Diesel or Steam?

[Cheetah20]

Ok...
going to buy an engine..more likely with DCC....however
still NOT sure the difference between Diesel and Steam????
matter???

and when I get to that point......
I can skip the DC power system and straight to a DCC???

Engine I want doesn't really matter...although I prefer BLACK in color ...
metal wheels.....magnetic couplers....DCC..either ready or installed
and of course....a good deal :mrgreen: ....I can work on the cars after that .......
(sorry for my ignorance guys)

 

[Cannonball]

If you want to start on a budget, go diesel.
You have to spend a lot more on steam to get a decent piece most times. (More moving parts drive up the cost I guess.) You can find decent DCC ready diesels in a much lower price range.


If you want black in color, I would suggest starting with a Norfolk & Southern or new York Central Unit.

 

[Travellar]

Illinois central also bounces back and forth between black, or orange and white.
*note, Illinois central is extrodinarily difficult to find*

Alternatively, if you're willing to make the investment, you could go steam. Then almost any road you run will have black locos!

 

[pimberman]

Yes, diesel engine is more cheap.
If you want a black locomotive there are many to choose.
Personally I like the beautiful design of the GP38, GP40-2 and SD60's.
Next week I will buy the Atlas GP40-2 Alaska Railroad DCC-Installed.
I can recommend blwnscale.com has excellent prices.
Norfolk is a very nice locomotive too! is DCC-Ready but I dont know which decoder goes with this locoops:

Good luck!

 

[Cannonball]

I can recommend blwnscale.com

Also known as buynscale.com

Either way, it's still Brooklyn Locomotive works.
Pete does have good prices but a lot of the stuff on his website is out of stock/sold out.

 

[Cheetah20]

Thanx pimberman
Now...as a NEWBIE in this.....
how many types of decoders are there?
Funny,..I was looking at this one ..
eBay: NEW N sc ATLAS Union Pacific SD 60 M w/ Decoder (item 130110478996 end time Jun-05-07 10:15:23 PDT)

 

[pimberman]

Thanx pimberman
Now...as a NEWBIE in this.....
how many types of decoders are there?
Funny,..I was looking at this one ..
eBay: NEW N sc ATLAS Union Pacific SD 60 M w/ Decoder (item 130110478996 end time Jun-05-07 10:15:23 PDT)

I'm newbie too!!
How many types of decoders are there?:shock: look this dealer:
DCCTRAIN for DCC DIGITAL COMMAND CONTROL DCC TRAINS LENZ UHLENBROCK ZIMO

Digitrax is the most used on Atlas locomotives.
Any doubt ask before buying decoder!
Toy Train Heaven also has many locomotives with decoder installed.
Welcome to www.toytrainheaven.com

 

[60103]

I don't really know how many types of decoder there are, but some of the variations are:
bare wires/plug-in/plug on wires/replacement board.
Motor only/plus headlight/plus taillight/plus ditchlights/plus other lights
Lights but no motor
2- or 4-digit addressing
current capacity
size
various settings on acceleration etc.
feedback to the programmer

and then there's sound...

 

[bigsteel]

decoders are generally the same,so unless your doing special wiring,programming,checking the current limits or checking the sizes to convert a dc loco into dcc.because all decoders go by NMRA standards,so all of them are compatible with each other and the DCC command stations.hope that helped! --josh

 

[Cheetah20]

so when its says DCC installed ot equipped ...not to worry ?
Thanx Josh

 

[bigsteel]

if it says DCC equipped or installed,your OK.but if it says DCC ready or DCC compatible,that means it doesnt have a decoder and they are generally cheaper.--josh

 

[Cheetah20]

Ok.....plunged!!!
Got my first N scale loco .....DCC installed at only $60 ....
now...hope I got it for a steal and that it is NOT worth that amount ...lol

 

[wickman]

I have a dozen steam engines , a couple that I installed tsunami sound decoder they sound awsome . If you want a good steam engine that already has sound installed go for the Broadway Limited line I have 2 , very nice engines.

 

[guyvanwettering]

Which engines did you buy from Broadway Limited? I'm thinking about getting one of the PRR Mountains DCC/ Sound equipped.

 

[steamrail]

Just traded all my Diesel locos and went Steam only, very early days on the layout, best to take the plunge now, pleased I did as I grew up with steam.

Regards
David.

 

[wickman]

Which engines did you buy from Broadway Limited? I'm thinking about getting one of the PRR Mountains DCC/ Sound equipped.

I got the 4-6-4 #5335 and the PRR K4 #3751 4-6-2 both have Quantum sound and run like a top out of the box :thumb: