Hello Rachael....
In looking over the responses, it is not clear (to me) that your original
question was well answered. I'll give it a try and hope it helps. Here
goes.....
> I am looking at picking up an engine and I have a choice between it being AC
> or DC. Now I know the electrical difference between the two, but I don't
> understand why there is a choice.
The reason there is a choice is mostly historical in nature. Back in the good
old days, toy trains were operated with AC. Folks like Joshua Lional Cowan and
A.C. Gilbert made those decisions back in the 1940s and I do not know what led
them in that direction. As my son would say, "It is what it is." Moving right
along...... DC came along in later years so that a loco could stop and then
start in the same direction without first reversing.
> N, HO, Z, G (that's not battery operated) are all DC to my albeit limited
> knowledge.
Some HO operates on AC. Maerklin, a European brand of toy train, used to run
on AC years ago. Maybe it still does -- I am not sure. However, DC is most
popular in the scales mentioned above.
> O scale comes in three rail and is AC...makes sense I guess.
If it makes sense to you, great! I think it must make sense to many folks, but
I do not know why AC is considered preferable to DC. I do not understand the
rationale for that decision at all. Maybe someone else can help with that
question.
Please note that Lionel makes a command control system called LEGACY which is a
very special form of AC. Many Lionel engines work on both LEGACY and AC. Some
Lionel engines work on AC only and are less expensive.
To complicate things a bit, MTH makes O gauge with their own proprietary
command control system. So you can choose between AC, LEGACY, MTH, DCC (with
modifications and a decoder), and even DC (with modifications) to run an O
gauge 3-rail layout.
> Not sure if O scale 2 rail comes in DC or not...
Yes, DC and DCC are both commonly used in O scale 2-rail. O scale 2-rail also
comes with a 5' gauge and a 4'8-1/2" gauge. The 5' gauge, although incorrect,
is the most popular.
> So back to S scale, historically I think American Flyer was made for AC, but
> is it still that way? (ie so you can still run today's remakes with original
> Flyer products)
The old original American Flyer products ran on AC when they came from the
factory. However, the motor was a "universal" motor which means it could also
run on DC if modified. A few folks modified things so that the AF motor could
run on DC. DC operation enabled stopping and starting in the same direction
without first going into reverse. Most folks did not do the modification and
so AC is by far the most common with respect to original AF.
Today's AF is pretty much the same as O gauge 3-rail by Lionel. Please note
that Lionel makes a command control system called LEGACY which is a very
special form of AC. Many Lionel engines work on both LEGACY and AC. Some
Lionel engines work on AC only and are less expensive. So today's AF by Lionel
can work on AC, LEGACY, DCC (with modification) and DC (with modification).
The key with Lionel/AF products is to know the motor is a DC motor and so, with
rewiring and modification, it can run on darn near anything -- except steam or
diesel fuel. (grin)
> However American Flyer is still considered a toy train like tinplate's and
> some O scale stuff....correct?
Most of us in the scale side of model railroading do consider AF a toy train as
opposed to an accurate authentic model. AF was originally created for children
and is sure a toy as far as my grandson is concerned. Lionel 3-rail O gauge
would also generally fall into that toy definition.
However, "O scale" would be considered a accurate authentic model because of
the word "scale". Another way of looking at it is that "gauge" means toy
trains and "scale" means an accurate authentic model. So O gauge is a toy and
O scale is not. Same with S gauge and S scale. Get my drift? Scale models
are generally too fragile for young children and are usually considered an
adult toy.
> Sn3 is DC if I remember right, so if I am planning on doing scale modeling as
> opposed to toy train running, I would be wanting to get a DC engine ...is
> that right?
Sn3 normally runs on DC unless you install a decoder and then it runs on DCC.
The motors in both cases are DC. With DC power, it is the variable voltage
that controls the speed. With DCC, it becomes more complex in a hurry.
Suffice to say that any DC or AC motor can be made to work on DCC if you want
to go down the DCC path. Books have been written showing how to take an AF or
Lionel motor and convert it to DCC.
Although it can be done, I see little advantage to you using DCC unless you and
several friends all want to run many trains all at the same time. Then DCC has
some strong advantages. Sound effects are more sophisticated with DCC, but
also exist with plain DC. If you are running trains all by yourself, then DC
will probably be adequate for a good long time. When you become a train
sophisticate, then you can convert them to DCC for the ultimate.
> Basically toy train approach would use AC, scale modelling approach would use
> DC??
Your statement above is general correct and represents the most common
approaches. However, any motor can be modified to work with DCC. And, motors
can be replaced with other types of motors and so it is theoretically possible
to make any chosen engine work with whatever power system you want. As stated
earlier, some folks run AF engines on DC power with modification.
> Hope this question somehow makes sense
Makes sense to me considering that you are probably a newcomer to the hobby.
Good questions for sure.
Another way to approach this issue is to first decide on your preferred power
source (DC, AC, DCC, LEGACY, etc.) and then buy engines that are compatible
with the chosen power source.
If you go down the toy train path in S gauge, then AC or LEGACY will be the
easiest for you since no modifications will be needed to commercially available
products. However, just to complicate your life, you could modify motors to
use whatever power source you wish.
If you go down the scale model path, then either DC or DCC will probably
satisfy you. With DCC you can operate several trains simultaneously quite
easily and have more realistic sound effects.
> Thanks, Rachel Covington
You are welcome. Some other questions you might want to ask are:
1. What are the pros/cons of each different size of model train?
2. What are the pros/cons of each different type of power source?
3. What kind of layout is best for me?
4. What kind of operation should I plan for?
Whatever you do, DO NOT ask: "What size rail is best for S?"
That is an inside joke, but you will become an insider if you ask that question.
Believe it or not, this is a fascinating hobby. You will enjoy it once you
master some basic stuff.
"S"incerely.......
Ed Loizeaux
www.sscale.org
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