotive or manufacturer. These will cost more than bulk-pack “fleet” decoders, but will be much easier to install.
Or, you might want to install simple decoders on a few engines to get started. Later, as you upgrade to sound, that original decoder can become a “hand me down” to another engine in the fleet.
For me its depends on brand…I would think twice about adding decoders to my trusty Athearn BB locomotives even though its simple to do.I would add decoders to my Athearn RTR and of course to my Atlas locomotives if they not already equipped with a duel mode decoder.I would install decoders 2 at a time until I reach the number of locomotives I need for operation…
On the other hand I will be using DCC in N and decided I only need 4 locomotives for my small layout and will more then likey buy all 4 decoders at one time.
Converting to DCC is a good time to kinda “prioritize” your fleet. Odds are the five engines you use a lot are your best running engines, that’s at least a good part of why they get so much use. Getting those converted would be your first priority. For the others, you can do them over time. I’ve been in DCC for 4-5 years now, and still have a few engines that haven’t been converted, but I have more than enough to operate with.
One thing you could do, which is more-or-less what I did, is convert your favorite five with regular decoders to kinda get your feet wet in DCC, use your money to get a really good DCC system. Later you can convert the five to DCC sound one engine at a time, and use the regular decoder you remove from each engine to convert one of your other engines. Once all five have sound, look at which engines of the remainder run best and get used the most, and start converting them to sound too.
BTW I’d recommend looking at TCS decoders, their programming instructions are very clear and easy to understand.
p.s. remember too that you can add a separate ‘piggyback’ sound decoder into an engine that already has a regular decoder. I have a steam engine and a diesel with an MRC “Sounder” sound-only decoder in them, and I like them. Shopping around you can find them for under $30.
I have been considering sound as well . of my locomotives 5 are Atlas , 5areP2K ,4areAthearn BB F7’s , 2 bachman spectrums , 1 walther’s train line , and 1 ihc steam engine.Of my Atlas 3 are DCC ready , plus all of my p2k . My Atlas and p2k are the ones that I would uprade . If I buy decoders how difficult are the to install or would I be better off having them installed ?
Also could I set my layout up to run either DCC or DC by putting in a switch . . my current layout I can only run 1 locomotive at a time , although I can keep 2 locos on the layout . I usually have an outbound train wait for an inbound from the staging , there is just no room for 2 running at once .
Brakie has the right idea, don’t mess with the engines that don’t convert easily.
I have over 200 diesels in my roster, about 75 - 80 are on the railroad (in action, staging, engine terminals) at one time. I was able to convert to DCC easily and fairly cheaply. I also used another command control for several years before switching to DCC and understood the concept a little better.
I am not a big fan of sound (noise) but have about two dozen units with sound.
Bottom line, as Brakie said, skip the low end units, concentrate on your better stuff and get them converted first. You mentioned waiting on buying more, waiting too long in the market today means you may miss out on some engines you would like to have, as they would not be available a few years later, also prices will continue to rise (in my opinion).
I see this excuse all the time. I always wonder why people try to JUSTIFY doing all of them at once.
Right now you can run one loco at a time. You say you can have two locos on your layout, so you must have a switch or two that cuts power to some track(s).
Insert a command station/booster between your DC pack and all your wiring. Set the DC pack to full on. Run your trains using the DCC throttle.
Now you can still have two locos on your layout and run one at a time. Just like before. You can still throw a switch to kill or activate a siding. All you gain is constant lighting.
Next, decide which loco you would MOST like to always have available. Convert it to DCC. Now you can have three locos on you layout and run two at the same time. (Don’t make the mistake of buying a system that does not support running one loco at address 0.) You can still select any of your analog locos, put them on the layout, and run them, just like you do now. I see no reason to justify converting all your locos at once, or EVER for that matter.
I have both HO and “G” scale.
My garden RR has 30+ locos, over a period of ten years I converted only 20 of them. Of the Analog locos, five are shelved and the other five sit on sidings with track power killed. I have never converted them because I have never had a need to run any two of the ten analog locos at the same time.
I’m new to HO. I started 2 months ago. My layout has been operational for three weeks.
If you have locomotives you plan to use in the future, hold on to those that are worth converting even if that dream layout is still future tense. I bought locomotives (as unassembled brass kits) in the 1960s, against the day when I would need them for an operating scheme which, even then, was set in stone. Construction of that dream layout finally got started in 2004! Now I’m bringing them on-line one and two at a time as track space becomes available. The good part is that I can upgrade from open-frame amp-hog motors as I assemble each one.
Since you are only operating five locomotives, those are the only ones that you should consider for immediate conversion to DCC. Convert the others later, one at a time, as disposable income allows.
Other possibilities you might consider:
Rotate ‘in service’ locomotives, as you convert them. This only works if the locos and your present layout are compatible. If you have mini-curves and a 2-10-10-2, the idea breaks down.
What will the decoder ‘state of the art’ be when you finally start laying track on the Dreamland Central? If you wait, you will be able to use the latest and greatest when you do convert.
Whatever course you choose, the one thing you DON’T have to do is perform a ‘right now’ mass conversion.
I have had a Digitrax DCC system for over ten years. I have a locomotive roster of about 50 HO locomotives, but less that half have been converted to DCC. It is a matter of time not cost as my non sound locomotives use DH123 decoders which are relatively inexpensive. Many of my locomotives Athearn BB and early PK2 are not adapatable to the newer plug and play decoders.
As for sound, Joe Fugate has suggested puting a dummy locomotive with a sound chip, between two prowerd locomotives. I am moving in this direction as I add sound to my layout.