Hey I am a grandfather who has a young grandson that loves trains of course he love thomas the tank train I believe he or it is called. But I would like to get some ideas on what is a good scale to work with as well as a good train to purchase. I have plenty of room so I was thinking of going with the o scale trains but there seems to be more things offered for the ho scale sets. Any thoughts on what makes one scale stand out a bit more than another. I have other things that I would wi***o do with a train from using a computer to operate it as well in the future as well as incorporating a roundhouse as well as adding other engines. So if you have any thoughts on the right direction to start with as far as train I would be most willing to check our your experienced ideas as well as thoughts. [8D]
Scale is a matter of choice. You can add a lot of detail with O, but it takes a lot of space. HO is the most popular, but you can get pretty much anything you need in any scale.
The most important thing is to research and find what it is you like and would like to see on your layout. That way you don’t waste your money on things that don’t fit your vision.
[#welcome],
egidio5 welcome to the club…
I have been working in N-scale for almost a year. I love the detail in such a small model but I must say the size does make it hard to work with (I am 40).
Enjoy the hobby and there are many great people here with tons of priceless information.
Peter
Edgid,
Best thing to tell you is read, read, and read some more. Get some books, pick up a bunch of magazines and have fun. It will save you alot of greif and heartache. Trust me, we have all been there and we pretty much all wished we had read more beofre we started.
As far scale goes, again, up to you. Reading the info may help you decide. Alot of factors to consider when it comes to scale. HO is by far and away the most common scale out there. Its big enough to detail and handle, but small enough it wont take up half your house[:)] And to be blunt, easy for young kids to handle and big enough old hands dont get to get cramped working on them. But small enough it wont take up alot of wallet too [;)] Either way, enjoy and welcome to the hobby
[#welcome] egidio55
My kids are also big into Thomas, although the oldest is starting to grow out of him and into “real” trains.
If your planning your set based on your grandson then you need to see how well your grandson can handle the trains. O scale tends to work better for younger kids. My oldest works very well with the HO scale but my youngest can only handle the O scale.
If your planning to watch over your grandson then the scale is back in your court. If you go with HO, kids works better with diesels than the steam.
Welcome to the hobby and have fun.
Egidio55,
I must also agree with the rest of the lads…scale is up to you. Having said that ,now I’ll chime in with HO, it is the most used. You might want to think about ,a few years away. I lost the use of one of my eyes {at 35 last year} , not to knock N scale , but it is pretty tiny, O scale is very large and pricey.
Like the guys said, scale is up to you and your grandson, however you might want to think about ,which scale is best for your grandson. O scale is rugged…HO about the same…N scale and kids don’t mix very well.
Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
Making HO scale steel by the ton!!!
HO fits a lot more in a small space than O. You’ve got a lot of variety of locos and stock and preformed track in HO as well. Lots of building kits and an increasing number of ready made ones. Thomas and friends are available from Bachmann.
So HO is probably best for the starter as it’s big enough to be impressive and offers the biggest range of models.
For control look into DCC - Digital Command Control, you can get cheap start set from several manufacturers and make sure it is upgradeable to interface with a PC if that’s the way you want to go. Some of the basic systems like Bachmann and MRC don’t offer this option you may have to go for a higher spec set.
Read Model railroader and have a look through the adverts to get an idea of availability and price. If you can find a local store or even better a club to visit you’ll be able to get hands on experience and see what works for you.
Look on the model railroader mag page up the top and select links about halfway down the left side and click on list of manufacturers, You’ll find their websites here to fill in some of the answers.
Few suggestions to get you started Locos & Stock, Athearn, Walthers, Bachmann, Broadway, Atlas and Accurail. Controllers MRC-(model rectifier corp. DCC and normal DC) Digitrax (DCC only) and Lenz.
Good hunting and have fun
Paul
Hey guys thank you for your response as well as being timely ones at that. I know reading is a great way to research the topic but to hear from experience is also a way to go as well. I have allways enjoyed the enthusiasm that people in particular hobbies have for it as well as show it to others. Thank you very much for your input.
I will take in cost as one of the main reasons that I will go in a particular direction as far as the scale goes. We just visited a model railroaders show in Green Bay this past weekend it was fun as well as enjoyable to see my grandson take in the displays. But the one thing I noticed is the excitment that all of the people had for their displays as well as hobby. Sometimes life is so busy it is nice to have something to take you to a different mind set as a hobby will. I am also starting a hobby in raising honey bees but I need something for the long Winters as well as some quality time with my grand children.
Thanks again guys it will be fun to come here often, maybe bounce some more questions off of the coffee shop walls. Remember they may be silly but this is all new to me so some more reading as well as you fellas if you don’t mind will help this hobby come about. I actually have three grand sons but the one in particular is so overwhelmed with trains as well as Thomas, but I think when the others see a train running they will come around as well. See you guys around
The only silly questions is those not asked. And ask them in the open forum. That is what it is here for.
Seems we’re all dancing around “S” scale. I’m modeling HO, but with my eyes being 55 yrs old (the rest of me is much younger), the small detail is sometimes a challenge to work with. I’ve made my decision and investment and I’ll stick with HO, however, S seems like a really nice scale to work with. I see more and more S scale stuff available, although it may be a bit pricey.
As others have said, do your research and I think you’ll find something that fits. Welcome aboard.