Costs of HO layouts

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
21

Guy next door has a vintage car. I guarantee you he spent more simply to buy it than I will ever spend on model railroading, and that’s not even considering maintenance, customizing and all the other ongoing stuff he does… It’s interesting how you could tell someone you have a $20,000 train layout and they’ll likely look at you funny, but nobody thinks it’s “weird” to have a $50,000 vintage vette in the garage. They might envy it, they might think it’s money better spent elsewhere, but they won’t question the fundamental rationality of it, the way they likely would with MRR.

The list goes on. Horrific amounts are spent on Golf, Cars, Sports and all other sorts of more “accepted” hobbies…

22

The $1000 per square foot was only arrived at because the Museum of Science and Industry paid some one to do all the work for them Using the layout I am planning as an example. (a 16 X 32 HO Scale N shaped affair) I have a list of everything I want and have planned for on this layout. which includes Code 100 flex track. Kit built/kit bashed/scratc built buildings. standard scenery construction, Athearn/MDC/Accurail level cars. Mostly Athearn wtih a smattering of P2K and Walthers Trainline locos. I come out to about $75.00 per finished square foot. But then thats taking into account what I have already purchase, My particular trackplan. and what additional things I need to purchase to get from where I am now, to where I want to be.

23

very informative information, thanks so much

24

Well I just decided to get back into model railroading a week or so before christmas. I placed my first online order on christmas eve. Since then I have spent $714. I have a 9x7 table built in my newly repaired shed. (55 sq feet with walk-in space) I have enough Woodland Scenics foam risers, inclines, and Atlas flex-track & switches (excuse me turnouts) to lay all the track. Plus all the plaster I need. I have a ton of scenery stuff but we’ll see how far it goes.

Luckily I am using a lot of my old rolling stock and my MRC Tech 2 power pack is still kicking butt.

(so far $13 a sq foot…LONG way to go)
The train show is in town this weekend so my expenses may rise sharply. [8D]

25

In the 4x10 BRVRR layout, by itself I have about $500 dollars in track, turnouts, structures, lumber, hardware and wire. Add another $300 for DCC controls. The BRVRR is far from finished and I’m thinking about some major changes/improvements. Add in 30-locos and 60-70 pieces of rolling stock, decoders, sound modules/decoders, speakers ad infinitum. In 5 years probably close to $4500.00. I average $100 a month or so on purchases for the railroad. Many of the purchases are structures and rolling stock I haven’t built yet. Last month was my biggest spending month ever. $250 for locos, $250 for sound decoders, speakers etc. and another $200 for misc. rolling stock, structures and electronic parts. It all comes out of my ‘mad money’ so there is no real effect on the family. My kids are grown, the cars paid for and my wife and I don’t travel much. I find MRRing more satisfying than golf, and cheaper than keeping up with the latest in computers. The most important thing is that it is FUN and my grandson likes it too.

26

I read an article a few years ago in which it stated an HO layout is about $150.00 a square foot, not including YOUR labor.

27

I believe that given the general availablity of more “entry-level” items in HO than in any other scale, the chances of keeping costs down are better in HO.

I’ve been in N Scale since 1969 and I choose not to add it all up; why look for trouble?

28

I’ve kept all the reciepts since I started building a new layout three months ago, but haven’t added up expenses since Christmas. As of Christmas Eve, I was a hair under $1000.00 for a 4 x 8 layout. Since then, I’ve easily spent another thousand, $500 at the show last week for locomotives, $250 last night for cars, $300 last Friday for a loco and cars, without hauling out the stack of reciepts and adding them upo right now, I’d say I’m at $2300 to $2500.

However, More than half the material in the benchwork was scrap I had laying around. I already had at least ten grand in tools in the shop, and didn’t pay a penny for styrofoam, since I had that laying around as scrap too. Another $500 for what somebody else would have to pay for that brings the total to $3000.

I’m essentially done buying now. I have 9 steam locos, the most the layout will support at any one time is 5 trains. I have enough cars for at least that many trains in old time steam.

My kids run diesels, so we have at least 5 full trains there too, one passenger, the rest freight, all told, 10 diesel locomotives.

The plaster cloth and lightweight spackling compound for the terrain is bought, I have a full color paint kit in both spray and for use with brushes, weathering chalks, as near as I can tell, that $3000 will be the bulk of it.

I still need between 200 and 500 pine trees, averaging a buck apiece that’ll add at most another $500. The buildings will all be scratchbuilt, but will use factory fixtures and bulbs/LEDs/resistors, no more than $100 in parts. I have all the vehicles except I need about $50 worth of mules or burros for a pack train, and I have not yet bought the water making material for the river on the layout. In any event, all the odds and ends left will not put the total over $4000, $3500 in actual cash outlay for me.

That makes a per square foot cost between $109 and $125.

For comparison, camping gear set me back $2000, the climbing gear that go

29

INSURANCE . I like this thread. But on one has mentioned INSURANCE. Most of us could not replace our memories to our trains but being sure we have enough insurance to at least start over should the worst happen is a good idea. And no I don’t sell insurance its just that one day I started counting blue boxes and all and decided that was the time to buy some. Phil

30

Insurance is important to have. I bet most people, if they looked at their insurance policies they would discover that their collection of trains isn’t covered. I collect diecast cars as well and have around 1000 Franklin Mint muscle cars, Action stock cars and funny cars as well as others to numerous to name. I had to get special collector insurance for them because they were no longer considered ornaments. Don’t think your contents insurance is going to cover a loss, ask your agent just to protect yourself.

31

I suppose my N Scale industrial switching layout cost around $1,200 including structures ,track,switches and scenery items.I suppose I have another $1,400 in engines and rolling stock.So,around 2600 totaled.

My HO equipment would be roughly around $7,500 just in engines and cars.

32

$15,000 over 25 years is a relatively low cost hobby, especially when you consider the enjoyment factor derived during that 25 years.

Hobbies in general, boats, cars, skydiving, almost evrything I can think of costs as much or more in much shorter time frames than 25 years. I have a garage full of RC airplanes. I have over $7,000 in just one of them. Everytime I fly it (3-4 times a month) I risk turning it back into a kit. At least with trains we don’t risk them everytime we run them (barring a dive of the benchwork.)

It cost $150 to take four people out to a nice steak house for one meal, and that’s doesn’t even include a decoder.

I know the younger members may not agree, but they haven’t graduated into the higher cost hobbies yet. Just to get a private pilot license is about $7-8 grand, before you can carry your first passenger along.

I’d say trains are a bargain.

33

My new layout is almost 100 sq.ft. and I plan on spending about $10,000 on it. So I guess around $100/sq. for me.
How much would train insurance cost for a 10 grand layout? I probably need to start thinking about that. (got some big trees next to my building that worry me in high wind)
Would home owners cover that?

34

There’s no way my 5 x 8 is going to run $4000. My guess is closer to $2000. But I scrimp and save while all you guys pay full price.

35

Interesting thread.

IMO, MR has the advantage of being able to draw heavily on imagination to achieve it’s goals. (Building flats, painted scenery, etc.) All of this is left to the choice of the modeler. One can start with as litttle as a piece of plywood and a prepackaged train set to begin. Where it goes from there is up to you.

Vintage cars can be a real PITA. I have a longstanding love/hate relationship with my '71 Corvette LT1 Conv. Think “rivet counters” are picky? Spend some time around the NCRS to see REAL picky.
example:

Gimme a break…

Someone wearing a 20K wristwatch questions YOUR choices?

…and so it goes.

36

I dont know how much spent in the hobby.

I do know that after 30 years it’s in the thousands of dollars accumulated.

Same for computers. I once counted about 15,000 dollars in software over 20 years and perhaps half or more in machines to run them.

Good health by relieving stress and actually doing something enjoyable? Priceless! Especially when you consider room and board at the hospital approaching 1000 dollars a night.

37

It happens that I kept a running total on my previous layout (taken down in 2000 for a house move). Over an 11-year period I spent $5,940 EXCLUDING locomotives and rolling stock to complete a 128-square-foot layout to a decent scenery standard and a high detail standard. That works out to about $46 per square foot and about $540 / year although expenses were heaviest in the first three years. Its interesting to note that its quite like building a house – the basic structure is a smaller portion of the final cost than many would expect. The basics - lumber, track lighting, track, wiring, tools / materials / misc. -came to $2,165 or 36% of the total; fortunately the room was already finished other than inadequate lighting. Advanced DC throttles, switch machines and control panels came to $695 or 12% of the total. I built a number of structures, many of them craftsman and others kitbashed, and including a large number of extra details (I’m including the figures), and expenses there totaled $1,695 or 29% of the total. “Extras” – trees, professionally mounted backdrops, background building flats, street lamps, interior lighting, trackside details, vehicles – accounted for the remaining 23%. Over that period, I estimate that I also spent about $3,500 on rolling stock. This figure isn’t as bad as it seems since I model three different railroads on a “cycle” basis, i.e. only one on the layout at a given time. My largest total expense, however, has been on my stable of steam locomotives; embarrassment prevents me from revealing what I’ve spent on them. Thinking of what I “needed” for motive power and rolling stock (as opposed to “wanted”), I’d estimate that one can build and fully equip an excellent layout for no more than $75 / square foot.

As I work on my new, significantly larger layout, I’ve been able to recycle nearly everything from the first layout, and – mirabile dictu – am no longer purchasing rolling stock or motive power. So I’m finding that on either an annual or a total basis, the required “new”

38

Don’t get caught up in the “I can build you a house for $135.00 a square foot” syndrome, of course he will build you a house for that ! Take a sheet of plywood=$40.00 a bunch of track= $300.00… 2 bags of plaster of paris $12.00 and a bunch of buildings and bridges= $250.00 whats that add up to??? OH I forgot ! 12 brass locomotives @ $2500.00 each and a bunch of brass cars for another $5,000: now your layout costs $150/foot. Assuming layouts by the square foot is not only wrong, it’s dangerous and very inaccurate, just as it is in house building.

39

A power pack, wire and DPDT switches will add at least a hundred bucks to that total, and if you go with DCC you’re looking at at least that to start, plus decoders andaccessories, more if you plan to control turnouts through DCC.

As it stands right now, your sheet of plywood is laying on the floor. For legs you need more wood, screws or bolts, etc. As long as you are willing to accept no scenery below the rail heigth, one piece of plywood will do the job, and you can use rolled up newspapers to make moderate hills, but any terrain higher or more complex than that will add to the total price in foam, glue and a caulk gun for the foam, wood for structural support, chicken wire to support the plaster, etc. That plaster needs to be painted too, unless you’re planning to run The Polar Express exclusively.

You can nail your track directly onto the plywood sheet if you like, but it’ll end up noisy and won’t look prototypical at all. Options include plywood for roadbed and some sort of cushioning tiebed like cork or homasote. These items will add to the finished price.

Ballast for the track will include the price of ballast, glue and rubbing alcohol. Weathered track will cost even more for paint, chalk, india ink etc.

For fine adjustment you may need a package of rail spikes, plus your track nails, then there’s uncouplers, cou

40

Well,I have maintain over the years that one doesn’t need to take out a second mortgage on the house to build a layout if we stay within a budget.There are several ways one can cut cost starting with the insulation foam which isn’t really needed and buying lumber at the best price by buying at sale prices.
As far as tools I suspect we already have the tools needed out in the garage or tool shed so,there will be no special tool costs.We may have to buy a box of screws.

Buying our models at the best discount prices will shave hundreds of dollars off the costs same applies for KD couplers,springs,etc…Scenery items can also be had at discount prices.Joint compound can be had for 6.99 for a 5 pound bucket and works as well as plaster.

Now,remember another cost cutting factor could be the elimination of space eating mountains on smaller layouts,turn tables isn’t needed unless you are running steam locomotives. Use high dollar vehicles in the fore ground and the less detailed vehicles in the back ground.Same applies for figures,structures etc.I call this the Hollywood effect…You see your eyes is tricked into seeing details that isn’t there in the background by seeing higher detailed structures and vehicles in the foreground which your eyes will automatically focus on.
So,you can see how that $150.00/ft will shrink away to more reasonable costs per foot by buying at discount and buying lumber on sale or at one of the discount chain lumber companies.