I learned most of what I know about wiring a model RR from the Sierra Pintada project layout in Model Railroader back in 196? I think MR will furnish copies of old articles for a modest charge.
John's Layout, The Gulf & Pacific is a pleasure to operate and the map style control panels he uses are easy to follow. You can see more on John's You Tube or over at BarstowRick.com.
My 30'X50' is all old school DC, 9 cabs, many blocks, works every time all the time. No programming nothing just turn the rotary knob to the cab you want, turn the throttle and the locos(s) go. Here is a quick video of it. On my YouTube channel you can see the build of the layout. I can take images of the control panels, one for the main line, the other for the yard and branch lines. Not trying to be condescending, but you can still run trains with DC and have a great time doing it. I have had folks here tell me while I ran 5-7 unit consists, even some with DP units too, that my operation is DCC and I didnt know it. Didnt take me very long to correct them LOL. You can always go DCC in the future if you want to, dont let anyone tell you its DCC or nothing... I have nothing against the DCC folks, none at all. Just saying there is an alternative, that has been used successfully for 50+ years I am prolly one of the most electrical/electronic challenged guys you will ever meet. I will post some images of the control panels in use here. I have part #'s from outfits too, just gotta find them
That's great, Tom. I actually work in electronics (and write the firmware and software drivers for the hardware) and I'm still a DC fan. It's simple and easy to conceptualize in my mind (and thus easy to troubleshoot). As you say, I have nothing against anyone into DCC, it's just a) I don't like putting something sophisticated inside of something that supposed to be simple and fun, and b) I'm a cheap old bugger and converting 70+ locos (and whatever else can be DCC'ed) to DCC would cost me a small fortune (enough to buy a decent used car), and most likely force me to considerably expand my cuss vocabulary because a LOT of my locos were never intended to receive DCC and would require extensive modifications, both electrical and physical. Anything that makes me cuss a lot is not my idea of fun.
Nope. You follow that train and hi-ball stations lol. I certainly appreciate all the kind words and comments. Thanks guys.
Hi Tom, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. My mom passed a little over 15 years ago, we knew it was coming but it's still not easy. You take care of yourself buddy! Just keep the good times in mind. Take care, just remember you have a bunch of friends here. Dale
Thanks guys I appreciate the kind words but it was not right for me to say anything on this thread about it. I should edit/delete the related posts. I dont want to offend you guys, but they should be taken care of.
Sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my father a couple of weeks ago. Miss him greatly. He and I had had a lot of very good talks about things even years before he died. He told me "don't worry about me when I'm gone, I'll be fine. It's those of you who have to deal with it that will suffer." He also told me that when people die you go through bad feelings, and that he didn't want me feel any bad feelings after he had paassed. Our conversations helped me a lot in coping with the situation. I would say that I am in much better shape this time than when my mother died, as we had time to be with him for a year before we lost him.
