So you’ve decided to get into model railways. Congratulations and welcome to the fold. It’s a beautiful hobby that can be practised in many different ways, and all of them are equally valid.
You’ve probably already read a bit about Digital Command Control, or DCC, and maybe you’ve already decided to go for it. If you’re still wondering if you should let me make the decision easier for you: yes, you want DCC. Unless you’re planning to run one single train on a simple oval around your Christmas tree, DCC can only benefit you. And that’s despite its learning curve.
So now you’re well on your way to the next question, and it is possibly one of the most asked questions by any DCC beginner, in any given forum:
Which digital system should I get?
Depending on location, place of discourse and other factors, the terms command station, command central, digital system or digital controller may be used interchangeably. We are talking about the device that makes your trains go. Buying one of these is something that should be considered thoroughly, as there are a multitude of options in all price classes, catering to different requirements and tastes. Navigating these options while trying to understand what you need can be all kinds of daunting.
This question is asked in virtually any model railway related forums with unshakeable regularity, and just as regularly people will instinctively answer with a recommendation for the system they know, like and/or prefer. This is fraught with peril, as different people have different preferences. If all you ever know is a single system, you can’t really know if other systems might be more suitable to what the person asking the questions wants to do. Given the different aspects above, it’s hard for a beginner to know what you want or don’t want to do off the bat – but you probably want to keep your options open until you can confidently make a decision.
Some people will tell you to get what your local club has, or what is most common in your market. A reason often given is that this way you’ll have people who know the system and can help you with it. I sincerely invite you to studiously ignore this particular piece of advice. Seriously, disregard it, unless you’re planning to spend disproportionately more time in such a club than with your own layout and setup. A club has vastly different requirements from a home layout, their layouts tend to be bigger and cater for multiple simultaneous operators. At home you’ll likely be the only or at least main operator, and so you’re better off buying what works for you. Few things will sour your model railway hobby more than a command station you actively dislike because it doesn’t cater to your preferences.
From my own experience, the best advice I can give you is: follow your instincts. Look around what’s available. Something is bound to catch your eye, and you’ll think “oh, this looks nice”, or “that seems like it’ll be fun to use”. The best thing you can do in that moment is to home in on that option – research it, figure out the pros and cons, and if there’s nothing massively speaking against it – go with it. It may be that you pick an expensive system, but going through cheaper systems one by one to figure out the hard way what you don’t like isn’t going to be much cheaper in the end. It may be that you pick a system which has a lot of features you might not use initially – that’s fine, overkill is deeply underrated. And it’s better to have and not need than the other way round.
When I first looked at getting into DCC, I researched available command stations, and one option immediately jumped out at me: the ESU ECoS. It simply looked like something I wanted to use. But at the time I could neither afford it nor justify the expense. I started out with a Hornby eLink – a small computer interface included with a starter set. It had software included and got me started, but that was about it. I next got an NCE PowerCab, for the main reason that it was the most recommended system out here. As can be read elsewhere, that didn’t last either. My next step was a black box central, the DR5000, which enabled app control. I went with that for quite some time, but due to some ongoing niggling problems as well as my increased dislike for app control, I ultimately decided to throw money at the problem and went with my original preference. And now I ask myself why I hadn’t done that from the start.
I’m not going to go and tell anyone that they should get an ECoS. It’s a big upfront expense, and a pricey ecosystem to be in. Some people dislike its fixed, dashboard-like nature and prefer the freedom of movement that comes with a wireless hand-held controller. Many people like controlling their trains with an app – I personally don’t, I prefer having my eye on the train and my hand on a physical control dial. Again, here is where everyone has to figure out what works for them, and sometimes it will take several attempts at that. Your first command station does not have to be your last one (but it would be great if it could be).
You may ask: which options should I consider? So here is a non-exhaustive list of currently available command stations that are modern and expandable, at different price levels, in no particular order (note: some of these links are in German):
Entry Level
Digitrax Zephyr Express DCS52
Roco z21 start
TCS LT-50
Uhlenbrock Daisy II
Piko SmartControl
Advanced
YaMoRC YD7xxx series
Tams MC2
Uhlenbrock Intellibox 2neo (about to be replaced by the Intellibox 3)
Digitrax DCS240
TCS CS-105
Lenz LZV200
ESU CabControl
Fichtelbahn/BiDiB
Lokstoredigital
High End
ESu ECoS 50220
Zimo MX10
Roco Z21
Märklin CS3
For Tinkerers
Once again, the best advice I can give you, that anyone should give you, is to use your guts. Figure out what you like, then go from there. If you’re going to are fortunate enough to have a model train shop close by where you might be able to try out at least one or two available system, that might help, but not everyone is so lucky, and telling good shops from bad shops is another matter entirely. Your instincts are your best guide. Good luck out there, and if this wasn’t enough to keep you busy for a spell, part II goes into a bit more depth and talks about what to avoid.