Garden Railways – August 2019

GardenRailways.com 13

GARDEN RAILWAY BASICS ■ KEVIN STRONG

DIY power supply

NEWCOMERS TO

THE HOBBYquickly

discover that buying a good

controller can be expensive.

You can expect to pay any-

where from $150-$400+,

depending on the capacity

and features of the control-

ler you choose.

I suggest a lower-cost

option if you’re willing to

buy components online and

assemble them yourself. To

build this do-it-yourself

(DIY) unit, you’ll need

three components and a

container to house them in.

All components are com-

mercially available online

(see Materials sidebar).

Know that this DIY con-

troller is a basic unit, with

no filters, no voltage or

ammeters, and maybe not

even a power switch. But,

for a bit less than $50, this

controller will be a solid

performer and give you

plenty of power and control

to run nearly any train.

We asked...

GR readers

answered

What is your primary

means for operating

trains?

Track power

Battery power

Live steam

60

%

35

%

5

%

Ph

ot

os

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he

au

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or