I hate to add yet another post on this subject, but even after spending several hours combing through all the helpful advice for beginners in this forum I feel as lost as when I started. The sheer volume of information available, and the variety of options out there, is somewhat daunting. Oddly, though, I’m more eager to get started than ever, and am hoping some of you can point me in the right direction.
As a child living in Europe (military brat), I was lucky enough to inherit my Grandfather’s rather large, HO-scale LIMA collection. He being Swiss, most of the engines and rolling stock focused on European lines of the alpine region; mostly from the 50’s and 60’s. Sadly, the entire lot got lost or stolen in the move back stateside, and I’ve thus been living in a state of repressed desire for the past 20 years. At any rate, I’ve decided to finally get back into the hobby and need your help.
While I’m not yet committed to anything, I think I’ve decided to focus on N-scale. My preference would be to model a European railway, prefereably something alpine (e.g. Swiss, Austrian, Bavarian) and focusing on Steam engines. I’d want to start slow, focusing on quality products that provide a good baseline I can build upon over the years to come. So here’s where the questions begin:
Which manufacturers would provide the highest quality and number of options, given my preferences above?
Are engines and other electric components (tracks, switches, etc.) interchangeable between some manufacturers? If so, which manufacturers play best together?
AC, DC, or Battery (is that even an option)? Why is one preferable over the other? If I pick one to start with, am I stuck with it going forward?
DCC? It sounds like this is the thing to have, but is it even an option in N-scale? How would this affect my choice of manufacturers?
and welcome to the forum. I model in HO and the Canadian Pacific. As you might have noticed, this forum deals with North American Railroads and rolling stock manufacturers. This means there is limited knowledge about the European manufacturers of equipment. BUT there is some help and, here is a English language forum about German railroads: http://germanrail.8.forumer.com/index.php?sid=e8b7fa6cb2281aef0a67cbdc9df6ef4f , I hope that this helps.
Also I will list some links to other forums that deal with German railroads and are in the German language. I would advise you to create a GOOGLE tool bar at the top of your computer screen, and enable googles translate function. That way you can translate entire pages at once.
Haven’t even read your whole post yet but I’ll tell you what a Driver (Engineer) told me just after I started to work on the railway over 30 years ago. “When something goes bang and everything comes to a stop, make sure you’re not on fire and then roll yourself a cigarrette”.
O f course you can’t be PC and smoke these days but the point remains good. Stop, check what’s going on and then take time.
There’s no rush with model railroads. Like gardening or following a team it’s a life long interest. …and you don’t have to get any part of it right = whatever “right” is … not even at the 19th go.
You need to do a web search for N-Scale MRR forums. There are many out there with lots of helpful information and N-scalers that will be more then happy to help. And yes there is lots of information to digest, so take it slow, You will make mistakes and have frustrations. It’s part of any hobby that involves electricity and mechanical parts.
You will have a hard time to find Swiss or Austrian prototype steam locos, unless you are willing to look for those excellent Lematec models, starting at about $ 1,000 …
Fleischmann and Minitrix are the brands you are looking for, they both have a nice choice of German/Bavarian steam locos. Both are high-end brands in terms of quality and detail.
All N scale locos and rolling stock are fully compatible and interchangeable, but not necessarily with US equipment. European N scale locos and cars are still equipped with the Rapido-type coupler, wheres the US counterpart uses Kadee-type magnetic couplers.
AC is no issue in N scale - it is all DC or DCC.
You should go DCC right from the beginning. With DCC, you control the loco, and not only the track power!
Great selection of european trains. They are located in suburban Chicago. I’ve ordered from them over the phone and they are very nice, knowledgeable guys.
My two bits: Subscribe to Model railroader and N Scale Magazine, and then read, read, read! Then log on here and trainboard.com and read some more!! Info is everywhere, you can really pick and choose what you use but knowledge is power Whichever scale you want to model, find out where your local hobby stores are and go look at every little thing… every loco, car, and accessory. Familiarizing yourself with what’s available and how it is up-close will really help you decide best when the time comes to buy your own pieces! Have fun, and don’t hesitate to ask questions- there are quite a few guys here who love to help!
You’re getting a lot of good advice, but if I can make a “small” suggestion. Before for go really nuts trying to build the layout of your dreams, why not just build a small test layout to get a feel for things. Since you’re thinking about N scale, you can do a lot with a 2’ x 4" board or foam slab.
Seems like right now you have a lot of ideas but even more questions - that natural. A once or twice around loop with a siding or two will let you get your feet wet, without breaking the bank. When that’s done, you’ll have a better idea about what parts of the hobby really work for you and which don’t. Then you’ll be in a better position to go all out.
And think about Bemo. They have Swiss narrow gauge stuff, among them steam engines. Not cheap, bur really nice.
And remember you are looking for something almost impossible. Allready in the early 20´th century the Swiss began to electrify their railroads. They did it pretty fast, so in the 30`s most steam was out. Steam engines were kept as spares for wartime situations. Bombed powerstations are not easy to repair.
I myself model European railways along with USA stuff. I have a small Marklin HO layout that focuses on Germany, but they also have a large range of Swiss models, espicaly the newer electric engines along with the overhead catenary wiring to run them on. You can do quite alot in a small space with Marklin, my layout is only 33 inches deep by 55 inches wide. Features full operating catenary for the electric locomotives. Marklin also has thier Z scale line which I have owned in the past, it does operate quite well and even features working catenary. Cheers Mike
Mike I LOVE that last photo! I need to gets me some o’ that red-and-black steam action… my girl is a classic Sherlock Holmes addict, perhaps she’ll let me get a whole vintage European train! I’ll be showing her your photo, thank you much
Whichever scale you want to model, find out where your local hobby stores are and go look at every little thing… every loco, car, and accessory. Familiarizing yourself with what’s available and how it is up-close will really help you decide best when the time comes to buy your own pieces! Have fun, and don’t hesitate to ask questions- there are quite a few guys here who love to help!
