# Starting off advice



## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Okay so I have a few layout plans in my head. There all pretty much the same. Loop with a inner loop a few sidings, small yard , and a industrial spur. I'm hearing alot of good things about Atlas track code 100 so I'm leaning that way right now. The only thing I'm not very sure of is if I should go the Dc or DCC direction. I'm wanting to run 3 seperate trains. I'm not sure if that should determine my decision or not. Just wondering what you guys think?


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## TONOFFUN80 (Jan 9, 2010)

I just got my MRC prodigy advanced and I'm very glad i decided to go 
DCC. if you plan on running three trains it's the only way to go


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I can't imagine going back to manual operation since I got my Lionel Legacy system.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Multiple trains and DCC go hand in hand.
Go DCC and buy a good stater system.
Buy DCC on board or DCC ready (plug in decoder install)
I use digitrax and have great luck with it!
Avoid EZ DCC By Bachmann it's very limited!
#1 Ease of operation.
#2 Expandability
#3 Price
Digitrax, NCE, MRC make some real nice systems.


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Alright. Thanks for the help. I'll have to swing by the local hobby shop to see what they have in stock.


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

How is the Digitrax Zephyr Xtra? Ive been hearing some pretty good things about it.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Exellent system!!!:thumbsup:
You can expand it all the way and never have to ditch any of the original componets! My number 1 pick.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

everyone is entitled to their own opinion - while i really want loconet based system, i happen to not like the zephyr offerings for number of reasons and went with NCE powercab. i use loconet via separate interface device.

whatever you decide having a 20$ DC power-pack (used MRC techII from ebay) is not going to hurt in either way. i say start DC and go from there. even if only for a week or so. model railroading is much more then powering track.
make sure you buy DCC ready engine and you will be good


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

tankist said:


> everyone is entitled to their own opinion - while i really want loconet based system, i happen to not like the zephyr offerings for number of reasons and went with NCE powercab. i use loconet via separate interface device.
> 
> whatever you decide having a 20$ DC power-pack (used MRC techII from ebay) is not going to hurt in either way. i say start DC and go from there. even if only for a week or so. model railroading is much more then powering track.
> make sure you buy DCC ready engine and you will be good


I was actually looking at getting a few CN SD70m-2, C449W, and Sw1500 from athearn. All are DCC ready as far as I know.


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

I'm wanting to run 3 seperate trains. I'm not sure if that should determine my decision or not. Just wondering what you guys think?[/QUOTE said:


> Running seperate trains is easiest done with DCC systems, though it can also be done in DC as well. However, in DC if you're wanting to run three seperate trains at the same time that are completely independant of each other, than you'll have to have a seperate transformer for each engine. Tankist is right. MRC tech II transformers will do good for this.
> 
> But if you ever want to run multible engines together on the same line, than DCC is the easiest way to go. If you decide on DC however, than the Tech II will not be strong enough for this, even though they were advertized that they were, they're not. They tend to quickly heat up under these type of conditions. Some will tell you that the Tech 4 is good for this. I have one. Though it's a very good transformer, it's not the best for running multible engines together in excess of three, as it too tends to heat up, though not quite as fast as the Tech II.
> 
> ...


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Thanks for all the great advice! I think I have all the information I need now. Now I just need to hunt down all the loco's I want. That's proving to be quite the challange.


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

Canadian Car Knocker said:


> Thanks for all the great advice! I think I have all the information I need now. Now I just need to hunt down all the loco's I want. That's proving to be quite the challange.


Well, usually the lowest priced good engine is Bachmann. Bachmann in addition to their diesels, also carries a very fine selection of steam engines from every era as well. Most models are all wheel drive and all wheel ectrical pick up. Model Power and Lifelike usually cost less, but I wouldn't buy one of these unless I could try them out first. 

Then there's Athearn. Athearn costs about twice what a Bachmann does. Like Bachmann engines, Athearn engines are all wheel drive and all wheel electrical pick up. Athearn engines though, run a little smoother than does Bachmann. And if they ever break down, they're very easy to repair. 

Next there is Atlas. They offer two different lines of models. First, the lower priced model line of Atlas is called Atlas Trainman. These on the average cost about the same as an Athearn and are about half the price of the Atlas main line models. The power trains of these models are exactly like the power trains of their more expensive main line models. The difference between the two is that the Trainman line models are not as detailed as the models of their main line are. Some main line Atlas models cost about twice what an Athearn does. Both Atlas model versions run a little bit smoother than most Athearn Models. And like Athearn and Bachmann, these are all wheel drive and all wheel ectrical pick up too. 

Next is Proto. Like Atlas, Proto offers two different lines of engines. Proto I and Proto II. Proto I models cost about half of what most Proto II do. Proto is the upper part of Lifelike just as Dewalt is the upper part of Black and Decker, or Bosch being the upper part of Skill. Lifelike is in turned owned by Walthers. Protos are very good engines and are right up there with Athearn and Atlas when it comes to quality. Proto models are also all wheel drive and all wheel electrical pick up.

Then there is Walthers. These are very good engines, but their selection of models is very limited. And of course these too are all wheel drive and all wheel electrical pick up as well. 

Finally, if money is not a concern, there is Athearn Genises and Kato. Both of these are considered to be the krem-de-la-crem of engines. They are completely decked out with all the extras when it comes to detail, and they run like a clock. All of the latest electronic techknowledgy has gone into making these engines.

If you'd like to be able to see what is offered on the market in engines by all of the manufacturers that I mentioned above (and maybe a few more), then click on either of the lincs below. You'll be able to see what each looks like, what each is called, what road names are available, who makes it and how much each sells for. The first address is for diesels, the second one is for steam engines. I hope all of this makes it a little bit easier for at least deciding where to begin.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Diesel-Locomotives-HO-Scale-s/1460.htm

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Steam-Locomotives-HO-Scale-s/1461.htm

JZ


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Thank you! You made my life so much easier. Ive been having a hard time finding some decent CN Rail loco's. Most of the websites Ive been on are mostly BNSF, UP, NS, CSX, and KCS.


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Are all Kato and Athearn Genises units DCC ready?


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

Canadian Car Knocker said:


> Ive been having a hard time finding some decent CN Rail loco's. Most of the websites Ive been on are mostly BNSF, UP, NS, CSX, and KCS. Are all Kato and Athearn Genises units DCC ready?


It can be frustrating at times. May you might consider making your own. If so, then begin with a red engine like Canadian Pacific or Milwaukee Road, as CP Rail is red so it would only be basically a matter of covering the existing name and numbers. Then replace the name and numbers with CP Rail decals from Microscale. 

This is what I did with a few engines, only the color I was going for was black. I model Rio Grande, and not all of the type of engines I wanted were available with the Rio Grande road name. So we just simply made them into Rio Grandes. It's really that simple. Just follow Microscale's decal installing instructions. They sell everything you'll need to make any engine look very authentic. 

To answer your other question, both Kato and Athearn Genises offer DCC models and DC models that are ready to be easily converted to DCC. In other words, any DC model engine manufactured by either Kato or Athearn Genises, is just one step away from actually becoming full DCC, and the ones that both of these manufacturers offer that are already totally DCC are just simply the very finest on the market, anywhere, hands down. 

JZ


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Both the Kato and Athearn Genesis units are DCC ready if not already decoder equipped. (Some of the Athearn Genesis have DCC decoders installed set to DC via a plug that you can just move then it's DCC). They are plug and play, Plug in a decoder and away they go! If you want sound I really suggest that you get one Ready to roll! If you find an engine you really like and it's not DCC ready and your not ready to tackle an install on it find someone like me to do an install for you. Some of your LHS will do it for a reasonable price.


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

I was pretty sure they were DCC ready but I just wanted to double check. My wish list on the link jzrouterman provided is getting long. lol


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

Out of curiosity how much does it usually cost to upgrade a unit from DC to DCC? I have a athearn GP38 I was looking to convert. I was also interested in purchasing a CN athearn SD75I,CN athearn dash944cw, CN(IC) Kato SD40-2, EJ&E Kato SD38-2, and a DM&I kato SD38-2. What would a ball park figure be for converting these units?


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## TONOFFUN80 (Jan 9, 2010)

depending what decoder you choose $20-100 if you install yourself.
the athearns probibly find on ebay 60-100 no sound
the kato could be a fair bit more


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## Canadian Car Knocker (Feb 8, 2011)

That's what I figured. I think I'll be doing a order from modeltrainstuff.com there prices are dirt cheap compared to what I'd find In Canada. On a side note has anybody dealt with intermountain railway company? And if so would you recomend there product?


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