DC/DCC

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Hey, I'm not gonna be around that long! Surely there'll be a handful of other holdouts left after I've gone.

Maybe! LOL

There are plenty of older modellers embracing it, too, in part because they're the ones who can afford it. Kid just starting out (and I think that their numbers are dwindling rapidly) don't have the money to jump directly into DCC and even if it becomes the default standard, prices still won't compare to what one could get in DC when I started out.

You'd be surprised. some of the cheaper DCC sets like those from Bachmann are ending up on a lot of starter layouts. Bachmann has been really on the ball with "hooking them early", and their cheap DCC system is doing the trick. Its cheap enough that i've encountered a few parents at train shows asking me if it was a good buy for their kids. I know several teens trying to sell their old basic Bachmann DCC system because they want to move to something bigger. The money is out there. a Video game alone costs about $60 bucks. With a little more patience, most can save up that money twice over without spending it.

Another part of the picture that many don't seem to consider is the attention span of many getting into model railroading for the first time nowadays. Like many, an early attraction to trains lead me to model trains, but real trains figure into day-to-day life much less than they formerly did. So fewer are being attracted to the hobby initially. With most stuff becoming ready-to-run, with DCC control and everything more-or-less pre-packaged, I don't think that there's enough to hold the attention of the next generation - once the novelty of the gadgetry wears off, they'll wander off to the next "latest thing". Sure, some will stay, but I think that the hobby will begin to die out as the current crop of modellers thins. I came to the hobby because of the trains, but I stayed in it because of what it offered in historical interest, and for the opportunity (and in some cases, requirement) of learning new skills. I'm still learning to this day, and the hobby remains as interesting and attractive to me as it ever was.

I have to disagree with you on that one, There are all sorts of projects and things to do. This is why i left Model Aircraft for model trains. I started off as an aviation nut, Flying Fortresses, Corsairs, Stratojets, Peacemakers. However, you can only do so much. The trains moved, and they had so many things to put together, and the more in depth you go, there more projects and creative outlets you can find. Much of it, you can do in a day (There is even a MR book called "Done in a Day" with all sorts of weathering and detailing projects). All people need is to get over their fear of "ruining" something and give it all a try.

In the long run, most of the "young" generation i know that have dropped out of the hobby did so because of college, or relationships. Even the ones who said they got bored of it still professed an interest at a later date. I know i've seen several threads here start off with "I used to model trains when i was young then i set them aside for college, now i need something to do, How has the hobby progressed?" I'm thinking it has been necessity, not boredom that temporarly ended their hobby work.

Depending on what one wishes to do, either one can be the easier path. My dog probably could have wired my layout, but he couldn't hold the soldering iron and the solder at the same time.
I run multiple locos, pushers, etc. all without programming anything. I don't use working lights 'cause I don't run "nighttime" operations (and my prototype didn't use lit headlights in the daytime in my modelling era). As a lone operator, it's my opinion that I should be in control of any train that's moving, so only one moves at a time. Suits me perfectly. I don't want sound, either - after almost 40 years in a steel mill, I've had enough "sound" for several lifetimes.

However, that which works for me would be the kiss of death for a model railroad club - members would leave in droves if there wasn't something for everybody to do. DCC is perfect for such a scenario and much simpler than DC. While I may be a Luddite in many things, I [b]do[/b] see the benefits of DCC - I just don't see them as benefits for my particular situation.

Hey, what works is what works, nothing wrong with that, but as you say, DCC is simpler, and i think thats where people will go

People nowadays may want to install their own decoders, but I don't think that the majority of the next generation of modellers will. Most won't know (or care) if their geep sounds like a Baldwin, and they'll likely know little of operations, so running characteristics are just another option with which to fiddle. And will anyone even know how to solder? Maybe they won't have to, but if there's no challenge, is there any sustainable interest? Even little kids get bored watching a train go around in circles.
If the "techie" generation of modellers loses interest, the "techie" generation of manufacturers will, too. No market - no money. No money - no products. Cottage industries will undoubtedly fill some of the limited demand for supplies, but I think there'll be just as many left still using DC as there will be with DCC (or whatever else comes along to replace it).

Wayne

I disagree still on this. People will want to add their own set of functions, or have a preferred brand (like TCS, which is super reliable and has the best warranty ever). Any company that insists on it's own brand of decoders (and makes you pay for it) will probably loose out. Case in point, Athearn signed on to use MRC sound decoders initially on locomotives like it's SD45-2. THEY'RE HORRIBLE. as a result, no one bought the sound SD45-2, because only 1 of 10 would work properly. This is why i was able to purchase a conrail SD45-2 sound unit for as much as a non-sound equivalent.

Model makers don't care if it has a decoder in it or not. they just want you to buy their stuff. If you leave the decoder out, your prices are lower, and you can get whatever decoder you need cheaply, or expensively. Except for Broadway Limited, all the other Sound decoders are made by OTHER companies, such as Soundtraxx, Loksound, and QSI. Athearn and Atlas still need to pay out to them to put those decoders in their models RTR.

If they start installing decoders already, what happens when their "basic locomotive" doesn't have a decoder that can handle all the functions i want to add? I end up spending money on a decoder i might not be able to use. Again, if its a crappy pre-installed decoder to boot, no one is going to want to spend the money on an otherwise nice locomotive.