Does anyone know what will happen if I put two analog trains on the same track with the same controller?
depends, what engine they are and the controller.
Same kind: it might be ok but chances are is that the one will pull the other. But you might have to have them both pointing the same direction.
Different: this could have a few different results. Derailments, uncouples,or it might work out fine.
I don't think any engine harm will happen so give it a try.
Well, I tried it and they went at the same speed together perfectly and it worked out.... I just hope it did not damage one of the engines because one of them I just got today.
it shouldn't damage the engines. you are lucky that they were not mismatched in speed. then you'd have them bucking each other, but under load they would still probably be fine, as long as the speed difference wasn't too great.
Okay thanks guys.
There's no trouble doing this.
--D
I Just wanted to let you guys know that the two trains actually did not go at the same speed. One goes slightly faster.
I had a set of Athearn Gensis F3 AB and a F7AB couipled together(for a ABBA set_ ran fine first time around, but when i did it again several months later one of the b units started smoking the blue smoke.....
2 engines should be fine on DC but based on what happened to me I wouldn't do no more then 2(the unit may have just been a defect or something was laying on the electrical board) Athearn sent me a new board and it works fine now.
Well then I shouldn't do that again.
Don't let someone else's problem with one faulty locomotive spoil your enjoyment of running your locomotives together. My H0 layout has some pretty steep grades and often uses two or more locomotives together. That included running on dc for the first dozen or so years of its life. Mostly I used pairs of locomotives that were the same make and model and ran about the same speed. If one went a little faster than the other, I usually put it on the front of the train. Sometimes I would put four or five locomotives together and pull forty or more cars up my steep, winding grades. The worst that ever happened was a few broken couplers.
Only once have I seen a locomotive that was damaged by running with others. It was backwards in a lashup of DCC locomotives so it was continuously fighting the other locomotives. Fortunately, this cannot happen with dc locomotives. BOfan didn't mention how he powers his units and I am left wondering if he uses DCC. If he was using dc, I doubt very much that stringing four of them together had anything to do with the smoking. If Athearn gave him a new board, I would say they felt it was a faulty unit and not anything that BOfan did that he should not have.
Jim
Sorry i failed to menchon it was on DC. I have and still do run 2 Locomotives on trains a lot with no problem at all. once in a while i'll do three, but doing a train long enough for 4 locos gets too fustrating when couplers keep comming undone and derailments.....one of the reasons I don't do 4 anymore, and I'm sure i had nothing to do with the engine smoking, i had only ran it once before doing the 4 unit lashup and then i put it away for a while and then it started smoking again
Okay thanks guys. This will really help me have a lot more fun with the hobby!
If I may suggest getting a Railpower 1370 Power pack from MRC, you will be able to run more engines from that power pack. I heard somewhere, that a 1370 can power up to 5 engines on 1 DC track. It also has AC outputs, so you can light up a building or something like that. Get one from modeltrainstuff.com (http://modeltrainstuff.com) for only 30 bucks. Here's the direct link. http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product_p/mrc-aa370.htm (http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product_p/mrc-aa370.htm)
Wow thanks that should really help me! And I won't have any chances of messing up my trains.... and for a good price!
Do you have one of these? Do you know if you can give trains certain numbers for them like you can with DCC? How does it work?
I don't have one, but my friend does. If you mean by giving them numbers as in assigning them to control just one train when multiple are on the track, no unfortunately it does not. It is just a standard DCC powerpack like any other, with a on/off power button, and outputs for DC and AC accessories. Hope this helps.
So when you turn the speed nob do all of the engines go the same speed?
Quote from: Michael T. on May 04, 2010, 06:54:17 PM
So when you turn the speed nob do all of the engines go the same speed?
If they all go the same speed, then yes. Its just like if you were to put two engines on the same track you have now, if you mean like that.
Your engines all have similar insides. The wheels pick up voltage from the rails and bring it to the motor which turns causing the locomotive to move. The powerpack in question has enough amperage to power many locomotives, which would all be picking up the same current from the track, and the motor would move at whatever rate it does at that current. You can't individually control locomotives without installing special electronics inside the locomotives so that they can recognize specific commands given by a special power station/control system. DCC is essentially this, where a command is sent through the rails to a decoder in the locomotive which decodes the message only for that address and can tell the motor to turn only in that locomotive.
Well does that controller have something that can give engines codes for them? I have 1 DCC train and one DC train.
The controller is not a DCC system, therefore it cannot operate two locos simultaneously at separate speeds on the same block while another sits idle for instance.
Micheal T,
I think Blink_182_Fan's post above may be confusing the issue. What he said was this:
Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on May 04, 2010, 06:04:12 PM. ... It is just a standard DCC powerpack like any other, with a on/off power button, and outputs for DC and AC accessories...
I believe he meant to say "It is just a standard
dc powerpack ...
You need a DCC system if you want to address your one DCC locomotive separately from your dc locomotive. But if you want it to run both locomotives, it has to be a DCC system that will also run a dc (analogue) locomotive in addition to DCC locomotives. Not all DCC systems will do that.
If running two or more locomotives at the same time while controlling them separately is your ultimate goal, putting a decoder into your dc locomotive to make it a DCC locomotive would be a better way than running one locomotive on dc and the other one on DCC. Even if you cannot do this right now, it is something to aim for in the future.
In the meantime, enjoy running your locomotives one at a time or double headed (coupled together.)
Jim
No, the Railpower is a regular power pack which puts electricity on the track but cannot run locomotives independently. All locos on a section (block) of track will go the same direction and at more or less the same speed, depending on how closely matched the locos are. I would expect that several units of the same type coupled together would work quite well.
--D
Do you think this will be the right thing for me now and in the future? It can run 9 DCC trains and 1 analog train. It can also handle DCC trains with sound on board.
http://www.amazon.com/Bachmann-Trains-Command-Digital-Controller/dp/B0006KSOA2
It's alright, but only you can determine what the right system for you is, if you like changing CVs, I'd suggest a more advanced system though. Also, although it can run one analog DC loco, it makes a buzzing noise when you operate it or even let it sit idle. There is a potential risk of ruining your loco if you leave it idle on the track, the longer it sits on live track the better the chances something will happen to it. Also, some people say just running their DC loco with the E-Z Command has adverse effects on their loco. But, it is the cheapest system on the market and not a big investment, so if you change your mind it won't be a huge loss.
Well I only have 1 DC loco and I do not use it that much. I also do not need the best of the best controller.
Yes you can program up to 10 address (9 Digital 1 Analog) with EZ Command. However you will need the 5 amp power booster sold separately if you ant to run more then 2 or 3 locos at a time, or if you have a very large layout.
The Analog loco will buzz and run hot especially when standing still So unless you plan on running it continuously, I would not leave it on the track as you could burn the motor out. Remember with DCC the track is always at full power even if nothing is operating.
Would this be a booster? This is what I am using right now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230393985747&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=M*F%3F&GUID=db0976c21250a03662d3b563ffc9c10e&itemid=230393985747&ff4=263602_263622
Nope, that is just a standard DC power source.
This is a booster:
(http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products/images/uploads/449101.jpg)
E-Z Command® 5 Amp Power Booster
Product Information
Our 5 amp power booster provides extra current to track for an increased number of DCC locomotives on your HO, N, O, or Large Scale layout.
Price: $305.00
Product Code: 44910
Can't the E-Z command control system handle 10 engines by itself? Actually 9 because after what you guys told me about the buzzing with the analog train I won't put it on the track that much.
The basic EZ Command system only has a 1 amp power supply. You could comfortably run two or maybe three trains at one time. Anything more than that is going to ask for more power than EZC can provide. So EZC can control a total of 10 trains...it just can't make them all go at once. The booster provides 5 amps for running trains. Hope this helps.
The E-Z Command can only run 3 newer DCC locos without sound that don't draw too much. If you are running a DC loco, you can only run 2 locos including the DC loco at the same time. If you add the 5 amp booster, you can run about 8 locos at the same time, although I have done 10 once just for the heck of it.
If your loco has sound it will draw additional current, and then you are limited to 2 locos.
The Bachmann E-Z Command is a decent starter set. The only CV's that it can program are address and normal direction of travel. The latter is useful when you want to run locomotives back to back. It allows the second locomotive run backwards when you tell it forward, and vise versa.
Locomotives that come with decoders already in them are normally programmed for the best operation of that locomotive. If you have somebody install a decoder for you, they normally adjust it for proper operation. But if you install your own decoders, you may have to get some help with programming the decoder or you may be happy with the way it runs already.
You will likely want to add a booster if you want to run more than 3 locomotives at the same time. It depends on how much power your locomotives draw which in turn depends on train length, track grade, motor efficiency and locomotive accessories such as lights. A large layout does not require a booster just because it is bigger. If you can run three trains without a booster on a small layout, you can run those same three trains without a booster on a large layout. What you will need is adequate wiring for the larger layout. Worry about that problem when the time comes.
Jim
Is there a less costly booster then?
Quote from: Michael T. on May 05, 2010, 01:13:59 PMIs there a less costly booster then?
Here's what I'd do if I were you, stick with the E-Z Command System and don't worry about a booster until you've built a layout with four mainlines. Boosters are pretty dear, but I expect with time the price will go down. Most boosters are about $175+ from your local hobby shop, there might be one or two cheaper, but they are still about $150.
Okay thanks.
It doesn't have enough amperage to support that many locomotives running. Even the digitraxx zephyr can't handle more than 4 or 5, and that's a more advanced system than the EZ Command.
Wow the booster IS expensive $213.50 at Toy Train Heaven. Guess I won't be buying it anytime soon.
That Bachmann booster is terribly expensive, even considering no one pays the MSRP. You can buy a more versitile and more powerful whole new DCC system for less than yopu'd pay for the five amp booster. You might also be able to use someone else's booster but I don't want to mention any "enemy" names on this board.
--D
Quote from: Jim Banner on May 05, 2010, 12:21:45 AM
Micheal T,
I think Blink_182_Fan's post above may be confusing the issue. What he said was this:
Quote from: Blink_182_Fan on May 04, 2010, 06:04:12 PM. ... It is just a standard DCC powerpack like any other, with a on/off power button, and outputs for DC and AC accessories...
I believe he meant to say "It is just a standard dc powerpack ...
You need a DCC system if you want to address your one DCC locomotive separately from your dc locomotive. But if you want it to run both locomotives, it has to be a DCC system that will also run a dc (analogue) locomotive in addition to DCC locomotives. Not all DCC systems will do that.
If running two or more locomotives at the same time while controlling them separately is your ultimate goal, putting a decoder into your dc locomotive to make it a DCC locomotive would be a better way than running one locomotive on dc and the other one on DCC. Even if you cannot do this right now, it is something to aim for in the future.
In the meantime, enjoy running your locomotives one at a time or double headed (coupled together.)
Jim
Whoops, I meant to say DC. Good eye Jim. :) I'm almost positive that the Railpower 1370 can power up to 5 engines. I can't remember where I read that, might have been on a sale website, or it was on here. Either way, its a very good and reliable power pack. ;)