Large Scale Central

What would you pay?

General Discussion
#21

Daniel Collins said:

The Chattanooga loco runs pretty well, and chuffs. It should be better once I clean it and lube it. The Santa Fe loco sort of runs in fits and starts, much of which I attribute to the amount of corrosion on the wheels and contacts. I may just use it as scenery, or put a new chassis under it. The passenger cars are in good shape, and have metal wheels and lighting. The freight cars are in decent shape with plastic wheels, which I will have to change out.

Does that mean you bought them from him? How much $$ ?

#22

Haven’t paid him yet. The deal was I could bring them home and check them out first. I’m giving him $100.

#23

Good deal

#24

#25

Daniel,

The way the Chattanooga runs and sounds, I think $100 for it and all the cars and the other loco and tender, you made a very good deal!

Adam

#26

Envious am I!

#27

At todays exchange rate 100 USD = £71.7234 GBP (give or take a few cents)… its the bargain of the year!!

Nice one.

#28

Of course, I now have the choice of converting it to DCC, or buying a decent DC set-up, as they came with the original very marginal DC controller.

#29

I suppose I could leave my 0-6-0 and rail bus DCC, leave the #12 4-6-0 DC, and convert the #49 4-6-0 to battery power.

#30

Daniel Collins said:

I suppose I could leave my 0-6-0 and rail bus DCC, leave the #12 4-6-0 DC, and convert the #49 4-6-0 to battery power.

There is an article on the Ottawa Valley GRS web site on how to convert the Bachmann 4-6-0 to battery power and radio control.

http://ovgrs.org/the-trains/sound/bachmann-4-6-0-annie/

Bob I used the icon to show the “battery power and radio control” as a link.

But it did not show as a link.

#31

DCC!

#32

Greg Elmassian said:

DCC!

I had guessed this would be your vote.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)

#33

Yeah, well all the new stuff for sound and motor control is DCC, so why fight progress? (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

I’ve been having too much fun with sound and speakers and smoke, all the stuff that can be odds with finding room for batteries and power consumption.

Greg

#34

Yes, but do I want to spend $150+ to install DCC in a loco I paid next to nothing for, and wasn’t very expensive when new?

#35

Right, you put a $30 decoder in it, as opposed to a $40 battery! (and something towards a charger)

Greg

#36

Daniel, even a poor cut of meat can make for great BBQ with a little work.

What you paid for the item or its original value is irrelevant. If you like how it looks or decide to use it as the basis for a kit-bash/conversion it is the end result that matters. You like DCC, so go DCC with all the frills. You can always pull those electronics out and put them in a different engine later.

We spend our whole lives stressing over the budget, providing for the family, fulfilling all of our obligations personal and professional. That job is now passed to the next generation. Its your retirement time, enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of labor and make no apologies for enjoying your hobby (not even to yourself). Spend the $150. Shit, go buy two boards just so you have a spare!

#37

Daniel Collins said:

Yes, but do I want to spend $150+ to install DCC in a loco I paid next to nothing for, and wasn’t very expensive when new?

Like Boomer said;

What you paid for the item or its original value is irrelevant. If you like how it looks or decide to use it as the basis for a kit-bash/conversion it is the end result that matters.

So you got it for cheep, good for you, that leaves more in the budget for upgrades. If the thing does what you want it to do, then does the original MSRP matter? I say no, no it doesn’t. Just don’t load the locomotive down with a dozen cars and expect it to last forever. The first train I run every year on my railroad is a Bachmann Reading set, its kind of a tradition here. The set looks good and runs well, even if it was a cheep set, I like it, I run it, and I would upgrade the drive when and if it finally fails, even though I got the set for cheep on a closeout sale.

#38

Greg Elmassian said:

Right, you put a $30 decoder in it, as opposed to a $40 battery! (and something towards a charger)

Greg

Which decoder are you speaking of?

#39

You can cheap decoders that will handle the current that are motor and lights only.

An NCE or Digitrax comes to mind.

As David said, it’s really not what you paid, but what it’s worth. In fact getting a loco for less money, should allow you to spend MORE on the electronics, i.e. the total cost of a loco to run.

But, enough lecturing from us guys… NCE D408 are cheap, $45 new, and you could find used (like the loco), and that’s a g scale decoder… you could really use an HO decoder that handled a couple of amps, and should be able to find one for $30 with a bit of effort.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-ESU-54612-LokPilot-V4-0-multiprotocol-decoder-MM-DCC-SX-NIB/192422715593?hash=item2ccd49a0c9:g:DigAAOSw6lRaVQ4v

here’s one with sound: https://www.ebay.com/itm/MRC-HO-Scale-DCC-16-Bit-Sound-Decoder-Light-Steam-9-Pin-Plugin-w-Harness-112500/391529718912?epid=1678495412&hash=item5b28fd6480:g:SwQAAOSw1NFaDvp0

Greg

#40

It makes sense, and I’ll likely go dcc. I need to find a good control and sound combo.