Introduce Yourself...

[Gp10trainman]

Good evening, my name is Ron Long from Blue Ridge, GA. I retired from 40 years in Residential Construction and 15 years as a Conductor and General Manager of The Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad. I am moving my wood shop to make way for my HO Scale logging railroad. Should be ready to start construction of my  RR in about 3 months. Today I successfully down loaded software from RailPro and ran my first locomotive up and down my 4 ' test track. Eureka! Still have a ways to got with sound, lights, etc. I appreciate all of the help I have gotten from this site which was one of the reasons I went with RailPro.

[atsfguy]

 Welcome to the group! There is a great deal of information of a general model railroading nature available and more Railpro information than one can absorb in one day. Don’t be shy in asking for advice, everyone started at the same level.
  Again, welcome.

Cecil Collum
North central Ohio
atsfguy

[IDRick]

Hello,

I live in Idaho and go by the tag IDRick.  I built a dc layout back in the 90's when my son was young but have put the RR aside for many years (okay, decades).  Looking to getting back into the hobby as I'm within a few years of retirement.  I've been reading MR for decades and find DCC intriguing but a bit too complicated for me.  I was thrilled when I read about the Railpro system and watched the videos.  Much closer to my interest and much easier to setup!

I do have a couple questions.  Our old locomotives were purchased in the mid 90's (5 Athearn blue box and 2 Proto2000 by LL).  I have watched videos that showed how to add a nine pin plug to an Athearn by using a Digitrax harness (forget the part number of top of my head).  Sadly, this harness is no longer available.

1) Is there a replacement solderless, easy to install harness for the athearn?
2) Is the current draw too high with blue box athearn?
3) Any easy way to decrease current draw on athearn (if it is a concern)?
4) Any thoughts on how to convert the Proto2000?

Thanks!

Rick

[KPack]

Welcome Rick!  I responded to your questions here: https://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php?topic=409.new#new

-Kevin

[B.Lloyd]

Hi my name is Barry Lloyd. I live in rural central Alberta. I started with a Railroad That Grows by Lynn Westcott in the late 50s. I have been in and out of the hobby ever since. I retired last year and my goal is to model C.P. Rail Nelson Sub in the transition era. Spent lots of summers on Kootenay Lake watching the tug Melinda Jane push barges up and down the lake. Main interest would be Nelson to Creston. Currently have NCE. Power Cab but most of my loco’s do not have DCC. Looking for something easy to use and be affordable. Looks like Rail Pro is an option. Just a side note to Bill Brillinger. Was just in Niverville to visit my oldest son. Love the area, the history and people. Can’t wait to go back. Thanks for letting me join.

[TwinStar]

Hello Everyone,

This is Tom McMahon. I've been in and out of model railroading for 35 years. Started in HO and N, then to modern G. Had to sell all the large scale to make room for two beautiful little girls who are now 12 and 9.  Have been following RailPro and it's progress for three or four years. Was super excited when I saw the large scale modules and decided to get back into 'it'......2 rail O scale this time. Large enough for my less-than-perfect vision, and small enough to still build something awesome indoors.

Professionally speaking, I've been in various roles of product development for 20+ years - design, 3D modeling, engineering and prototyping (I was working with 3D printers before it was cool). This translates extremely well to my hobbies and I'm constantly creating 'stuff'.

I'm here for information, and hopefully to add to conversations....share what knowledge I do have  .

Thank you,

Tom

Tom:

Welcome and I'm glad that O scale is working out for you. I was introduced to 3D printing a few years ago and have gone nuts with it. As you know the potential for modeling fidelity is amazing. My first project (which took me a little over 3 years as I had to teach myself SketchUp as well) was an HO scale Triple Underpass from Dealey Plaza in Dallas, TX. The results are impressive.

Welcome aboard!

[G8B4Life]

Hi my name is Barry Lloyd. I live in rural central Alberta.

Welcome to the group Barry. There's plenty to learn here so jump right in.

- Tim

[Tom]

Hello all.  As a kid living near the main lines of the New York Central and Nickle Plate a stones throw from each other, I enjoyed the parade on many summer days, especially the steam.  I dabbled with some HO during those years, but dropped it for 50+ years.  Even after having been retired for a number of years, it took a lost Rivarossi berkshire during a downsizing household move used once a year on a 4 x 5 board with a Christmas tree in the middle to rekindle the interest.  While researching my options for DCC, it took a while before stumbling across RailPro.  Not being a wizard at any of this, it just seemed that RailPro was technologically way ahead of the DCC stuff.  So here I am with my very modest RailPro 4 x 8 layout in my 12 x 12 office.

Tom Hanson

[nodcc4me]

Welcome Tom. You will find some good information in these threads. Feel free to ask questions if you get stuck.

[billb67]

Hi,

My name is Bill and I'm getting back into the hobby, HO scale, after a long absense.  Railpro for me was an easy decision, however, I'm having a difficult time finding "DCC Ready" locos.  Any help would be appreciated.  Many are advertised with sound and Dcc......is this the same as dcc ready?  I ask this because none specify which decoder is installed.  Not knowing anything about DCC, will the installed dcc decoder work with any dcc system.....digitrax...NCE etc? 

thanks in advance

[TwinStar]

Hi,

My name is Bill and I'm getting back into the hobby, HO scale, after a long absense.  Railpro for me was an easy decision, however, I'm having a difficult time finding "DCC Ready" locos.  Any help would be appreciated.  Many are advertised with sound and Dcc......is this the same as dcc ready?  I ask this because none specify which decoder is installed.  Not knowing anything about DCC, will the installed dcc decoder work with any dcc system.....digitrax...NCE etc? 

thanks in advance

Hi Bill and welcome.

A DCC sound equipped locomotive is NOT DCC ready. It already has a DCC decoder and speaker installed. This will be the most expensive loco to convert to RailRro as you'll need to remove most of this to install a RailPro Locomotive Module

A DCC ready locomotive does not have a DCC decoder installed. It typically has an NMRA 8/9 pin harness that you can plug in a DCC decoder. Note that a RailPro Locomotive module will plug directly into the NMRA 9 pin. There is an adapter available between the 8 and 9 pin.

Most everything made in the last 10-15 years (my guess) can easily have an NMRA 9 pin harness installed if it isn't already equipped (Bill sells them) and a RailPro LM installed. I think you have to get into some really old Athearn/Atlas/Roco locos that aren't frame isolated. Someone else will have to elaborate on that.

Most manufacturers offer either DCC ready or DCC sound equipped locos. Broadway Limited only offers DC/DCC Sound locos and they're expensive. I've ripped the guts out of two and really wish they'd offer a DC version. Of course I wish they'd fix about two dozen other things on their E units as well but that's a different topic.

[Alan]

Hi,

My name is Bill and I'm getting back into the hobby, HO scale, after a long absense.  Railpro for me was an easy decision, however, I'm having a difficult time finding "DCC Ready" locos.  Any help would be appreciated.  Many are advertised with sound and Dcc......is this the same as dcc ready?  I ask this because none specify which decoder is installed.  Not knowing anything about DCC, will the installed dcc decoder work with any dcc system.....digitrax...NCE etc? 

thanks in advance

DCC Ready means the locomotive is equipped with a decoder plug and wiring but no decoder. It also has the power pickups are isolated from the frame.
DCC and Sound means the locomotive comes supplied with a decoder installed. Sometimes this is a decoder plugged into a socket, sometimes the supplied decoder is on a circuit board pre-wired inside the locomotive. Sound means a speaker and speaker wiring is pre-installed.
Brand of pre-installed decoder varies with brand of locomotive.
Yes, any DCC decoder will work with any DCC system.

RailPro has a DCC emulation mode but you lose some critical functionality that makes RailPro superior to DCC. If you have a RailPro system it is best to fit your locomotives with RailPro LM modules and forget about DCC completely. DCC ready locos are an easy plug in installation. Even without being DCC ready (no plug) it is a simple task to hard wire in an LM module.

[alarcher]

hello im alan archer and i am a new Ring user.

[TwinStar]

hello im alan archer and i am a new Ring user.

Welcome Alan! Where are you located?

[krleddy]

Bill,

My name is Kevin Leddy and I've just joined.  My primary modeling interest is the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway.  Currently under construction are two Free-mo modules that hopefully will be operational soon.  Also just recently acquired my first RailPro throttle.  I have much to learn but am looking forward to it.