Hello I am new to model railroads and have no idea where to start. I think I want something that will go along with my 1/64 john deere collection but not sure what size that would be. or how much space i am looking at any help would be appreciated. I have never done this before so I need lots thanks
First off Welcome [#welcome] to the hobby and to the forums.
Well HO scale 1:87th is close but the cars and equipment will be bigger than they should be. It usually is not a big deal and it usualy does not look that bad. The first thing you should decide after scale is what size layout can you afford to build, and by afford I mean in dollars and space. Next think of what kinds of operations you want and what era. There are 1000 questions plus a few million more to ask yourself starting out but find what you like and stick with it. There is no right or wrong way to have fun with model railroading. If you want a steam locomotive pulling a string of doublestacks you can do that even tho real railroads didnt. If you need any questions answered dont be afraid to ask, the only dumb question is the question not asked.
Welcome again and good luck
1/64 is S scale. Trains ARE made in S scale, but it is not as popular as HO scale–not as easy to find. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with it. It is bigger than the common HO- you can’t fit as much railroad in a given area and will probably cost a little more both because of the size and because it is not so mass merchandized. You might go to www.walthers.com and click on S scale to see some of what is available. You might also start a NEW THREAD here, or change the title of your post to something like, “tell me about S scale”.
By the way, I am an N scale modeler but I have built an S scale Pennsy baggage car for a friend and an S scale house for another friend. It is a fun scale. I have also built 1/600 scale, 0 scale, 1/2 inch scale and 1/12 scale and 1/4 actual size scale for various purposes. They are all fun but usually it is best to stick with one for a layout.
Well in my opinion you just started. I might add to whats been said for you to hit a few shows, some local or maybe not so local hobby shops may be a good idea too. I started a year ago and am up to 10 or so engines 20 or 30 pieces or rolling stock, and a 4x8 plywood table til i get moved into my new house. Lots of good info here so you have already done 1 thing good. Enjoy the hobby and do what you want with it.
You might try Sn3 or Sn2 narrow gauge. The trains are smaller. The track is about the size of HO. I don’t know much about it but there’s a lot on the WWW.
For example:
http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sinfo.html
[#welcome] bgcounrty00. Here are some other helpful links.
First:
http://www.nmra.org/. Half way down the page is a link to starting a layout and what all should be considered. This will help answer a lot of the basic questions. The NMRA web site has a lot of good information.
Second:
http://ldsig.org/. This is the Layout Design Special interest group. Look at the primer link on the left of that page. Again, a lot of good information on the design part.
Third:
Once you have an idea, track planning s/w will help you. There are a few for free such as Atlas RTS (Right Track Software) @ http://www.atlasrr.com/ and XtrkCad @ http://www.sillub.com/ (be sure to read about the free registration part)
Fourth:
4 by 8 layouts are common to start with. Some who’ve done more than a few layouts may not agree with a 4 x 8, but it is a valid choice. You can get some ideas on what can be done with a 4 x 8 other than just round and round running @ http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/id28.html
Fifth:
Once you have a design in mind, post it here on the forum and the members will help you fine tune it and/or answer specific questions.
I’ll let a few of the others point out some of the excellent reading materials you should lay your hands on.
Have fun and good luck.
Buy trains…
actually there is a good amount of john deere stuff on eBay BRAND NEW!!!(for those of you who hate eBay)in HO scale. and as SMassey said. it really wouldnt look that bad. i put some hot wheels up next to my HO scale and my mom didnt know the difference.Oh! and by the way…[#welcome]to the forum!
I recomend this book to anyone looking to get into model railroading it will help you alot.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0890245819/sr=8-2/qid=1141989649/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-0532348-7696825?_encoding=UTF8
alittle down the page there you can get this book along with another book for $25 bucks and get free shipping get them both its worth it.
bill
The scale you are looking for is “S” but you could use HO a more popular scale and easier to get then the S scale. You can design your layout to incorperate them by using space distanting too.
[#welcome] to the club and have fun with it!!![^][:D][:)][yeah][wow]