N to O gauge

I have some Atlas switches and like them a lot. The only problem I had was resistance building up in the slide rail joiners which caused an open circuit and made locomotives stall. I soldered a jumper around the switch and that fixed it. I also have some Ross switches which work well too. My train room is only climate controlled when I am out there also. I have had these components in place for a good many years and they still work well.

I'm using Fastrack and it seems to be OK.   Manual switches at this time though.   I went with it due to getting so much of it in starter kits.   Looking backwards I would have went Gargraves or Ross with Ross switches.  Not downing the FT a bit.  I like it and will continue to use it.  

Jim 

Welcome to the forum. 

I run on gargraves for 15 years now, in an unfinished basement where it gets down to 45 degrees like last week, everything on the had no problem, but I was cold. Under the same conditions I have also used lionel tubular, fastback, and real tracks and they all are built proof.  I think it's a matter of taste as to what you prefer. 

I just bought a Lionchief Mikado KATY with Bluetooth and love it. Run it either way, remote or app.  If I  was just starting out in O gauge I would start with one of those engines, they are a lot of fun.  Lionchief is also semi scale so the engines and cars are affordable. Also they will run on a 31" radius track curve and look great on anything larger.

Lionel Legacy is also great but the engines cost a lot more, cause they are scale and they also need a larger radius track 42" on up, most need 54" at least.

Power pack, a MTH Z 1000 can handle a lot, no problem running a passenger train  8 cars long run by a steam or diesel engine, plus it Jas an accessory outlet. The Z4000 is awesome, controls more but is 4x as much.

Hope that helps.

I was N scale 1960's to late 1970's. HO 1980's and then O3r in the 1990's.  

Track - Gargraves is my choice. If you are worried about using it get Gargraves stainless steel. If it rusts you have bigger problem.

Keep in mind the Toy/Semi-scale/Scale size you will find in O3r. I really wish I had thought more about it before buying so much stuff. 60% of my trains are NOT scale and now I run scale and have lots of trains I will not use.....

Power - if you go DC you will limit what you can run. Not everything runs off DC. Look into the fact some trains and some transformers do not play together......

Good luck...

Welcome to the forum.  I have been using Lionel's Fastrack for 6 years with no problems.  The first 3 years was in an attached garage in New York.  Temperature varied from about 40 to what seemed like 100 - no track problems.  My new layout (North Carolina) is in a climate controlled room over the garage and is about the same size as yours.

Good luck.

AMCDave posted:

I was N scale 1960's to late 1970's. HO 1980's and then O3r in the 1990's.  

Track - Gargraves is my choice. If you are worried about using it get Gargraves stainless steel. If it rusts you have bigger problem.

Keep in mind the Toy/Semi-scale/Scale size you will find in O3r. I really wish I had thought more about it before buying so much stuff. 60% of my trains are NOT scale and now I run scale and have lots of trains I will not use.....

Power - if you go DC you will limit what you can run. Not everything runs off DC. Look into the fact some trains and some transformers do not play together......

Good luck...

 

All of the lionchief-lionchief plus engines run on AC or DC.   But that is a good point.   Ive been told by a Lionel repair station to use DC on the LC/LCP so the DC converter in the engine doesn't have to be used.  Right now I am running DC for that reason and I dont like not being able to run my older conventional trains. Ive had experience with LED Christmas lights for years.   The lights will last for years and years.   Its the converter that goes bad in those also, leading to an overheating of the unit. 

Jim

I'd like to hear what our board experts think about running DC power for LC/LC+. Would one use a Tech II type transformer? (Also, I assume DC will not work with DCS, correct?)

If DC is ok to use for track power, how would it be wired?

One note, if you were seeing your old mth train slowing down and speeding up (I assume running it in conventional mode), that is because of drop off in track power with distance from the track power connection, it likely had nothing to do with the engine. Running with Lionchief or DCS or TMCC/Legacy,  you don't see the impact as much because you keep the track voltage at a constant 16-18v and degradation over distance is less of a factor (but it still can happen). When you do build a layout, whether an oval or a full blown one, make sure to have power drops to the track at regular intervals, it will make your experience much better, along with making sure the track is firmly connected. 

pdxtrains posted:

I'd like to hear what our board experts think about running DC power for LC/LC+. Would one use a Tech II type transformer? (Also, I assume DC will not work with DCS, correct?)

If DC is ok to use for track power, how would it be wired?

Wired no different than a conventional O3r layout would be. AC or DC the wires do not care. 

pdxtrains posted:

I'd like to hear what our board experts think about running DC power for LC/LC+. Would one use a Tech II type transformer? (Also, I assume DC will not work with DCS, correct?)

If DC is ok to use for track power, how would it be wired?

Exactly my question.   At this time I just have two wall warts that come in starter sets hooked up via adapter track to two insulated loops around the room.   They are not enough power in my opinion. One of my LC engines slows down furthest from the power input on the track.   The LC+ do not do that.   

Now to wire it ..  I'm thinking either wire it in blocks with multiple wall warts.   Or get the 72 watt, 4 amp units and daisy chain some "drops" in the track from the super ugly tracks that the wall wart plugs into.  Or cut off the plug end and plug it to the bottom of the track, then daisy chain it.   Just some ideas I've been tossing around.    But then I'm thinking of using a MTH Z4000 that may extend the life of the converter with a purer sine wave??  

Jim

LOL! First Glance at the Thread title, I could have sworn it said,  NO to O guage!  Oh wait, then it dawned on me this isn't the "HONGZ" forum.

I run that primitive post war stuff that sucks power and runs fast, an endorsement for not lubricating car wheels so the engine has to work harder and the speed comes down, but than the motors over heat, but that's another story.

Anyway I run blocks and cabs the old fashion HO way it's just with O gauge it's AC instead of DC. There are a total of 4 cabs and the main which is dual tracked each with 4 blocks. Each block has 3 feeds, one near each end and one in the middle, the feeds are daisy chained for each block. Being 12 by 14 there is no block with more than about 6.5 feet between feeders. I use a number 12 stranded wire, overkill to be sure, but I'm in the Steve Dulcich camp that bigger is always better.

Bogie

Thanks everyone for the info. I came across a post on the forums and was looking at using the 18 volt 9 amp monitor power supply. I will probably use the a setup similar to what I have now 12 ga buss with feeders to track every 6 to 10 feet or so.

For now I think the the lc+ locos and semi scale are what I want to start with. Would like to step back from being scale and just have fun with trains for awhile. 

Keith1366 posted:

Thanks everyone for the info. I came across a post on the forums and was looking at using the 18 volt 9 amp monitor power supply. I will probably use the a setup similar to what I have now 12 ga buss with feeders to track every 6 to 10 feet or so.

For now I think the the lc+ locos and semi scale are what I want to start with. Would like to step back from being scale and just have fun with trains for awhile. 

 

I have a few of those also.  Many directions one could take.  Those LC and LC+  engines sure are fun to run!

Jim