Advice please

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good evening, After a gap of about 40 years, I am thinking of getting back into railway modelling, things have changed alot since I was last involved with this subject....Can you please advise me what the following phrase means, "DCC Ready" this is shown on websites selling locos, is it some sort IT speak.?

The OO then N guage sets I had in the Mid 1960s to 1970s were made by Tri-ang, who I think had bought Hornby or at least the Hornby name, the quality was very good. I also had a great controller called a Duette, I think made by H&M, who I don't suppose exist anymore, I recall being taken to a shop in Holborn by my father and paying my saved up pocket money, all in coins, old-proper money LSD, to pay for this, It was about £ 2.10/- (that's gbp 2.50 )

If I do go ahead, I would go for OO guage. In your opinions are the models, locos, coaches sold by the Hornby company of Today OK,? and what are Bachman products like? I was looking at a very good website/model shop in Tooting called Janes Trains, have you heard of this firm, again are they OK?

Tks & Rgds.

 

[Temple Meads]

It basically means they are ready to have a DCC (computerised control system) chip to be installed.
That's about as far as my knowledge goes I'm afraid.

 

[142094]

I thought DCC Ready meant it was ready for a chip to be installed, but you had to buy your own? May be wrong, as I've been out of the modelling world for about 5 years.

Quite a lot of info on the web about DCC, which is Digital Comand Control. By inserting a decoder (chip) into the loco you can control it from a handset, which allows you to control a lot more locos than you could with a normal analogue controller.

Hornby lagged behind for a number of years - Bachmann and Heljan were producing a lot of quaility models, so Hornby lost a bit of market share. However in the past few years Hornby have been producing a ot of decent models - class 60, 31 and 56 (revised version) spring to mind. However you get what you pay for - depends on how detailed and realistic a model you want.

 

[northernrail]

DCC Ready means that it has the plug so a chip (Decoder) can be fitted but you have to buy it.

DCC Fitted means the locomotive has got one fitted and you can take it straight home and program it.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Good evening, After a gap of about 40 years, I am thinking of getting back into railway modelling, things have changed alot since I was last involved with this subject....Can you please advise me what the following phrase means, "DCC Ready" this is shown on websites selling locos, is it some sort IT speak.?....

DCC Ready/DCC Friendly means that you can buy a Digital Comand Control decoder and fit it to the locomotive without needing the ability to solder two wires together, because a socket is provided.

DCC Fitted means that the model already has a DCC decoder fitted.

....If I do go ahead, I would go for OO guage. In your opinions are the models, locos, coaches sold by the Hornby company of Today OK,? and what are Bachman products like? I was looking at a very good website/model shop in Tooting called Janes Trains, have you heard of this firm, again are they OK?....

It depends on your expectations and the models you are looking at, but certain standards are now becoming the norm.

I'm not sure what era you are thinking of modelling, if indeed you have decided to model one, but I would suggest searching the internet for reviews before spending your money.

There are some models which are made by multiple manufacturers, they have pros and cons like most things, but some suit more than others. Generally speaking, the more you pay, the more detail or functions you get, but shop around if you are on a budget..

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Many thanks for the info and advice here, noted and I will keep your comments in mind.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
By the way, would HO gauge models bought in Europe work and run ok on a UK 00 gauge layout? I think the difference between HO & 00 is very small?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

OO and HO use the same track, there is no problem there, however, HO will be noticeably shorter (length and height) than OO (like for like) and so it may not look good together.

 

[455driver]

Hornby stuff is okay but the leader of the pack at the moment is Bachmann, their models are much better detailed and built than hornbys.

If you are going to use a normal controller (like you did before) then DCC ready doesnt apply to you.
If you are going to use a DCC system then loads of locos can be controlled on the same piece of track because the "control" is inside the loco (the chip) with the track being permanently live.

Older stuff can be converted with a bit of thought as well.

If you are going to have a small(ish) layout then DCC is the best way forward, no isolated sections needed etc, and you can run locos right up to each other no matter where they are on the layout.
The chips are not that expensive and are easy to fit once the loco body is off or you can just buy the locos DCC fitted (or on board).

DCC can be as simple (or complicated) as you like and with a fresh start like yours should be seriously considered.

good luck.

 

[nj_mills]

Thought I would just add to this thread rather then starting a new one as this did answer some questions I had.

I'm looking to start out with model railways and just wondered if I could get some advice and opinions on a few things.

1. Is there a big difference between Hornby and Bachmann, would I be able to buy a Bachmann train and run it on Hornby tracks for instance?

2. Whats a good way of starting off? Is it best to buy the sets with a train and track in and build from there?

3. Whats the difference between different gauges? Which are the most popualar and what ones are compatible with each other?

Hopefully my questions are too daft and not me being thick. Any help you be much appreciated thank you.

 

[deltic1989]

Thought I would just add to this thread rather then starting a new one as this did answer some questions I had.

I'm looking to start out with model railways and just wondered if I could get some advice and opinions on a few things.

1. Is there a big difference between Hornby and Bachmann, would I be able to buy a Bachmann train and run it on Hornby tracks for instance?

2. Whats a good way of starting off? Is it best to buy the sets with a train and track in and build from there?

3. Whats the difference between different gauges? Which are the most popualar and what ones are compatible with each other?

Hopefully my questions are too daft and not me being thick. Any help you be much appreciated thank you.

Hi there.

I'll answer youquestionsas best i can and in order, but my answers are my opinion and may differ from other modellers.

1. Hornby and Bachmann both produce models in '00 gauge' thats 4mm:1ft. Bachmann locos and stock will run on hornby track as the track guageis the same and the scale of the models is the same. Bachmann has some very good models out at the momnet and so does hornby nad if your on a buget hornby's railroad range is worth a look.

2. It's down to personal preference, I started railway modelling from a trainset my nan bought me for my 5th birthday (it was a Flying Scotsman, 3 coaches and an oval of track) from that with my dads help I mounted the oval on a board and added scenery. This grew into and L shaped layout that occupied twowalls of my bedroom until i left home to join the Navy at 17, all added to week by week with pocket money and paper round money. If you see a set youlike then by all means buy it and then you can add track scenery and more stock as money and time allows.

3. The most common are N guage (2mm:1ft) 00 guage (as above) and 0 guage 8mm:1ft, and of those 3 00 is the most widely used and best value for money, when choosing which guage to model in you must consider the space that you have and what you want to do with that space (for example ifyou only have a box room in a modern house and you want to run full length mainline trains then N is advisable, howerver if you have a whole attic then 00 would be good, 0 works in large spaces or gardens but you will need a lot of pocket money and kit building skill for this).Its handy to have a basic idea of your track plan the space you have and the era you want to model before you starts spending lots of money on stock.

For the best specialist advice i would suggest reading model railway magazines, such as, Railway Modeller, Hornby Magazine, and Model Rail. these have some graet articles on other peoples layouts and some hints and tips to get you on your way. Also look into and Model Railway exibitions in your area as you can pick up some cracking advice from the modellers there.

As a final note with the increase in online shopping its always good to look on eBay for some good bargains, you can save £££££ over what you would spend at a model shop. Toy fairs are also brilliant for bargains.

Hope I've helped you on your way and I hope you enjoy what is a wonderful hobby.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Generally speaking I'd agree with those points, but add.....

1. The differences in models aren't necessarily between manufacturers, but actually between release dates. Hornby and Bachmann still have quite a few older models in their ranges and in places this shows, but there are also some really good looking models in both ranges. What really sets Bachmann and Hornby apart is which locos they have made. In some cases both manufacturers have models, but in many cases there is only one choice.

2. If you look at what the set contains, you can make a judgement on if it is worth it for you. There isn't much point in buying a starter set if the only things of interest are the track and controller, as the controller will be basic in most cases and so the money could be better spent.

3. There really are too many scales and gauges to sensibly list because if you are just starting out on a small to medium budget you will probably spend more money than you have got on most of them.

N gauge railways are more expensive per square inch (or centimetre if you prefer) than OO gauge, but per model it is very similar. An 8x4 N gauge layout might cost you a similar amount to a 16x8 OO gauge layout to the same design.

You definately need to pick you gauge/scale before commiting to anything and looking in a few magazines, scouting around some modelling websites and getting down to a good model shop (to look around) will help point you in making the right direction. Bear in mind though, no matter how good the pictures you see, models may vary. I hated the look of the N gauge class 50 when I saw it in a magazine, "it doesn't look anything like a class 50!", etc, but now I actual have one to hand, it's not so bad, infact I can easily live with it.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Has anybody had any dealings over the counter or mail/internet sales with modelshops Janes Trains in Tooting South London or Allsorts Model Shop in Tiverton Devon, they both seem to have some good very railway model products, or does anyone here have any good recommendations/ It's nice to have some personal knowledge/feedback. Tks Steve.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Hattons are usually cheap and good for customer service. Rails of Sheffield sell secondhand stuff on ebay from 99p, but it can be virtually new stuff.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Many thanks for the extra bits of info here.

Have a good weekend.

Rgds Steve.

 

[fsmr]

Hi
i started off with the old triang hornby system 4 00 chunky rail in the 60s and changed to system 6 in the late 60s and 70s with standard analogue. About 3 years back , i bought a hornby freight pack for my 12 year old with jinty and 08 shunter, both DCC fitted along with their basic entry level select DCC controller

We then built from scratch a comprehesnive layout with 3 oval; running lines, and various shunting loops, and it is all controlled by just 2 wires
(note all lines at various points are linked by soldered links to each other to increase reliability on track joints
I have converted my 1976 vintage hornby class 25 to DCC which is very straight forward if you can solder. also an 8 year old hornby J94, although not much room under the smokebox for the chip
Recently aqquired Bachman 25 Tammy castle was DDC ready and it was just a case of unplugging the blank and plugging in the Bachman chip

I would certainly reccomend DCC as it gives so many benefits, not least the ability to creap locos without risk of stalling due to constant 15 volts on the track. All DCC locos will run on standard aanlogue altough i wouldnt reccomend the other way around as the armature on the single allowed analogue loco will get very hot over time on DCC