Well, I'm kinda new here. I originally joined back in 02 to sell off most of my N scale equipment with hopes of getting back into it someday. With the purchase of my first home in Sept of this yr I finally started getting back into the hobby and started setting up my first layout in roughly 7 years. A lot has changed sine the last time I was involved in this... the last time I had a layout it all seemed much easier lol. I have a few questions regarding wiring and other aspects. I'm working with a standard 4x8 table size. I have (2) main lines, (1) 3 track yard (2) industrial spurs and a smaller (2) track yard. I have been reading through some older books I have regarding wiring of the layout using atlas controllers and switches etc. Is this worthwhile or should I skip this and set up a dcc system? I'm really starting from scratch as far as equipment goes. I have a "newer" dcc ready atlas PRR SD-35 part #49422 and an older PRR SD-9 (I believe) High nose non dcc that came in an atlas box but has KATO on the bottom of the engine. I can get a part number tonight if needed. I'm wondering how hard it would be to convert the non dcc engine to dcc. The SD-35 seems pretty straight forward from what I can tell from various web pages. My goal is to have the main lines separate from the yard and spurs both speed and control wise so I can have the mainline going and have fun using a yard switcher w/o interfering with any other aspect/control of the layout. What would be the easiest way to accomplish this? Would it be best (if staying with standard controls) to just set up a separate transformer to control the yards and spurs or go about it another way? this is a rough dwg of what the track plan looks like. Any help/suggestions/ideas is greatly appreciated!! Thanks Tj
Plan Ahead! Hi Tj, Since you're at ground zero, I would go DCC. With Dcc you won't need seprate blocks as you can run many engines at once. It is really not too hard to install decoders, but some of the older frames may need to be milled and for about $10 "Aztech" does this (http://www.aztectrains.com/). There is a lot of info about DCC on the internet and I'm sure you will get MANY opinions as to which brand to use. Here are a couple of links to get started: http://www.loystoys.com/MiscHTML/dcctopics.html , http://www.trainweb.org/nrmrc/dcc/conversions.html and http://tonystrains.com/tonystips/dccprimer/index.htm Hope this helps!
Thanks! I had the chance to check out a few DCC systems at a local hobby shop. I was kinda of liking the NCE system. It seems easy and straight forward and I dont plan on running more than 4 locos at the moment so right out the box it seems decent... any ideas? I uploaded some picstures of what I've been putting together. they can be found here http://soup.misterjackson.com/pictures/Train20Layout/
I'd go DCC now while you've only got two engines. I've hard wired the Kato made SD9's with a smaller decoder like the DZ123, its easy enough but as mentioned you have to remove part of the frame, I put the frame halves in a vice and used a file, not very high tech but it does the job. I'm holding off doing anymore of my older locos with the split light boards till I can check out the upcoming TCS Classic decoder. Re your track plan I'd add a yard lead (shown in red) so I could switch the yard without going onto the main line.
NCE PowerCab Hi Tj, I didn't want to sway your decision on which brand of DCC system in my previous post, but now that you have stated which way you might go, I will tell you what I use! I have the NCE PowerCab! I have added the "Smart Booster" SB-3 AND have also added wireless using the RB02 (radio base) and Cab 04ER(wireless cab). I use the "Lenz" LS-150 to control my Atlas snap switches. I have been very happy with my NCE PowerCab ... easy to hook-up and easy to use. I have installed decoders in many diesel and steam engines including the Kato Makado (even put one in the boiler! Thanks to Gary Lewis). Bruce at Litchfield Station has been a great help and is where I get my DCC stuff (FREE shipping over $50): http://litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=524025&cat=27&page=2
Thanks for al lthe replies Westfalen - Thanks for the suggestion. I added another crossover on the main line tonight and was thinking I should add that line for the yard as well. I'll look into seeing how it fits with the terrain. Sagelake - Thanks for the link that is a very good price. I really liked the NCE powercab set up. Like I said before... it seems really easy for someone just geting into it. I'll look into the set up for the switches as well. As for now I dont mind the traditional way to wire the switches so long as I can change it when I get more involved with the DCC etc. Tj
I hadn't planned on it but the plan is ever changing. I planned on having a small industrial town throughout the layout
Thanks! I have to add a lot more vegetation. Any suggestions on what to use to create the look of "Ivy" ??
For ivy on building walls, I dip the point of a toothpick in model paint (as close to the same color as the background as possible) and try not to get too much on the point. You can drag the toothpick more or less vertically along the wall. Keep the lines kind of squiggly. Then sprinkle fine ground foam over the paint, and allow to dry. This is good for masking unwanted seams in building walls. I would recommend practicing on some scrap first, because the first couple of times I tried it, it came out a little too heavy.
