I have been looking at the price of things a freight station $49.00. A Farm supply $34.98. Turntable $299.95. How does a YOUGER PERSON ( the future of this hobby) get into this with those numbers? That is a LOT OF LAWNS TO CUT. I know they can by the ENTRY LEVEL things but we all inderstand how long they last and how “REAL” they do not look. Just my obervation.
Enjoy
George P.[?]
I am a young person, being 15, and I just save up money for a long time. Like I want to go digital because I am building a bigger layout as we speak. I am going to have to save for at least 6 months before I can get something. Sense this is a hobby i don’t mind waiting to get something because I will have the rest of my life to expand. While I am waiting and earning money by the usual grass cutting I like to improve the things I have.
Adam I commend you on your effort, What kind of DCC are you thinking of?
Hang in there young guys. I built my first layout at 15. Paper route and grocery stores brought in some money. Birthdays and Christmas were also good. Prices were just as high compared to earning power. I’m not sure its anymore fun now, but it sure isn’t less fun. My 70th Birthday party was still a great source of good new stuff. There is always money enough for what we really want.
Art
well going by most kids i see they could simply have a talk with their parents , and say instead of buying a $100 pair of nike shoes they could buy the $19.99 walmart specials and the freight station . kid gets what he wants , parent spends less money , both happy !
No it’s not you,It is the times. I’ve been asking the same questions myself,every time I go to theLHS! Now that I’am retired I would like to sit down and build a nice building or things like that,but??? again the money thing.Like the turntable $299.00 is way to high for me! Atlas has been makeing a good turntable for years,But it still has a nine inch deck,Indexing is good,nosie is not! engine shed is priced right.After all these years why has’nt altas improved on this ?Like a 15’ deck and quite motor,and they could stay under $100.00.
I guess thats life,hats off to the youngsters that are staying the course!![bow]
JIM
Young guys, listen carefully. Dad (or Mom) has a job. [:D]
Seriously, save as you can and start small. You can add on later.
AMEN! Just use what I used in the 50’s. Mom and dad you know where I am and who are my ftiends and Remeber that I asked for a TRAIN fro Christmas NOT a BLACK LEATHER JACKET.
The times are different but the logic is the same.
Have a good 4th!
those of you looking to save a few bucks and still put in some good buildings should check out PikeStuff’s buildings very affordable and very kit-bash-able, A two stall engine house for $16.36, a two story office building for $9.39 , and the kits are made to easily attach together.
check out some of there stuff at this link,
http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/HO-Scale-Buildings-and-Structures-Pikestuff/HO_BLG_541_1.html
bill
I agree with the start small and save as you can. I have been working for years and just now getting my stuff put together. Another idea is just check the web you can find a lot of good stuff on the web for a lot less but do your research so you dont end up with junk.
Ah youth. Yes, the cost of this hobby can be high. But wait, the best is still to come. Mortgage, insurance, prescriptions, new roof, kid’s braces etc etc etc. If I knew then what I know now . . . . . … .
When I started into HO gauge, I was just as strapped for cash as any other 12 year old. But I wanted a layout. I could not obtain my goal through direct purchase of the things I desired. I began to purchase other peoples broken and discarded railroad items. I begain to follow the how-to articles in MR. Through the years, MR has taught me how to build freight cars ( the old Dollar Model articles), how to modify and detail the strange locomotives that were available, how to build structures (may E.L. Moore be sainted), how to build bridges and trees (bless you Jack Work), and every thing a layout might require, even a full turntable complete with indexing. The on-going series called Pillar to Post covered so many potential problem areas I nearly wept when it was discontinued. That series was the embodyment of taking you by the hand and constructing a layout. I became a kitbasher, a scratch builder, a rebuilder of other folks junk. I did get my layout up and running, and within my miserly budget.
Even today, with considerably more expendable cash, I continue to scratchbuild many of the things I want. I find enjoyment in the creative side of the hobby. I also know that if you want a layout badly enough, you can still find a way to fulfill your dreams and not break the bank. It may not be the easiest path to a layout, but it will get you there, I promise you that.
It is a great hobby, a little something for everyone, and all the challenges you might want to face. It can also be a lot of fun if you will let it.
Steam will rise again, just as soon as I put the pot on the stove.
Tom
Amen, Tom. I definitely have neither your skills nor your experience, but I applaud your philosophy and determination. Someone once said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Or, as my Grandfather told me once, “If you want something badly enough, you’ll go to no end of trouble to get it.”
I started my first layout in 1960. My dad bought the piece of plywood and made 2 sawhores to put it on in the basement. After that I was on my own. I dyed sawdust for grass and roads. A little paint and spread out the sawdust and it looked good. I know that in the 60s we didn’t have all the neat things that are around now, but we all had to dream about the day we could get that first steam engine, or a new piece of track. Switches were expensive and who could afford to have powered switch machines? The times have changed, but the dreams go on.
Wayne
well lads…being a younger adult (26) with the rigors of being on my own …wife and son… you gotta do what you can…think about it …if you can cut some small corners then you will all be surprised how much money you can save for stuff for your pike…instead of going to McDonalds make a sandwich at the house…there is 7.00 for the rr…forgo the movie…another 15 bucks…candy store is right out…you can also maby collect pop cans to recycle…that reward is two fold…helping clean the earth and money for the rr…drive less there is less gas used there for more money for the rr…dont forget about all of the other things you are doing for money for your rr…it add up quick…these are a few tried and true ways to make xtra dough for the layout cause thats how i make some of my hobby money
My recommendation, get creative. Sit with a piece of paper and pencil and make a list of the structures you’d like to have. Then figure out which ones’ you can scratch-build out of cardstock or something similiar. Do a few drawings or better yet if you can view a pic of an existing kit this can also give you some ideas. Then get yourself some glue, a few plastic pieces (tubing…etc) for those odd shaped pieces. Cardstock, plastic pieces and glue are fairly inexpensive (pocket change), and you can build up a pretty nice structure fairly cheap plus you can build your structures to configure to your layout. Good Luck, Steve
I’m a young person (17) and since job are tight in my area making money is not an option. With Walthers plastic kit going for $40-$60 for what I want it’s just not possible to afford them. Likwise I like building craftsman kits and at $60-$80 that just doesn’t work either. So I am finding scratch building much better. While a building might cost $35 to but I can build one from scratch for $15 or so. Mat board is good stuff and since I can get it for free that saves big amounts of money.
My $.02 I have saved a ton looking in the local reading paper, Trading Post, I wannta and such. Also going to train shows and swap meets have brought a few good itmes. I am just worried about the new people getting in and getting burned. Hobby Lobby has a lot of things at 50% off with coupons or on line.
Takes care and keep the SHINY SIDE UP!
Another way to stretch a limited budget is to do more modeling with each structure kit. I’ve been working on a Walthers Merchant’s Row II for quite awhile now. Each store has different color brick and stonework. Paint the widow, doors and frames. Block out different areas of the buildings so when it is lighted some rooms look empty just like in real life. I’m currently attempting to put in some rough interiors using the ideas in the Kalmbach structures book.
I’ve spent about $30 so far on the building and some paint and about 6 weeks now working on it, which comes out to about $5.00 a week. Much more budget friendly than if had just assembled the kit, then built another and another etc etc.
About twenty years ago I really wanted a computer. When I sat down and really figured out what it would cost to get an Apple IIc it came out to about what I was spending on a two pack a day smoking habit. I gave up the cigarettes, got the computer and will likely live longer.