Mix and match

Mixing and matching works just fine as long as standards are adhered to.  In addition, locos need to be speed matched.

Don M.

Question

Don, thanks for the reply. I'm really new to the hobby so I'm not sure what you mean by ..... "as long as standards are adhered to ............. locos need to be speed matched" When you reply please be as basic as possible this is all new to me.

Rich

Question

Google!!

Usually compatible

I'm assuming that you're using American equipment (That's my area of modeling).  Almost all equipment available ready to roll or kit is made to NMRA standards.  It will, therefore, if of decent quality, hook up easily right out of the box, and run fine.  (Older stuff may have old horn hook couplers; or big flanges, but almost everything is fine.  Swapping out horn hooks is usually easy.)

With DCC, you need to stick with one brand for everything that doesn't run on the track (boosters, throttle, etc.) but the system will run any brand of decoder.

Speed matching locomotives is only important if you're planning on double-heading your trains--it involves making sure that all the locos pulling the train run at the same speed.  Locos that will not run with other locos need not be speed matched, and often have (and should have) very different performance .  (I wouldn't want my Shay to be able to double-head with an Acella...)

When buying new stuff, it should be marked NMRA compliant--and almost all used stuff will be.

This is VERY general, but covers the broad essence.  I haven't mentioned scratch-built or craftsman kits because you said that you were a beginner.

With regard to track, it should all be the same code (Code 83, code 100, etc...) but I don't feel confident enough to mention the options when mixing different brands there--as far as I know, it's usually not an issue

Locomotives...

Regarding locomotives, if you get two of the same brand and model, but with different road numbers, they will often already be speed matched.  I've never done any speed matching; I haven't double-headed anything--something about running trains of 5 and 6 cars makes it unnecessary...

5 car train double headed...

"There is prototype fpr everything..."

OK--I can see that...

I would assume that double heading a 5 car (or other short train) would be because other cars had been dropped off, or the locomotive lash-up was kept more or less permanently together, or they needed both of them at the other end of the run.  (Or, in this case, so that there would be no need to turn the locos before going the other way.)

Since I run 1920's steam and diesel, I can't see any reason to double head unless you need the power

The situation...

The pictures I posted above were taken, by me, at McPherson, Kansas, in 1978. It is the north end of MP's McPherson Subdivision. The 5 cars were all there was to the south bound train at that point. MP had a turntable in McPherson to turn steam but it was long gone by 1978. I always wondered if the crew moved to the loco with the cab forward for the run back to Wichita (something over 40 miles).

As a counter point, the UP ran short trains From Salina,KS to McPherson (The McPherson Branch - apx 35 miles) at the same time with a single loco:

UP GP30 868 with 5 cars at ATSF crossing in McPherson, KS, 1978.

UP also had a turntable in McPherson to turn the Consolidations that worked the branch in steam days. That turntable was gone by 1978 also. The locos would have to run long hood forward one way or the other. McPherson was the south end of the branch.

personally I try to run the

personally I try to run the same mfg with the same mfg.

I just seam to have better luck. Diesels of different mfg seam to be less of a hassle but Running steam engines with different driver size or gearing can be a big PITA..

The reality is

That as in all mechanical things, there is variation in the performance of model train engines.  

The same design may have less variation than engines of a different design or manufacturer.  The motor speed slope with voltage will be different for different motors.  The problem is that the manufacturers are continuously tweeting/changing their motors.  This will lead to a mismatch even between the same manufactures engines.

So if your going to run engines in consist, the only solution is to speed match with the decoder.  That is why using the same model decoder is important.  Even then, the motors will deteriorate differently, so expect to need to match the engines more than once.  With this in mind, engines from different manufactures can be matched.  Different speed slopes will take more time and may not meet all of your requirements.

" I always wondered if the

   Every muli loco turn I've seen does it that way. Just takes a few minutes to walk from one cab to the other. The SP sometimes would have 6 small locos(Gp9 and SD9) on the Santa Cruz coal trains and keep them lashed up on days that the trains were shorter so they might run with 6 locos and 1 or 2 cars occasionally. That was in the days of relatively cheap fuel BTW> :> ) ........DaveB

Crews like to run a couple of

Crews like to run a couple of units back to back to have a short hood leading either way for better visability. However, as an engineer I have run many trains long hood forward because of no turning facility. They work fine in either direction but I sure don't like running by myself long hood forward because it lowers my ability to see traffic at road crossings.

BTW, Ken, you probably would not recognize the McPherson area today as we on the K&O (old Santa Fe/MoPac) now have a huge gas business west of town out towards Conway with several loading racks and new tracks. Yes, we still serve the small flour mill, Nutrena feeds and Johns Manville in McPherson but we handle hundreds of tanks between Newton and Conway.

 Barry

Choosing another control system

Choosing another control system can eliminate some od the complexities of DCC, but adds others.

I chose RailPro ( see other threads on MRH) as my control system, it makes speed matching automatic, which is fantastic. It also features a very easy to use touch based interface.

The added complexities are that you cannot buy a locomotive that comes pre-installed with a RailPro decoder, you have to install them yourself, a fairly simple task on most locos today. And your equipment will run fine on other peoples DCC based layouts, but their locos will not run on yours.

I am not unhappy at all about choosing RailPro, it is a good alternative for anybody that is not heavily invested in DCC already.

Cheers!

Standards question

Rich --

The NMRA publishes standards for equipment and track which can be found on the internet.  As long as a manufacturer adheres to these standards, everything should run together.  However, not everything is covered by standards.  Couplers are one example that, over the years, have seen many variations and many adaptations.  You have to make your own choice for these.  As a beginner, it would probably be wise to stick with the most popular brand, Kadee.

Engines running together should run at the same speed when given the same throttle command, i.e., consisted..  DCC engines can be speed matched by adjusting the speed curve(s) in the decoder(s).  Various methods have been described for this process; Googling will lead you to them.  In general, run the engines separated from each other and match the faster engine down to the speed of the slower engine.

Obviously, there's a lot more to standards and speed matching than can be described in 2 paragraphs.  More understanding will come with more time in the hobby. 

Don
 

Side Note

I was told by a UP engineer back in the 80's, that the reason (at least in his area of North Texas) that they double-headed even short trains was that engine reliability was suspect in most cases. Chances were pretty good that you would return with at least one unit "dead". I have personally seen fire shooting out the tops of their engines (not near the exhausts) on a couple of occasions.

Willie