I am going to be starting building a layout soon. I know I will need the scenery and all, which will come over time. I have the track, the track erase, nails, and rail joiners. I have a soldering iron, basic household tools, for when they would or might be needed.
I know I will need to get more nails, joiners, and wheels. But what else would you have on hand to start off that you feel would be necessary.I know the lumber to build the bench. Thanks.
You haven’t mentioned fasteners, although you may have meant that with the word “nails”. I assumed you meant track nails. If you meant track nails, have you wood screws, deck screws, drywall screws…any of those used carefully will be useful in your bench construction. If you meant track nails, quite a few of us have been won over to using a cheap acrylic latex caulk, your choice of colour and brand, to keep the track in place on your roadbed.
Oops…do you have roadbed? Any cork, foam, or vinyl underlay material of a suitable dimension and density should do the trick.
Do you have some fine needle files? You can get cases of an assortment at a tool store or at dollar stores for the cheaper ones. I favour the triangular profile ones because their profile means you can get one edge into tight nooks, and also one edge is very useful for notching the copper cladding on PCB ties if you eventually work your way to making your own turnouts. Those files are also important in smoothing solder burs left over from soldering joiners and feeder wires.
Oops…do you have at least two gauges of wire if you are going to run anything bigger than about a 10 foot run? Ideally, you would want about a 14-16 gauge wire to run the first 80% of your longest axis to keep your voltage high. From there, and all along its length, you would run thinner feeder wires up from this ‘bus’. The feeder wires are best at about 20-22 gauge. They can be even thinner, but should be kept to under 12" if possible. Again, the whole idea is to make sure every inch of your metal rails are able to provide full voltage to the motors above them.
That’s a start. I hope you have a great time with this!
Cheers.
Crandell
Besides what Selector already mentioned what is the basic plan?
What will be the size of the layout?
What Gauge?
Will there be inclines or flat?
So you have track already? If so what brand and type?
Crandell has covered a lot of the basics… here are a few other things to think about (I will assume that you currently do not have any locomotives. If you do, then a few points are probably moot for the time being). We’re going to build from the floor up (mostly).
It will be ho gauge. It will be approx 6x9 in size. There will be no inclines planned at this time. I do have track and its atlas ho gauge.
I do have all kinds and sizes of screws. I also have various kinds of wire fasteners to attach wires together. The nails i have is track nails.
I need to get the wire and corkboard, caulk, files. I am getting form so I can build the mountains and such (thinking of going to where they have big sheets they are throwing away such as sears). I am also going to get the things to do a circus/carnival, various water features, trees, and a logging depot of some kind.
what is roadbed? What quantity of extra track, wheels, balaster and such should i have on hand?
Patience. Lots of it. You will get frustrated at times, especially if you try to do too much at once.
Band-aids. Don’t ask.
A note book/pad of paper and a pencil. Keep notes on the brilliant ideas/solutions that come up, or you will forget them.
I am going to get the bench work done and the layout the track along wafter wards. It is going to be dc controlled.
Wow! So much covered in the first three responses that I’ll try a quick summary:
You’re not going to wave a magic wand and suddenly have a layout. Even if you have tons of free time, construction of even a modest sized layout will require months or even years. If you’re like the rest of us, the passage of months will likely change your layout only a little. So you don’t need everything today. You only need today the tools and materials for what you intend to accomplish tomorrow.
So first of all, you need a plan. Your design should be fairly complete before you start the next step. If you feel like you just have to get started building without a plan, do yourself a favor and build some dioramas instead. You will thank me later. Finish your plan before you start building.
Next, you need benchwork or some other solid foundation for your layout. While this can be done competently in a weekend if you’re a good carpenter, take your time and do it right.
Then, you’ll be putting down roadbed, followed by track. Again, take your time and do it RIGHT. Nothing will turn you off to model railroading faster than shoddy trackwork, which leads to derailments, stalls, and other operational issues. If you think you’re being too painstaking, you’re probably rushing. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Now, you have to wire the darned thing (although you’ve probably done some groundwork for this in the steps above). You’ll need to have your control scheme (DCC or DC, one block or many, etc) figured out by this point, too. The good news is that, from this point on, it’s hard to make a mistake that can’t be fixed fairly easily later.
Now, you’ve reached the point at which you branch out into scenery, structures, vehicles, figures, etc. Other than some obvious situations (you have to finish scenicing the riverbed before you can pour the water, for instance), you can pretty much proceed in whateve
probably mine [:O][:$]… CTValley is completely right – you don’t have to finish the whole thing before you can run trains. the last step was there as a somewhat tongue-in-cheek “you’re done!” moment (as you’ll learn, a model RR is never quite “done”).
Lot’s and lot’s of money. [:'(]
And patience…[;)]
I strongly suggest you get a couple of Kalmbach’s beginner books (under “shop” on the menu bar above).
The NMRA’s beginner’s guide might help http://www.nmra.org/beginner/
Check out the “Articles” under “How To” on the menu bar above.
The following tools are what I used for benchwork for my current layout (benchwork complete, track laying:to begin soon).
Safety glasses.
1/2" drill (3/8" drill will work also) - mine’s cordless, but corded will work just fine.
drill bit and counter sink combo for #8 and #10 screws.
Pocket drill with Philips screwdriver bits - this is optional, you can use a screw driver or the drill above, it’s just handier not to have to swap bits…
handsaw - I like the Japenese style pull saws
tape measure
combination square
miter box for square cuts. To get the same length when cutting - clamp the miter box to a 2x6 and then clamp a piece of wood as a stop along the 2x6
clamps - At least 2, I like the quick clamps you can operate with one hand.
saw horses - At least 2 (I used 4), I hate working on the floor. I also had a workmate, but that’s not required.
Wood screws, Phillips, stainless steel, #10, 1 1/4" and 1 3/4" . Use the longer ones when screwing into end grain. I used a plywood top and used #8, 1" long screws for fastening the top to the benchwork. Zinc plated will work if cost is an issue. Some people like drywall screws, deck screws, or sheet metal screws, but they are all inferior to wood screws for benchwork (unless you are using steel studs then sheet metal screws are appropriate). I would not use nails for benchwork
I had the plywood cut for me at the lumberyard
Do not use glue, since this is a first layout you’ll most likely be building another one down the road and you can salvage the wood and screws from this one.
For laying roadbed and track.
I use flex track
Thanks everyone. I have the drills, the various connections for the electrical, all sizes of nuts bols and screws, hammers, saws and that kind of thing.
I have access to the vaious carpentry tools with my neighbor. I know i will need the wire, track, and the engine/cars to start off, then i can start adding the mountains, buildings, trees, etc.
My next step is to buy the wood and wire so i can wire the track along with the cork board to put beneath the track along with more rail joiners, caulking to attach and the track nail.
The layout is going to be approx 6 by 9. How much of the balaster material and things like that should i keep on hand olong with extra scenery items?
Lot’s and lot’s of money. [:'(]
And patience…[;)]
The cork or foam roadbed, and even strips of the 1/8" yellow vinyl commercial underlay, is what goes between the ties and the base wood or whatever, some use extruded foam insulation board, of the layout. You want sound deadening and you also want a profile for the sand/gravel ballast that goes between the ties. Real railroads don’t just plunk ties down and spike tracks over them. They prepare and grade a roadbed so that the ties are even in height, and then they ballast the ties with crushed rock. The ballast is important to keep the ties suspended and also to drain water away from the ballast and ties. It is a system of suspension with desirable qualities. So, the roadbed is mimicked by providing both height and a profile when you carefully sift the sand that will act as your ballast. I used washed beach sand tested with a magnet to ensure no problems near the metal components in the drive mechanism. There are commercial products, too, and some even use the fine filter sand for aquariums.
Crandell
And mo money
I wouldn’t worry about ballasting material at this point. Get a basic set-up going and keep the track joints even with no kinks. Then run the trains for awhile to see if you want to change it any. Also if you have a camera post pics as you progress. If anything unusual is noted people will chime in.
Good Luck and have fun.
I agree with Hamltnblue – you’re worried about Step 167 while you’re still on Step 5.
Unless you live in some very remote area of the country (or world) and have to drive two hours just to get to a computer to use the Internet, you don’t have to have all the materials on hand before you start something. If you run out of ballast, or ground foam, or tree armatures, etc., you simply get some more, either by driving down to your LHS, or hopping on to your favorite Website and ordering some more.
After you’ve gotten your track in and wired, you can proceed in pretty much any order. What I’ve done is break up my construction into small tasks of about 30 minutes duration (ballast 24" of track, put grass on the 2 square feet between the station and the team track, etc.) . All I need to have on hand is enough material to complete that step.
But really, there’s no place in this hobby at which you can’t just stop and take a break for a while if you have to get some more materials (even if you’re ordering on line and have to wait a week for something). In fact, most of us have limited time and funds and can’t afford to buy everything we need at once, nor will we get around to using ome of it for years yet.
What would concern me more is that you seem to be charging ahead into benchwork construction without a more-or-less completed design for your layout. This will only lead to problems later. Are you going with a 6x9 layout because that’s what your design tells you that you will need, or have you decided "I’ve got room for a
The layout will be 6 x 9. The room is 10 x13. So it will take up most of the space in the room. I do have the track layout planned in my head or the basics of it anyway. Its going to be a double track and ons going to be leading to a logging area and a section coming off to a train station area. I am not sure if i am going to have a yard yet.
Hi!
There are two important “things” you really need before you begin building that layout.
The first thing is a good basic knowledge about the hobby and particularly your scale. One of the best books (mag type) I’ve had is Kalmbach’s “HO Primer” . There are a few more that are on par with that, and the local hobby shop can direct you. Frankly, if money is a constraint, they are always on Ebay at excellent prices.
The second thing you need is a plan - at least a basic plan for benchwork, and a more detailed plan for track configuration, and the like.
Once you have these, the usual order is benchwork, track & roadbed, wiring, testing, testing, testing, and then structures and scenery (which will be considered in the design).
I fully realize how the urge to start building can be overwhelming, and I can only say that spending a few weeks getting educated and putting a plan together will make all the difference in the world.
Model Railroading is a terrific hobby (I’ve been one since the early mid '50s) and you will learn a lot of skils that will serve you well in other areas. And, you will have a lot of fun and challenges and probably meet some really good people too!
You know, sometimes, you don’t even need to build a first layout. I bought a 5x10 layout in HO which came with every feature out there, lights in the building, kitbashed buildings, tons of rolling stock, 2 locomotives, a dummy, and boy did I think I was loaded. But the techniques are from the 70’s, (old) and the track was insulated in the least smart of spots.But, i cleaned the track, fixed the frogs and switches, and I have invested any $6 dollars to get it running, and It is an awesome layout, for $300, split with my little brother.