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Went to NTrak meeting, got my new DT400 throttle for my Digitrax system along with 4 of 6 decoders I had ordered as part of our club's initial "club buy." Installed 3 of the 4 decoders into Kato PAs, last decocder for a SD90 isn't fully functional.

That sounds like the Ghost Train of Ely.

Okay, tested this evening. I was had 9 locos (6 Katos, 3 Atlas) running, without any power problems. The Zephyr will only address 10 locos, and, well, things were a bit confused. :oops: I believe I could have added at least 3 more if I had a) more room, and b) better consisting.

I'll test tonight to see how many locos a Zephyr can actually run at one time, based on power consumption. I'm thinking its going to be between 7 and 10 modern efficient locos. I know that it can only address 10 individual addresses at one time, but that's a different limitation.

Basically, you'll need to play with the acceleration and deceleration values, plus the Min, Mid, and Max values. Focus on only one at a time. Start with setting the Min value (the % of juice it needs before it starts moving). Once you're happy with that, set the MID value, which should be...

The F3s in the set are the same mechanism and such as the F3s they sell separately, i.e. top quality. Ditto for the RDC sets. Its possible, but unlikely, that they're an older chassis casting (depending on when it was made) that isn't DCC ready, but if so, it should only require some milling...

Yes, the N Trak specs are for an international N Scale modular standard. www.ntrak.org. The BendTrack and TTrack standards are also for N Scale. You could use the NTrak specs for any gauge, except that they won't work for HO, S, or O. IIRC, track spacing in N Track is defined as 1.5"...

Walthers is the place to start, check out some of these trestle kits that can be kitbashed (i.e. modified). For something of 4 level stacks you almost certainly going to have to do some scratchbuilding as well.

Larry, On the couplers for the Connie, you can replace the tender coupler with a Micro-Trains 2004. (Available assembled or unassembled.) To do this, you simply "pop" the draft box of the existing coupler off, remove the coupler and spring (assuming they didn't pop off to neverland) and...

There are a number of different factors you'll need to consider when designing the standards. The first is "what is the design goal of the modules." That's a more complex question than it appears. The obvious answer is "compatibility", but that leads to the question "compatibility with...

The new UT-4 throttles are supposed to avoid the speed matching problem. I don't know if they actually do, but will be finding out soon.

Did my first two Micro-trains 1128/MT-7(?) conversions, on a pair of Kato Budd Business Cars. One is working very well, the other is "stiff." I mashed and boogeredup the spring, but it still works, so I won't worry too much about it for now. Repaired a blown Accumate coupler (just a little...

Muddy Creek suggests a track saw, but frankly, the Xuron Rail Cutters are soooooo much better, simpler to use, and also safer. (If you've ever snagged yourself on a saw, you'll know what I mean.) I would steer you towards the Kato F3 set, its really the only set in N scale that is all quality...

Correct, you do not need the DC converter if you're using the Kato powerpack, apparently they built the converter into it. Go to http://www.katousa.com/ and click on the picture of the powerpack. Here's what Kato has to say: Turnout Control Switch snap-on socket

As a newbie, the best N scale steam locomotive on the market would be the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation. Make sure its the Spectrum edition, not their standard one. Another very good choice would be the MDC (now Athearn) 2-6-0 or 2-8-0. The last good choice is the Kato 2-8-2 Mikado...

Talk to the guys at Scale Rails. If, as is likely, they're using radio control, then your best bet will be to get either the DT400R or the UT-4R. You don't need to get the radio control receiver to use either of these, as they are both IR capable. You can save a bunch of moolah and just get...

The only thing you'll need now is a place to set the track up, and a train to run on it. The Kato Powerpack has the "snap-buttons" for mounting the turnout controllers, and everything else needed to get power to the track is in the K1 set. You'll enjoy the Unitrack. :thumb: One warning...

Ahhh, old poll, resurrected. So, Don, update us and let us know what you've done in the intervening year regarding your couplers. As a general rule now, I don't buy anything with Rapidos without considering the conversion cost. A lot of rolling stock that's equipped with Rapidos is older...

The newer Atlas locos use slow-speed motors, giving closer to scale speeds. Even without decoders, they will run significantly slower than the Katos. I have 3 Atlas Dash8-BWs, 2 with factory DCC, one pure DC, and they all run slower than my Kato SD70MACs and AC4400, without decoders. Once I...

Unitrack is more expensive than Atlas Code 80, or Code 55. Even when you include the cost of roadbed and ballasting, its still more expensive. However, it doesn't take as long to get running, and it doesn't take as much skill to get high reliability. So one question you'll need to ask...