Just starting out in G gauge

S

Sarah Winfield

Registered
Country flag
About 2 years ago I acquired a small green 0-4-0. It was fitted with a DCC decoder. I cannot recall whether I had it running on DCC or whether I ran it in analogue mode. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll find out. My only other piece of stock is a red coach although I am expecting a couple of other pieces of rolling stock.
I do have quite a lot of track including 4 points.
Having tried most gauges now I am on something larger. However, my disappointment has always been poor running due to either bad wiring or simply that I have no skill at this modelling lark!
I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better to accept my limitations and opt for battery power, possibly with R/C.
There were a couple of PIKO locomotives on ebay recently the description said "Faulty" and I think the problem was just a 3 metre radio range please see the attached link.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAULTY-G...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
Since I have only a small backyard about 4 metres x 5 metres I'm considering acquiring one of these locomotives.
Members thoughts would be appreciated please.
 
Sarah...
I've been using battery powered r/c for over 20 years, and have never regretted going that route.
The only advice I can offer is; if you decide on Battery r/c, don't go cheap...have the locomotive you choose, properly converted to a dependable R/C system...don't cut corners. Or if you are able to do it yourself, use the best of effort to wire it properly.
Fred Mills
 
Neil Robinson said:
I'd advise caution with this one. It's not a Piko loco but a cheaper Chinese example.
Take a look here
https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/east-coast-railways-ecr-on-ebay.308289/#post-464771
As it has a known fault already I fear it may fail prematurely.
Click to expand...


As Neil says, that is one of the cheap RC copies by the Chinese firm Newqida (sometimes also sold under the "Train" branding) of the LGB Harz 2-6-2. If you want a cheap and cheerful RC loco then these are reasonably OK provided you understand what you're getting - but I'd strongly suggest buying a good new one, not a faulty "second". I think some of the confusion could be that the Newqida 2-6-2 looks, from some angles, quite similar to the Piko BR80 0-6-0.
Much better, as Fred advised, to get a decent loco (Piko, LGB or whatever) and convert it to RC if you want to not bother with track power. You could always run your LGB Stainz with a battery van behind it, or it is actually quite possible to put all the RC gear AND a decent Lith-Ion battery pack into the Stainz itself as long as you don't mind most of the stuff being inside the cab....

Jon.
 
Do not touch with barge pole ! Sold as faulty means what it says - no warranty. So tough luck if any other bits fail. Special price ? Who are they kidding.

With regards to DC/DCC or battery my suggestion would be KISS. If you feel you do not have the skills then don't start heading down the track that requires additional investment till you know what you want. Join the "G" Scale Society and try to get along to their upcoming annual show. Membership of one of the primary groups in this hobby should give you access to others' railways so you can get a feel to what means of power and operation will best suit your needs before you start shelling out loads of the green/brown/red stuff.

Personally I have run with simple DC track power, progressing over time to mix in live steam, for the past 14 odd years. Follow some basic ground rules on set up and reliable track powered operations are perfectly achievable. I'm a member of the "other" primary group in this hobby - The Association of 16 mm Narrow Gauge Modelers. If you see yourself going down the Battery/Live Steam road they would be the more appropriate choice for inspiration. their big show is in Peterborough of April 7th. Even more food for thought. Max.
 
Nothing wrong with DC or DCC, and you will probably find G scale more forgiving than the smaller gauges? Although laying track on a firm and level base will help!

Your DCC loco will probably work on DC, but if not, we can assist.

I have one of those NQD locos as in the link and it works reasonably well, but as said, I would stay shy of the probable faulty one for sale.

Stick with track power and post up any layout plans here, so that we can check you aren't making any mistakes, such as a reverse polarity loop. We've all been there and done it, and learnt from our own foul ups....
 
Wot the others have said..

There are a cluster of people in the Dorset area on here, so if travelling to one of the shows is a problem, then a visit to a local line might be in the offing??

Spend a few hours reading / watching here:

https://riksrailway.blogspot.co.uk/

Rik post regularly here, and you can easily get 'lost' for a few hours in Peckforton Country! ;)
 
Thank you for your replies and comments.
I would like to see trains running as soon as possible. I understand your cautious remarks about buying those particular locomotives and will steer clear.
So, what do I buy? Whilst money isn't the issue I would like to obtain initially a reasonable quality locomotive, battery powered with control by R/C.
Members thoughts would be appreciated please?
Thanks in advance.
Sarah Winfield
 
If you want "off the shelf" RTR RC/Battery, and narrow gauge(NG) diesels are your thing, then one of Roundhouse's veritable "tanks" are about as good as it gets in the quality, durability and lugging power dept's. But not cheap. http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/ Some other RTR RC/battery locos are available but again mainly NG diesel outline

Otherwise you are probably looking at converting an existing track powered model. Brian Jones does all the necessary kit - speed controller, battery packs, RC TX/RX, chargers and even sound cards. No connections, just a happy customer. He provided the bits to convert my GRS track powered L&B Manning Wardle to RC/Battery.

Get along to the 16 mm NRM here - https://www.16mm.org.uk/ , their quarterly magazine has a lot of suppliers for battery and RC kit listed. RC/Battery is a fast growing part of this hobby because of the development in battery technology. Just make sure what you select to convert has the space for all the gubbins or you'll need a trailer to put it in. Max

2016 new season 005.JPG

Garden Railway Specialists L&B Manning Wardle
 
Last edited:
Thats a bit of a difficult one Sarah. The majority of battery R/C locos are conversions from track powered ones. There are a few R/C ones but they tend to be cheap or expensive. We have looked at the cheap one. Roundhouse make live steam locos but also do some diesel outline R/C models - they are very tough and powerful but not very detailed - also expensive. Playmobil used to make R/C toy trains but the detail is low and the range of the R/C was limited.
Perhaps you start with track power - get some experience, see what others are doing and progress to R/C later. The LGB and Piko starter sets are very good and not bad value. You could probably add Bachmann to that list but I have little experience there.
You cant really go wrong with an LGB Stainz loco - built like the proverbial toilet door!

LGB start set.jpg
 
Buying a ready-to-run battery R/C loco is not really very easy... there are all-metal models of small diesels from the likes of Roundhouse (types like the Little John and Bulldog), but these are quite expensive - you're easily looking at around the £500 mark for one.... true, they are very good quality (built to the same standards and in the same materials as the live steam models), but that is probably considerably more than you will want to spend at this stage!

To be honest, there is very little else out there which comes ready-fitted for RC; in most cases you will need to convert something yourself, or get somebody to do it for you. You MIGHT be lucky and pick up something ready-done on eBay, but then you're back into the realms of not really knowing what you're getting, and how well - or badly - it has been converted.....

I would say that the simplest way for a beginner is to build (or again, have someone build) a battery trail van, a simple boxvan that contains the batteries, radio gear and speed controller etc, which you can then hitch up to a selection of locos, for example the LGB Stainz that you already have - you will still have to do some rewiring of the loco to disconnect the track power pickups, but the loco can then be connected to the RC van via the auxiliary plug socket on the back of the loco cab (most, though not all, LGB locos are equipped with such a plug, intended mainly as a power take-off to run coach lighting - but equally useable the other way round, to feed battery power in to the loco).

Jon.

Edit: As usual, while I was in the middle of typing all the above, others typed faster with broadly similar comments - but I thought I might as well post it anyway! ;)
 
Sarah Winfield said:
So, what do I buy? Whilst money isn't the issue I would like to obtain initially a reasonable quality locomotive, battery powered with control by R/C.
Sarah Winfield
Click to expand...
That seems a very reasonable requirement but I don't know of any ready to run locos other than Roundhouse's that meets it.
Playmobil used to make a toy like but respectable diesel until fairly recently. When they ceased production demand increased for a short while and they commanded silly money.
I think you may have to choose a track powered loco and convert it yourself or get someone to do it for you. Choose a loco with room for the extra equipment or have it in a trailing vehicle.
Edit, several minds thinking alike!
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Thank you for your replies and comments.
Whilst money isn't the issue I would like to obtain initially a reasonable quality locomotive, battery powered with control by R/C.
Click to expand...

There is the LGB Harlequin as an option. Although they only came out a few years ago they seem to be hard to find now. I think the sets were LGB 90202, 90200. Not my idea of a quality loco. Even with rule 8 running a yellow engine seems a bit extream!


The new, yet to be produced, Piko track cleaner is supposed to be battery powered. As far as I am aware, it doesn't include RC as well.
 
Last edited:
Not wishing to start the whole battery v track power debate but would concur with the notes of caution above. All that glitters is not gold. Battery power may seem to be the ultimate panacea for ease of operation but I can testify to the fact it is not. In most instances you've got to pull apart and convert an existing loco.Then you've got to buy some expensive additional kit to make it work Ok, if you go the trailer route you only need do it once....... so long as you only want to run one loco at a time. Then you might have to pull it all apart again to fix the inevitable glitches that happen, rather than just chuck it on the track to run and enjoy yourself. Then you've got to remember to switch it all off at the end and recharge all the time (my big bugbear) or you come back to a totally dead loco a couple of weeks later that needs a bit of a jolt from the electrodes to get it to even take a charge again. Arrgh ! see what I'm getting at ?

Start simple - establish what it is you want you railway to be. As noted you can convert an initially track powered loco to battery, most out there are conversions. Some makers even provide an inbuilt switch to allow a track powered loco to be converted and operated as a battery one and back again at the flick of a switch - thinking some Bachmann products here. Max
 
Possibly the simplest small loco to convert is a LGB starter set diesel...

You don't even need a screwdriver to get into the thing!
The 'electrics' you have to remove, is one small length of wire. You can even leave the pickups in place, if you are NOT going to put power on your track.

If you are prepared to remove the battery pack at the end of a running session, you can even do away with a switch, charging socket, and the like..

pictures in a short while..
 
stockers said:
Thats a bit of a difficult one Sarah. The majority of battery R/C locos are conversions from track powered ones. There are a few R/C ones but they tend to be cheap or expensive. We have looked at the cheap one. Roundhouse make live steam locos but also do some diesel outline R/C models - they are very tough and powerful but not very detailed - also expensive. Playmobil used to make R/C toy trains but the detail is low and the range of the R/C was limited.
Perhaps you start with track power - get some experience, see what others are doing and progress to R/C later. The LGB and Piko starter sets are very good and not bad value. You could probably add Bachmann to that list but I have little experience there.
You cant really go wrong with an LGB Stainz loco - built like the proverbial toilet door!

View attachment 234764
Click to expand...


I bought 3 of these sets when I first started 13 years ago - and now I have 19 Stainz locos (There's one in my Avatar)

I also converted one to radio control battery power (batteries on board the loco, I can't be doing with separate battery wagons)
Here she is:

IMG_5191.jpg
 
One thing to remember, if you do a conversion, is that you will obviously have to take your chosen loco apart. Sometimes it isn't easy and of course you're messing about with your pride and joy. My nerves still haven't recovered from putting radio control in my live steam Lyn, and that was easy!
 
As promised..
She ain't pretty, and is a little neglected.. AND I do not recommend this as a permanent way of doing things, but hey! It works. :giggle::giggle:

DSC01555.JPG

DSC01562.JPG

DSC01561.JPG

DSC01558.JPG

DSC01560.JPG

I *know* the wires to the motor are the wrong colour, but they were the first I grabbed, with the right 'ends' on to fit the pins!
 
maxi-model said:
Not wishing to start the whole battery v track power debate but would concur with the notes of caution above. All that glitters is not gold. Battery power may seem to be the ultimate panacea for ease of operation but I can testify to the fact it is not. In most instances you've got to pull apart and convert an existing loco.Then you've got to buy some expensive additional kit to make it work Ok, if you go the trailer route you only need do it once....... so long as you only want to run one loco at a time. Then you might have to pull it all apart again to fix the inevitable glitches that happen, rather than just chuck it on the track to run and enjoy yourself. Then you've got to remember to switch it all off at the end and recharge all the time (my big bugbear) or you come back to a totally dead loco a couple of weeks later that needs a bit of a jolt from the electrodes to get it to even take a charge again. Arrgh ! see what I'm getting at ?

Start simple - establish what it is you want you railway to be. As noted you can convert an initially track powered loco to battery, most out there are conversions. Some makers even provide an inbuilt switch to allow a track powered loco to be converted and operated as a battery one and back again at the flick of a switch - thinking some Bachmann products here. Max
Click to expand...
Battery power can be simple fun :):):):):) which reminds me that I've got three locos and a snow plow that oughter be recharged - I haven't been able to spend long enough in da shed in these sub-zero temps :mask::mask::mask:

It's not all doom and gloom - I usually (except for the eventualities noted above) re-charge a loco immediately after use. Also LSD technology has helped a lot.

But the ability to drop a loco on the track and just run it, without even considering track cleanliness is well worth it.

Finding space to fit a battery pack in a loco is, allegedly, part of the fun :emo::emo: It has taken some while, but with a bit of assistance from Philp and Roger at Stirkealite, I think I now have a battery pack for the MDC Hustler project :nod::nod:

Best tip for a 'first' try, is to start with a loco renowned for its spaciousness - I went with the Bachmann 45 tonner and haven't looked back man
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom