The best accessory you ever bought


J

julienjj

Noodle is good
What is best of the best gadget for your train you ever bought ? from an bright boy to a simple screwdriver, or a dcc part... whatever you used to get something done quicker and better
 
Actually I didn't buy it myself. A group of modelers put up the money so I could get a Digitrax Zephyr. To me that's the best money I've ever spent on a single item. To anyone waffling between DC and DCC I say get off the fence and take the dive into DCC. You don't know what you're missing.
 
It is rare that I disagree with Jeff, but I don't consider DCC an accessory. It might as well be dog poop if I didn't have it...it's vital for my MRR experience, just as if it were an only locomotive. :p

Sooooooo.....I would have to say my Opti-Visor ranks right up at the top. I don't know if you have one, Jeff, but in view of your circumstances, and me at mine, working on teensy things in HO (forget N) is a challenge many times, and I would be on the beach without a visor.

Now, if one were to quibble and say a tool is not an accessory, then I would offer the Digitrax PSX-AR digital reverser. I have one hidden away...and essentially forgotten. It quietly does what it is meant to do, and it works flawlessly. I just run my trains through the reversing loop to turn them, and it is like any other place on the layout.

-Crandell
 
Getting DCC was the best and then sound for my locos. It makes it a totally different experience to have 4 units on a mixed freight train and they all have sound.
 
I would say getting an NCE DCC system over a decade ago and most recent item that I got was the NWSL Chopper II, One of the best tools for cutting that I have used, which has been used very often since buying it.
 
Most of the accessories I've picked up have seen the amount of use I expected, except one:

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+ pin vise. I bought it for the grab iron holes on a Silver Streak kit I built, expecting to need it only occasionally after that, but I've used it on every kit I've built since.
 
Selector said:
It is rare that I disagree with Jeff, but I don't consider DCC an accessory. It might as well be dog poop if I didn't have it...it's vital for my MRR experience, just as if it were an only locomotive. :p

Sooooooo.....I would have to say my Opti-Visor ranks right up at the top. I don't know if you have one, Jeff, but in view of your circumstances, and me at mine, working on teensy things in HO (forget N) is a challenge many times, and I would be on the beach without a visor.
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No, I don't have an Opti-visor. I can't do that tiny detail work anyway as my hands shake too much. If I were to say what tool is the best I have I would have to say the Dremel rotary tool. I have 2 corded models. A 15 year old multi-pro and a new model 300 which I just picked up this week. The old unit still works well. The only part I've had to replace on it is the brushes.
 
The dremel is pretty good pick, i have the smallest one but it aint scared by any big jobs. I have a set of little claws that are linked togeter with a flexible metal cord, very usefull for holding piece to glue togeter
 
I think a better name for this thread would have been "best tool you ever bought".

My best tool would probably be my micro screw driver kit. Tied for 1st would be my exacto knifes, hobby knifes, and foam, yes foam. Not only for scenery, i use it to build stuff like campers for the beds of pickups and even a cupola for a caboose. By best accessory would be my MOW Highrailers, they are just my favorites.
 
Pack of small/micro screwdrivers. a must for model railroading. Dont know how I wouldve ever gotten a coupler pocket off a locomotive without them.
 
Best accessory for me by far is the NCE Switch 8, it totally enhanced operations beyond words.
Best tool... I'd have to go with the Dremel as well.
 
My Dremel tool is my favorite w/over 100 accessories to go w/it. I'm on my 4th one in as many years. My next buy will be the new 300 like Jeff just got. I've been looking at it since it came out & I gotta have 1. I use mine almost everyday. I have 2 air operated die grinders w/over 200 acc.'s, but, the Dremel gets used a lot more.
 
IMO, I think a lot of guys have tools confused with accessories. Screwdrivers and other basic hand tools and exacto knives are pretty much a necessity for doing any sort of real model railroad work. Therefore, I would consider those tools and not accessories. IMO, accessories are more of an add on to another tool or item you have. A likely tool or item that makes your life easier to do those things we do in this hobby. But...Not an item that you need to have to get the job done.

I suppose you could consider something like a Dremel an accessory. There are other ways to get perticular jobs done without the use of one. But the Dremel makes life a lot easier and quicker. There can be many things we use in this hobby that are like that.
 
I would have to say my favorite tool, in terms of money spent -vs- hours of use, is my Zona Spiral Hand Drill. That thing enables me to drill a lot more holes in a much shorter time than a standard pin vise, and microscopic drill bits are less likely to break.
 
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