dcc

[ali]

hi

as you know I'm new in this hobby.
so i have many questions.

i want to know what is the best way?
dc?
or
dcc?

[Chris350]

Oh boy, you might as well ask whether folks like vanilla ice cream or chocolate....  It all depends upn what you desire to accomplish.  More details about what you are planning might get you a better range of suggestions.

[OldTimer]

Hey, Ali,
Welcome to the world's greatest hobby....seriously! 

Here's the deal.  With DC cab control, you control the track.  With DCC, you control the train.  If all you plan on doing is having a small switching layout with one engine, you might as well us DC.  But, as soon as you add a second engine, DCC begins to make sense.  Hopefully, someone at your LHS can demonstrate DCC to you.

If I were just getting started today, I'd buy a good quality train set.  Make sure that the loco is DCC ready.  Build a small, expendable layout.  Experiment with the basics of model railroading: construct benchwork, make scenery, wire, build kits.  At some point, when you feel like it, you can buy a DCC starter set, put a decoder in your locomotive, and keep learning. 

I really hope model railroading is fun for you.  It certainly has kept me off the streets for a lot of years.

Old Timer   

[Jim Banner]

You have received some good advice, although I am wondering if Old Timer meant an expendable layout or an expandable layout.  My take on dc or DCC is to go to DCC when you decide you would like to run two or more trains on the same track at the same time.  Running two locomotives on one train or two trains on two separate tracks or two trains one at a time all work well on dc.  This leaves you free to learn all the other ins and outs of model railroading without having to learn about DCC at the same time.

If you want to run multiple trains on a single track, and you want to do it right away, then you may want to go to DCC right away.  In this case, I suggest you start off with a simple DCC system like E-Z Command so that you can run trains on DCC right away.  Later you can upgrade to a more elaborate and more expensive system when you have more time to learn about it.

Jiim

[NarrowMinded]

I'll just mention with DCC you can control features on your locomotives separately, like the train sitting still with the lights on.

If you have sound it opens up a whole new world, there are tons of sounds and not just whistle and chuff, there are idling sounds, the sounds of the dynamo starting up on a steamer, wrenches being dropped.

I too recommend you go to a train shop and have them demo DCC w/sound

NM