Ok, I used to have an HO scale railroad when I was a kid, and now im 18 and purchased my first home and ive got an extra room. So i thought id come back to it, but on a larger scale hehe But i realize after reading here I know next to nothing (which is probobly why the one i had when i was a kid never ran that i can remember) So for all you experts i have some questions:
BTW All questions are related to HO Scale (thats what ill be using)
Q1: What is the best track to use?
Q2: Can I use different brands of track or no?
Q3: Can i use different brands of cars and locomotives?
Q4: If you CAN use different brands together (track/cars/loco’s) is it or isnt it a good idea?
Q5: Kadee #5 Couplers > To me looks like 010010001100 aka: What the hell is it?
Q6: How do you make track work at different inclines (i.e. hills) im wanting to setup a multi level track layout (for my underground coal mine)
Q7: What is the maximum degree of incline an HO scale locomotive can handle with say 2-6 cars
Q8: What is the maximum number of cars an HO locomotive can pull? And w/ that number of cars on it what is the maximum incline it can handle?
Q9: Where can i buy bulk amounts of track say 10-25 feet?
Q10: Any books that i can go get from a library or Barnes and Noble that you guys recommend Id love to know about.
Thank you very much in advance, i hope to have the room which is now being used as storage cleaned out and some benchwork up with some track and scenery by January so ill let you all know how it goes, and you’ll be hearing alot from me
wow 18 and have a house. you’re a year older than me. thats great.
yes you can use different car and locomotive products together. if you are asking if you can say have a Proto 2000 locomotive and Athearn cars, you can do that. just as long as the couplers are compatable. from experience and what i’ve heard Atlas makes the best track. wether it be flex track or snap track atlas is the best. i don’t think it matters if you run different brands of cars and locomotives, just as long as they have compatable couplers like i said above. thats all i can answer as i’m just starting to.
A1: Track with nickel silver rail, shiny silver. Don’t buy brass or steel rail. Has oxidation and conductivity problems.
Q2: Can I use different brands of track or no?
Yes. The important thing is the "code’ of the track. Code is the height of the rail in thousandths of an inch. So code 100 is .01 in high. Code 83 is .083 in high. The most common are code 83 and code 100. Start off with all the same size. Atlas is probably the best buy from a cost per piece perspective. Other good brands are Shinohara, Walthers and Microengineering.
Q3: Can i use different brands of cars and locomotives?
Yes.
Q4: If you CAN use different brands together (track/cars/loco’s) is it or isnt it a good idea?
Yes. No one company offers all the the above components. You will have to mix and match to get what you want.
Q5: Kadee #5 Couplers > To me looks like 010010001100 aka: What the hell is it?
Kadee is a company that makes couplers, trucks and RR cars. Kadee couplers are designed to look like real couplers. They have a little steel wire hanging underneath them that when it passes over a magnet, will pull to the side, opening the knuclkle of the coupler without manual intervention. In the last 5 years several other companies have offered similar compatible couplers, Accurail, McHenry and others.
Q6: How do you make track work at different inclines (i.e. hills) im wanting to setup a multi level track layout (for my underground coal mine)
Several different ways. I suggest buying several books on basic model railroading. MR magazine is a good resource. Go to the kalmbach website and look for their books on the basics, wiring, scenery, benchwork, etc.
John Armstrongs “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” from Kalmbach is an excellant book It covers many of the same topics as “A Railroad What it is and What It Does” (which is a college text book) but from a modelers perspective. Chapter 5 “Operating reliabilty throug standards” will answer a lot of your questions.
A1: As far a what brand, they all are good. Each brand has its own small differences. I would suggest you get a small sample of the different brands of the same scale and gauge track to compare. This is what I recently did to decide what brand to purchase for my newly rebuilt railway. I wanted code 83 nickel-silver rail, so I got a sample of flextrack and a turnout from Atlas, Walthers/Shinohara, and Micro Engineering. I then selected the brand that looked the best to me since I was interested in appearance as well as functionality…
Q2: Can I use different brands of track or no?
A2: Yes, you can. On my railway, I will be mixing Micro Engineering flextrack and turnouts with Walthers/Shinohara components that ME doesn’t make. I could do this just as easily with Atlas track components if I wanted to.
Q3: Can i use different brands of cars and locomotives?
A3: Yes. Any manufacturer’s HO car or locomotive will run on any manufacturer’s HO scale track. If all the cars and locomotives have the same kind of couplers they will all work together (you can change the couplers if they don’t match). The same holds true for the other scales such as N, O and so forth.
Q4: If you CAN use different brands together (track/cars/loco’s) is it or isnt it a good idea?
A4: No one manufacturer can produce all of the different varieties of locomotives and cars. Many manufacturers produce cars and locos that the others manufacturers are not making. Therefor modelers benefit with a large selection of products to choose from. This also promotes healthy competition among manufacturers. We modelers all want cheap equipment, but we also want it to be of good quality and good looking as well. There’s nothing wrong with mixing brands together. In fact I’d recommend it.
Q5: Kadee #5 Couplers > To me looks like 010010001100 aka: What the hell is it?
Q #1. All are good but Atlas is Probley the best. Code 83 represents what is used on the main lines in the USA. Code 70 is what you would find say on a branch line.
Q #2. Yes but keep in mind flex track and snap track. The track with the Plastic Roadbed underneath you can’t mismatch between different companys.
Q #3. Yes, even the knuckles are compatible say between McHenery and Kadee but not with the old horn hook or X2F couplers. If you are doing HO scale as long as it’s for HO it should work but don’t get nothing thats for HO proto:87. That is a fine scale of HO and is not compatible with regular HO equipment unless thats what you modeling but doesn’t sound like it.
Q #4. Most New cars and locos run good together. Good rule of thumb if it was made in the last 5 years it should work, watch out for cheap sets that have the old X2F or horn hooks - these are usally attached to the truck instead of the body of the car or loco and you can’t switch them with a kadee or other. If they are attached to the frame with a screw than it should be possible to replace with a kadee.
Q # 5 & 6. Same as above answers.
Q # 7. If you have only 2 - 6 cars than you should be able to tackle any modest grade although most proto grades are between 1-4% and Southern now Norfolk Southern has one that is at least 5%.
Q #8. I know what the mag’s say but from my own experience a switcher will do about 10 to 20 the normal, road switcher say GP 38 or 40 will do about 30 to 45 the normal, and a 3rd Generation Diesel say a Dash 9 will do about 50 - 70 on straight level track. This is the normal on my layout but I don’t have much as far as grades or sharpe turns either. That will be a factor.
Q # 9. Flex track is sold in 36" lengths and section snap track is about 9" lengths.
Q # 10. Buy a Model Railroader which I’m sure you have and look inside to see other books by Kalmbach Pub.
Pick up a copy of the Walthers reference book, the HO catalog of 1,000 pages listing thousands of products. \www.walthers.com Also go tp www.nmra.org and scroll down to the beginners page.
Thanks alot guys, i appreciate the help @Hawk05 - the house isnt anything special heh, just a mobile home but its mine and i can do whatever (like cut holes in walls and run train through the whole house! MUWAHAHAHA, the wife will love that one ) Well again thanks guys and ill be in touch
What road are you modeling? I know it’s a coal mine… By the way, WOW 18 years old and your married and have a house! That’s awesome. I’m 13 and planning to build a 5x8 HO layout.
I agree with everyone but I prefer code 100 Atlas track. It is out of scale a bit but after paint and ballast is added it looks fine. Also the height of the track makes it easier to solder too(more surface to solder on) and easier to keep ballast out of. I do recommend buying a good quality locomotive like Kato or Proto 1000 or 2000. They are all low maintenance locos which leads to less frustration when you are starting out.
im not modeling after any certain railroad, just making my own using my imagination. A coal mine is just part of my design, i intend to have a city w/small suburbs and a mountain town. Only thing im trying to figure out in my head is how to make the incline grades work. 2% optimum 4%most is what you are mainly saying and that is alot less than i thought i could do so im working it out in my head how to incorporate multiple levels to maximize the space i have well im off to bed the wife is calling me. Once again thank you all for the help I greatly appreciate it.
But i realize after reading here I know next to nothing (which is probobly why the one i had when i was a kid never ran that i can remember) So for all you experts i have some questions: