My next big choice was how I was going to power the layout and control the trains. This turned out to be a HUGE topic that took several weeks of study to resolve. There currently are two main ways to approach this decision ... DC & DCC.
DC, or Direct Current, is the traditional, less complicated method to provide power to the track & accessories, and to control the actions of the railroad engines. DCC, or Digital Command Control, is the more modern, more technology focused approach.
Naturally, I was drawn toward the technological solution. After all, did I want a simple power pack to run the trains, or did I want to use a computer? Well, even though this was my tendency, after considerable discussion with a local DCC expert, I was convinced to put this approach off to the second phase of my hobby.
I will not go into the complexities of the decision here, but suffice it to say that while DCC is a simpler solution to power the track, it opens a whole new way to spend big bucks on the digital computer control side. This still intrigues me, and I may upgrade sometime in the future, I am now running my trains with a Tech4 MRC 280 dual DC power pack & controller.
Using this device I am able to control both power blocks of my layout independently. So I can run two trains (steam & diesel) at the same time. The trains can be going in different directions, and can operate at different speeds. This enables me to implement both my passenger and freight trains on the same layout.
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