my Preference - Straight to DCC

Hi, I'm also an IT Guy. I went straight to DCC and did not regret it.

PROS:
Sound, easy to set up cabling, Multi engine / multi train control out of the box with no complex control panel

CONS
Upfront cost, tricky little things like reversing loops

My experience is that I have a small layout that supports two simultaneous engineers switching. DCC made it very simple and we concentrate on moving freight, not on moving control panel switches. It allows trans to run in close proximity without major wiring. I have gone all sound / DCC locos 'off the shelf' and found it very satisfactory (Hint: I turn the sound don to around 20-30% volume) I use a Digitrax Zephyr and two UT4 throttles.

HINT
If you do go DCC think carefully about how you insulate and feed turnouts. I have a complex nest of turnouts at the throat of a yard that I foolishly made one block. It works but I do have to be careful where I park locos.

Robert
CEO & Track Cleaner
Kayton and Tecoma Railway

@JR

After I evolved from DC, I never looked back.

Nick

Thanks guys!

Thanks guys!  I have the money, so I'll probably go that direction.  Knowing me, I'd want to soon enough anyway.

I have to learn a lot though first.

I'm taking all my purchases pretty amazingly slow, just cause it takes a long time to figure out what to buy!

LOL!

Thanks!

Reverse Loops are no

Reverse Loops are no different in DC or DCC. If you have one, you need to do something about it.

There are many automatic solutions.

GS

DCC

I second the DCC choice, It will give you so many more options, it is simpler to wire for multiple trains and its really no harder than DC.  Reverse loops have the same problem and with all the automatic reverser boards out there its simpler to do with DCC than DC.  With DCC you get all the bells and whistles (literally).  Might as well learn how to use it on a simple layout first.

Try various systems and and decide which you like and which has the features you want.

Does anyone regret the switch?

Has anyone here cursed their new DCC system (there is admittedly plenty to curse about) enough to dump it and go back to DC?

Certainly not me.

pqe

@ Pelsea

Me to neither!!!

Going to DC,is like going to land lines for telephones.

Great point.

Nick

DCC is the way to go. I would

DCC is the way to go.

I would browse layouts that you like on line and in person and see how things work for them. After seeing what they like see how it is used and see if that appeals to you.

Now make a list of things you want to do on your layout and how you want to do them regarding running your trains.

Look at the available dcc systems and see which one meets your needs for all of your requirements.

You might also look at types of throttles such as the proto throttle and if you think you want something like that pick a system that incorporates it easily.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/25866?page=1

Reverse Loops are no different in DC or DCC?

Not exactly. The autoreversers and frog juicers that you can get work ONLY with DCC, not DC. You can do some things to deal with reverse loops in DC too, certainly -- but the DCC autoreversers don't work with DC, sorry.

If you are an IT guy

If you are an IT guy comfortable working around electronics, DCC doesn't even need to be more expensive on the control side. SPROG and DCC++ Offer relativley simple electronics projects. 

SPROG can be run from a Raspberry Pi or from a PC. 

Reverse Running

Just to give a contrary opinion, consider the Bachmann with BoueRail. You can also get the BlueRail board separately if you want to plug into a socket.

The advantages are similar to DCC with independent control of each engine. Power comes from the rails just like dcc but the controller is a a smart phone. The cost to get going can be very low. For those who are interested, batteries can be used instead of from the rails. 

The drawback is that the sounds come from the phone or broadcast to a Bluetooth speaker under the layout.

I have two of these boards and running engines is very intuitive to anybody who uses a smartphone. 

Take a look at RailPro.

Here is my usual spiel on RailPro, Those who don't have a large investment in DCC already would do well to give it a serious look. It's very powerful, and yet simple to use...

RailPro is 100% Wireless, Fully Touch Screen Control, with Automatic Speed Matching, Instant Consisting, and Fast Touch Based Programming.

RailPro locomotives talk directly to each other allowing them to load share with other in real time, making speed matching a thing of the past.

DC or DCC ready locomotives are ready to convert to RailPro by installing the RailPro Locomotive Module. A few simple programming tasks and you're ready to run trains with a system more powerful than DCC, and easier to use than DCC.

Although RailPro is not DCC, RailPro locomotives can be used on DCC layouts and can also be configured to talk DCC.  

I was so impressed with RailPro after I got it for my layout that I became a dealer for them. RailPro is the only system sell. It works as advertised and I love it.

Seller (PDC.CA which is me):
http://pdc.ca/rr/catalog/product/railpro-and-accessories/51

Manufacturer's website: http://ringengineering.com

RailPro User Group: https://rpug.pdc.ca

Recent Article in MRH:
http://mrhpub.com/2017-10-oct/online/?page=37

One more good reason to skip DC

DC requires much more wiring than do DCC or RailPro.  DC wiring can be converted to DCC or RailPro with minimal changes, but why do all of that wiring in the first place.

Look at it like this. Go DC

Look at it like this. Go DC and you will be maybe happy until you operate a layout with DCC. Then you will need to convert to DCC. The total cost of this path is high. First you paid for the DC, (not cheap by the way), they you have to pay for the DCC. That IS expensive!

I'm not an IT guy.  I spent

I'm not an IT guy.  I spent my working years in the US Army Infantry and then after I retired I became a cop.  I hadn't had a layout since high school.  It was DC because that's all they had then. 

So 30 some years after my last layout I jumped right into DCC and I haven't looked back.  I didn't find it a to be a long learning curve and I didn't find I needed a computer background to learn to use it.

I say go with DCC to start with, you'll be glad you did.

Jeff White

Alma, IL

@All

Thanks everyone!

I'm sold...  DCC it is.

Have Done Both

My first layout was an N scale layout with DC. I got out of the hobby for about 10 years, and when I came back in and started to buy new equipment for an HO scale layout, I decided to go DCC. I chose an NCE Powercab for my first system, and have never had regrets. 

My advice is go with DCC and be glad. Here's a link that I found of great value in wiring my layout. Hope it helps you as well!

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track.htm