Відео

Thanks! Thankfully, I have career knowledge that transfers down nicely to model railroading so when things like this happen, I can usually think through it - or fake it. I'll spend a lot of hours on something before I admit it's just f$%#ed. But there is a lot of stuff happening with the railroad and it was overwhelming at first and taking a lot of the fun out of it. now that trains are running reliably, it's much more enjoyable while i work and feels more like a hobby than a second job.

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying.

I'll always recommend ScaleTrains for details and sound, Kato for pulling power and smooth running, and Atlas for a combination of the two. ScaleTrains go Rivet Counter Series, Kato is best with DCC and no sound or DC. Sound is ok but their pricing is higher. Atlas go with their Gold Series Master Line. If you're looking for Amtrak stuff - Bachmann's SC44 Chargers are amazing for sound, operation, and details.

She's always a winner. I'm not getting yelled at by her fans - she's gotta be in the vids LOL!

Thanks! I've got a few new ones coming - stay tuned!

it was definitely a mistake to put that in. the kato wyes are a #4 I believe which is just a little too tight for fast mainline traffic.

you're right, it's not until May for the GP30s... so that frees up some spending capital for January. Good, I need an SD40-2 in CSX, LMAO! Dash 8's were a nice run, too. Since it's impossible to have too many locos, good find on getting three! there's no shame in buying a little something for yourself - it 'tis the season, after all!

DCC is a lot. Looking at it from a whole it's entirely too much but once you break it down and start with the command station, and then a single loco from there, you have a place to start and it's a little easier. There's some great resources online to find the answers you need - i've only ever stumped the internet once or twice.

@AlleghenyNorthern Yes Sir and lean on friends with experience and knowledge. Been a great help sofar.

Thanks!

Welcome to n scale! You're not going to be disappointed. As for BLI - that's been nothing but disappointment for me. I have five locos from them. The Chessie Reading T1 is ok - it runs reasonably well. It's a little jerky in it's movements. The Kato Big Boy is far superior in operation (I know they're two different loco classes - just comparing steam to steam.) The SD40-2s I have were absolutely terrible. One rocked so hard on it's trucks it looked like it was at a hard rock concert. I had to shim the trucks with styrene to even get them to reasonable ride still. The other one was missing components to connect the motor to one of the worm gears on the drive shaft - so had basically 50% tractive effort. After notifying BLI, they sent me the wrong replacement parts. I also have sound issues on both SD40s with the sound intermittently cutting out and playing random sound effects that cannot be turned off or controlled. You legit have to pull it off the layout and reset it. Then, most recently, I got the SW7 switcher. It arrived without a drop of grease on any of the internal gears or bearings. Ran like absolute crap. Now that i've done some basic maintenance to it, it runs a little better - no grinding gear sounds - but it's jerky like the T1. The only loco of theirs I have that I would recommend is that ES44AC. It runs and performs well. If you're going to drop $200 bucks on a DCC and sound loco, get an Atlas version. If you're going to spend a little more, get a ScaleTrains one.

That would work except I've crammed entirely too much complex track geometry into those areas to fly one side over the other. There wouldn't be enough run between the control points on the incoming side to the terminal or enough elevation to raise the round house area. On the other side, there would be enough space to bring the number 1 over the number 2 so in theory I believe i could eliminate one of the at-grade crossovers.

i've cleaned my slate of other projects so i can spend the next few winter months working away on modeling railroading projects. another reason i love winter!

Is that AK product the liquid stuff? That sure beats tape or having to remove glazing! I have been trying decide if i'm going to build up scenery or recess the turn table. It makes sense to recess, but then everything in that section is extremely level - but I think I can offset that 'boring' terrain with adjacent scenery. I'm not ashamed to admit I am addicted to locomotives. i want all of them, regardless of time period and road name LOL! Some people get addicted to substances, me - awesome locomotives.

I would like to know how you dremeled the 7mm out to place the turntable! 😮. I want to cut my foam out but not sure how to keep it level like a full size router. I would like uou to repaint a GP-38 to an old raggedy blue and red Gran Trunk loco! How does this happen?

@@NitroStarGT what I used was a barrel type of sanding attachment. First I drilled a pilot hole to the depth I wanted taking the measurements off the turn table. Made an Xpattern in the blue foam just used the Dremel varitable drill. Wear a particle mask. On the extension I just drilled down the depth of the legs

so, i was contemplating some crazy wiring plans that included working signals (the easy part) and IR sensors to control both the light and a section of track leading to it. there are conditions where if there's no train on the #1 - it could be set for the crossover but not actually introduce a problem for the number 2 main. that being the case, i may not want to necessarily stop a train because of the alignment of the switch. but an isolated section controlled to an IR sensor and a signal would definitely work. unless the train had DPUs. it wouldn't be idiot proof, but it could stop damage to expensive locos. i need to explore this more.

@ your isolated section would just need to be as long as your longest train but i think you’re onto something

@@thesheq5023 actually - the longest train is a known size because of the reverse loops so it would be possible to place a block with precise length. BUT, the downside would be that it would cut power and that means also light and sound. now i'm wondering if an automatic slow-down program could be written into an arduino or something. maybe i'm going to hard to the paint with this but i wonder...

That's an old Atlas run with a Digitrax drop-in decoder.

It was for me, too! I don't know that it has that much capacity to fire two. I would be afraid it wouldn't be able to push both coils. it's really meant to throw the one turnout that is in the reverse loop or wye so my guess is it won't handle two.

The size of n gauge allows for a better balance of scenery-to-train ratio. Or it allows for a lot of railway action in a smaller space. both ways of modeling work but my n scale journey started because my parents purchased a Bachmann train set for me when I was a kid and i just stayed with it through my early modeling years. it was the only scale i could reasonably fit in my childhood bedroom. after that, i just stayed with it and continued to advance until it filled my own home's basement. So it went from being able to fit well into the space i had to being able to fit a good amount of train to a good amount of scenery.

They say money isn't everything - but it's really hard to do much without it. Hobbies really test that - because whatever hobby you have, there's an investment. I think sometimes folks forget model trains aren't toys, but rather scale miniatures; they're tiny little machines with a lot of tech rolling in them now. $250 for a locomotive is a lot and some may find it more cost effective to purchase the $100 locomotive. Both locomotives are still scale models and not toys. Yet, there are still toy locomotives you can get for $30 or $50 if that's what you can afford to get started. Having sound in all of the locos in a consist isn't necessary - completely agree. Making sure all the decoders are compatible for speed adjustment definitely is, though (like having LokSound and LokPilot together). I try to have at least the lead loco have full sound and light features (just looks better at grade crossings!) In two loco consists, I like both to have it, facing in opposite directions. More than two locos - I want the two end locos to have sound and lights. I'm with you. I want the throttle with the big control dials - it's why I like the Digitrax super throttles. Very easy to use. The Zephyr Express came on the market about when I started with DCC - I timed it accidentally perfect! I think the complexity of the railroad really depends on what you want to do with it. if trains rolling through scenery is more important than switching puzzles - simple trackwork is enough with a few sidings and maybe some industries. I've found that any time I try to add fancy or complete track geometry, that's typically where i have my operational problems!

it's not terribly hard to see how much more DCC offers than DC. DC runs the track, DCC actually lets you take control of the train. better is a matter of opinion depending on what you're trying to accomplish, however. In my opinion, DCC is far superior than DC. Having modeled in both, DC is extremely limited in capabilities and realism for lights and sound. If that type of operation isn't your thing - DC works fine.

@@AlleghenyNorthern what can you do with DCC you cant do with DC .. NOTHING

@@brianberthold3118 So you know nothing about DCC. Tell you what, next time you post a video about DC trains let me know. I want to see you program your DC-only locos to have flashing ditch lights, speed match locos and run some DPUs or how about simulate manned helper service, run trains on the same track, in the same block, in opposite directions (valuable for switching and single line mainline with passing sidings). once you do that, I'll take you seriously.

There are three price points, DC, DCC, and DCC w/ sound. Do not mislead with misinformation that DC and DCC are the same price as they're typically not. DCC only typically adds between $30 and $50 to the DC model and sound typically adds around $100-150 to the model depending on the speaker, keep alive, and decoder used. DCC and sound locos start around $120 with Bachmann Sound on Board models, $200 for BLI Paragon 4 if you're brave enough to trust BLI, and $250 for ScaleTrains. Steam locomotives may cost more because they're more complex. If your point was to say that sound makes locomotives more expensive, next time you purchase a car - see if adding more features increases the price of the vehicle.

DCC is the future of the hobby. It's why manufacturers are focusing heavy on making smaller decoders, smaller speakers, with improved functionality and sound quality. Even Kato, who has resisted DCC for as long as possible, has begun releasing their models in both DC and DCC and including TCS sound decoders in certain runs and not just as special releases. DCC will never replace DC entirely, there are still plenty of casual modelers and beginners who don't focus enough on operation to justify the investment in DCC.

@AlleghenyNorthern and the prices are the death of the hobby like any of us are stupid enough to buy an 8 year old kid a $300 engine so no kids get into the hubby anymore the dumb companies have just put a time clock on their own business they have about 50 years left of model railroading and then it'll be gone

@@brianberthold3118 if someone is buying a child a scale model instead of a toy train then yes, they're stupid. there's a reason large scale trains like O and G exist. It's the same reason starter sets exist in HO and N - they're toys meant for children and beginners before they purchase the scale model versions of the same locos. You buy a child a $5 box car at a train show, not a $45 ScaleTrains rivet counter scale model. however, having attended several train shows this year, the crowds have been increasingly younger with lots of kids as always but also young adults. if you think the hobby is dying, you're very much wrong. the number of new modelers starting youtube channels should be enough to show the growth in the hobby. if what the manufacturers were putting out wasn't what the market wanted - they'd have already changed. try buying a locomotive a few years after it's release. Lots of inexpensive models around and the premier models are sold out. Thankfully, we have pre-order options now so losing a new model run is a thing of the past.

@AlleghenyNorthern no one makes a toy trains as you call them anymore they all make that DCC crap

@@brianberthold3118 at this point, i'm pretty sure this is just a troll because you're absolutely wrong. Not close, not an opinion - you're just wrong considering Bachmann, MicroTrains, Kato, and Tomix produce DC starter sets and Bachmann still has their toy-store level all-in-one sets. A two second google search would prove that. I don't know why you're so bitter but this channel is for serious modelers of all skills types and for those wanting to learn about the hobby. after the holidays, maybe take a trip to your local hobby shop and browse around a bit. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I made the mistake of buying two of the BLI SD40-2. Absolute waste of money. Safe yourself a lot of anguish and see if you can find the ScaleTrains version! But welcome to the channel!