I am building a garden railroad but don't want to dive into the real expensive stuff yet. Laying Bauchmann track so that is the big investment so far. Been successful with re-battering engines with rechargeable 9vdc batteries. Running just 9vdc on the track and can run all engines along with the installed batteries. Any comments please jon tgood
Hi Jon and welcome aboard. I do not model, but am sure someone will answer your request for comments.
What kind of space do you have available? As everyone says, in ANY scale, the bigger, the better! What track do you plan on using? I'm using Aristo Craft brass, with 8 and 10 foot Diameter curves. Wanting to change over to USA switches at some point though! The Aristo are causing me a few headaches at times! Not sure of the suitability of the B-Man track! Especially outdoors. What are you using currently, for control?
Keith: The whole back yard. Using LGB brass track and switches with adapters to plastic track on sidings and short lines. Using a straight forward 9VDC battery charger and rechargeable on board batteries. Neat thing about the battery charger it self-regulates according to the batteries voltage draw. When 2 or more engines are running I see an increase in voltage. But the voltage always seem to be steady at 9.2VDC max at the engines. It's max is 14 VDC. The charger powers back as the batteries accept a full charge. Kinda Like how an auto battery charger works. When engines run off the main line they keep going on battery power. Will increase voltage on LBG track when I purchase a REAL G scale diesel engine. That will necessitate a voltage relator in each engine. I purchased 2 and they work just fine. The only problem I foresee will the polarity in the track. But if I R/C any G scale engines that shouldn't be a problem. As a retired electrician the electrics is not a fear of tackling. All Aboard. jon tgood
Run track power myself, with Airwire Radio Control. A couple locomotives with QSI sound, the rest with Phoenix sound. Have a BLW Goose #6 and an LGB Rio Grande #50 diesel switcher to convert yet! Do NOT trust batteries personally. However, I'm tempted to have the #50 converted to Airwire/Sound/Battery. Have to contact someone about doing the install for me. Gotta fix the Goose drive line first. Although, battery would eliminate the need for reverse loop controls! Mine works pretty good, so I can't complain!
