I am the newest of newbies.....I only have the Pacific Flyer set which has a small oval and 4 cars pulled by a DC locomotive. I want to buy a Track Pack so I can have a larger layout. It seems that the gray bed track would be better quality so I would like to get that version. I was told that you need to have the gray track in order to run the DCC locomotives but I'm not able to upgrade to DCC from DC yet. Can I still run DC motors on the gray track? I don't want to have to buy all new tracks when I upgrade to DCC.
You can run DC or DCC on both the black roadbed (steel track) or grey roadbed (nickle silver track). The main difference is the steel track has to be cleaned a bit more often than the nickle silver track.
Len
OK that sounds good. I think ill go with the gray.
If your track layout gets large enough, you will experience 'voltage drop' when the locomotive travels a few feet from the terminal rerailer.
This can be fixed by using additional terminal rerailers and power feeders connected to your controller.
Connect them one at a time to check for short circuits.
I use my dc train on my dcc track but use my older style controller from the standard track dc track.I haven't programmed the dcc track/ez command controller yet to accept my dc engine,but the directions say it is possible.Wal mart has a good price on a 4 x 8 gray bed layout.Just bought one.
While more feeders is always a good idea, you have to get pretty large for it to become a real problem. As I get my Christmas set-up going, this is on a 4 x 8 board with a wing. I'm only using one feeder per loop and using E-Z Command DCC. The locos have lights and the passenger car and caboose have lights. They all have sound but I don't have it turned on here. Even running them with sound on, I haven't noticed any voltage drop problems. I'm not saying there isn't voltage drop. I just can't tell if it's having any effect on the running.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q9Sd5cTHQI&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q9Sd5cTHQI&feature=youtu.be)
You mention using both DC and DCC controllers. NEVER hook them both up to the track at the same time. You'll probably fry one or both controllers. While it is possible to run a DC locomotive on certain DCC systems, usually on address 0, it is not a good idea to do so. The DCC waveform will shorten the motor life if applied directly to a DC motor. You'll probably hear the motor "sing" when it is stopped. This generates heat that damages the motor. If you are going to run this locomotive on DCC, keep it moving as much as possible to keep the motor from overheating. It is a good idea to learn some basic block control wiring so that you can wire certain sidings with a switch that will kill power to the track if desired. Parking the DC locomotive on a track without power is always a good idea no matter what power you use.