DC Or DCC? What Is The Difference?

December 27, 2006

On a model railroad layout both DC and DCC refer to the method of powering and controlling the movement of the train locomotive. DC stands for Directional Current. DCC stands for Digital Command Control.

The Advantages Of DCC Over DC

DCC control has almost done away with the need for isolation sections. With DCC you can have a single siding full of locomotives and only the one you want to move will move.

In the past to run more than one train you needed a second controller and a second loop of track. If you wanted to cross from one loop to the other it involved moving the first train in to an area where it could be isolated. The train was usually moved to a siding before a second train could be moved on the first trains loop. To then move the first train on to the second trains loop you would have to put the second train in an isolated section and then move the first train out and on to the second loop.