20 yr old DC

Welcome back!

I hope you enjoy your return to the hobby.

There is nothing wrong with DC until you try DCC.  Once you have been exposed to DCC, DC may seem outdated and limiting.

If you will only ever operate one loco on the layout at a given time, DC is fine.  If you ever want to have 2 or more loco's operating at the same time, DCC is the only way to go, IMO.

Regardless of how it's powered, have fun with that layout!

I would recommend DCC for even one loco

I think DCC is good even if you're only running one loco at a time.

With DCC, you can independently tune the loco performance without ever removing the shell. You can easily control:

• Starting voltage to the motor (optimum startup speed)
• Mid-point voltage to the motor (optimum speed ramp-up)
• Max voltage to the motor (realistic top speed)
• Reverse trim - if the loco runs differently backwards, you can adjust it to run the same backwards or forwards
• Kick start - if the loco is balky at slow speed, you can adjust adding a voltage spike to get it moving
• Torque compensation/dithering -  many decoders allow a kind of "pulse power" setting to smooth out performance
• Acceleration - you can add adjustable startup acceleration delay to simulate the mass of the loco and train
• Deceleration - you can adjust the slow-down rate to simulate how a massive loco and train coasts to a stop
• Back EMF - you can get deluxe decoders that include motor speed feedback - the the loco starts to lug, this will give the motor more voltage to compensate

Back EMF is especially interesting - you can use it to get a switcher to literally "float" through a yard ladder like it has great mass. It's very cool to see and it makes running trains a total blast.

In short, the ability to tune your locos for optimum performance is a huge reason to do DCC by my way of thinking. DC can't even come close.

And of course, as a huge side-benefit, DCC will let you run as many locos on the same stretch of track as you want. No more need for complex block wiring to run more than one train at a time. Just run two wires to the rails, put a DCC decoder in each of your locos, and you're all set.

  The carburetor worked for

The carburetor worked for umpteen years but I would prefer fuel injection. DCC brought me back into the hobby (among several other things). I have no issue with wiring or electricity, I work with it for a living, but the realism DCC brings to the party is hard to beat.

My 2 cents

Welcome back.

I was in the same situation you are in about May of 2008 when I decided to come back to the hobby which I had stopped pusuing sometime in 1987.

I had been in N-Scale back then and had a partially built layout which was deifinitely free lance.

When I cam back I started looking for a club to join and I found an N-Scale club in Brooklyn NY. That's how I cam to Brooklyn N-Trak. I went down one Sunday to see what I could find after talking to one of the people from the club. I didn't bring anything with me so I looked around and talked to several of the members who were there and watched and learned. That gave me an excuse to dig up my old equipment which I had stored in a drawer and bring it to the next meeting. None of the three Minitrix locomotives that I brought along worked. One of the ckub memebers looked at them for me, He opened them up, cleaned off the gunk that had somehow gotten into the works, lubricated them and put them on the tracks and they ran. But he showed me a few things and at that point I decided to get new locomotives for the layout.

I did get some new Katos and they ran beautifully under DC power. But as I was watching what was going on on the layout, I noticed a few club members were using stange devices that didn't require and physical connection to the layout. Theywer able to get their locomotives to do things that I could never do in DC. That got me hooked on DCC and I will never got back to DC. Sure gettig DCC is more expensive but when you consider what it lets you do and the fact that the added expense of DCC is a one time charge, it offers you something that you can never get with DC and that is the ability to run one or more locomotives on the same track without the need to use blocks and block controllers.

Irv

Size does matter...

Is your layout going to be 52 x 90 feet? Or is that inches or cm? If feet and you've not built anything to anywhere near completion I'd recommend starting with something small first. A 4500+ sqft layout is a huge undertaking even for a club...

Best regards,

Charlie

Thanks for the good

Thanks for the good info,,,,some more things to consider.

52x90 is big enough for me,,,,,,size may matter, but don't have enough years left to finish a 52x90 footer,,,,be lucky to work in the inches..........

Again,,,thank you for some

Again,,,thank you for some initial information on track code, etc.

I ordered some track and a few other incidentals, it took a couple weeks to receive it....I don't have a local train store close.

I am a keep it simple operator,,, ,,,,and just want to enjoy running some trains.....I initially have gone with the oval track with room to add some turnouts,,,etc....later,,,

I decided to stay with my dc,,,as I still have everything,,,and don't know enough about the new (to me) dcc. I can enjoy running the trains as when I started out,,,,,,,as time goes on,,,,,and I get a chance to see the dcc,,,,that may all change.

I took my time and laid the track carefully,,,,on cork roadbed.....Engine and cars sure do go round and round pretty nicely.  Thought about laying an insulator,,,,but decided against it.....I like the louder sound of the train going round the track,,,,,I can hear the clickety click of the wheels on the rails.....

I have about 10 locos,,,,a couple steam,,,and SD40's.......The steam will not run,,,,so when I get time to take them apart and see if motor is shot, will have to figure out how to test motors,,,,they worked fine 20 years ago.  The others run fine so far.

I am satisfied with the laying of the track and roadbed,,,,,,I have experimented with Kitty Litter for ballast,,,and after fine tuning,,,and separating the litter by size through sifting,,,I have different sizes to use for ballast,,,,and for Tunnel entrances.......

I am working on the tunnel now,,,,,will take time needed to hopefully get it right for me.......Forgot how much time you can spend,,,,,,,hours and hours of layout work......Sure is enjoyable,,,and the resources available online are incredible.

Anyway,,,,that's where we are now,,,,,,sure is fun,,,,,,Again,,,thanks for the resources and input available on the forum........

running better

With DCC a good running engine can run even better. You can adjust the speed curve.

And you can have lights and sound. Running an engine with your ears is a new dimension. Even with a

Wolfgang

Less is More

I agree with Wolfgang.  I converted over to DCC at the beginning of this year and there is no looking back. If my engine cannot have sound, it does not get on the layout. I have 12 locomotives, some in consists without sound, but the other does. So all moving trains have a sound loco. It is just such an integral part of the enjoyment now. Kind of like the movies in the twenty's with the talkies!  Seen any silent films lately? I have also started to re lay my track by hand! If I were starting over I would certainly go with quality over quantity and enjoy a small 2'X8'  switching layout over a basement empire. You can be lost for hours or even days operating a small layout. Plus you could always expand as time, money, interest and skils increase. Whatever my 2 cents worth, enjoy the hobby!

Steve