Considering Switch to DCC

[jwb]

OK, I'm looking at the NCE 524025 Power Cab as a possible starter set now. It's hard to get a good feel for what the particular products are off the web (and I don't have friends that I can visit to see products in the flesh). I get the impression from illustrations that the Digitrax Zephyr is basically set up like an old-fashioned centralized power pack, and control is done from the single console. Walkaround in any form is an add-on. The NCE 524025 starts out with a walkaround-style handheld, which at least some guys seem to like. Is this correct? Does anyone have experience with the NCE 524025?

I've already downloaded JMRI and use it for the freight car routing portion. A USB interface will be very high on my list. I assume NCE has one?

I tried using JMRI for that very purpose, but couldn't get a "handle" on it. How does it work..?? The program has very limited instructions...

All the software based switchlist generators are pretty similar. I've used several, so didn't have much of a learning curve with JMRI. (It looks to me as if the JMRI people took all the best features from each.) To get them to work, you need (1) a list of cars (locos are optional for starters); (2) a list of industries and yards; (3) a list of trains; (4) a list of stations and routes, which contain the industries and yards you've created. You then assign each car to an initial location and run a train to pick up and set out the cars. The industries naturally have to be set up to use the car types you've defined. That's the basic thing. You're naturally best off starting with a small number of cars and industries, trains, routes and stations, and getting something to work on that basis. Once you get it, you can easily expand.

You can ask more questions here, or someone earlier had a thread on JMRI car routing, or you can certainly PM me if you want more advice!