I am retired now and would like to get back into the hobby. So many new things , D.C.C. and all, I know nothing about. Could someone give me info on good lierature I can purchase to bring me up to date on the new electronics and wireing, so I can make an informed choice on where to start with all this great stuff? Thanks.
Let me be the first to welcome you to the board and back to the hobby. If your looking for a great place to find out all things model railroading this is it. If you don’t already have a subscription to Model Railroader then sign up. it has to be one of the best sources of information about new products, techniques etc. Kalmbach publishing the parent company of MR also has a vast amount of books on the subject. I definitely feel one can never do too much research before starting his new layout. There seems to be so much information and so many new products that one can get overloaded real quick. It seem like almost every month there’s a bunch of new stuff coming out that is replacing last years new and cool stuff.
Good luck with your new railroad and if not for nothing else just remember as long as your having fun your doing it right.
Welcome back to the hobby and welcome to the fourms.
As stated above, read, read, read. There is much new material on the market to work with, but the old stuff still works too. Many folks use combinations.
Kalmbach has many books on scenery, dcc, benchwork and other topics. Woodland Scenics also has a good book on scenery. Go to your local hobby shop and see what they have. You can also order directly from MR (Our Store, at the top of this page) or from Walthers, if your LHS doesn’t have what you want. Joe Furgate and Space Mouse, on these forums, also have sites with a wealth of information. (Sorry, don’t know how to connect you easily).
Some of your old items will be fine for a new layout, other things you may decide to retire. You will probably want a theme, era and location. It need not be prototype. Also, it’s your railroad, if you want the latest diesels pulling wooden cars because you like them, that’s your call. The idea is to have fun.
After you have done some reading of books, these forums and magazines, bring your questions back and you will get a wealth of information to sift through and decide which suits your situation the best.
Have fun,
Some public librarys cary Kalmbach books you could try searching there, see if you really want something and then order it for a keeper.
Vist your local hobby shop LHS and listen and ask questions.
Glad you have the time now to come back and welcome to the forums.
Dan
Welcome! Can’t add much to what has been said so far other than this link to Spacemouses site. Very helpful even if you have done this before. Don’t forget to explore these forums and read what these guys have to say. This general forum is great but don’t forget to check out the more specific ones on Layout Building and DCC. The NMRA website is also a good site to mark as a favorite. That will also help with many things like the standards that make things run smoother.
Good luck and have fun.
[#welcome] Allen.
Far as DCC, I love it! But if you want to run your older engines I stay DC for a while. Older engines from the 80’s draw way more power than there newer counterparts. A 80’s Athearn engine can draw 2.0 amps while newer engines draw around .50 amps. Decoders (small computer chip need to run a engine on DCC) will cook quickly drawing 2 amps.
If you want to go away and make the jump to DCC I would figure on around $60.00 per engine and $23.00 per decoder.
Far as understanding DCC, try Tony’s Train Exchange, they have a good section listed on there site about getting started in DCC.
Trains are fun, rather DC or DCC.
Cuda Ken
Welcome,
I think it is really cool you are talking to us before you start. So I want to give you some advice that will save you lots of money.
Don’t Buy anything until you have focused in on what you want to build.
It is just too easy to by this and that because it looks good. When this happens one of two things will happen. 1) They sit on the shelf and don’t get used. 2) You compromise what you really want to build, just so you can use them (since they are already paid for.)
That goes for the stuff you already have. Build what you want–don’t try too hard to accommodate what you already have what you already have. Once you run the new stuff, you might not be that happy with what you already have anyway.
I’m not saying throw them out. I’m saying fit them to your dream. Just don’t fit your dream to them.
Welcome aboard! [#welcome]
I boxed up all of my trains about 10 years before you did yours, and brought them back out about 7 years ago. Like you, I was confronted with the Brave New World of DCC, and all the other great things that have happened to the hobby while I wandered in the wilderness.
This is a great site for beginner DCC information: http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/dccprimer/index.htm
Even though some of my rolling stock dated back to the Eisenhower administration, I was able to get most of it up and running on my new layout. The plastic structures generally were OK, too, although not up to the current state-of-the-art available today. My cardboard buildings had mostly deteriorated beyond revival. So had most of my locomotives, which is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I had to buy new ones, but on the other hand, I got to run and enjoy new ones, which are so much better. (As Spacemouse suggested, don’t buy stuff until you know what you want. To this, I add the suggestion that you listen seriously to sound locomotives before buying anything.) If you had brass track, it’s now a “collectors’ item.” In our neighborhood, if you put it out by the street they’ll “collect” it on Wednesday mornings. Yeah, it’s that bad.
If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you’ll see Trains.com Resources. If you click on “Coming Events,” you’ll get to the page where you can search for train shows in your area. These are great places for just looking at what’s available, and to see what other modelers are doing.
Model Railroader magazine, comes out monthly, excellent illustrations, articles on all aspects of the hobby. “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” by John Armstrong. The layout builders bible. This forum is good too. Most public libraries have books on model railroading. They may be old, but they are still worthwhile.
DCC is fabulous for running multiple trains at the same time. It is of less use for the single operator and it is still fairly expensive. You have to install a $30 decoder in each locomotive, or buy new locomotives with factory installed decoders. You can convert to DCC anytime, you don’t have to rewire or rebuild to convert. Being a mostly one man operation, I still use plain old analog DC.
As much as I use and love DCC, I have to agree with the advice to stick with DC, at least temporarily, just to be sure that your return to the hobby is permanent. Very expensive to convert from DC to DCC.
Congratulations on your retirement and welcome to the forums.
Above is some good advice. There’s one thing I’d like to add: buy some stuff and put some track down. See what you like and don’t like. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Good luck!
Tom
Welcome Lippy. [#welcome]
What type of equipment do you have? Are the tracks brass or nickle silver? What brand are the loco’s? The brand and type of loco will help determine how difficult or worth changing to DCC it is. if you’re going to run on DC for awhile, first do a thorough cleaning of everything. You’ll also probably have to remove the grease from the gears and apply new. Older grease tends to get a bit hard over the years.
Ditto. The model railroading world changed dramatically between 1979 and 1984. This was a time when some really good equipment started coming out. Knowing the exact items would really help us help you. 1981 is right on the door step of some really good stuff.
Welcome back to the hobby, post up a list of what all you have locomotive wise ect, then we can give you an idea whats still decent or not and what it needs to be converted to DCC if you so desire. Mike and Michele T
[#welcome] Welcome aboard. Glad to have you.
If you don’t have a copy in amongst that boxed-up history, find a copy of John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation. It gives a good basic background on how to think about what you want to create.
While I never really left the hobby, I have some rolling stock that has been in boxes for thirty years that I need to resurrect and get into ‘revenue’ operation, now that I’m building the ‘last in this lifetime’ layout - in a double garage, which gives me space enough to get all of my roster on the rails.
Spacemouse hit the nail squarely on the thumb. While there is a temptation to buy the newest, latest and greatest, it’s a much better idea to decide what theme you want to follow before you go rushing into the market, credit card in hand. In my case I was saved from such folly by the way my prototype chose me (via a gift from the girlfriend who has been my wife for just under fifty years.) When there is, basically, only one railroad it’s easy to buy only those things that fit the framework. America, of course, had a LOT of railroads, no two the same. In Japan during the time I model there was the JNR, and … the JNR. There were also a bunch of privately-owned lines, mostly hauling one commodity (usually passengers) or serving a very limited area. After I learned more about them, I incorporated two with real prototypes and one that is mainly ‘imagineered’ (it hauls coal out of an area that never had an operating mine…) BUT - They didn’t become part of the master plan until I had a chance to really study the subject.
It isn’t necessary to try to follow any one full-scale railroad (or location) in detail - unless YOU want to. Don’t worry about other people’s opinions. Your railroad only has to please you and those closest to your heart. By all means, a
A hearty [#welcome] back from the other side of the Big Pond!
Yeah, model railroading has changed quite a lot over the last thirty years. Not only is there DCC, which lets you control the loco instead of the track power, there are many new players on the market, offering high quality / high detail locos. There is sound, which can add to realism, and there is a whole bundle of new materials available, making building our dream layout a little easier and less messy.
For me, the biggest change has come about in layout design. In the “old” days, layouts were commonly designed to “run” trains, creating that “spaghetti-bowl” effect, if space was not abundant. Today, more and more people focus on real operation, with way bills, train orders etc. You´d be surprised, how little track you actually need for a realistic train operation.
Lance Mindheim, who is one of my favorite gurus of layout design, says “the more you understand of prototype operation, the less track you need” and “grow your operation, not your layout”. He runs a very informative web page, which you can find here. Worthwhile reading!