Wally,

I use an MRC Prodigy Advance and when you change the loco address it changes CV29 to a value that stops DC operation. If you program CV29 to a value of 38 you will be able to run DCC and DC.

Paul

Here in New Jersey I know of three restaurants that have used old passenger cars to add eating area. Usually to match the restaurant decor. And, of course, the earliest diners were often old trolley cars.

I haven't seen any used foe housing, however.

Paul

I use Circuitron stuff to run my in-town trolley. The trolley stops, delays (adjustable time) and reverses at the ends of the line and also stops and delays (again adjustable) then continues in the same direction at two intermediate points in the middle of the run. The system has run very well from the first time it was powered up. Wiring instructions were supplied by Circuitron. Lots of flexibility to their system but does require paying attention to the hookup.

Good luck no matter which way you go.

Paul

Robert,

I've installed Circuitron components to run (ie, stop at the ends and reverse,  and also stop at intermediate points, with delays) a trolley down the main street in my layout town. The hardware ran, without problems, the first time I fired it up after installation. The installation itself wasn't difficult and I'm very happy with the results.
I have been planning to go back to Circuitron to setup crossing signals (as soon as I have the time and can find the crossing gates I want). Jim's suggestion of a software controlled system would certainly give you move flexibility so I guess you'll need to determine how much flexibility you need/want.

Paul

Paul

My laayout is 5.5x8 feet. Since it is setup in the laundry room part of a finished basement I made the 4x8 foot section so that it folds up into the wall space and is out of the way. It's two ovals with crossovers and plenty of sidings to park engines and loads on the stationary section. Since I had a number of older (15 to 20 yrs) engines which are DC I arranged power so that I run either DCC or DC. DC operation is mainly when the grandkids come over and insist on running the trains.

I have 3 steamers and one diesel (all Bachmann with DCC) and one DC trolley which runs down the middle of the main street in town. The trolley automatically stops and reverses via Circuitron circuits.

pAUL

Fred,

I also have a MRC Prodigy Advance 2 and have found that giving an engine a four digit name (actually anything above 128) will change CV 29 to a value that provides only DCC operation. If you think you will need the engine to run with DC, sometimes, then you need to program CV 29 to a value of 38 (you should be able to confirm this value from the article Rusty mentioned or on the MRC website). Tables are available with all the CV 29 values for whatever type operation (power source, direction, etc) you want. The article Rusty mentioned is a good one to print and keep for reference.

All my engines are Bachmann (DCC Onboard) but I don't think the MRC DCC controls will operate differently with a different decoder.

Paul

Paper,

I went to Circuitron (same folks that make slow switch machines) and found circuit boards that will allow reversing, delays and intermediate stops for my trolley line. Diagrams are online and worked the first time I powered things up. I use standard track.

It's unfortunate that equipment is often sold without clearly indicating all that is needed to accomplish the end result.

Good luck with your search.

Paul

Read your post with interest since I do have some old passenger cars (3) that I still run. I bought them when I was 16 or 17 years old (1957 or 1958). The interesting thing is that when you turn them over you see that they were made by Fleismann in the US Zone of Germany. The steam engine I bought at the same time is now missing parts but I keep it on display near the layout (just to remind me of what it looked like).

The passenger cars don't have a road name but the color seems to match PRR maroon.I did need to change a coupler so that I could pull them with a Bachmann small steamer. Looks good when it pulls into the train station of my 1950's town (complete with a movie theater showing 'The Atomic Kid', yes the Town theater from the Back to the Future movies).

Guess some of us are stuck in our childhood.

Paul

Mike,

I read your post with interest since I've thinking of controlling my turnouts with my Prodigy Advance 2 also. There is an article on the MRC website (by Frank Verrico) that has a little information on the Accessory button on the handheld (and the need for a separate accessory decoder) that may offer some help. I haven't done anything but think about this topic so I can't offer any more help, except that if you call MRC (732-225-6360) Service they may be able to help. I have found that they are good at retuning calls if you don't get them directly.

Hello Hunt and Doodles,

Hunt, your response to me back in June is what made me go to the MRC website and find the table of values that I gave to Doodles. And I thank you for the prompting. There was also an article on the website that was helpful in finding ins and outs of the MRC DCC system.

By the way I have a Prodigy Advance Squared. It works find with all my Bachmann engines and when these quirks show up I run to this forum and the article from MRC (written by Frank Verrico of their Tech Service Dept). The article has a long title that goes like "Prodigy Advance, Advance squared, Wireless Conversion and Express Tips and Tricks"

Hopefully the information will help Doodles over his problem.

Hi Doodles,

I had the same problem when I first setup my Bachmann locos with my MRC system(actually it would probably happen with any train).

If you set the loco address to 1 thru 127 then you need to reset CV 29 to 6. If you set the loco address to 128 thru 9999 reset CV 29 to 38. This will turn DC (analog) operation back on, I don't know why but the MRC system resets CV 29 to a value that turns off DC operation when you set an address.

The screws on my MRC 1370 (those where you attach the track and accessory wires) are medium sized Phillips head screws. I didn't have any problems loosening them with a medium Phillips screwdriver.

I don't have the Symphony 77 unit but one of MRC's smaller (steam) sound units. It works well and does add some realistic sounds to the layout. My grandson loves the whistle and conductor sounds.

By the way, humans have two ears which are designed to home in on sound direction and they do it very well. If you can't determine the direction of sound (excluding echos and other bounces) you may need to go to a doctor.

The two Bachmann engines I have came with CV29 set to 6. Resetting that value should get the engines running. I have an MRC Prodigy Advance2 and it will reset CV29 to 2 if you set an engine address between 1 and 127 and will reset CV29 to 36 for addresses between 128 and 9999. Neither the 2 or 36 value allows DC operation (you need to be 6 or 38 to allow DC operation). There is a table of CV29 values on the MRC site (Modelrectifier.com). There are 8 values listed in the table which control DC operation, direction switch operation and speed steps.

I don't know if this is what your problem is but by reprogramming  the address and CV29 I would expect you to be able to run the engines. By the way a paper written by an MRC employee (also on their site) suggests reading all CV values of a new engine before doing any programming, it would have been a big help to me when I first try fiddling with my DCC engines.

Good luck,

Paul

I think that 18" radius (min) would work fine, again the tender is the problem point (especially when reversing through the turn).

Paul