Total New Guy has questions, needs help!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
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Hoping to get some advice here…
Had HO scale as a kid, but haven’t done anything in 25 years or so…
Still have my HO, but only a few cars, couple engines, and an old transformer…no tracks or buildings.
I want to get back into railroading…but very unsure as to which way to go.
I do remember the HO’s being somewhat unreliable, but have things changed since then? Besides space considerations what are some differences btwn the gauges? I’ve got pretty good room, so can go with O gauge…
I want to do this with my 4 year old…I know, you’ll say go with O b/c of the size…but my son is very advanced for his age, and that really won’t be a consideration.
What about price? Seems like O is expensive…compared to what I thought it would cost…how are the other gauges compared?
Just any help would be appreciated for someone knowing NOTHING about the current state of Model Railroading…
Also, I’m interested in doing lots with electronic wiring, interface with a PC, automation, anything like that, if that plays a role in which gauge I should choose…

thanks,

jdhermit

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I left the hobby thirty years ago, and through grandsons, then ages 4 and (twins) 6, became active again.

Re age: When I found the four year old backing an engine into a siding, copling onto a drag, bringing it out on the main and delighting in creeping starts and smooth coupling in HO, I decided to stick with HO.

I’ve found the power packs and engines (provided you don’t go to the “bottom of the line” - $70.00 and under - units) reliable and very smooth at low speeds needed for coupling and uncoupling.
Track options are many, the easiest of which is the “snap” track variety.

I use a 12 x 12 bedroom and have constructed a cab control system with a stub end yard, three cabs, a reversing loop under the upper level, tw 2% grades and two industrial areas, one with three sideings, one with four.

The boys, now 7 and 9 delight in building cuts of cars, servicing industries, pulling power out of either the roundhouse (via the ATLAS turntable) or the steam engine facility coupling to a drag and pulling it out on the main.

Come on in, the waters fine.

George

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Dear JD,
Welcome back! I’m happy to say that it’s now simple to find reliable trains in any scale, from Z and N up through G. I’d recommend finding a hobby shop in your area and asking them to let you see a few locomotives in action before you decide. HO is most popular, and that’s as small as I would recommend going for a layout that a young person will also be building. It’s not suitable for an early grade-school student who is unsupervised, though - but children do grow fast! O remains very popular as well, and it’s easiest for small hands to put on the track. As far as your interest in electronics, at this point it’s a bit simpler to integrate a PC and other electronics into HO scale than O.
Have fun!
Terry

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JD: Reliability has improved remarkably, and so have couplers. I mention these because your bright lad is going to get bored fast with running trains around and around. Switching with some purpose will keep him amused and entertained for hours! Switching is so much better now that even ready to run cars and locos are to be had with realistic knuckle couplers and magnetic uncouplers. Just a thought. (I’m assuming you’ll go for HO as a comprimise between tactile and motor skills considerations, and those of overall budget! thinking of which, you may be wanting to hang on to your old power pack. If it isn’t a transistorised unit, I wouldn’t bother. The smoothness of control and other features of today’s packs are so much more satisfactory than those made with just a variable resistor)

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Have you thought about ON-30. It very space efficient, has lots of nice engines for very reasonable prices, and you can use any O scale building or accessory. Happy Bill

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I would go HO or N - the two leaders. Quality is about the same. If you want to appreciate detail on the locomotives, cars, etc, go HO. If you want to look at longer trains, go N. If you want the greatest variety of choices, go HO. N has a good enough selection to get buy without going brass - if you prefer.

My advice is: What about the railroad industry is it that attracts you to it? Slow freights? Fast freights? Passenger? Mountains? Plains? Industry? Modern? Urban? Rural? An era like 1946-59?

Decide what will visually please you, and what kind of operation will please you.

Then decide which scale will offer the best method of achieving what you want to see, feel, and experience as a model railroader.

Myself, I like Ultra-modern, double-track mainline, through the greater industrial Atlanta area, Intermodal-Coal-Merchandise mix, with a major merchandise yard (model the receiving/departure part only - 10 tracks), a few industrial support yards (four tracks) for the industries, and of course, today’s bulk-transfer yard (six tracks) and a major intermodal yard (six strip tracks). I plan to add a commuter ovelay to the freight network.

Since industry is the reason the railroad operates, I did not model any structure that was not either a railroad customer or owned by the railroad itself. Some may disagree, but who cares? It’s what makes me happy, and that’s what counts. My railroad has a theme and a heart which anyone can see right away. It’s busy moving freight and the railroad has no other job.

So, think what makes you happy and go for it.

Get some layout, scenery, and bridge/trestle design books, devour them, and start making plans!

Happy modeling!!!

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Total New Guy: rail61’s suggestions are good and valid, but may be a wee bit advanced for your 4 year old son :slight_smile: [ and N scale might be a challenge for tiny hands] File them for future refernce however, because a railroad without a purpose tends to gather dust ,while broken bits don’t get fixed quickly. The bit about the books, and some sort of theme I’d use right away. Your boy can understand that you have to take the car to the gas station, and that he gets hungry, so making the trains stop for a purpose, and go on a particuar journey may be a way to relate purpose for the railroad to his experience. This could build his interest further, especially if he gets to help build the reason for the road. Buying equipment and structures then has a specific goal beyond “that looks neat”. Not that there’s anything wrong with getting something for the layout because it looks great! Enjoy!

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A maxim I think we all should live by is this: if you have space for O scale, build in HO. Whatever scale you think can work, go one smaller and you’ll find that everything fits fo much more comfortably. I work in N-scale, but my track plan could probably be executed as-is in HO scale; this gives me broad curves, long sidings, and the ability to run trains of plausible lengths. If you find or come up with a decent O-scale layout plan, I would say just take that and build it in HO scale, and maybe feel free to add a passing siding or team track here and there to use up some of the leftover space, but fill up most of that extra space with uncompressed scenery.

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Fair enough, as far as train control…but if it works, hang on to it for operating building lights or switch machines later.
regards \ Mike

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Cheap HO is as bad as ever actually , but there are nice options now for true beginners, including the Walthers trainset line which I think has pretty decent quality.

Another change: twenty five years ago Bachmann and Life Like were cheap junk now they have some of the finest stuff around.

Maybe the biggest change in HO – we have finally accepted the knuckle style coupler as a standard even for beginners – what an irony that beginners for years had the coupler most likely to make them want to give up. You have to be a careful modeler to make hornhooks work right by which time you probably have moved on to Kadees.

Dave Nelson

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robmik is right about not throwing out the old variable resistor power packs. Just check to see that the cords are sound, and there are no signs that the unit has overheated in the past. (You would know that for your own equipment, but maybe not for stuff bought at Yard Sales or Swap Meets.) Extra power sources are very handy for lights and accessories. It’s the AC side that’s used for those. So it doesn’t matter if the DC side is not even working. A voltmeter soon becomes a “must have” in this hobby!

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Sorry for the delay…thanks for all the answers…
I’m thinking I may go HO, as I have some already…I like the O, but really think its too big for my tastes…
So…
Tonight I’ll post some specifics on my existing power pack, maybe someone will tell me if I should just use it for running accessories.
-If I want sounds, and electronic control and hooking up to a PC, etc…what do I need? A different engine or a different controller? See I’m REALLY new at this! :slight_smile:
-I want to model somewhat accurately, but I’m not going to be a huge stickler on it. I want to go Steam, but not sure what years that could encompass?
-If I go HO, and if I go Steam, what brand would be good? How much is a mid-priced engine?

Thanks, again, for all the info!

jdhermit

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PS- I’ll read up on it, but can anybody in a nutshell tell me what this DCC is?
Is that the way I’ll get sounds? Or the way I’ll control everything?
Does it hook into a PC?
I know, I should read before asking…
Sorry.

jdhermit

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In regards to your question on what years steam would include. In North America steam locomotives were used from the early 1800’s right up until the late 1950’s (Canada lasted until 1960). You could pick almost any period in that time frame. One of the most popular eras to model in is the “transition era” in the 1950’s. At this time steam was being replaced by diesel, so it enables modelers to run both steam and diesel. As for the prices of steam engines, you can spend very little or a whole lot. There are some really cheap switchers and tank engines (since you’re a total new guy I should mention that when I say tank engines that has nothing to do with Thomas) that cost as little as $20. If you really wanted to go high end there are really expensive brass models that can cost over $1000! So there is enough of a price range that you should be able to fnd what you’re looking for. Good luck in building your layout!

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great info, Sask_Tinplater! So, is there a good source for determining which era I want to model? Like, somewhere I can see info like you gave me on the transition era?
My entire train knowledge of late IS from Thomas! Guess that’s the product of having a four year old who is a train FREAK. He eats, sleeps and breathes trains!

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At first, the hobby can be overwhelming - so much to learn. But first a sales pitch I heard given - and believe now. A chap was at the LHS (local hobby shop) and asked which was the most expensive and cheapest scale to be in; I think he wanted cheap…lol. The proprietor said all the scales were equal. Why? Well we addicted hobbyist will spend what we can afford, and then some. So whether we are buying in N scale or G scale the amount spent is about the same. For example, an avid N scaler is likely to buy two or three of the same engines when it comes out, particularly if you are into contemporary running. That same amount of money will buy the G guy one engine. So they both spend the same amounts but get different quantities.

For you to get effective advise, narrow your questions down, and do it somewhat systematically as to where you are going in your planning.

For example, most guys start out with a “favoured” scale. I would suggest you abandon that approach which about 99.8% of all hobbyist do and instead ask yourself this question.

“What scale will make the most effective use of the space I have available?” Don’t be afraid to dream big dreams, but as most of us have to do, don’t be surprised when you have to compromise or totally eliminate something from your list.

For example, I have an 13 1/2 long by 7 foot wide room, widening to 9 1/2 feet about half way down. One thing I wanted was an “empire.” Heck, I didn’t even like N scale, but my dislike of N scale wasn’t as strong as my desire for an “empire.” So even though I preferred HO, I knew a room that size would give me a “large small” layout in HO.

But in N, I could have my empire. So how did I learn to like N. Well for starters when I visited shows I looked mostly at the N layouts. A group from Tacoma has a Modular layout that is excellent. When I saw that layout, with an excellent scenicking job, I knew I could be happy in N. But the first N engine I brought home and plu

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I am adding this to my “prolegomena” in response to N versus HO for a child. When my son was around 5, I went out and bought about 6 of those really large Tonka toys, like trucks, etc. I was thinking in my adult mode, bigger is better. He never really played with them. First they weren’t comfortable in his hands, and secondly they were awkward to manoeuvre. If you go into any toy store you will find most of the toys available for kids to be small, because small is what the kids like. Take your cue from Brio trains. Brio is closer in size to N scale than HO and kids love Brio.

My son learnt how to handle - and still does handle - N scale better than I do. Its amazing how fast that 4 year old will turn into a 16 year old. N scale is a good scale for kids - and they can re-rail it better than you will be able to…lol. Most of the planet will tell you HO is the better size for kids - not really!

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jdhermit–

I think Rick has given some excellent advice here. When I got back in the hobby a few years ago, I toyed with the idea of N but stuck with HO because I had some equipment from 25 years ago. As it turns out, though, the brass track, Tyco, AHM, and Bachmann rolling stock, and the variable resistor power supplies are JUNK and I haven’t used them at all.

Both HO and N equipment runs well–at least the quality equipment, as Dave Nelson points out–so look at your space and what you want to do with it.

Gary

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Sign on to the National Model Railroad Association web site. You can find a wealth of basic information on all gauges especially for beginners, as well as DCC. If you like it join.

Tom