Hello everyone,
I got a question for you all that about 2 months of intrawebz surfing hasn't come up with an answer for me. I have been almost dead set on DC for my layout I plan on building and am getting close to the bench construction phase. The design is down, and I've been buying locomotives + rolling stock for awhile whenever I see a good deal. Here's the catch though, I have toyed around the idea of going DCC and installing decoders but haven't because of 1 engine I really want to run on it. My DD40X in PRR colors I plan on using for the coal drag (main feature of my layout) is still the DC variety. I have yet to see how to wire up the twin motor assembly with a single decoder.
The only idea I've come up with is, removing the connecting drive shaft between the motors, electrically isolating them from each other, installing TWO decoders, 1 to each motor assembly and then programming them to act like two different engines but have matching speed settings to keep the whole thing from dragging or pushing the truck wheels on either side of the chassis. Anyone else have experience in this that could enlighten me as to if this would work, or should be avoided? I was told by my hobby store train guy to just put it on display if I liked it that much. Well I do want to display it...as it's pulling a 15 car coal line through my fictitious setting, not sitting pretty in a cabinet. I may get to that day one day, but I am wanting to do it also for the challenge of making it happen.
It's really only thing holding me back from going to DCC. I don't want to automate my layout too much but having lights, sounds and ability to do wireless control would be ideal since I enjoy switching and spotting cars more so than following a train through scenery and according to my Anyrail program, I have 403' of total track to run on so ability to move freely without back and forth to a stationary cab is making me re-think my hardline DC approach.
I got a question for you all that about 2 months of intrawebz surfing hasn't come up with an answer for me. I have been almost dead set on DC for my layout I plan on building and am getting close to the bench construction phase. The design is down, and I've been buying locomotives + rolling stock for awhile whenever I see a good deal. Here's the catch though, I have toyed around the idea of going DCC and installing decoders but haven't because of 1 engine I really want to run on it. My DD40X in PRR colors I plan on using for the coal drag (main feature of my layout) is still the DC variety. I have yet to see how to wire up the twin motor assembly with a single decoder.
The only idea I've come up with is, removing the connecting drive shaft between the motors, electrically isolating them from each other, installing TWO decoders, 1 to each motor assembly and then programming them to act like two different engines but have matching speed settings to keep the whole thing from dragging or pushing the truck wheels on either side of the chassis. Anyone else have experience in this that could enlighten me as to if this would work, or should be avoided? I was told by my hobby store train guy to just put it on display if I liked it that much. Well I do want to display it...as it's pulling a 15 car coal line through my fictitious setting, not sitting pretty in a cabinet. I may get to that day one day, but I am wanting to do it also for the challenge of making it happen.
It's really only thing holding me back from going to DCC. I don't want to automate my layout too much but having lights, sounds and ability to do wireless control would be ideal since I enjoy switching and spotting cars more so than following a train through scenery and according to my Anyrail program, I have 403' of total track to run on so ability to move freely without back and forth to a stationary cab is making me re-think my hardline DC approach.