Hello There!
I am new to this and happened to find this website and fell in love!!!
My dad has a few model trains set up in his basement and my 2 kids just go nuts over them it is something that they share a great deal of interest in with thier grandpa.
i was wondering if anyone knows of any really neat places to go to see trains around the michigan area? and also if anyone could give me more help navigating around the forum? It gets a little confusing!
I was also wondering if there is any other places to be able to be an engineer on a train that might be a little closer by, somewhere in michigan if anyone knows? Thank you for your help,it would be greatly appreciated!
Have a great day!
Sincerly,bbptrains
the best advice I can give You on selecting a railfan viewing spot, would be to get a map and look where the tracks are. Then, logically consider where the most traffic will be, for example, between Chicago and Detroit. If there is another track that crosses that line, thats where I would go to double my chances to see Trains.
have fun, remember SAFETY FIRST…Keith
thank you for thr info Keith it is greatly appreciated!
If anyone has any other info would be helpful,it would be appreciated greatly! Tanks again! Happy Trains to you all.
bbptrains.
We are starting a model train set for our son and so far I am looking into the HO scale trains and track. I’m wondering if this is the size and type of train that we will be able to easily find additions for. I am also curious as to how big the trains are. My son is going to be 4 Sept.2 and while I know this seems young, he is highly intelligent and is obsessed with trains. We figure if we’re going to be putting money into this, it might as well be the ones he will be interested in for years to come, not just the plastic Thomas stuff. Any input and information will be extremely appreciated. Thanks, Alexis
HI
I don’t know where you are in michigan but greenfield village(henry ford museum)has trains.Elkhart Indiana, Bellevue Ohio,Fostoria Ohio are all good train watching spots too.
stay safe
joe[:)]
Alexis
Ho is the scale you want to go with.I would start with a simple 36"x36" circle.Parts are always easy to find.My son Matt finds my layout really interesting and he is 2.Matchbox and hotwheel cars also can help to make a little town and its something that you can do together.happy modeling!!!
stay safe [:)]
joe and matt
[/quote]
Ho is the scale you want to go with.I would start with a simple 36"x36" circle.Parts are always easy to find.My son Matt finds my layout really interesting and he is 2.Matchbox and hotwheel cars also can help to make a little town and its something that you can do together.happy modeling!!!
stay safe [:)]
joe and matt
[/quote]
joe and matt, thank you so much for the help and advice. Keep an eye out, you’ll probably hear more plee’s for help from me. Alexis[8D]
Any other questions you can email me or there is a forum section for modelrailroading too.
have fun
Joe and matt
Thank you all for the input that you have given me it is greatly appreciated.I will enjoy passing the information on to my kids and to my father. thanks again!!
Have a great day! Be safe!
Sincerly,
bbptrains (holly)
bbptrains Hello, check out the Directory of Tourist Lines and Rail Museums in the back of the Trains magazine. The new issue September 2003 is out now and this directory starts on page 71. Some museums have both static displays and train rides. Some will be “Don’t Touch” while others say hop aboard. I use to volunteer at the Arkansas Railroad Museum at Pine Bluff, AR. There it was hands on. Ring the bell. And when the 819 was under steam the kids could even toot the whistle.
If there is not one real close, then make a family weekend and enjoy quality time with those you love while doing something you all enjoy. Be sure to check the schedule and make sure they will be open.
Something else to consider, actually ride a passenger train if one is near. There are some tourist lines that offer “engineer for an hour” or for a trip. You can find some of these listed in the classified section of Trains magazine.
Also check your state tourism office. They might well have some “train places” not listed in the mag.
If you have any other questions please feel free to email me. [:)]
I hope this gives you so
[;)]
I just saw an HO Athearn starter set for $115. This is a realy nice set for anyone of any age to start with! You can find cheaper starter sets for around $50 - 75. Most starter sets include a basic oval, an locomotive, 2-4 cars, and the caboose. Usualy buildings and sceanery are sold seperately. My advice would be start with the more basic toy trains and progressively improve the quality (& cost ) as he grows up. I still have a FEW train parts from that age. Honestly I took apart and “improved” most of my train stuff before I was 7[:p] Hell I had fun! My grandpa knew it! He got me a new set every Xmas…because I “Fixed” the old set[:I]
Good Luck And Have Fun!
PS If ya want more fun, get the old Tyco cars. Coke a cola tank cars, Dots , Popsicle, Duch Maid, the list goes on. They are fun & colectables! Just an thought![:o)]
G’day.
just joined the net a week or so ago and then subscribed to M R. recently moved residence so have to rebuild my layout (ho) which i dismantled a few years ago. it was a 12v dc with blocks. fairly small, 36 sets of points (i think you call them turnouts?) 5 complete track circuits, approx 18 sidings, approx 30 locos, approx 40 passenger carriages and approx 100 goods trucks (sorry for the down-under terminology).
have just seen a layout with no blocks which runs on 20v, the controllers can “dial up” a specific loco and control each loco individually by “dialing up”. power on to tracks all the time. Just read about DCC in the july M R. is this the same system and would this be the way to go for my new layout which will be in a 35 x 15 foot room? can anyone throw some light on this? I have to admit i have been “out of the loop” for quite a while. any advice will be greatly appreciated.
g’day again,
it’s 2 weeks since i posted the last message and thought there may be someone out there who may be able to point me in the right direction even an enterprising businessman. maybe it’s my accent thats hard to understand??? i’ve been visiting the site at least once a day but with no luck. heres hoping. maybe it’s my profile thats the problem???
regards,
barry.
I would address your problem on the Model Railroader forum.
Trains Magazine forums is a good place to ask any question too.
I’m sorry i can’t help you since i dont know jack about model railroading.
But good luck anyway.[;)][;)]
To Alaskaman,
Many thanks, i’ve obviously got a lot to learn.
Pity about jack about model railroading, you don’t know what you are missing.
Fortunately i’ve done both aspects and enjoyed both, incl. train spotting and photographing the real ones. But short of being a driver of the real ones, it gives you a partial feeling of power to be able to marshal a train full of “goods trucks” and take them on a run around the circuit.
Good luck with your hobby,
Barry.
Barry…the best advice I can give you is to start reading. Learn as much as you think you can handle and then form some sort of plan for a layout. Steam era ?
Diesel? It can get expensive to switch from one to the other. Too bad you measured the size of the room already…your probably figuring out how many sheets of plywood it would take to fill the room! Start small and then go on to expanding it by adding sections. 20v system is a new one on me. I started in ho in the 60’s and use the old block system. Try hobby shops and libraries for books. Even back issues of magazines can be very useful.
[:)]good luck
p.s. I can hardly hear your accent when I read your posts!!
To TIEBREAKER…Many thanks, I’ve been getting a lot of clues from the MR web site and it should help a lot. Even the photos in MR provide a lot of ideas.
Thanks again , Barry.
hi if any one out there lives in the north west part of Pa could you please tell me of any good train watching spots on the Bessemer and Lake Erie? I live half way between
Pgh. and Erie Can anyone help? Thanks Wayne
Hello There!
I am new to this and happened to find this website and fell in love!!!
My dad has a few model trains set up in his basement and my 2 kids just go nuts over them it is something that they share a great deal of interest in with thier grandpa.
i was wondering if anyone knows of any really neat places to go to see trains around the michigan area? and also if anyone could give me more help navigating around the forum? It gets a little confusing!
I was also wondering if there is any other places to be able to be an engineer on a train that might be a little closer by, somewhere in michigan if anyone knows? Thank you for your help,it would be greatly appreciated!
Have a great day!
Sincerly,bbptrains
the best advice I can give You on selecting a railfan viewing spot, would be to get a map and look where the tracks are. Then, logically consider where the most traffic will be, for example, between Chicago and Detroit. If there is another track that crosses that line, thats where I would go to double my chances to see Trains.
have fun, remember SAFETY FIRST…Keith