DC or not DCC

DCC, NCE, MRC, ESU.... Confused? Well I am. Its enough to send your mind whirring faster than a passing freight train. If you answered no, then chances are you have already got your head around the various terminology that goes with model train set Digital Command Control, or DCC as its commonly known. Easily the most heated debate amongst railway modellers here in Australia, is which operating system is better? DC or DCC? Let's be honest, asking a retailer which is better will always guarantee you the same answer. They'll always try to sell you the more expensive option. I can be a bit more blunt with my answer however, in that I write simply for myself so don't stand to generate anything from this post other than a few laughs.

DC or Direct Current, has been around for ages. A simple positive and negative 12 volt set of wires connected to your track from a transformer power pack that lets you control the amount of current sent to the track by the throttle. To some, DC represents the stubbornness of our hobby in hanging onto outdated technology that is well past its' use-by date.

Here are my Top 5 funny meanings I've heard model railroaders give this acronym.

1. Dinosaur Control - an oldie but a goody.
2. Dummy Control - as in only dummies still use it.
3. Dunny Cab - Australian for toilet, you figure the rest.
4. Dull Control - as in it makes operating a layout more boring.
5. Death Cab - as in they're not interested in change, and will stick with DC until they die.

DCC or Digital Command Control, supplies power to a block of track by one set of wires, and sends individual digital signals to the locomotive via the decoder chip that is fitted inside, enabling individual command control of things like speed, headlights, ditch lights, cab lights etc. Being able to operate lights individually on a locomotive while it is stationary, without having the brightness respond only to an increase in current or speed is a good argument, in fact a very good argument as to which system may be better. But it does have some drawbacks, namely the added cost of converting your layout to DCC operation.

No-one that I've spoken with about DCC operation has had the guts to say anything bad about it. Maybe that's because there is nothing bad to say about it. Or it could be a case of The Emperor's new clothes, and everyone just agrees for fear of ridicule. Well, maybe its about time someone stood up for the humble DC modellers in this hobby, or the manufacturers might think we no longer exist and stop producing quality DC locomotive models in the future.

So in that spirit, here are my Top 5 funny meanings I feel DCC could be short for.

1. Doesn't Come Cheap - an obvious place to start.
2. Digital Computer Crap - here's another blasted contraption I have to learn.
3. Darn Cruel Contraption - as in all that money and it just fried another decoder!
4. Diesel Confused Comprende - does anyone know what number I'm programmed under?
5. Definitely Couldn't Care - as in I'm way too old for this and I will stick with DC until I die...

For the past few years, I've noticed a changing trend in the way model railway manufacturers are advertising new models. We've moved on from the self-explanatory DCC-ready, (as in capable of fitting a DCC decoder chip inside the locomotive to convert the model to DCC operation at a later date), to more confusing terms like Bachmann's DCC On-Board and the latest trend of advertising models as DC/DCC with sound. In fact, there is a growing trend among model railway manufacturers both in the U.S. and here in Australia to produce sound equipped models that are already installed with a decoder capable of recognising and then running on either DC or DCC track. At first glance, this appears to be the next step in finding a one-size-fits-all approach to keep both DC and DCC modellers happy, and sound in our hobby is a big selling point. But is DCC on DC still DC? Or is DCC on DC more like DC and 1/2?

I've now had two experiences with running DC/DCC sound-equipped locomotives on my DC powered layout, and to be honest they were both disappointing. To be fair, I won't name each manufacturer, as in each instance it wasn't their product that was at fault, rather the way that sound-equipped DC/DCC models are perceived in the hobby, and the reality of how they actually perform on a DC layout.

First was a model fitted with a DC/DCC QSI sound-equipped decoder, that after going through its usual start-up sound sequence, moved off the mark very slowly thanks to the built-in inertia. It stood to reason that it also stopped very slowly, which on a short bookshelf layout quickly proved to be very frustrating. Most of the time I had to stop the model quickly as it neared the end of the track, and instead of enjoying the shut-down sound sequence the model would just come to a silent, abrupt halt. The horn function required a quick back-and-forth flick of the throttle's forward/reverse function to activate. Most of the time the decoder misinterpreted this as the power turning off, and would come to an abrupt halt and revert to going through the whole start-up procedure again. Needless to say, it soon frustrated me to tears. Given that the model wasn't really the right match for the era I was modelling, (I'd purely been enticed to buy it for the sound function), it was soon sold on eBay.

More recently, a model fitted with a DC/DCC Loksound sound-equipped decoder gave me grief right from the moment it was placed on my DC powered track. After going through the long, drawn-out start-up procedure, the model just stood still and shook with the sound spluttering in and out. Turning the throttle up would result in the loco suddenly taking off at near full speed. I had to phone the manufacturer who put me in touch with Paul Baker, the expert on all things DCC at The Trainman.net . Paul gave me perhaps the most honest answer with what was wrong. A DC/DCC sound-equipped locomotive operating on a DC layout is not DCC. The loco simply was not drawing enough power.

A DCC power pack supplies an average of 16.5 volts to the track all the time. A DC power pack by comparison supplies 12 volts, in increments from zero through to 12 volts as controlled by the throttle. The decoder in a DC/DCC model requires 9 volts for the decoder to start, and it isn't a simple matter of starting the model at a higher throttle setting. Once the start-up sequence is completed, the model then responds instantly to the throttle setting. Smooth starts are impossible. As for the horn sound? On this particular decoder it was not possible in DC mode. For that, you guessed it, I would have to upgrade to a DCC system. Needless to say, the two pre-orders I had for other sound-equipped models have now been cancelled.

When it comes to a one-size-fits-all approach, a model touted as being DC/DCC compatible is just a gimmick, and a misleading one at that! For the extra bucks a DC modeller will pay for a locomotive that is DC/DCC sound equipped, they get a locomotive that is very limited as to what extras they can actually utilise. Yet they still have to pay DCC prices and are still subject to the same problems of shorting decoders and the expense of replacing them should anything go wrong. Trust me when I say a decoder can still go 'pop' on a DC layout! A DCC modeller on the other hand, already has a DCC equipped layout and won't really care if the more expensive locomotive is capable of running on a less expensive DC system. DC is still DC, just as DCC is still the only option for those who want to turn the lights on their locomotive individually and listen to the engine idle while their train is stationary.

I had my crossroads moment, and I chose to stick with plain old DC operation. At the end of the day I have a small bookshelf switching layout, and as Paul Baker kindly explained, if I were to go down the digital path I would most likely want to de-program the momentum from each locomotive anyway to continue operating a small layout enjoyably. If I were to change my mind in the future with DCC, I'm sure my first point of call will be to contact Paul at The Trainman.

Although enjoying sound while operating a loco would have been pretty cool, I'm now more interested in seeing if I can incorporate something like Broadway Limited's Lightning & Thunder pack into my layout. If you haven't seen or heard what this new product is all about, then you must watch the YouTube clip above. And best of all, it's a DC product that won't require anything more than installing two LED strips and mounting the sub-woofer beneath my layout. I first need to find out whether I can get it to work using a household Australian 240 volt plug before I invest any more dollars.

There are plenty of new Australian prototype HO scale models due to be released in the next 12 months, and the majority of these are now being made available in either DC or DC/DCC with sound versions. Southern Rail Models will soon release their 10 Class steam locomotive, then Auscision Models will follow with their 442 Class and NR Class diesels, an 85 Class electric locomotive and even a Railway Pay-Bus in 2018. While over at SDS Models we are all waiting word on the re-release of the Austrains 81 Class and their own version of the NR Class diesels. With the average price difference between the DC and DC/DCC with sound models offered by each manufacturer being $100.00 Australian, I hope I have at least shed some light on what standard DC modellers like myself can expect if tempted by the idea of adding sound. My advice is an echo of the old saying, 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' Either go all-out and invest in a decent DCC system, or just stick with a tried-and-true standard DC locomotive and save yourself the price difference.

Perhaps in future there might be some more development in the Australian market with off-board sound for DC modellers, such as the KATO Unitrack Soundbox. I know I would be interested.

See also; Railway Modelling Vs. Blogging

Adding miles in miniature

I love freight cars. They instantly convey a sense of purpose on a model railway by depicting what railways were designed for in the first place, moving objects from point A to B over long distances. But how do you add miles to a model in miniature? There's really only one way, and that is to dirty them up. Over the weekend, I managed to weather a few more wagons on my roster using the same method I explained in my previous review on easy Rustall weathering methods. Rather than write another step-by-step post, I thought I'd just share some before and after shots that demonstrate how some subtle weathering can create the illusion that our shiny, well detailed models have actually covered some miles in service.

Next I turned to the Auscision Models NCTY steel wagons. Great looking models, but they can't stay that clean forever.

I scuffed the white cradles a bit where the steel coils would sit, using a silver paint pen to simulate steel scrapes.

Using the same method, the end result is by far more believable, yet subtle enough to appreciate the nice blue paint job.

When the next coil steel load arrived back at Philden, the NCTY wagon was looking a lot more well-travelled. The road grime in the well of the wagon and especially around the side ribbing is convincing enough for me to believe that the shipment has just been railed in from Port Kembla.

Philden Yard now looks a little more convincing with some weathered wagons waiting to be unloaded.

Weathering some freight wagons may not be everyone's idea of a dirty weekend, but it was a fun project to enjoy over a rainy weekend. I now only have my fleet of cement hoppers to be weathered for my freight car roster to look well-travelled.

Bringing back the Bulldog

It seems that unmistakable EMD Bulldog nose has reared it's head once more in Philden Yard. More than a year since a 421 class locomotive was last seen at Philden, the classy curves of a Clyde Engineering built AJ16C General Motors Electro-Motive diesel have emerged from the shadows of the overpass to work the cement plant once more.

After spotting loaded cement hoppers the night before, 42109 returns the next day to collect the empties.

Unlike its predecessor 42101 who was last seen working Philden still wearing it's NSW State Rail Authority candy livery, 42109 has been deployed by private operator Interail on hook-and-pull duties to work the cement plant, and arrived recently overhauled, looking clean and sporting the rainbow colours of predecessor Northern Rivers Railroad.

The 421's are a classy looking loco. Retaining the American Bulldog nose at the no. 1 end, they had a second cab compartment added to the flat no. 2 end that made them one of the most unique examples of their type in the world. There were only 10 built in 1965-66 and by 1986-87 all had been withdrawn from government service. Four were later purchased by the Northern Rivers Railroad group who restored them and returned the locos to service in 1997, working cement and flyash trains between Grafton and Murwillumbah. By 1999, NRR were using the locomotives on the Ritz Rail tourist train between Casino and Murwillumbah. The party only lasted to March 2002, when the Ritz Rail train was discontinued and the Northern Rivers Railroad was purchased by Queensland Rail and renamed Interail. All four 421 class locos were included in the sale and were later used on infrastructure work on the NSW north coast, coal haulage in the northern Hunter Valley and container trains between Casino and Acacia Ridge Yard in Brisbane.

And viewed from the other side of the layout, the Bulldog returns through the mouse-hole with another loaded cement train.

Despite not even being born at the time the 421 Class locos were introduced into service on the N.S.W.G.R. there are a lot of stories I can tell of the surviving class members' second life wearing rainbow colours. Such as the 7 years I worked for Woolworths Distribution, driving a forklift in their distribution centre alongside Acacia Ridge rail yard in Brisbane. Often on a Friday night I'd be assigned to work the pallet yard which just so happened to be hard up against the fence of the railway siding. In between loading trucks and sorting pallets, I'd always leave a gap so that I had a clear view of the 2 sidings that ended hard against the fence. At some point after 6 pm on a Friday night when they were done shunting for the week, a pair of 421's would always end up parked at the end of the siding, their round noses glistening in the light of the distribution centre truck bays. It became my Friday night train fix before the weekend.

42109 poses on my desk alongside a photo of her in my book working a ballast train in the summer of 2003/2004.

Another story was from over the summer of 2003/2004, when I set off with my young family on a day's adventure through the Brisbane Border Ranges, driving the Lions Road while following the NSW North Coast Line from the back of Beaudesert to Kyogle. After waiting at the top of the Cougal Spiral to photograph a train, the batteries on the camera died and I couldn't buy anymore until we reached Kyogle. Deciding to drive south to Casino and cut across to Byron Bay to stay the night before heading back to Brisbane the next day, my wife Denise became excited for me when we passed a slow train on the highway near Nammoona. Pulling off to the side of the road in a hurry at a level crossing that was only a short distance in front of us, I jumped out with my camera ready and the sound of crossing bells chiming in my ears only to discover the train had stopped and was now travelling backwards away from us. The bells stopped chiming, the traffic continued across the railway line once more and I remember returning to the car shaking my head and saying, "of all the luck." Just as I started the car to continue on our way, the crossing lights sprang to life and the distant rumble of two diesels filled the air once more. I jumped from the car again and this time snapped 42109 with a 422 class diesel tucked in behind as they struggled up the crest of a grade with a loaded ballast train. My guess is the train stalled on the hill leading up to the road crossing and needed a bigger run-up. For a weekend of chasing trains, it was the only photo I returned home with!

It was stories such as these that prompted me to put together my photographic memoir titled 30 Years Chasing Trains, but funnily enough the memories of that train chasing mis-adventure with my young family, (back before my kids grew up and moved out of home), made adding 42109 to my small layout all that more special.

I had to go out and buy my new Auscision model before the 2017 Brisbane Model Train Show weekend to operate as a partner-in-crime with my Pacific National 82 Class loco. The model performed faultlessly over the entire weekend and is easily the nicest locomotive I've owned to date. Bringing the Bulldog back to Philden has been a special moment for me. Just like the first CountryLink Xplorer I owned was sold, and later came back in the original phase I CountryLink livery, the original candy liveried 421 that I also sold over a year ago has now come back in another form, this time in the much more era-appropriate Interail livery that perfectly positions it in the 2002-2005 era I find myself modelling on Philden.

Through a lot of trial and error, I am now happy enough with the roster I have built for my small layout, and will hopefully look at adding just one more locomotive to Philden in the coming year. I think a sound equipped loco capable of operating on DC mode will be the order of the day, and nothing that doesn't belong between 2002-2005. I had a close look at Southern Rail Models' West Australian L class while at the Brisbane Model Train Show, and one of those would look terrific working back and forth in the Interail livery which it wore from 2003, whereas the L's didn't dress-up in Pacific National colours until 2006, after they were purchased from ATN. They had a great offer on the ATN Access sound-equipped locos over the weekend, but as they only pulled grain trains and there's no room for wheat silos on Philden, it was a well-educated pass. Besides, my wife really likes the Interail livery.

So for now I'm going to let it all be a bit of wishful thinking for later this year, and simply enjoy having the Bulldog back. I'll also be following with interest SDS Model's 81 class refresh of the former Austrains model, only this time with sound, after ruling out the Auscision Models 442 class as the only paint schemes on offer for the mid 2000's was the R&H Transport (again, only seen on container trains) and the unique CFCLA livery (which didn't really see much service on anything before being donated to the GL rebuild program). With wet weather the forecast for the weekend, I'm going to weather up my NCTY steel wagons and the NLJX louvered van.

See also; The ALMOST Mail Train and Review; Auscision Models' 421 Class