The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Shame on you letting Aly run a unit other than a Seaboard Central unit.

Looking Great Dave & Aly

Actually, she's running the correct train, because that's the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR that she's operating.  I have three railroads on my layout.  The Seaboard System is the roundy-round, the A&R runs out to the staging yard being built this weekend, and the Seaboard Central runs up the hill to its own staging.  All three roads interchange in the yard in Aberdeen.

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Who knew the A&R had trackage rights on the Seaboard System?





Good times! 

DFF

[nkalanaga]

On a diesel, in dry weather, a "firefighter" could be useful.  They're not  usually as bad as coal-burning steam, but they do make sparks, and start fires.

I can see her point, though.  How many kids her age have heard "fireman"?  The first responders are called "firefighters", because they're not all "men", and the railroads haven't had "firemen" in decades.

[DKS]

Golly, Dave, those images of Aly are so adorable, I had a devil of a time picking one for a banner. Finally I said, heck, just use 'em all!

[davefoxx]

On a diesel, in dry weather, a "firefighter" could be useful.  They're not  usually as bad as coal-burning steam, but they do make sparks, and start fires.

I can see her point, though.  How many kids her age have heard "fireman"?  The first responders are called "firefighters", because they're not all "men", and the railroads haven't had "firemen" in decades.

When she said "firefighter," it took me a second to realize she must have meant "fireman."  I'm not even sure she how she knew to say either, because I would have used the terms "engineer" and "conductor" when assigning our jobs as we ran trains.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Golly, Dave, those images of Aly are so adorable, I had a devil of a time picking one for a banner. Finally I said, heck, just use 'em all!

Thanks, DKS!  Those are adorable. 

DFF

[nkalanaga]

I agree with the banners.  Not only is it good to see such a happy child "playing with trains", but it shows that trains "aren't just for the boys" - as if they ever really were.  Parents just thought so for generations.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

"No, honey, that's 'fireman.'"

You say that, but when first operating over new construction...

[TLOC]

She has!  In fact, she's even got basic horn signaling down (e.g., two toots = forward, three toots = reverse, one toot = stop).  I'm not kidding when I say that DCC, sound, and the ProtoThrottle were gamechangers for me . . . and Aly!

-One Proud Daddy

That is how I felt about my 1st ProtoThrottle. My 5 year old grandson at the time was a better master of it then me. About a year ago my wife tried the PT and that really doubly made it a game changer. Her comment was, I like this, get another. I now have 2 and someone who will operate with me. That has really helped in this pandemic. She disliked the ESU Cab Control throttle, the RailPro throttles and really disliked any of the DC stuff I had.

TomO

[Steveruger45]

Dave, what DCC system do you use with the PT?

[davefoxx]

Dave, what DCC system do you use with the PT?

@Steveruger45,

I have an ESU CabControl DCC system.  I standardized on ESU for all decoders and also use the LokProgrammer.  The ProtoThrottle is not only revolutionary as to how I can operate trains on my layout, it also fixes the weak link in the ESU system.  The ESU handheld WIFI controller has some disadvantages.  Granted, I still like it a lot better than the Digitrax DT402D and the NCE ProCab I owned, but I'm not a huge fan of touchscreen controls.  It's too easy to inadvertently and unknowingly set off a function.  I've come to prefer buttons, levers, or knobs, and, as stated, the ProtoThrottle addresses these issues.  Also, the ESU controller is set up like a tablet.  A slow tablet.  All of this said, I still prefer the ESU DCC system over Digitrax and NCE.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[DKS]

Thanks, DKS!  Those are adorable. 

Does Aly like them?

[davefoxx]

Does Aly like them?

Sure does!   

DFF

[Steveruger45]

@Steveruger45,

I have an ESU CabControl DCC system.  I standardized on ESU for all decoders and also use the LokProgrammer.  The ProtoThrottle is not only revolutionary as to how I can operate trains on my layout, it also fixes the weak link in the ESU system.  The ESU handheld WIFI controller has some disadvantages.  Granted, I still like it a lot better than the Digitrax DT402D and the NCE ProCab I owned, but I'm not a huge fan of touchscreen controls.  It's too easy to inadvertently and unknowingly set off a function.  I've come to prefer buttons, levers, or knobs, and, as stated, the ProtoThrottle addresses these issues.  Also, the ESU controller is set up like a tablet.  A slow tablet.  All of this said, I still prefer the ESU DCC system over Digitrax and NCE.

Hope this helps,
DFF

@davefoxx, thanks for the insight.   I have a power cab with JMRI laptop and WiThrottle at the moment and I was considering what to get next.  Esu CabControl or upgrade To the NCE smart booster before I go for a PT.
I too dont like the esu throttle, albeit I’ve never held one, for the same reasons you mentioned, so you have indeed helped me at least confirm my thoughts on that point. Plus you can’t plug / tea ther another throttle to the esu CabControl (I asked esu on that). Would it be fair to say that the CabControl throttle below the knob is about the same size as an iPhone 4?    I’m just trying to find out if I could live with it before splashing out big bucks.
Thanks again and BTW your daughter is so cute. 

[davefoxx]

@davefoxx, thanks for the insight.   I have a power cab with JMRI laptop and WiThrottle at the moment and I was considering what to get next.  Esu CabControl or upgrade To the NCE smart booster before I go for a PT.
I too dont like the esu throttle, albeit I’ve never held one, for the same reasons you mentioned, so you have indeed helped me at least confirm my thoughts on that point. Plus you can’t plug / tea ther another throttle to the esu CabControl (I asked esu on that). Would it be fair to say that the CabControl throttle below the knob is about the same size as an iPhone 4?    I’m just trying to find out if I could live with it before splashing out big bucks.
Thanks again and BTW your daughter is so cute.

@Steveruger45,

I don't know how big an iPhone 4 is, but the ESU controller is definitely smaller than my iPhone 7.  If I didn't upgrade to the ProtoThrottle, I would still be using the ESU controller without much complaint.  Again, I still prefer the ESU CabControl system over Digitrax and NCE.  The number one reason is that the ESU controller allows much easier access to and/or the display of functions above F10 on the controller without having to press additional buttons.  This became an issue when I began using DCC and sound.  If I remember correctly, anything above a low function number (approximately F6) on the Digitrax DT402D and the NCE ProCab would not even show on the display, so there was no way to verify whether functions were on or off.

DFF