about brand..

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newbietrain

New Member
Sep 7, 2008
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hi trainsim out there..
im a newbie from indonesia... :wave:

im want to start to buy a miniatures train..
im really really dont know about this hobby,, but i think i love it..

i have some question for u : :?:

i want to buy ROCO HO GP40 starter pack set for the beginning,,
my question is :
1.ROCO is a good brand or not ?? can u tell me the other brand, but not too expensive ??

2. if i buy a roco brand, and i want to expand it, can i mix the track and the train with another brand ?? like marklin, or bachmann, or etc..

3. whats different of HO AC and HO DC ??


i hope u can help me to tell me everything about it..

im sorry if my languages is bad.. hehehe..

thx
 
I dont know to much about the Roco GP40. I'm sure its fine though. the best altnerative in my opinion is an Athearn GP40. Maybe atlas if you want alittle bit of a nicer model.

Marklin track won't work, because its AC. bachmann track is probably DC.

HO AC and HO DC run with two different types of electricity. most american models run on DC (marklin makes a few that run on AC, but not reallly enough to justify going AC if you want to model North American railroading).

You can't put DC locomotives on AC power because they wont work, and they will short out. they are incompatible.
 
ok i see it..

so if they work in same system like DC and DC, but they are not same brand, it can be run ??

example,
i buy roco HO DC train, and put it in HO DC bachman track, it can be work ?? is it match ??..
 
I think the atlas gP-40s from the late 1970s to early 1980s were made by Roco. After that, I think Con-Cor picked up the line for awhile, still made by Roco. I am very out-of-touch with the current HO dieses availabble - so I am not sure whether the current Roco locomotives are the same design.

The older Atlas locomotives were top-of-the-line in the late 1970s-early 1980s.

Kevin
 
Marklin is by itself as it's AC and uses 3-rail track.
Everything else in HO is compatible -- runs on the same track with the same power. There may be differences with couplings but this can be overcome.
There is also a control system called DCC (Digital Command Control). This requires a chip in the locomotive and some come already fitted. Generally with the chips will cost more.
Most tracks will work together but the ones that have roadbed (are raised) such as EZ Track and PowerLok have their own style ends and don't join together.
 
nachoman said:
I think the atlas gP-40s from the late 1970s to early 1980s were made by Roco. After that, I think Con-Cor picked up the line for awhile, still made by Roco. I am very out-of-touch with the current HO dieses availabble - so I am not sure whether the current Roco locomotives are the same design.

The older Atlas locomotives were top-of-the-line in the late 1970s-early 1980s.

Kevin
Click to expand...

so, you prefer atlas rather than roco ??
 
60103 said:
Marklin is by itself as it's AC and uses 3-rail track.
Everything else in HO is compatible -- runs on the same track with the same power. There may be differences with couplings but this can be overcome.
There is also a control system called DCC (Digital Command Control). This requires a chip in the locomotive and some come already fitted. Generally with the chips will cost more.
Most tracks will work together but the ones that have roadbed (are raised) such as EZ Track and PowerLok have their own style ends and don't join together.
Click to expand...

what is coupling ??

if the train dont have the DCC i must buy it separately and put it self in that train ?? how much it is ??

what brand almost have build in chip ??

"Most tracks will work together but the ones that have roadbed (are raised) such as EZ Track and PowerLok have their own style ends and don't join together".. i dont undertand ?? can u explain more ??
 
The photo of the Roco GP-40 looks like the same loco once offered by atlas and con-cor. I don't know if the internals have changed, but back then it was a good engine. As far as I know, current atlas releases are made by someone else. I don't own one of their recent releases, nor do I model the diesel era, so I really can't comment on which one I like better.

Kevin
 
I went to both of your links. The first one was not in English, so I didn't understand everything, but it listed the set as a "Rocco Digital Starter Set." I think that probably means that it is a dcc set with all of the necessary equipment to set it up and run with digital command control. The only question I would have is whether that means that the locomotive is ready to run on dcc if you have the necessary dcc components to operate on dcc or if the train set includes a complete dcc set of components.

The second link is to a catalog, and I could not figure out what train set you were looking at from that catalog. I don't have any direct experience with Rocco products, but I think they are a quality product. I don't think Atlas has ever offered a substandard locomotive, so if they used Rocco to build their models, they would have been top quality.
 
I don't use DCC so I can't advise about it. But we did model railroading for over 70 years without it. DC still works.
The coupling (or coupler) is the device that joins 2 cars together. I you buy a train set all the couplings will be the same, but a different train set (different manufacturer) might have a different coupling. North American trains usually have one of 2 types, so you won't be far out. They can be changed to match.
Train set track used to always be sections that were just rail and ties. Then they started to add raised bits to represent the ballast (the stones that the track is set in), but for some reason (patents?) each manufacturer decided that they should fit together differently at the ends. The systems I mentioned have devices to locks the track sections together but not the same devices. (It's like plugging in devices to your computer.)
 
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