Hi folks , I been model railroading on and off for twenty plus years now the locomotives I have are pretty old and would like to buy new ones ,How do I know what to buy with out over paying. I also have a large space about 450 sq ft, with that much room should I think about starting a club
[#welcome] To the site Wil RR.
Far as what engines you should buy I assume you mean manufacture not model like a Dash 9. Are you going to go with DC or DCC and with or with out sound?
Far as Diesels and none sound I am a big fan of the Proto Engines either DC or DCC. Lower power draw and very durable.
Steam, I would look at the Bachmann Spectrum first then BLI. Reason I listed the Bachmann first is because of prices. Plus as much as I love my BLI and PCM steamers, I have to repair them more than any other brand I own.
450 square feet, is that layout only or total sizes of the room? Either way, a good sizes. Are you going to flip the bill, or are you looking for people to help pay for the layout? My self, I want total control on what is done as far what the layout looks like. I would like some folks to run with and visit the layout but with no say so.
So it depends on what you call a club.
Cuda Ken
Here are a couple of questions that you need to answer before anyone can really give you a good answer :
- What scale do you model?
- DC or DCC?
- What era are you interested in modeling?
- What part of the world are you modeling?
Is the place where you have available space in a public building? Do you know others interested in forming a club? There are lots of hoops to jump through in order to get a club off the ground.
[#welcome]
What scale are you looking at? It’s not only a question of what, but also where. I get great service at M.B. Klein and he discounts http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
450 sq ft is about a double car garage. That’s probably a little small for a club, but it could be a good size for a bunch of friends to work on together. Some issues to resolve up front are: who decides what’s going to be built, who is paying for it, who owns it, what happens if you move or drop out. Personally I have about 1000 sq ft. and plan to to do it all myself and avoid all those issues.
Enjoy
Paul
I am going to use dcc and sound after seeing some products on MR site how could I not . That was the thing I was thinking as having control it would be hard not having final say. nice GTO I,m going to start a 70 mustang convertible
HO scale I think Boston and Maine era I’m leaning towards 40’s 50;s maybe 60’s
Instead of a club you may want to think of doing a Round Robin type group. Lots of benefits, with out the headaches of a club.
I would first think about what scale I was going to model. Then, is there a favorite prototype railroad that you like. What era do you wish to model (steam, diesel, or the ever popular steam/diesel transition). Would you want your layout to be DC or DCC controlled. Finally, what is your budget for locomotives (or for the entire layout). Brass locomotives are great models but very expensive. They can range from several thousand dollars to several hundred dollars depending on how rare they are (some of the older models are not as expensive but need some work to run better). Do you want a few expensive locomotives and a larger number of less expensive ones. The Walthers catalogue would be a good place to see what the MSRP for various locomotives cost. There is a book called Brass Trains that have the entire list of brass locomotives, cabooses, rolling stock and passenger cars along with the usual price.
I like brass and have a few of my favorite railroads, Norfolk and Western and Southern Railway. I also have a few models by Broadway Limited.
As far as a club goes, I would want a few “good friends” who would be willing to work on “the club layout” and donate time and material. That could be difficult. Who will make the “major” decisions such as scale, design, etc.
Why, don’t like them any more? I’ve got pile of locomotives that are that “old” that I would not trade for some of the things on the market today. In 1984 Atlas introduced the RS-3 with a Kato drive. While the body details have improved over the decades, its drive mechanism is still equal or better than a current run.
Lots of research. Figure out what you want. Check out how much that loco is listed for in the ads, watch the units sell on ebay (search for closed auctions), then go to Trainworld in NY and see if they have the unit, they often have killer clearance sales … Also checkout local model railroad swap meets and the used market. I got a batch of the said Atlas locos with the Kato drive for $10 each at a swap meet a couple weeks ago.
450 sq ft.? That doesn’t sound much larger than a double car garage. Starting a club is a lot harder than it sounds. As some of the prior posters have mentioned doing a round-robin layout “tour” might be a much better way to go.
As others have stated, a round robin group, teaming up friends, who share the same interest as you, might be a better thing to do than starting a club. A club needs by-laws, club officers etc, which just takes away a lot of time of what you actually intend to do - building and operating a layout and enjoying it!
I am a member of a round robin group, which was initiated over 30 years ago. Our group builds and operates a narrow gauge railroad in one of our member´s basements. The layout is built in modules and each module is owned by one of the members, usually the one who built it. Ownership of locos and rolling stock is also defined. There is no “common” ownership, which makes it easier to settle, should one of the members decide to leave the group (which has not yet happened). We also have members, who are in the position to dedicate more funds and time to our mutual project than others. No one needs to be even with the other - this has helped us to integrate people from all walks of life into our group. There are 7 members now.
The most important issue is to agree on a common theme, era and setting and a set of standards for the ends of each module, so they can be linked together - that´s about all the “rules” you need.
Have fun!
Wil RR, I have to guess you mean the GTO comment toward me. It is not a GTO, but a 69 Charger R/T, but with the small picture you are not the first one that though it was a Goat.
On sound engines, I have some and at time I enjoy the sound. There are other times they get on my nerves. I would not limit my self to sound engines only if for no other reason cost. Most sound engines will start at around $185.00. You can find Proto 1000’s starting around $65.00 and up, then you would need to add a decoder say $20.00.
Good Luck, Cuda Ken
Afraid I can’t help you much with new US prototype locomotives, since the only one I own is a Spectrum 0-6-0T. Most of my locos (including the two I ran about ten minutes ago) are old enough to run for President, 1:80 scale and Japanese prototype.
As for starting a club, unless you are already a part of a group that wants to start a club, I would approach the idea with the same care as trying to pet a porcupine. The informal round-robin approach is much more conducive to your individual happiness. Why? If you have a formal club with fixed meeting dates, you might find that you can’t go out of town for a wedding or funeral because that will conflict with the club meeting scheduled for that weekend. The alternative would be to give the club members the keys to your garage…
Clubs are fine when they meet on neutral ground. If you’re going to invite people into your personal space, you will want to retain veto power - and that won’t set well with dues-paying clubmembers (each of whom will have a list of givens and druthers different from your own.)
Chuck (Lone wolf former club officer modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
The model railroad club I’m in started as a round robin group, and the round robin format failed miserably. Not all members had layouts and some members had inadequate space to hold a meeting or refused to take their turn hosting meetings And if a member had no layout, we usually just sat or stood around and talked, and many of the conversations were just bull sessions that had nothing to do with trains or model railroading. I was a beginning model railroader at the time, and I found those ‘bull session’ meetings frustrating and boring.
In the last few years MR has done some good articles on adding DCC, DCC w/sound, and lighting to older locos. I’m sure they’ve also done one or two articles on remotoring an old unit. You might want to think of keeping some of your better locos and just modernizing them.
Otherwise, Athearn, Atlas, Broadway Limited Imports, MTH are all good manufacturers. Some of the models can be expensive, but I have noticed you do generally get what you pay for.
That is not a problem with the format, nor an issue that everyone did not have a layout. That is a problem with not requiring to have the hosting member prepare something and have a posted agenda IN ADVANCE. The “club” should have never gone to anyone’s house or layout with out knowing exactly what they were going to work on, discuss, operate, or watch (train videos).