So, what did we get from the first haul?
We spent a good hour in the store, evaluating options and asking questions. Not a lot of details had been determined upfront. We knew it would be H0 scale or equivalent, and we knew it would be DCC. Everything else was open at that point.
Standing in that particular store, two things became quickly obvious: the scale with the most variety offered was 00, and the most dominant brands, as far as rolling stock is concerned, were Hornby and Bachmann, with Hornby having a vastly larger selection of locomotives. This may be different in other stores (of which we don’t have too many at comfortable driving distance), and of course online shops have a larger variety on show, though not always available.
As far as DCC goes, we went to the shop two weeks after Christmas, so there were a fair few things they didn’t have in stock. Among those were DCC controllers. Since those come with a hefty price tag at any rate, I decided to do a bit more research, and get a set with a DCC computer interface and corresponding software in the meantime. This set contained a small 0-6-0 steam locomotive, three cars and enough track material for a simple oval with third-radius curves.
On top of that, we bought another locomotive, a bigger steamie with DCC and sound decoder, plus a car for it to pull.
Finally, we bought more track in the shape of a track starter set. However, it’s track from a different manufacturer – more about that in the next post.
With that, we have enough track material for a double oval with second- and third-radius curves. We can run two trains independently without getting in each other’s way. And once the points are motorised, the layout will be a bit more fun.
Whether it will stay a double oval or become something different entirely, we will see. Stay tuned.
