I am new to the forums. My name is John. You can call me John or by my full forum user name, you can even call me by SUX. Really, I won’t get offended. SUX is the designation code for the Sioux City Regional Airport. The rest of my username is the type of bicycle I ride. It is a Vision R40 recumbent. I am a cyclist nad ride as much as I possibly can.
I am also brand new ot model railroading, or is it rail roading? My next post will be about the train set I have. I inherited this, my fvery first train set at the age of 38 after my father in law passed away. He purchased it in 1996 with the intention of building a layout for it, he never did. My mother in law gave it to me and asked me to build the layout. Now at the age of 40 I am working on starting to do so.
I’ll talk more about the type and scale of the train set I have and explain what I am thinking of and why for a layout in the next post. FOr now I thought I’d introduce myself and ask that you all please bear with and be patient with me when it comes to asking about model railroading as I am new to this.
Welcome to the forums and the hobby! I’m surprised that nobody has said hello to you yet. This is a great place to learn just about everything you’ll need to know. I hope you enjoy yourself.
I recall some fine emergency management lessons from the Sioux City airport, presented by an EMS supervisor from out there…
Recognize that this forum presents a wide range of experience and opinions in the responses. Folks here are as passionate about this hobby as some of the dedicated bicycle riders that you have met. Some “sorting” of responses on your part will thus be needed, but on the whole you should be able to find direct answers to your questions, and questions of ALL levels of difficulty are welcomed.
The model railroading hobby is undergoing some changes in response to the digital age. You have a 1996 train set, which you rightfully want to honor and display properly. Since that time, many folks have switched over to Digital Command Control (DCC), which is the modern digital way of controlling the trains on the track. I suspect that a 1996 train set locomotive is Direct Current (DC) control, which is still in use as well. The last survey I saw showed the “split” in HO scale as now nearly 50/50 on DC/DCC. [I still run DC as I have many older HO locomotives, but if I were just starting now I would go DCC if there were only a couple older locomotives to convert to DCC.]
This is a marvelous hobby with a rich history and many fine examples out there to inspire… but it is better if those other layouts are just inspiration and not something to be copied directly. We look forward to learning about that core set, as it may suggest several ideas for your layout.
You will have lots of questions as you move forward, and that never changes… You will gain lots of experience and skills but as you do there are always more questions. I have been in the Hobby most of my years and that is 71, and I’m still asking questions.
But the good thing is that you found this place and these Forums are the place to be. Your questions will get answered either directly or by sending you to another place or address.
And as you can see there are a lot of us that try to find time in the day to hang here a little and have made great friends and you are welcome to do the same. The Moderators just ask that we remain civil and polite and that is not much to ask for this venue they provide for us.
I say, Welcome aboard, it is a long and enjoyable ride. [#welcome]
First thank you all for the welcomes. I appreciate it. My next new post will be about the layout I am building and whatI have done to start the process so far. I will post from home tonight. Not enough time at work and the computers in the internet cafe are not the best.
If you haven’t already done so, I would suggest you do some reading on the basics of the hobby. There are a number of good books available from our hosts. Some libraries have information and if you have a local hobby shop (LHS), you could see what they have. A well informed start can help avoid a lot of Oopps’, though we all do those on occasion (or more often). You can often save money and time by using alternative methods and products.
There are many knowledgeable people here, willing to give answers to your questions. At times you will find different folks advocate different methods as “the best”. Give each a try, find the one best for you in your situation. Often, one method will work better in one place, while another will be the one for a different situation.
Looking forward to your questions and hearing about your progress.
John, welcome to the forum. I have found it an invaluable source of information and sharing ideas. On a few occasions, I’ve run into kits that had no instructions and have just asked, and had another member scan the pages into PDF format and email them to me. I hope you enjoy your experience with the forum.
Welcome aboard. As Marlon stated above this is a great place for ideas and information. The members here have a wealth of experience and are always willing to help answer any question you may have.
Post photos when you can and enjoy this great hobby,