WTB Rail Pro Products ?

[LVRR1856]

Hi All,
Still in research mode for my layout build.
Rail Pro certainly has my attention over DCC. I love the system from what I see demonstrated on you tube.

I have over 100 DC locos, 60% dcc ready (8 pin), but having a hard time kneeling to the RP alter.

When I search for vendors I only see limited stock, I see notes on some vendors sites that say -could take 6 months to get RP products,
William Ballinger warehouse is closing in US, I live 10 miles from Yankee Dabbler, they don't have any decent stock of modules.
Some other vendors have scattered assortment and limited on modules ?

Is there a problem with Rail Pro ? Is there a fear that they are checking out ?
Is there a better go-to vendor that has good stock ? or can at least order it ?

Videos on YT are 7 to 10 years old. Not much new, all have the older HC-1s & 2s, don't see any demos with the HC-3.

I don't see any ads in MR or MRC mags.

Again - I really like the system, but don't want to invest in something that is getting ready to tank out.

[Smoke]

RailPro is a solid system with a loyal following, but it’s true that Ring Engineering keeps a relatively low profile. They don’t advertise heavily in magazines or attend trade shows, so the overall visibility is much lower compared to the big DCC brands. That said, from what I understand, Ring discontinued EOT production specifically to focus more on RailPro — and there’s no indication that the system is going anywhere.

I used to do all my RailPro ordering through Bill (who also graciously hosts this forum), but now that Scale Sound Systems has become a RailPro vendor (https://www.scalesoundsystems.com/railpro?page=2), I’ll start ordering from JT. I recently added an LM-3S-21 module to a speaker order and received everything promptly — no delays.

My hobby time is pretty limited these days, so I can’t speak in detail to how current vendor stock compares to past years. But I’ve had no issues getting what I need recently.

If you’d like to try out the system with a minimal upfront investment, consider purchasing a CL-1 and a module — you can then operate a locomotive directly from your computer using the HC Simulator.

There’s a helpful community here and on the RailPro Facebook group with plenty of users who are happy to share advice on installs, wiring, and sound setup.

[William Brillinger]

My Warehouse closing has nothing to do with RP's popularity, the 3rd party location we used went out of business because of the tariff situation. Railpro cannot be imported into Canada where I live and work, so I had a 3rd party place just across the border handling the storage and shipping. I've been recommending Scale Sounds Systems as a supplier because they have pricing that was similar to mine. RailPro has been very popular with the Large Scale crowd lately, and they still advertise in MRH, which as far as I know, is the only publication they ever advertised in. Ring has no Minimum order for dealers but order fulfillment can take 2 to 5 weeks depending on their production schedule. There is no reason your local dealer should have to wait 6 months.

[LVRR1856]

Thanks for your replies - certainly encouraging. I can see that it is very popular among the large scale users, hence the lack of visibility in smaller scale mags. Makes sense. Also I can understand low stocking of a product that isn't as popular as dcc, again makes sense from a business view.

I will try Scale Sound Systems - searches did not land me to them when searching RP. Sounds like (no pun) a win win for speaker needs and RP stuff.

Excellent - thanks again Smoke and William for the information, I think I have one leg over the fence .... LOL, can't wait to try it. (Got to build something first) ....

[carpediem4570]

I realize I’m a little late to the parade.  I just wanted to mention looking for used product. 

I just purchased 15 lm3s chips for my winter projects.  The added benefit is they are a bit less expensive, and they came with extra wiring, which also costs money.

Being in Canada our dollar isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on so, cost is a factor.

Also, being in Canada and ordering railpro from the U.S.A. isn’t an issue UNLESS your package gets flagged for further examination.  Railpro does not have Canadian telecommunications approvals.  This could result in seizure.  I ordered my starter kit from yankee dabbler three years ago and there was no problem receiving my order.

I went with railpro because of the easy to use hand controller.  That made all the difference for me. That touch screen is wonderful.

Kind regards,
Max

[LVRR1856]

Look on in the classified section "drisdon" is selling a bunch of used modules ... he also has a ad on the RP FB page.

[LVRR1856]

Might be too late - saw update on FB that they were sold ...

[Coupe633]

LVRR1856 I began the investment in Raipro about 6 and a half years ago and have been very pleased with my choice. As we head into the colder months I plan my usual conversion from DC to Railpro for up to 10 locomotives while sitting by the fireplace. At this time it does seem that everyone I look out is out of stock of even the WH-9 wiring harnesses which is what I need to get started and takes most of the time to install. I have faith that a new stock will come in before the new year so I can do my next batch. I have about 70 locomotives and this should be the second to last batch I need to convert if I can stop my nasty habit of buying more locomotives.

I generally bought everything from William at Precision Design and have been very happy, but am excited to be looking to make my purchases from Scale Sound as I have purchased many speakers from them. Not sure if the tariffs are slowing the delivery of new stock of LM3's but I am hopeful that they will be plentiful again by December. I am not at all worried about Ring Engineering going the way of Betamax or Polaroid and understand that there are sometimes supply chain issues.

What you might want to consider is leaving your DCC units be for now and going forward install Railpro in the unconverted locomotives with a yearly plan of what is reasonable for your budget and time. By the time you get 10 of those non-DCC locomotives running Railpro you will quickly make plans to remove the DCC from your existing locomotives and make the switch. You can run you Railpro trains on your DCC track so you can still have both for now. Once you complete the installation of the last of your non-DCC locomotives you will want to continue working backwards into the DCC trains by changing out your decoders to LM3's. This is a compromise without giving up your DCC (for now) trains as they will all work on the same tracks but you won't be able to MU the Railpro with the DCC locomotives unless you want to drive yourself crazy. I hope this gives you some encouragement to take a step into the nice warm Railpro water while still being in DCC water. 

[LVRR1856]

Hey Coupe633
Thanks for the vote of confidence on RP. I did take the plunge and bought a starter kit HC3/PWR56/CB from Sound Systems, a handful of different types of speakers. Also purchased some LM3s's and 4 LMs from a private sale. So I am committed. Actually finished my first install and fired it up and tried it out - so far so good, I am happy with it.

I did a Atlas C424 loco, had 8 pin plug, had to cut some of the weight to fit speaker, but it all worked out. My first go with RP.

Also, I never took the dcc route, I am all DC on the other side. Almost did, was about to dive into Digitrax ... saw RP and made a hard 180.

Operating the RP on my first go was so easy, next is a 2nd C424 and will try a lash up. Stoked for now. Thanks again, I'm going to need about 149 more LMs .... (really need to thin the heard), I'm a loco hoarder like most

[trainman605]

Model railroad products are in many cases in limited supply, everyone who models in model railroading knows that, it's just the market and supply of low production products. Our G scale garden railway club is about 75% RailPro at this time with most running RailPro are only powering 3-5 engines with RailPro battery control, yes there are some exceptions, but at $300 per engine to add RailPro to engines many pick and choose which engines they equip with RailPro. I hope the original poster wasn't planning on installing RailPro in all his 100 engines, wouldn't that be $30,000. trainman

[gregeusa]

Some people can afford that, and also why hope he's not installing 100 units?

Buying 100 will help the hobby and Ring company and help keep our hobby alive.

[LVRR1856]

Well let's just say over the last few months the count has grown to about 150. (I have a train hoarding problem)...

Of the 150 probably 50 are childhood junkers and father-in-law projects that are not worthy of the investment.
I plan to be able to use straight DC when using the old stuff. Also plan on unloading quite a few and using the cash to buy RP stuf and other train stuff ... track/switches/cork RB/ .... more loco's

I would estimate that overtime - I may Railpro around 50 locos. Being HO, a LM3s, speaker, and KA, maybe a 8 to 9 pin harness ...
Lets say about $150/ea x 50 = $7500, even if the number drifts north of that ... say $10K (66@150) ... still not terrible, especially over time.

Also, probably won't use Sound and KAs in all of them, so a good portion will have no sound LM3s which are about $70 ...

Compared to what some sink into their dcc setups, the Railpro system is certainly more economical.
G scale is certainly in a class of it's own tho, agreed.