Hello everyone, I’m hoping to tap into the vast amount of experience contained by the members of the OGR forum for some advice and hope this is the right area to post this question.
Background:
I am in the early stages of construction on a new layout and I currently have some limited experience with TMCC and Legacy as I have used it on a previous one.
On the old layout I had two long loops of track about 46 feet long each. I ran a 12 gauge bus wire with feeders every 8 to 10 feet. The Legacy system was connected with a TMCC base and I had 1 TPC 400 with 2 180W Bricks powering each loop so I could run command and conventional.
For the new layout I would like to incorporate the MTH DCS system as well as TMCC / Legacy. I have zero experience with DCS and do not currently own any MTH engines. I purchased Barry Broskowitz book on DCS and have read it (It’s a very informative book) but I’m more of a hands on guy when it comes to learning and without having the system in hand it makes it difficult for me to completely understand.
The new layout will be Atlas track and switches with some Ross switches as well.
1st Question:
From a control standpoint which system is better suited to be the primary system for controlling switches and accessories as well as trains? Would legacy be a better choice or would the DCS system be a better choice?
I’m attaching an RR-Track file and a BMP of the track plan to this post as that may be a contributing factor in deciding which system is better suited to be used as the primary one.
2nd Question:
From looking at the track plan would you guys think it is not a good candidate for DCS based on the fact that it follows around the walls and through a few rooms? Anyone have any experience with installing DCS on a large around the walls layout?
From what I have read the DCS system is not well suited for bus wiring and since my layout follows around the walls and through a few rooms, I don’t think DCS would work well if installed that way.
When I started planning this layout and was only thinking of using Legacy / TMCC I was going to wire with a bus and divide the layout into 4 power districts using one TPC 400 with two 180W bricks for each district . I was planning on incorporate toggles in small panels for block wiring near the location of the tracks being blocked on the layout.
3rd Question:
Does Legacy / TMCC work well if this is wired in a star pattern for DCS? Or is that not really an issue for Legacy / TMCC. Does DCS run conventional as well as the TPC 400’s do?
I only own a couple of old Lionel and a few newer Williams conventional engines. I was thinking of eventually converting them to TMCC so maybe I should just go command only at this point anyway.
I know I will have more question as I progress with this so any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
