Welcome to the podcast! Here, you’ll be able to find the episodes from both the Beginner’s Guide to Model Railroading and the Proto-Future Podcast. Happy listening!
This episode addresses some much-delayed listener questions about beginnery topics, as well as some of the feedback about the most recent episode, the Proto-Future Manifesto.
The subsequent interview with Tom Barbalet on Model Rail Radio is linked here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/model-rail-radio/id335536272?i=1000634820061
This episode covers the phenomenon of train sets and explains the different methods of train control.
First, for those entering the hobby or reminiscing back, train sets have a prominent, but sometimes controversial place at the start of the future hobbyist's yellow brick road. Depending on what you do later, buying a train set may or may not be worth it. Some people enjoy the simplicity and flexibility of a train set, some want higher quality or more specific equipment and build their own train set, and others want to jump right in to building a railroad, at which point a train set is not necessary. One way or another, visit your local hobby shop to make your purchase, as the proprietor will likely have plenty of useful advice on which is best suited to your interests.
When it comes to building a layout, though, the beginner needs to make a touch choice of how to control their trains: Direct Current (DC) or Digital Command Control (DCC). The gist is that DC is both simpler and easier, but also much more limited in functionality, whereas DCC, while being more expensive, allows you to run multiple trains at the same time and can operate locomotives with realistic sound modules.
Best of luck to all of you beginners! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, as I am assembling our first Q&A episode! Happy railroading!
Proto-Future is attempting to do something which has never been done in model railroading before. I am here to ruffle feathers, seed ideas, get rusty gears turning, and help the hobby escape the transition-era worshiping rut we’ve been in for 30+ years, thereby better appealing to younger generations and improving the world around us along the way. If you have any thoughts at all – good or bad – pause for a second, think them through, make sure they’re logical, then email me, and we’ll see where it goes.
While the podcast is transitioning to Proto-Future, I still happily accept beginner questions and will address them on-air every now and then. Feel free to email me via the contact form, and I’ll do my best to help you in your quest.
