Is it worth it to get into 9V trains now?

[AViewToALego]

On 6/23/2020 at 12:35 AM, SteamSewnEmpire said:

Here is my take on this: for decades, people in mainstream model railroading (people like me) have drooled over the prospect of remote-control, battery-powered trains. Why? Because cleaning and maintaining track on a model railroad is a nightmare. You are CONSTANTLY fighting dust, short circuits, dead sections, etc. No matter how sterile the environment in which you build your layout; no matter how awesome your are at soldering and rail polishing, you're going to have issues. It's just a fact of life.

Yes, yes and yes! The 9V system is very "analog" in that sense, which is quite the charm, but it's not without issues as you said. I'm torn about this, it's hard to decide. My Metroliner (who is not a baby anymore) could function just as well on plastic rails, which are cheaper and easier to aquire, won't get dusty or rusty that makes the train set stutter on the tracks. But personally I like the "unpredictability" of the 9V system. There are pro's and con's you have to weight against each other to find your optimal solution. It's a personal choice and there are no rights and no wrongs, just different taste.

[Coal Fired Bricks]

I am a PF person same with my brother but you can always put conductive tape on the rails to do something "like DCC where you can power lights through the rails so you know where your trains are.  Also if you took electrical engineering course you would know how to create your own power pickups so you can power PF motors from the rails(I believe @Shupp did something like that on his empire state express).