Hey guys, I want to suprise my almost 4year old son with a train set for X-mas. I was thinking just one of the HO starter sets from Lifelike or Bachmann. He loves trains and I know he will want to play with it all year round. Here is my delema, we live in a double wide mobile home and he shares a room with his baby sister. The room is small and I already know he may not pay full attention to the tracks if they are layed out on the floor. (been there done that, bought new tracks to prove it).
So here is what I was thinking I would like to know if any one has done this before and if so how well did it work. If it didnt work any ideas on making it work?
Build a simple loop of track using one of the “Easy Track” type setups and nail/screw it to some 1/2 ply. Cut the ply so that it follows the loop of track with about 1/2 inch overhang on each side. use some clear lexan to keep any derailments from hitting the floor and suspending this from the ceiling about 10" down (about level with the top of the door and windows) I was thinking about using the hooks for hanging plants and making the setup removable so we can put his trains under the X-mas tree without building another setup. I fugure the whole thing with trains will weigh less than 20lbs, one of those hooks when screwed into a stud will easily hold 10lbs, and there will be 2 hooks per anchor placement and the suspension cables will be the wire you use for mounting mirrors and pictures. Am I missing anything? Is something like this doable with the hardware I am thinking of using?
I have seen suspended layouts before many times but they have all had perminate fixtures, I am hoping to make this semi perminate.
Kids like hands on, or they get bored very fast. If you want to suspend it from the ceiling, use some small pulleys to lower it down for him when he wants to play with it. Home depot has a vast selection of small ones to choose from. You will have to have something for it to sit on so it doesn’t swing and sway while he plays with it.
I think I would get something like a Thomas or wooden railway system. I got some battery operated engines for my kids Thomas layout so the trains would run on the wooden track themselves and that really kept him interested and I had fun too. I also got wooden switchable turnouts and he loved doing lots of switching and changing the routes. His wooden Thomas layout sat on a 5’x10’ piece of plywood for 4 years and was the most used toy in the house. Just my [2c].
He has had the wooden trains and the plastic battery powered trains now for 2 years and he loves them. He builds “layouts” all over his room and runs the trains from one end to the other till Thomas or Duncan runs off the tracks. When ever I bring out one of my trains and put it out on a loop of track, Tommy will spend hours just watching the train go round and round. He loves trains. Durring the summer I build a loop of track in the living room and put his Thomas with Anne and Clarabelle on the tracks and I cant remember watching him have so much fun as he did when he was at the throttle. He will want the trains on the ground I know that is why I want to make it lowerable. I know he will also enjoy watching the trains go round and round in his room. It may even help him take his nap like he is supposed to. Pulleys may be an option, I will look into it.
Way back in the early 50’s, while I was in high school, my dad, a Santa Fe engineer’ and I had a Lionel layout on an enclosed and heated back porch in Oklahoma. He had it rigged so we could raise the whole shooting match to the ceiling using pullies so mom could do the wash and also when the railroad was not in service. Worked well, but we tired of the grunting and pulling, so he floored the attic and we moved on up.
In any case, give him a little more than just a loop of track. A 4-year old will get bored quickly by just seeing a train circle a loop. Add a passing track and a siding, so he can run the loco around the train, do some switching and change the direction of the train. Your son will love you for that, and maybe you give him a start in a life-long hobby.
maybe a good starter set by Marklin. Add a couple of switches and some straights and curved sections.
I got my Marklin set 54 yrs ago. My youngest (8 yrs) sets it up on the floor in the livingroom. And it is still running fine.
From my late father I inherited a live-steam set. And once in a while we run that one as well. My grandfather even build a towerhouse, a depot and some other goodies to it; all together quite a scene on the floor. So when you buy quality stuff it will outlive you.
Instead of plywood for the base, consider 2-inch pink (or blue) insulation foam. With a light wood framework, this will give you a solid base which is a lot lighter than plywood.
I’m not sure of how today’s “train set” packages of LifeLike or Bachmann trains hold up. In years past, these low-end models really were designed to run for a month or two. Then, they would fail, but by that time their young owners would be tired of them. LifeLike is now owned by Walthers, who have a better reputation for quality, and Bachmann is producing better, more reliable products as well, so these units may well be better than they were a few years ago. However, I would still consider going a step up, perhaps to the Atlas Trainman or Walthers Proto 1000 series. What you want to find is a reasonably-priced engine with a solid, reliable mechanism, but you don’t need to pay for the fine detailing that higher-end models provide.
If it were me, i would put the layout on a rollaway under the bed slide it out when he wants to play with it, maybe set it on the bed. At age four interests change, You can always go more complicated if his interest is maintained.
OK thank you for the tips, I like the idea of a passing track and I have the switches to make that happen. It would not take much to add that to my plan. I am going with the ply because I need to make sure it will handle the rigors of a 4 yr old. I decided on making him his own Tommy Train Set from some Athearn kits. I just bought the loco which is an Athearn BB F45, This loco has a full body so I dont have to worry about him breaking the railings. At first I am going to give him 3 or 4 cars to go with it and that will keep him happy for a while, and adding new cars to his collection for rewards for doing good. He also has a Thomas the Tank Engine and coaches to run. I have the power packs and track already so I am good to go there. I am still looking at the pully idea, I need to design the rig and get the approval from the bank (read wife). Thank you all for the suggestions.