Give me anything!
I think you should model the New Haven.[:D]
looking for tips are you?
-decide on one railroad to model(ex. BNSF,Norfolk Southern ,ect.)
-try to model a time period -ex. 1925, 1953, 2005 and so on (many people do not model a certain time period and thats okay)
- a yard on a layout is a MUST this way you can park freight/passenger cars there and hook on to them with a loco and head out on the mainline this saves time beacause you do not have to dig out cars, put em’ on the track,ect.,ect.
If you have no interest in steam, then model from 1960 onward. If you would like both, model from 1940-1960. If you are steam all the way, stick to the years before 1950.
Some fellas insist that the true appreciation of the hobby comes from adopting one railroad in a given period, reading tons, and then setting about modeling a small chunk of their operation at that time. Others like the engines and other aspects, but have an idealized version of a trackplan that they build.
In either case, understanding what railroads actually do, and why they do it that way, can be gained by reading the late John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” available through our hosts, Kalmbach. Everyone who has taken the time to read and comprehend this excellent work values it immensely. Generally, we can’t say enough about this document. We commend it to you, and then you to your dreams.
-Crandell
I want one of those 1800 pot boiler steam engines. 
What Crandell said plus give N scale some consideration. You really do get so much more into every square foot you have available.
Practice, practice. practice.
Don’t ever let a “screw up” get to you. They are the best learning experiences you will ever have. You should see the nasty buckle in my sceineced, ballasted track just four days before my brothers are coming over to see the layout. That is one big learning opportunity.
Read allot and pick a road you like, and be patient! Rome was not built in a day! But most of all have some fun to!
I agree with ICRR1964. I also have a tip to add, model ILLINOIS CENTRAL
ICMR
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
Start off with a decent set.
Athearn or Proto 1000 are decent sets to strat off with.
oh ya, model
Canadian Pacific
Gordon
as Crandell said you should decide what period to model, and as a N scaler you should model N scale!!! also decide on what part of the country you are going 2 model, and brand of track. also what do you want in the hobby??? Is it something you just want to do once and a while or ar you going 2 have a set up operating session everyday… if you think number one then go with athearn engines if you answered 2 then go with atlas and kato they are two respected railroad companys there websites are www.atlasrr.com and www.katousa.com hope that helped a bit. Tim
Do what these fine folk suggest, but read first. Discover what you like, and arm yourself with knowledge. Make most of your mistakes either in your head or on paper.
AND HAVE FUN!!!
Get a lot of magazines and enjoy the photographs, but study them too. You’ll
see a lot of ways to do something and one of the photos may really excite you and make you want to model something similar… follow that desire…
Start small and don’t try to cram too much into your first layout. This is a case of do as I say and not as I do. Like a lot of modelers I started out with an empty basement and big dreams. I ignored the advice I’d read in the instruction books to start small and grow the railroad. I started right in on building the big one. After 22 years in the house and 2 major redesigns of the original plan, I never did get it completed to the point where I could operate it although I was able to run trains over a partially scenicked mainline. I made a lot of mistakes along the way but learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it. In hindsight, I wished I had tried to build a much more modest layout and completed it.
You don’t have to limit yourself to a 4x8. A modest sized shelf layout with one or two towns, a small yard, maybe some staging, and some switching opportunites is a reasonable goal. A layout like that can easily be expanded into the big one after you have developed your modeling skills.
I didn’t write this but you DID say Anything…
http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/drsuess.html
I DID write This…
http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/clinic2p1.html
Good luck,
Jeff
It’s better than green eggs and ham,LMAF,great link Jeff and I might add how true it really is.
Patrick
If your budget is modest advice to consider is: I can’t afford cheap. This is a variation of you get what you pay for. When tempted to buy the least expensive consider that by spending more(for quality) you spend your money just once. Inexpensive equipment often has to be replaced because it fails to perform adequately. My personal experience validates this dictum as regards turnouts-Shinohara, MicroEngineering or equivalent far exceed frustration with Atlas. Tortoise way to go for switch machines!
model BNSF or Norfolk Southern and do it in HO scale ho scale can actually be done without winning the lottery.
if you’re on a budget-- don’t have extra loco’s you’re not gonna’ use, don’t buy the most expensive but find a happy medium, Athearn is the way to go if your on a tight bdget. the blue-boxes are nearly indestructiable my GP38-2 will be 12 yrs. old this Jan.(2006) and it’s still running strong.[:D]
Get a really, really good job. This can get REAL expensive.
Make a choice whether you want to model the best representation you can make of part of the real railroad OR you want to make a model railroad. there is a difference.
If you go for modelling a real railroad make a conscious seperation between
- what you are modelling, what you need to research and understand about it
AND - the skills you need to learn to make models of railroads.
For 1. you need to focus on the real thing and avoid slipping into looking at models other people have made of it… otherwise you can end up making a model of a model RR/
For 2. you can learn lots from magazines and forums like this… BUT remember that people’s models are based on what they have learnt and how they are interpretting it.
Be warned… a lot of preserved/tourist RR are kind of BIG model RR… people play trains on them (Someone’s going to hate me for saying that)!
REAL RR are about people going to work for long shifts to move trains, to carry freight/passengers (paying loads) to earn a living SAFELY.
Oh yes. pick a good RR… Chicago and North Western.
(Best thing about the C&NW… they run on the correct side)!
Tips? You want tips?
then go here: http://mymemoirs.net/model-trains/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=157
It is our own Joe Fugates Scenery Clinic. You should read through it because there are many, many tips for beginners like us.