I have a platform in my basement 19' x 7', dual layer, 260' of laid track, 28 swiches and a turn table. my homebru switch panel is a resistive capacitive circuit for throwing switch motors, done thru hermettically sealed double latching relays. when a switch is thrown the cap won't re-charge until the push button has been re-leased(no switch motor melt-downs)home bru pwr. sup can do 5 engines at different speeds and is digitally pulsed dc, reducing arcing between tracks and wheels, none of my engines have needed to be cleaned in 2 yrs. Is dcc conversion feasable,and at what cost.

-- Vincent Allen (donnavin@comcast.com), July 12, 2003

Answers

Assume you keep your present scheme for powering switch machines... Budget: $600 for DCC including 1 cab throttle, pwr supply & 1 booster. $20-45 per loco for decoders. ($$ depends on features) $150 per each added booster & xfmr. (You might need 0 or 1 or 2 depending on how many trains you actually run at the same time.) $80 - $125 for each additional cab throttle. $10-15 each for (nice looking) plug-in facia plates. (one every 10-12 ft) $125 each for sound in each loco. (if you want it) $150, +$90 each cab to jump to radio control.

-- Don Vollrath (dvollrath@magnetek.com), July 14, 2003.