This will be my first model railroad besides the oval we used to put around the christmas tree when i was a kid. i am planning on going ho scale. i could use any suggestions as to what size or what products will make my first layout an enjoyable one. also the only space i have to use is in my garage which is rather large however i live in florida and i was wondering if the heat and humidity will hurt my layout or if there is anything i can do to help it. this is my first post and hopefully a fun journey into model railroading so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated[:)] thank you all
Don, See my answer on the other post.
To respond directly, Don, this hobby is very much like radio-controlled airplanes, putting computers together, and owning horses; ya gotta know your stuff.
Not intending to steal pcarrel’s thunder, as I am unsure of his reply, you should just make up your mind to spend a good bit of time here for the next few weeks, and go to a hobby shop (we abbreviate them to LHS for 'local hobby shop") to buy a couple of decent manuals on building model train layouts. There is a lot to it, and you wouldn’t be the first to run out, slap down the plastic, and regret it about two hours into your set-up.
We are always glad to welcome newcomers, but we are usually adamant that they slow down and read-in. This is a great hobby because it will develop skills in so many diverse areas. If you are an office worker, and not used to soldering, carpentry, electroncis, and crafting painted surfaces, then your spouse (if married) will be amazed at our accomplishments in time.
Nice to have you here.
I agree with Crandell. Step back and do a LOT of reading about it. It is a great hobby, but it also comes at a price, so you have to work at it slowly, unless you are infinitely wealthy. One of the tricks is to do enough different things so you don’t get in a rut. To start with, read jfugate’s thread on railroad design in the General Forums and perhaps buy a book like Model Railroad Planning for Realistic Operation (I think John Armstrong wrote it - someone can correct me if I’m wrong). After that, try downloading XtrkCad or some other railroad CAD software and measure out the room you have and plug it in to the CAD program and start playing around with track laying. Just some suggestions. But above all, ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE HERE. Lots of good helpers here.
Welcome. I spent many days reading Model Railroad Magizines and this forum. I found things I liked and kept them. Pretty soon I had a stack of pictures and when I strung those things together, I had a start.
Also know what you want. I wanted a big circle to run trains around, a place for a mine and a place for a lumber camp. I also wanted mountains, bridges and tunnels. I wanted a desert and a place for huge pine trees.
When You know what you want, it will be easier.
If you want lots on opperation, this forum has some great ones, though I am not one.
Keep asking specific questions and you will get more answers than you know what to do with.
[#welcome]Welcom again Don[#welcome]
I responded to your post in full in the other thread as did PCarrol. We pretty much all bounce between this and the other forum so there is only need to post in one or the other, as I found out when I posted in both like you when I first joined.
Have fun, be safe and READ,READ,READ,ASK
Karl.
thank you ukguy that will save me a lot of typing (lol) thank you all for the input so far, i’ve been on the net researching all day.
Welcome Don - I also live in Sunny FLorida down in the Keys. i have a layout in an attached shed. I have two window AC units I turn on only when I am working in the room because of the high cost of Electicity down here. As a result it gets quite hot in the shed and the high humidity requires me to clean my track several times a week. I use a Bright boy and good ole elbow grease. I am about to try some of the Maaz or FLitz metal cleaning paste to see if I can go longer between track cleanings. So far after almost a year other than the track problem I have noticed no adverse effects from the heat or humidity. The good news is we are hopefully getting transferred back up to the real world by the end of this year and maybe have an inside the house Central AC, carpeted floor etc etc really cool train room. I am hoping for a room 100’ x 100 '. But chances are it will be slightly smaller LOL!
Terry