Postby sarge » Wed Sep 17, 2025 6:53 am
When you think about it, there is no need to be corralled in by some brand's proprietary control system at all.
The limit might be the use of just about any model made from 1990 on with can motors in it. Not much of a limit, 'cause there is a faeces-load of this stuff out there.
You could go the route Wayne is showing, minimum outlay, simple DC power supply and DPDT switch drives them "conventionally" whether its with an MRC power pack or Wayne's duplication using what he has lying about. Just hook pickup leads to motor leads in the locos and, using the above, you get slow-fast and forwards-reverse. You want a headlight, wire in a bulb of appropriate size and voltage in parallel. Lots of stuff lying about with burned out or obsolete electronics to rope in cheap. No brand loyalty required.
From that basic configuration, you can go as far as you want with commercially available stuff at the hobby shop. You want sound and independent control, DCC drops in in exactly the same manner as in HO. Battery power in the manner of so-called "Deadrail"? Why not. Want to run your stuff with your phone, there's Blunami (Soundtraxx blue-tooth system).
No brand loyalty or proprietary control systems required. Running conventional control requires about no effort at all and no reverser boards let alone anything else, arguably as simple to manage as postwar stuff. Going further into modern control systems, the stuff is readily available in hobby shops or internet sales, the communities are large and knowledgable, the stuff is designed for the hobbiest to be able to work with, and the potential equals anything the proprietary systems offer but without being slave to one brand, to "service stations", to professional installers, any of that. Best of all, your models never, ever, become obsolete.
