I see that there are 4-4-0's with DCC but not sound.

Will Bachmann be releasing this model in DCC and sound in 2010?

Or will it be easier to order a DCC/Sound tender direct from Bachmann and plug it into the older 4-4-0?

I had Power Distribution Boards and the layout divided into 4 blocks... east, west, north and south.

There was one PDB that took bus wires from the command station power and fed other PDB's Each local PDB handled the track power in the area.

Overbuilt? Certainly. But with 14 gauge wires, 15 amp capacity nothing would have any problems.

I used 14 gauge to runs 50 feet max. (Longer than house... oy...) and when I used the PDB's I cut those runs down to maybe... 20 feet max.

The PDB's were never more than about 3 feet away from a smaller gauge feeder... call it.. 18 gauge or so to the track. So one could cover about 6 feet by 6 feet of space fairly easily and staying within thermal limits.

That was just for DCC track power.

The switches had thier own seperate power bus. The Signals as well as anything else on the layout.

Everything was seperated by category and kept by color codes so I could see at a glance which wire fed what.

Hm.

I'm beginning to consider either the little runt climax or the 4-4-0 to go with the big runt mallet.

Heh.

I find it somewhat surprising that the 2-6-6-2 is runt of litter. What does it stack up next to a 4-4-0?

After some digging on Google, I unearthed this little set.

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo360/steeringrigsrob/train%20layout/MtLoweandRobstownTimbercompanylo-4.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo360/steeringrigsrob/train%20layout/MtLoweandRobstownTimbercompanylo-1.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo360/steeringrigsrob/train%20layout/MtLoweandRobstownTimbercompanylo-3.jpg


http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo360/steeringrigsrob/train%20layout/MtLoweandRobstownTimbercompanyloco1.jpg

Source

http://www.toycollector.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=824&id=8728&catid=91&func=fb_pdf

Engine runs well on Analog, I suppose it needed a voltage kick in the rear to wake up. For a moment here was a brick. 

On DCC it really ran well. I run the 8 amp Chief with a DT400 and it seems to shift out of transition into simple from articulated at 18 speed.

I learned to place the entire engine, tender etc back into the box and set it on the shelf. Those plugs are tiny for a old man like me.


Running the engine has caused me to consider buying a metal logging steam cable winch to put on the pilot deck partly for looks, operations and mainly to weight down the front engine set a bit better.

The engine also caused me to consider grades. I think this engine will need a helper on anything beyond 1% and 5 cars. I will have to evaluate them on woodland scenics risers before I decide how to design the road.

I think this engine is a good one.

I dont have any wish cars. I have lived through several of our very best late 60's early 70s vehicles owned by various family members. It's all about American big block, large cube-age and lots of vehicle. Gas was .28 in those days.

If it aint got a double barrel Holley, headers, sway bars various useful items associated with top end speed and handling (Not necessarily launch cars... I am  a top end man.) forget it.

Now, in the spirit of this thread there were several cars that were well built, responsive and felt like I could count the pebbles under each of the four tires and a engine that was just overly nervous and ready to work faster than I can think. The cars that no effort is required other than mentally staying ahead of it are the best.

With that in mind it's going to be the Viper. Of course I would not have any legal room to let it run wild... Certain models of production cars such as the Mustang, Challenger/Charger and Mercedes also come to mind. 

Now those are nice, all cars are nice.

But give me 600 Cats, two turbos, foot wide stacks and fire 5 feet coming out and a dollar rig to haul 25 ton quickly between Coasts. And maybe some old radial engines common to the B-17/B-29 would be good as well.

The sweetest engine I ever heard is a Merlin on a P51. Heard and saw one several times and will never forget it.

I agree with the side rod bolts. I myself have not yet run the engine.

Now in the spirit of this thread, I mention something else I discovered.


I installed the wood load into the tender and the grill around it. All is well.

I go to store the tender back into it's clear plastic storage and discovered that the clear molded coal top is crushing the top of the tender at the light. So I took my xacto knife and scissors to cut away the offending plastic top above the tender.

I then folded the coal bag and stuck it behind the tender so to slow it down from rolling back and forth in storage.


Mr Bachmann, if you plan to make O scale Donkeys in steam, please stack resin painted wood... maybe a cord or so in front of the boiler's firebox for the O scale people to throw in.  Just like you did the tender wood load.

I got mine today. It had wood, oil, coal, stacks, pilots etc etc etc.

The wood load looked particularly good. It might stop me from needing to find a O scale coaling tower LOL.

I wonder what a O scale figure will have to do to reach the controls on the Large Scale skidder?

What is the actual size difference?

I use a old Tech throttle.. those things are tough, bullet proof. Ive only used two total over 30 years.

There is a Digitrax Super Chief DCC. Top of the line years ago but now pretty discounted and still effective with all the latest and greatest. Even run trains by radio if you like. And made here in the USA I believe.

Long ago we would hook battery from a car to a voltage wasting knob and run trains that way. Or a very old power pack turned up all the way to 12 volts or whatever.

Cheers.

I can only sit and salivate waiting on mine.

Can one of you fellas measure the On30 2-6-6-2 from coupler to coupler, wheel base, width and height?

How much overhang in actual inches will it have on 18" radius?

Sorry for many questions, but as they say, the stew is on the fire now.

Mhmm. I can see it. They will be sitting about full time playing computer games or watching Satellite when not required to get up and do something.

My position is that there is no electricity involved at three and nothing with the wood trains will hurt the kid if he chews it or something. Kids are supposed to be scooting about the play room on hands and knees actively engaged in play.

Maybe it is the differences in my own child hood where there was no remote in sight and you got up and walked to the TV set to manually change channel and sometimes better tune the picture... these days, I think it's leading to obesity with all this inactivity.

I respect your position and needed to clarify mine. I hope that we agree to disagree.

I sort of cheated with my last layout. I used Kato Unitrack. Laid it all down on the layout table and did not glue anything down until entire track down to the last joiner, tie and wire is 100% satisfactory.

Then I used thin sheets of woodland scenic foam (1/4 inch to 1/2 inch) on either side of the trackage to "Bury" the high ballast profile a bit deeper and to provide a mechanical wedge to hold the track in place but allow it to "Float" in the Southern Hots and Colds.

I use Peco track now for On30 and I plan to be gluing those down to the woodland scenics road bed by means of a hot glue. A dab out of the gun will do ya. Will it work? I dont know.

A friend of mine glued his flex track in HO scale to cork and sadly temperature changes wiped him out. Turned that nice mainline into a hell ride of buckled track.

In the past I have spiked Flextrack and switches to cork AFTER nailing cork to the wood below. NEVER a failure... not in 60+ years or more that my family has been involved with model trains for fun.

Dont use HO sets at three years of age. It's O gauge or larger for them. Once they hit about 7 more or less you can get em into HO.

At three they should be using the old wooden toy trainsets with cars, engines and caboose having a magnetic coupling ball on each end and all powered by hand. Having to set up, tear down and rearrange track and trains is going to be good. Trust me.