Rolling Roads

[rhysapthomas]

I have been considering buying a rolling road for testing and running in. 

The DCC concepts one looks very nice but will cost £60 -70 and being of a careful disposition (mean) I have seen a couple of offerings on Ebay at about £30-40 has anybody used these units? Are they any good?  Anybody built their own?

Thanks

[Newportnobby]

Sourced mine here.........

http://www.directtrainspares-burnley.co.uk/page6.html

[Vanders]

I did try a cheap eBay job and ended up returning it, and using the refund as part payment on a DCC Concepts set. The cheaper ones have poor bearings and were simply not square or level, so the wheels often failed to make any contact. Electrical conductivity was also poor.

The DCC Concepts version has been flawless, though.

Note: I don't know if the units I bought were the same as the ones you are looking at or the ones newportnobby has linked too, so my comments relate only to the specific units I purchased.

[trainsdownunder]

I bought a double pack of DCC Concepts units and can honestly say they work flawlessly. I have had everything from a BigBoy loco to a small switcher running happily on them. Great piece of kit well built and will probably outlast me ! Worth every penny.

Remember though buying from Australia will incur customs charges.  PM me if you decide to use DCC I might be able to help keep costs down

[47033]

Been contemplating one of these for a little while. Think I'll get the DCC Concepts one for 60 pound. The other adds up to 50 pound if you get six so for 10 pound more I'd take the one with the known reliability and quality.

Adding to my next order list from my favourite UK retailer.

Jamie

[Dr Al]

I have been considering buying a rolling road for testing and running in. 

To be honest an oval of setrack will do the same job far cheaper, and identify more problems than a rolling road will..........

Cheers,
Alan

[RussellH]

A length of flexi track on a strip of wood (can be held at all sorts of angles) plus an oval is what I use.

Russ

[kiwi1941]

I have an 'N Brass' Rolling Road kit made up, running and surplus to requirements [I graduated to the DCC Concepts model - an excellent piece of kit].

If anyone is interested PM me and I'll put up some pictures with price [much cheaper than the DCC version] and postage from New Zealand.

Best, Brian

[Bigric]

A few years ago I bought a Bachrus set from Digitrains (when there wasn't much choice ) & have found it to be too fiddly & too expensive . 2 years ago I bought the one which Newportnobby has recommended - much more user friendly , much cheaper . Recently though I've gone down the route which Dr Al recommended - a reasonably large circle of flex track carefully ( !!! )soldered together , which goes on my dining table (over a sheet !***!) & there's enough room for other gubbins + laptop if needed (Decoderpro furtling ) BUT try not to make the circle TOO small (big Dapol steamers ) Cheers , Ric

[Luke Piewalker]

I got a Marion Zeller one form ten commandments at a show. Very nice it is.

[sparky]

Small oval of track for me every time ...plus it gives you an excuse to add a few wagons or coaches...purely of cause to gain an in depth knowledge of the new loco....OK OK....play trains...

[Luke Piewalker]

I've generally found that when an arse has been made of reassembling a steamers motion, being able to watch it going round without moving helps... 

[Newportnobby]

The advantage of an oval of track is you can put in one or two points as some locos can misbehave on points so it does have an advantage over a rolling road/plain oval

[Bigric]

Yeah , good point nobby ! Ric

[DesertHound]

Hi All

Good points on the merits of an oval of track there. Thinking about it, I would say it comes down to two things, as to whether you get a rolling road or use an oval of track (three things if cost is a concern). Firstly, space can be an issue for some of us. I don't really have the room to have a permanent oval set up, and don't wish to clear the dining room table every time I wish to run in or test a loco (which is pretty much on a daily basis). Therefore, I want something permanent. Secondly, I like to have the loco stationary so that I can observe it. I have one running now next to me, whilst I'm typing.

That said, I think there ARE times when an oval of track, or simply running the loco on any track, has its advantages over a rolling road. I agree that running it over points can flag a problem with the wheels, jerkiness seems to show up better on a track, since the motion of the train tells you a lot about the running quality (remember it is stationary on a rolling road). A rolling road can give more of a "wobble" than what you would get on a track, and hence you might think there is more wrong with the loco than there actually is.

I have the rolling road from DCC concepts and it's one of the best pieces of kit I have bought. My locos spend more time on that than they do on the layout! If you buy this piece of kit then I doubt very much that you will be disappointed - I hope that's endorsement enough. That said, and like others have said, a piece of track will always come in handy for testing. I test on both, and use the rolling road for a long run after servicing (45 mins in each direction).

However, planning on a "round the room" on the wall Kato unitrack loop with a couple of passing loops. At over 36ft in length, that might become my new test oval 

Whether it's oval test track or rolling road, I think both are of value.

Dan