Hi everyone, I’m brand spanking new to this hobby and am currently trying to gather the basic information that most of you already know. I’ve been searching trains.com’s website for a couple of days now and have answered many of my questions. One question stands out in my mind still…
What does the three numbers on an engine mean? Example, 0-6-0. I have no clue how to even ask the question other than that so anyone that knows what I’m talking about please help.
Also, if there are any sites out there that have a wealth of information (other than trains.com) for beginners I’d appreciate knowing their addresses. Thanks!
P.S. I don’t know if this information is needed to answer my questions but I am looking at a small on30 layout for my wifes X-mas village, a “G” scale train and track only which will run the border of my “train room”, and a full HO layout. Thanks in advance for any help!
[#welcome] to the forum. The numbers in question are the wheel arrangements on steam engines. The first number is the number of wheels on the lead truck. The second number is the number of drivers, or powered wheels, and the third number is the trailing wheel set.
By the way, there are engines with 4 or even 5 numbers. My screen name comes from one such engine. It is a 4-8-8-4, that’s 2 sets of 8 drivers.[swg]
To you I reccomend the following Books.
HO Railroad from Set to Scenery.
Ho Railroad from Start to Finish.
Detailing Tips and Techniques.
Locomotive Detailing Projects.
and every track plan book you can get your hands on.
The first four books will give you a good handle on the basics of the hobby. Then the Trackplan books will help you generate Ideas. Also the trackplan books dont have to be just for your scale. Track Plan books for other scales other than the one your modeling can be helpful to.
In regards to your second question. A steam locomotive like an 0-6-0 or a 4-6-2 and so on and so forth. That is known as the Whyte system for identifying steam locomotives. (Named after some guy names Whyte) The First number is the number of Pilot wheels a locomotive has. (Pilot wheels help guid or “pilot” the front of the locomotive into a curve.) the second number is the number of Drive wheels. and the last number is the number of trailing wheels
WOW, thanks for that reply James, I was impressed with the first reply but after reading yours I’m blown away…great info. I’ll definately look into all of your suggestions.
Now for a quick follow-up question…What do you all recommend for what type of engine I should get (i.e. 0-6-0, 4-8-8-4, etc.)?
A decent website for the beginner would be www.modeltrainguide.com . It provides some good information from planning your layout to maintaining your locomotives.
Hope this helps,
Jeff
Now for the type of locomotive, well that’s an involved question. the numerical wheel identication system (i.e. 0-6-0) is used to denote steam locomotives, and some electics.
Diesel and other electics are denoted usually through a letter-bases wheel identication system and their model number.
Example: A “B” designation means that a locomotive has two powered axels in a truck (wheelset) so a F7 (which is a popular freight and passenger locomotive from the transition era) would have a B-B wheel arangement designation because it has two trucks with two powered axels each.
The letter designation goes forward in the alphabet for every axel added to the truck. So a locomotive with three powered axels in a truck (which is popular for larger locomotives) would have a “C” type truck. The largest modern freight locomotives have a “D” designation or a four axel truck.
Now where it comes down to it in your layout, basically smaller trains are better for a smaller layout. If you’re going to have a 4’x8’ layout, you’d be best with a smaller locomotive such as a 0-6-0 steamer or a small B-B diesel such as a F-7. If you have a larger layout with larger radius curves (such as 24" or higher) then considder a larger locomotive.
What I would do if I where you, is to think about which railroad you want to model, then go to the website I mentioned, look at the pictures, and find a locomotive on the line that would fit your layout space. Many good diesel and steam locomotives are avalible at your local hobby shop. I’d start out with an Athearn or Life Like Proto 1000/2000 locomotive as they are reliable, well made and run very smoothly. Another web site that could help you is www.walthers.com they have in their advanced product search a complete library of nearly everything offered in model railroading from locomotives to trees.
Omahanian; Welcome aboard. You are in the right place for help. I hope that we can do so. I’d suggest that before you go out and buy a loco you give some thought on what type of railroad you want to model. Classone, short line, logger, ore hauler, or whatever. Once you have that figured out the rest will come into focus. Of course some of us have spent a long time and many bucks on that search. I know I’ve got the boxes of stuff I can’t use to prove it. I’m modeling a fictious ore hauling road in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There is a tremendous amount of enjoyment in doing this reasearch so dig in. If we can be of any further help just give us a call. By the way , drop into the coffe shop sometime. The first cup is on the house. See you there.
Hello Again, For a beginner such as yourself, I would get a small or Mid Sized Steam Locmotive. I reccomend the Bachmann “Spectrum” series 2-8-0. It is reasonably priced. (I consistently find them in the $60.00 range in mail order catalogs and at my Local Hobby Shop. [denoted somtimes as LHS]) It runs extreamly well and can fit in almost every area of the country as the 2-8-0 type was used by nearly every railroad at one point in time. So the chances of you finding one for your favorite railraod is quite high. If you would like a Diesle. I would get a 4 axal “Road Switcher” type diesel from some one like Walthers or Proto-2000. They run really well and are built like a tank. (Well if you leave off the small super detail parts from the proto-2000 model they are)
[#welcome] omahanian! Great to have you here. You have some good books suggested to you. Be sure also to pick up some of the readily accessible magazines and other literature that is available. I recall seeing a new magazine/DVD coming out on buiding a model railroad from start to finish. That might be helpful. Also, I still pull out my copy of HO Primer by Linn Westcott from time to time. Read and enjoy–both in cyberspace and in hardcopy.
[#welcome] from an ex-Omahanian. You’ve found one of the best places on the net for information.
A couple of suggestions:
First, try searching through the forums. Many questions have been asked and answered in the past and a quick search will give you a plethora (nice word, Tom!) of information.
Second, what I did when I joined the forum was to start on the last page of the current list and worked my way forward. It gives you a feel for what goes on around here.
Third, try the beginners section at www.nmra.org. There’s lots of helpful informatin there also.
I’m ready to give up. I bought track from a hobby store, the kind that has the track sitting on a base. I made two ovals, one inside the other, on a 4x8 piece of plywood, covered in fake grass. I wanted to duplicate the trains I loved and rode as a child… Burlington or CB&Q, but preferably Burlington. So I went to train shows and bought whatever people had for sale. Now I have put it all together, with a simple controller that just controls the two tracks, and makes the trains go back and forth. It all works fine, as long as I am just running engines, but as soon as I add cars, they fall off the track, or just won’t run. Also, I’m 90 years old, and I have a lot of trouble getting the trains to sit properly on the track, even with my glasses. Perhaps I should just try to sell everything, as my sister suggests, and give up. And unless I can get the trains to run properly, there is no use even thinking about decor. So I am a perfect example of frustration with this hobby. Maybe I should have stuck to dollhouses.
Aside from the fact that this is a 21 year old thread that you tacked onto, your situation doesn’t sound any different than any beginner in the hobby. What scale are working with and what type of controller are you using?
If rerailing rolling stock is causing frustration, get one of these rerailers available from a number of manufacturers. Just Google “rerailer HO” or for whatever scale you’re working in.
Elaine – even sectional track on a snap-together base needs to be carefully joined and leveled. You need to be careful how you use fasteners to hold the assembled track down so you don’t distort anything.
You also need to watch the minimum radius of curve and, if you use them, the ‘frog number’ of switches, if your locomotives and cars are ‘scale length’ (as they well might be when modeling the remembered CB&Q). We have had a number of threads over the years on how to get long cars around curves, and what to watch for if they interfere with each other when pulled or pushed. Look carefully at the spot where the cars or engines are derailing, and see what is causing the woe…
The fact that the locomotives stay on the track but the cars don’t supports the contention that it is bad trackwork. The heavier locomotives can tolerate uneven or misaligned track, but the lighter cars cannot.
I would counter that it could also be that the cars simply weren’t on correctly to begin with, especially with the comment that they just won’t go. Hung up?
Elaine, first, take your fingers and run them along the top of each rail where the pieces of track join together. It should be smooth at every joint. If it isn’t, take the two pieces apart and put them together again, taking care to make sure each rail goes into the rail joiners. That can be tricky on this type of track.
If the joints are smooth, then something like the rerailer mentioned above might be a good idea to make sure your cars are fully on the tracks. Depending on the brand of track you have, you may have something like this already. For example, the terminal track for Bachmann’s system looks like this:
What looks like a road crossing functions as a rerailer. It may take rolling the cars back and forth across it a couple times, pressing down on them gently, to do the trick. You’ll know you’ve got it when they roll perfectly smoothly.
Good point, I forgot about that comment that the cars won’t go. Your comment makes good sense. There may be a problem with the wheelsets or their alignments on the rails or the rails are not properly connected together.
