hi to all who read this letter or e-mail, i just like to talk about building a ho scale lay out, i prefer trains,slotcars, and street cars, i will be building one soon and it will be the third one i will be erecting, i hope this one will be the best one yet, i will be sending pictures in to the forum so people can get a look at it so wish me luck, and i may be asking for some help from anybody because i will need it, i am a boilermaker and i thought i was mechcanicaly inclined well you have to be a jack of all trades to build a good layout, i give people creidt who build big and fancy layouts they have to be good at what they do. thank you for reading, sincerly scottrick.
Welome to the forums.
Yes, this a hobby that builds skills in many areas. Some of us are better in some areas than others. As you mentioned, we all try to improve as we go. Some folks rebuild entire layouts as their skills improve. Others just rebuild or upgrade sections of their layouts as they gain knowledge and ability.
There are many knowledgeable people here ready to answer your questions. There is a block down the right hand side of this page, Search our Community, that will get you many past comments on the subject you search for. You will probably find that there are several different opinions on how to do things. There are no real right or wrong ways to do things, just figure out which one works best for you. Also, you will find some methods work better in some situations and a different method in another. Remember, the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.
Looking forward to seeing photos.
Have fun,
Richard
Welcome aboard and you’re right - there’s plenty to learn. And even then most people can’t do everything. For example, a few of us at the club can “do wiring”, but man, what I wouldn’t give for a licensed electrician to join up!
Jim Hediger of the Model Railroader staff is one of the most experienced model railroaders you are going to find, and it is interesting how often in his articles he uses the phrase “take your time.” I really do think taking your time and evaluating what you are doing or are about to do, testing what you just did before moving on, and so on, can be just about as important as the skills themselves. While model railroading calls on a wide variety of skills, many of them are not called upon to be at a professional level, just proficient.
Dave Nelson