@Kisatchie I really agree. Cost, Time and Learning Curve were all more than I wanted to deal with. Yes, a home layout where you might be running two or maybe three trains is very managable. The hardest part for me is the length in that I have to walk, (slide along a 18" space between couch and layout), about 20 feet to manipulate cars / turnouts etc. So, make sure you have adequate access to all of your layout. Best wishes on your fun.
Wired as one big block a simple DPDT switch can change if back and forth between DCC and DC... http://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/UP Canyon Division/page-13.html ..... so you could try DCC at any time with as few as one loco. What is your level of comfort doing some basic wiring using a soldering iron? With DCC++EX ( HERE ) you can put together a DCC Command Station for under $50 that is about as powerful as or more powerful as a number of commercial DCC Command Stations. No soldering or wiring to do that part and they have auto installers so you don't have to program anything and no complicated electronics. You can also use a phone with a wireless throttle at no cost. You can install decoders for as little as $16, with wiring and soldering required. Once you do a couple it is mainly repetition doing more. If some of your loco's are later ones they might accept 'drop-in' decoders that won't require wiring and soldering and can cost in the $30-$40 range. Maybe get started with the one large block and DC. Then try DCC as time and money permits and see what you think. No need at this point to totally lock in on one or the other. I run DC and DCC locos on my test track but will only run DCC on the main layout as it is built. Sumner
Interesting. But then it depends on such simple things. The books I've required start to tell it better. Along with the life style of the individual. Richard
My very limited knowledge(?) of electricity makes me fear DCC, whether it's rational or not. I just may have to buy 1 DCC loco, a BLI Southern SD40-2 high nose, because I can't find any DC ones. Zero... soldering = oil, I = water... they don't mix.
My objection to DCC are: Cost - seems to make no sense if you are going to run 1 loco at a time. Problems - I only hear about DCC when folks have problems Having to run feeders every 3 feet - I can't soldier. No need - One train at a time with power control sidings and spurs. DC works just fine.
Agreed, but if one wants to (insert a number of things here), then DCC is a more logical route. That's because the rest of the time they are having fun . Sumner
@Sumner On a *home* layout? how many can a person run? I can run 2 at a time. 1 on the 'Main Line' which is an 18' dog bone loop which can run by itself. 1 on the 'Grey and Grandure' which is a short line with switching. Technially I can add another loop and run another train. The next layout will have semi automated point to point shinkansen Cost: $80 per line for a power supply and terminal track Problems: Make sure you hook your power correctly. Feeders: Maybe, depending on how long your loop is Limitations of DC Sound - Some of the videos I have seen with sound in each locomotive are pretty cool. Accessories - Remote control of turnouts and other stuff requires wires
I'm wondering if a 4% grade is too steep for my layout. I know that the steeper the grade, the less cars a loco can pull up it. It's just that I'd rather not have a lot of sloping track where I can't spot cars at a siding. Hmm... that's a good point... the cars would roll away...
Yes, that's a bit steep, especially if it's on your mainline. In a 9' x 10' room, you have a lot of space available and shouldn't have to put up with anything near that.
You can spot cars on a sloped siding if you use a small nail, pin, etc. that you can push down (or remove) when unused. You pull it up to catch a wheel axle at one end or the other (usually opposite where you want to couple up to it or decouple from it). You could have a small solenoid that drives a pin up and down through the roadbed/ties, controlled remotely when needed to hold/release a cut of cars in place on a hill.
My suggestion is to: Keep it simple. Keep it *relatively* small. No grades while learning. Design: Oval along outside edges. Point to point running down the middle Share an 'Interchange Yard' No need for inclines. Without seeing your footprint I can't say much more than that.
I re-started (after a bad bout of B'mann EZ track disease) with a Kato Unitrack oval on a hollow core door. Added some switches & sidings and a yard, Then I added a Unitrack Viaduct figure 8 track set to the mix. Watching one train pass over another was magical! Can't do that without grades... The standard pier set (included in the figure 8 set) was closer to 4%, which was pretty steep. The add-on pier set includes piers with heights in between the original set. They can be placed at mid-span on the viaducts, but that keeps the original incline slope. I had added some viaduct pieces and put the intermediate piers at the ends of the viaducts for the easier grades. Now I'm prototyping a folded dogbone style layout (on an HCD again) using the viaduct track while I experiment and fine tune. When I'm satisfied, I'll add terrain to support the track grades, and remove the viaducts (keep the track pieces from them). My point is, you don't have to shy away from grades, they can be as easy as ground level track. Note that you need the intermediate pier add-on set to get down to a ~2% grade.
Thanks for all the comments. After seeing how much space it would take to raise the track 4" using a 2% grade, I decided I will compromise with a 3% grade.
With N Scale, a 2" rise is often enough to cross over another track. See how much you'll need using your tallest equipment and a bridge above. You may need 2-1/4". If you're going for 4", you're unnecessarily doubling the gradient.
The real limiting factor for maximum grade is how long your trains can be, and/or how many locos it takes to pull them up the grade. Granted if you want to run steam, a main engine and 3 helpers may not be very prototypical... but I say, if you like it, run it! The Kato Unitrack viaduct pieces on the maximum height piers offered (listed as 2") will allow a Kato well car with double stacked, high cube containers, to pass underneath (on ground level Unitrack). A Kato through truss or plate girder bridge provides even more clearance (allowing a lower pier, but I have not quantified how much yet.)
I want a 4" rise because I want to create the illusion of higher, more distant locations. Since I like both the Southern Rwy and Louisville & Nashville, (both served Louisiana and Kentucky/Tennessee), I want to approximate the terrain of both New Orleans (flat as a pancake) gradually merging into the hilly/mountainous Kentucky/Tennessee.
You could put a double ended stage/yard. would create an around the room loop. Just run it as point to point with all the sidings you want.
