I picked up a bunch of HO scale stuff at a garage sale today. I am brand new to model railroading.
I got about 9-10 engines; about 20 some rail cars; 4 transformers; 2 different kinds of fast-track; a bunch of code 100 track; and a box full of buildings and misc stuff.
Most of the engines work (some better than others) But they all kinda stutter on the rail and I have to turn the power all the way up to get them going.
Looks like some of the cars need new trucks, couplers, wheels etc…
Where do I begin???
As far as a layout goes I haven’t really decided what I want to do.
Well: Maybe buy a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood aand layout an oval of track and pit power to it so you can check out your power units and locos. As you try each one, write a short history of how it performs and set it aside. As you work with all your new found toys you may start to get the bug as most of the rest of us did and then start to plan if you would like a bigger layout complete with buildings and scenery, or wether you might just put the stuff on eBay and spend the money on something else??? Just some off the top suggestions. Roy.
FIRST: identify what you have (Make and condition).
2. LEARN: terms necessary to describe what you are doing (‘thing-a-ma-jig’ and 'what’s-it’s-mame don’t help. a. A “transformer” is an AC device. b. A ‘Power Pack’ is DC.
Is your RR AC or DC?’
3. BUY: some KALMBACH books or videos to get started. Words & Pictures. You’ll need: A Layout to put things on.
buy a ‘BRITE BOY’ to clean the track, & alcohol & cue-tips to clean engine wheels.
What is “2 different kinds of Fast track”? - as opposed to ‘slow’?
Ok my terminology may not be correct. But I have 2 different sets of the track that has the plastic roadbed. I also have a ton of sectional track without the roadbed. (way more curved sections than straight) The track has a silver color as opposed to copper color. Most of the engines ar Bachmann. One Life-Like. And a few just say “Made in Yugoslavia.”
I set up an oval and cleaned the rails with rubbing alcohol and that seemed to help out a little bit. Do the engines need to be lubricated?
I think it is DC…
I’ve noticed that I usually derail at the switches. Doesn’t matter if I am making a facing point move or trailing point move.
Is this for real? In the same post he says things like “silver color” and “copper color” like he doesn’t know the difference between brass and nickel silver, and then hits us with the terms “facing point” and 'trailing point". Hmmm…
you might want to post pictures it will help us understand what you are talking about. Your switch problem might be your rails are stuck or the gauge of you wheels are too wide or too narrow.
Clean the wheels and the track , maybe take the shell off the loco, and lube the motor with a very small amount of light oil, and see if that helps the performance any.
Run the trains, and think about what you like and don’t like.
Silver rail is nickel silver, the better rail then the brass colored brass rail. For the turnouts, get yourself an NMRA gauge and check clearances. Track/wheeels need cleaning usually from unknown sources who arent hobby leary.
lubrication? yep, get plastic compatible, you may need top open up the engines to do this.
For the love of god and all that is holy run while you still can, before it is to late and you become like us! lol just kidding welcome to the forum! like the others have said get some books on the hobby, find a post by SpaceMouse, he has a good beginners guide in his signature area, and again welcome aboard.
Thats Great, Sometimes You can find pretty good deals at Garage sales ect. Now I’ll tell You what You may want to try to stay away from…Tyco and early Bachmann train set locomotive’s.
most of the early stuff doesn’t last very long maybe a few months if You are lucky. As soon as possible try to get better locomotives, on the low dollar end Bachmann Spectrum is a pretty good choice as is Life Like Proto 2000, Higher dollar stuff would be something like Kato.
You should be able to use either the brass or nickle silver rail You bought, But it will need to be cleaned really good with a bright boy. I use some old atlas brass rail and I dont have problems as long as I clean it on a regular basis. Also solder Your rails together so You have good electrical contact. It’s not fun running a train and having it suddenly come to a dead stop because of a bad connection or dirty track.
Get rid of the plastic horn hook couplers that come on some rolling stock and convert to Kadee couplers.
You probably only need one transformer unless You want to set up seperate blocks, Keep the others as spares.
Or, learn the process of replacing motors. Not that hard on some. If there’s a paintscheme on them you like, just fix the motors. Cleaning will help a lot.
Made in Yugoslavia could be AHM. They don’t last real long.
Don;t worry about a setting just yet. Get track down, run trains. Your intrests will culminate in time. Books are good, but you don;t need all of them right now. Frequent train shows/local hobby stores (also reffered to as LHS), and do so without money on you until your ready to jump in. as you see a book that looks intresting, then pick it up. The more you become intrigued in the reasearch, the more you’ll pick up the books you’ll really want and stay in the hobby.
Don’t worry, not everyone’s bark is as bad as their bite. I, too, am a newbie, and have gots lots of good information from this bunch. No good information from me except have fun and if it sticks, this is a way cool hobby. Nobody does your RR way you will. How about subscribing to Model Railroader magazine?
Welcome to the forum, and to he hobby! Do you live near a major city, where there might a club you can join? That’s how I learned a lot of the ‘trade secrets’ about model railroading when I first started ~35yrs ago. But also, the Kalmbach ‘beginner series’ books are a great learning resource.
Here’s a link to the Space Mouse Beginner’s Guide to Layout Design that Tattoo Guy was talking about. It’s very entertaining as well as informative, I keep going back to it once in awhile.