[andrew090565]

I am dusting down my track and building baseboards again.

The joy of having an 8yr old son who has expressed an interest after my previous two couldnt care less.

Fantastic to be back in the loft after 20 yrs away from the hobby

Hope to exchange ideas and tech advice,

I understand it is now possible to run two or more trains on one circuit. Can this be real?

Andrew

 

[Chinahand]

Hi Andrew and welcome to the MRF,

The short answer is YES. It's called DCC.

I too have returned after a 20+ year absense from railway modelling and have been absolutely amazed and the advances in technology during that time. As many trains as you like running at the same time on what is, effectively, one track.

I look forward to seeing your progress over the coming months.

Regards,

Expat.

 

[Brian Considine]

Welcome to MRF Andrew,

There have been many advances in the world of model railways in the last decade or so, as well as DCC there are "close couplings" & UK models are far, far better in terms of detail & running qualities.

Any questions - please ask away.

 

[Doug]

Welcome to the forum

I got back into the hobby because of DCC. I saw most of the possibilities and was quite impressed.

You can expect: Lots of fun, a nice new layout, a well used credit card, more fun, lots of conflicting opinion, some mistakes, perhaps another layout, more wear and tear on the credit card, a nice new gadget or two and definitely more fun... you get the picture

 

[StMawesCastle]

Just saying 'Hi' as well - I'm another returning enthusiast now with grandchildren to please as well as myself. All the kit has been packed away in boxes for the best part of 10 years, including a move of house, but now I've got a nice, light space for a decent sized layout. And, praise be, it's not in a loft so no more banged head! Baseboards are nearing end of construction so my first grand decision has to be DCC or not. Trouble is, I've got a lot of stuff 'in stock' and fear the cost of going DCC might be too great - all my points are Peco insulfrog, for example. Anyone have a realistic figure for conversion costs?

 

[Doug]

Hi and welcome to the forum too.

You don't have to convert everything to DCC.

Most of my stock is not DCC and I am the biggest fan of DCC.

I have DC sections and the main DCC layout. I add decoders to the locos that I run the most often. The collectable locos that sit around don't get decoders. I can always run them on DC, but they generally stay boxed.

These days good decoders are less than £10 so it is not a problem to have 10 to 15 favourite locos running on the DCC track.

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (StMawesCastle @ 19 Apr 2008, 19:53) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Just saying 'Hi' as well - I'm another returning enthusiast now with grandchildren to please as well as myself. All the kit has been packed away in boxes for the best part of 10 years, including a move of house, but now I've got a nice, light space for a decent sized layout. And, praise be, it's not in a loft so no more banged head! Baseboards are nearing end of construction so my first grand decision has to be DCC or not. Trouble is, I've got a lot of stuff 'in stock' and fear the cost of going DCC might be too great - all my points are Peco insulfrog, for example. Anyone have a realistic figure for conversion costs?

Hi & welcome to MRF.

As Doug says, no need to go 100% DCC to start - many people going "DCC" use it as an excuse to do some houseclearing of locomotives they don't use much (or may not use much).

You can get a decent DCC controller for around the £100 mark - the Bachmann 3-function decoder is in fact an ESU (one of the best brands) & about a tenner each. We have just fitted some for a customer & they really are excellent. Unless you want more than 3 functions and/or "US" style lighting effect they are one of the best value for money decoders around.

Personally, I would avoid the Select & the Hornby decoders - have a look back through the DCC section & make up your own mind.

If you want more advice just ask. Hope this helps.

 

[7113]

Hi Andrew and welcome to MRF.

Ithink you will find everything heere that you need to know, and I can only agree with what others have said earlier.

Regards

 

[7113]

Hi Andrew and welcome to MRF.

Ithink you will find everything here that you need to know, and I can only agree with what others have said earlier.

Regards

 

[StMawesCastle]

Thanks for the welcome and helpful replies - I didn't fully appreciate that a mixed DCC/traditional system was possible. I have had a look at the DCC forum and will now re-read the comments there. I look forward to sharing experiences and getting helpful hints from the forums in future.