when can we finnaly say “i’m not a beginer any more” Is their some sort of time you have to be in the hooby or skill you have to master before you can call yourself a model railroader and not a beginer anymore? I have been model railroading for over a year now and have aquired many skills like: how to repair my locos, or rolling stock, how to wire properly, keeping track clean ect. I feel I have passed the beginer stage. Did I forget to mention that i can scrathcbuild buildings and have even made a slug locomotive.
Shaun, I think you can safely say you are not a beginner anymore. Now you are in the intermediate stage where the sky’s the limit. keep going and happy modelling.
The worst part is walk away from your railroad for about 6 months for whatever reason and you are pretty much back to square one in many areas. It also gives you a different perspective of what you were doing.
Sounds like you climbed the grade.
Tricky question. I’ve always been a bit puzzled by the idea that you have to master certain skills to “move up” from beginner to expert. As I understand it, the NMRA has such a system? Guess it must be something like music grade exams. Just seems weird to me!
I’d probably grade myself as being somewhere between “beginner” and “intermediate” - I don’t build many “craftsman” type kits, but have built and detailed large numbers of locos and cars from Athearn “blue box” kits, as well as some British models. I’m currently working on a Bachmann Trolley car - detailing, improving the lighting, adding figures, etc.
ok guys thanks. Yay i’m not a beginer anymore. Happy model railroading!!
I’m still a beginner after over 50 years in the hobby.
You’re should never be too old to learn something new.
I guess that being able to successfully run a train along its planned travel on a well assembled trackwork is the end of the “beginner” status but we will always be a beginner at various stages of layout construction.After all,unless one repeatedly builds identical buildings and scenery,a layout is an assembly of first time projects,isn’t it?
I think it goes by who does the judging. According to a lot of the “experts” well all be beginners forever if we dont meet all the strict criteria they seem to have set. I considered myself to be way past a beginner a long time ago, but I hardly am up there with the big boys. I guess once you lose the original TYCO set and go on from there, you can say you`re on your way!
There are so many facets to this hobby that it is possible to be a master at some and a beginner at others. I would say that once you have reached the point where you are comfortable with the basics of building benchwork, laying track, wiring, and maybe a few kits you are past the beginner stage. But I find that after 30+ years I’m still learning. New materials and products (like foam and DCC) are always cropping up.
Enjoy
Paul
am i still a beginner. although i don’t have a layout and i don’t know all the terms and lingo that go along with MRR i have come a long way in just over 5 months or so. i have not had experience with repairing locomotives as i have not been able to fully run them around a layout yet or have been able to wire a layout or any such thing, but i believe i have passed the beginner stage.
Having a layout–even a TINY layout–is really, in a way, the biggest portal to pass through in model railroading (in my own ego-inflated opinion.) You can have a 1x3 foot switching layout if that’s all you have room for–just build something and have fun with it!!
In my mind, one can stop calling oneself a “beginner” when you want to do more than just run trains in a circle. (This is not to say that there aren’t master modelers who run their trains in a circle–they just do more than that.) The desire to do MORE with it, rather than the simple joy of having it do SOMETHING, is where the beginner moves on.
But I doubt any model railroader can say he couldn’t learn anything more about this hobby, or has nothing left to try.
Great topic.
I think that when you can finally run your trains backwards on “Bulletproof” track (which is subjective I have learned,) you have passed some sort of test. I say this because my local club layout is able to “push” 135 ore cars in reverse around the entire layout without derailment at normal speed. Which to me is WOW because my stupid trains will make about a dozen rounds then “jump” in a new spot for no apparent reason without external influence… LOL
I consider myself intermediate. I use DCC, some signalling, good detailing, and have a really realiable and fun layout. But I look at the magazines and feel very left out… SO MUCH TO ADD…
In a way we will always be beginners if we are attempting to improve our abilities. Like going to school. We start at grade one, finish grade one then were ready to begin the whole process and if we don’t want to stop learning or improving we’re always beginning that next grade.
Learning is sometimes a hateful process especially when there is no end in sight. However the end result here is satisfaction and as long as you’re happy pat your self on the back. As I tell the Cubs it’s about the motto DYB, DYB, DYB (do your best). and another thing, remember “The more you learn, the less you know”. Learning will always increase your horizons and when you see more the more you realize is out there.
And finally like a locomotive if you let skills lie for long periods of time it will require alot of work to get them back in running form. It almost feels like starting over again but you will find they will come back quick, However some of the little tricks of the trade that you aquired may take a bit longer.
And it’s only 8 in the morning, what’s next?