I am new at ho scale railroading, so, any advice would be appreciated.
Welcome to the forum. I like your screen name. I happen to be of Cherokee descent myself.
OK, we know you’re into HO and you’re new. Now, what about era, location, freight, passenger? There’s a myriad of details.
Get out while you still can. [(-D]
Nah, just kidding. [#welcome]
Rich
I am pretty much into diesel power, contemporary. I realize that there is so much out there. I am located in east-central Missouri. I am retired from the phone company where I was a repairman for 25 years. My biggest concern right now is my layout. I have started with 2 4x8 tables in an L shape. I would like to put a town and maybe a farm, as this is about all I can put on what I have.
I am way to much into it with the table I have built and the extra stuff that I have.
Welcome. When you thought of putting the tables together, did you have a track plan in mind? Or, asked another way, did you envision a loop of track with some sidings? Most newcomers make the mistake of assuming an oval or circle of some variation is what model trains is all about. However, that becomes boring before long. What the more experienced and longest-lasted hobbyists do is to figure out how your notional railroad oughta make a buck. So, that means some maintenance facilities, some industries to swtich, and then the loop that allows you to sip a brewskie and just watch the trains run after a hard day at the vacuum cleaner…er, sorry, the office. [swg]
Seriously, it is best to give this some thought. As you have your ‘benchwork’ configured, a loop that will fit nicely and have the widest possible curves of rail (always better than really tight curves) will also have to be pretty much L-shaped.
Also, a common error is to cram the space with turnouts (switches) and rails connecting them. Big mistake. If you look at any railroad where it isn’t a yard, you see 99% terrain and 1% rails generally. The best layouts tend to have carefully planned track arrangements that mimick the way tracks look around the globe…one or two surrounded by vast expanses of greenery, hills, urban settings, etc. We call the newbie versions of track plans “bowls of spaghetti”. Looking down on them, they appear the same.
Your choice/favourite diesel may work better on curves of a certain radius than on others. Small switchers can take curves down to 16" in HO scale in most cases, depending on your skill at laying tracks, especially those tight curves. Some of the modern monsters for the high-rails do much better, and look better, on curves upward of 22-26", or more if you can keep them away from the last two inches before the Big Drop of Doom. This necessarily means that
Hi IM_CHEROKEE!
Welcome to the hobby and to the forums![#welcome][#welcome]
Do you have a track plan yet? If so, then feel free to post it here for others to make suggestions.
If you don’t have a track plan yet there are a whole bunch of plans available for viewing on this site. Click on ‘How To’ in the black bar near the top of the page and select ‘Track Plan Database’. You will find several ‘L’ shaped designs which may give you some inspiration.
Dave
Hello and Welcome!
Well, this is a healthy start. I’m guessing you have an “L” shaped 8x12 layout. There’s a good bit of space and lots of potential, even in HO scale. So, looks like you’ll have 22" or tighter curves. Many “contemporary” diesels can handle these curves, even if they do overhang a bit unrealistically. They may not handle 18 or 20" curves. So the question becomes, what sort of line do you want to model? Are you thinking a major line with lots of pass-through traffic, intermodal cars, auto racks, and unit trains? This is good for those who prefer to “watch 'em roll”. If you prefer switching cars in town, perhaps the local grain elevator, perhaps a branchline (either belonging to a major carrier, or an independent shortline) would fit your taste better. As a mix of the two, you could model a junction/interchange, where a major RR drops off cars on a siding, and your shortline switches and delivers the cars in town. Many shortlines use older 4 axle diesels (think - friendly with tight curves) or possibly even something like an SD7 or SD9 (6 axles, but fairly short overall length). This could fit in perfectly with a small town and farm.
Brad
Welcome, You say two 4’x8’ tables in an L shape. I hope that this is an Island layout with access on all sides. Maximum reach is 28 inches. For plans, type in Atlas Model Railroad Plans, (Their prices are ridiculous!). Or, get one of the books of plans from your LHS (Local Hobby Shop). Many LHS have closed, so we buy direct from Walthers. Get a Walthers catalog. It contains all the rolling stock, structures,with footprints. (length and width of structures),and scenery. What time frame and locale are you going to model? Once you have a diagram digital photo, you need to first place it in a Host (ie. Photobucket) If you need help with how to Post a photo, let us know. It is a little complicated. Don’t ballast your track until you are sure that your layout is the way it will be permanently. Nail down your track ties temporarily at first, so that you can change the layout more easily. Ballast is nearly impossible to remove once it is glued down. Note my AVATAR (picture at upper left of Thread). It shows an HO scale model railroad, directly in front of a raised N scale layout, with background scenery photo of distant low hills. This is called “forced perspective”. If you plan an Island layout, you may wish to place a divider down the center, to hide the loop and double the scenery available. Mine is an around the room layout, so I place my background scenery (SceniKing 7"x11" panorama sections, with electronically matched blue sky color above, around the room walls. For an Island layout, you can double the background, by pasting the photo background on both sides of the divider. I built my 24’x24’ around the room layout in four stages. Start small, and grow as you complete each section. Go DCC (Digital Command Control), from the start, and place dead turnouts, for future planned expansion. Personally, I like to use Flextrack, rather than fixed curves and straight section track. More flexible! Bob Hahn
Hello, and welcome!
If you ask a generic question like that, you’re going to quickly get overwhelmed with advice, some of which will be useful, much of it won’t be.
For example, Crandall (Selector) is right that, for many people running a train around a loop of track does get boring. But not for everyone. Personally, I do have a big loop, but there are lots of sidings and stations to provide things for the trains to do as they work their way around the layout. My uncle had a layout that was so huge (I’m guessing about 80’ x 30’ around the edges of his entire basement) that it took the trains 5 minutes or so to make a circuit. He didn’t want to operate trains, just watch them run through scenery.
As you progress in the hobby, you will discover for yourself what you like to do and what you don’t like. Indulge yourself, and don’t let anyone else tell you what you like. We can give you advice – both on how to operate your layout and how to build it – but the final decision is yours, always.
So, I’ll advise you to sit down and figure out, at least with broad strokes, what you want to do with and on your layout before you just charge ahead and build it. Otherwise you may find yourself with a significant investment in time and money that you will just have to throw away.
I have only 3 “rules” for beginners:
-
Never be afraid to just go out and do something, even if you don’t think you have the knowledge or the ability.
-
Never be afraid to do something over if it doesn’t suit you.
-
Make sure your trackwork is “bulletproof” – no kinks, lumps, out of gauge spots, etc. Nothing will turn you off to this hobby faster than trains that won’t run, or stay on the rails, or stay coupled, or whatever. After all, if you can’t run trains, what’s the point?
You post says you are “new.” Maybe if you get yourself weathered, you will blend in with the old timers.