Hello all,
I'm not exactly new to the hobby (I've been playing with trains since I was a baby) but up till now it's been largely for fun, and less for realism. I am curious to know, however, a) what a 'run' means (such as 'I invited Bill and John over for a run to test my new layout) and b) where exactly they learn all the 'proper' way of doing things. I've heard them tell stories down at my local store about how the express was running late because the shunter engine was in the hands of a newbie etc etc, and I was curious if they actually operated it like a mini railroad.
Also, I'm having some trouble with my track. I have a Bachmann Spectrum set, with a Baldwin 2-6-0 engine hauling 3 passenger cars. It came with the higher quality nickel-silver(could be wrong on that, it's the grey bedded kind), and it worked fine when I got it, but after several months in storage it's beginning to have sections devoid of electricity. Sometimes my engine will stop all together, sometimes it will have enough momentum to carry it over the dead track with just a little bump to show where it is. Can anyone tell me the proper way to clean track? I'm a poor college student, so a track cleaning car is out of the question right now.
Thanks,
Antigan15
Edit: Also, can someone explain DCC to me, and how much would replacing or converting my engines cost? I have the Baldwin, an 0-4-0 Bachmann shunter, a 4-6-0 Daylight, and a UP U-boat diesel. They're all either very old (the diesel was bought way back in '94) or very cheap (the shunter is a $25 engine) but I'm loath to get rid of them now, y'all know how it is with engines
I'm not exactly new to the hobby (I've been playing with trains since I was a baby) but up till now it's been largely for fun, and less for realism. I am curious to know, however, a) what a 'run' means (such as 'I invited Bill and John over for a run to test my new layout) and b) where exactly they learn all the 'proper' way of doing things. I've heard them tell stories down at my local store about how the express was running late because the shunter engine was in the hands of a newbie etc etc, and I was curious if they actually operated it like a mini railroad.
Also, I'm having some trouble with my track. I have a Bachmann Spectrum set, with a Baldwin 2-6-0 engine hauling 3 passenger cars. It came with the higher quality nickel-silver(could be wrong on that, it's the grey bedded kind), and it worked fine when I got it, but after several months in storage it's beginning to have sections devoid of electricity. Sometimes my engine will stop all together, sometimes it will have enough momentum to carry it over the dead track with just a little bump to show where it is. Can anyone tell me the proper way to clean track? I'm a poor college student, so a track cleaning car is out of the question right now.
Thanks,
Antigan15
Edit: Also, can someone explain DCC to me, and how much would replacing or converting my engines cost? I have the Baldwin, an 0-4-0 Bachmann shunter, a 4-6-0 Daylight, and a UP U-boat diesel. They're all either very old (the diesel was bought way back in '94) or very cheap (the shunter is a $25 engine) but I'm loath to get rid of them now, y'all know how it is with engines
