Assuming you’ve been in the hobby for a while, built at least one layout, what advice would you give someone just coming into the hobby? For instance, would you tell them to stick with a certain time period and place or freelance it all the way.
Tell them to go dc or dcc?
what size layout, or would it matter?
What are some of the things you did that you wish you’d done differently when you were first starting?
What is the number one thing they should keep in mind, in your opinion?
What should be the least most important thing?
When should the beginner lay it aside for a while, if at all?
Those are just a few of the questions, but they’re surely not everything a beginner should be told Please expand it with whatever comes to mind.
Spend your money wisely,don’t buy the new kits and locomotives that just come out, wait awhile. Chose a scale that suits you and your wallet. Don’t ask your wife how much room you can have,its your house too. I could list about a hundred others,but my work bench is calling.
My coffee cup says, “A poorly planned project will take 3 times as long to complete as you expect. A carefully planned project will take only twice as long as you expect.”
Go with the carefully planned project, but don’t plan too much. Read and plan, and think about your available space. Draw your track plan. Use a computer if you’re comfortable with it, but use a pencil and paper otherwise. Each layout room is unique, and deserves a unique layout plan to fit it.
Don’t rush. Follow sidetracks. It’s a hobby, not a job, and it shouldn’t have a deadline. Do a small section first, whenever you’re trying something for the first time. Your skill will improve with time. You will be able to lay more roadbed in an evening, or more feet of track per hour, or more scale miles of ballasting in a weekend once you get the hang of it.
I agree with Patrick. Especially about the house belonging to both and not asking how much space you can have. I really can’t speak though as i have my own workshop and plenty of space.
right now i’m just getting back into model railroading but i started with HO scale and did that for a while when i was younger and because HO is the most popular scale and trains, parts, track and the likes are mor readily available. this time around though i’m starting up with N scale because i want to fit more into one place and you can do that with N scale. N scale i would say would come in second in popularity and all the “fixins” are almost as easy to find as HO and to me i like the challenge of having to try a little harder to find that right car, the right building or oven a special train to go onto or with my N scale layout.
Basically as far as size i would figure out how much you really want and how much you might want to have or expand up to in the future. I have started by making a 4’X8’ layout but i plan in the future to have track coming from it and going all around the top of my workshop. I’d say start small, but plan big.
As far as time periods are concerned, it just depends what you like and what kind of trains you want to run. I particularly like modern diesels but i do like some of the '50 and '60’s era diesels also. When i was into HO i used to like the Steam Engines and the setup that my grandfather and i had was more of an old west theme with a mining town, old saw mills, a farm and even a train station. it was a rather large layout, but i loved it.
Many of people on here will tell you their perspective of the hobby, but that should not be yours since we are all different and have different backgrounds.
You must develop your own interests and skills that satisfy your interest and not follow other people just because they like certain things or eras. For me to tell you to stick to one era might not be what you will want after you get to know the hobby. I personally do model the late forties and up to the mid fifties since you can run most all of the steam and certainly most of the early diesels along with name passenger trains. Many of the new people to the hobby tend to like the newer diesels and present day trains, since they do not see the fifties trains in action.
Thirty two years ago, I was running trains in a club and today that does not appeal to me at all. Building you own layout is great, but others would rather join a club so they can be social and run trains. You just have to find out what is good for you, and we really can’t define that for you.
Reading MR and other articles written by experienced modelers is cer
I started in O scale in 1994 as a layout for my son. That project became my hobby. My “EX”-wife hated and was jealous of my hobby. That can be a problem for you also. As far as space, I feel if a woman doesn’t like what a man does, she should leave. You have a life too. While in O scale I came across many purchases that were expensive, poorly built, and some manufacturers don’t allow their products to work with other manufacturer’s products, let alone LONG LONG LONG waits for warranty repairs. I entered HO scale 7 years ago to dabble. I used the Bachmann EZ track system. I do not use bachmann ex track today, and have better results. I have sold ALL O scale equipment and will not return to it. I am working on building a HO empire.
Ask youself, do you wi***o model the realism that HO can offer, or are you just interested in running toy trains o scale. Is scenery important, and what do you want the railroad to day. Is switching cars important to you, or just a display layout important to you where trains run.
Above all, regardless of where you put your money, in HO the more money spent on quality items, the better the results in the hobby. In o scale the more money spent in on what you think are quality items, does NOT yield better results…Trust me!
Read and experiment. With every layout I ever built in any scale, I always once I was operating, found a way to make it better. I will never be done until the day I die!
I would tell them to do some labeling and reading up front. When I had their attention, I would explain that too many people let their passion rule their actions, and that they end up losing a lot of the fun that they could have had, as well as spending needlessly, because they had not taken the time to consider what it was about toy trains, or the modeling aspect, that appealed to them.
They need to “put a handle”, or a label, on their interest; in doing that they get ideas about how to proceed, and how to plan their entry. This has the effect of heightening their fun and enthusiasm as they encounter each “discovery” about their passion, as well as keeping their errors of all kinds to a minimum.
So, in a nutshell, the idea is to have fun. You can have some fun if you just go with what seems right, or you can have tons of fun if you control yourself and patiently explore the hobby first.
Read as much as you can - you’d surprised how many RR books your local library will have !! Start small, don’t expect your first layout to be your last layout, just try something like a simple 4’ x 8’ HO layout (if HO is your scale) and get it running, do some scenery etc.
I would say, start with DCC - maybe a DIgitrax Zephyr, it’s simple to use but expandable for later bigger layouts you will have. There are some engines that come DCC equipped, but most newer loco’s are very easy to install a decoder in …just pull out the ‘dummy’ 8-pin plug and plug in the decoder!!
Yeah, ease into it until you know what you really want. Be prepared to abandon the first few projects until you settle down. Read and try things to understand the hobby as broadly as you can. Visit clubs and go on layout tours. Make a few friends to test your ideas on.
Quality over quantity…Buy Ready to run items… no kits initially… think about what size layout you could accompli***HEN HALF IT…you’ll have a ball…worked for me.
Others on the form will roll their eyes when I say this again but - yes.
Even if you decide to go freelance choose a certain time period and place and make your freelance railroad match that. Don’t just get everything misch-mash of stuff you want and try to make them work together. Those who follow the philosophy freelance means “anything goes” will never have a railroad anything close to the V&O or G&D.
I don’t know from “when I was first starting”, but when I got serious. I would have chosen a specific prototype and time period and stuck to it. I would probably also choose a lesser railroad or short line rather than one of the big ones. The Minneapolis & St. Louis, K&O, L&W come to mind.
Have fun, as soon as it becomes a “project” with a time line and due dates it is so much more work.
That is an interesting one that I am not certain how to answer. Watch for issues that are important to you. There are crusaders out their with their hobby-horses that insist their issue is the most important. Their brand of DCC is the best, their method is the only proper way, their favorite locomotive is the only one you should buy. Often these are people who have just discovered something and now want to impart their new wisdom to others. I saw a post the other day in this form announcing something that almost everyone already knows - but it was new and important to that person. Sometimes it is more fun and educational to learn on your own. Some of the best techniques I’ve se
This is a hobby, have fun. In the beginning buy whatever interests you, but don’t buy the high end expensive stuff while you’re learning. There is no way you’re going to figure it all by reading about it. There are some good books out there, start with “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” by Johm Armstrong. But how are you going to know what you like until you try it. Lay some track - sectional, flex, hand laid; buy some plastic kits - Atlas are good, paint some of the details; build some cars. Run some diesels, steam locomotives, and electrics. Try out some truss rod cars and some auto carriers. Build a small craftsman kit. If your first scale isn’t right try another one. I started in HO scale with a balloon stack locomotive and truss rod cars, now I’m in S scale transition era. Even if you lucked into the right start, you won’t know it is best for you unless you try out some others. Remember it’s a hobby not a commitment, have fun. Don’t get caught in analysis paralysis.
Enjoy
Paul
It’s a little getting started guide that I wrote after I finished the painting buildings clinic…
To take your list one by one…
I agree with Texas Zephyr here… If freelance means anything goes, stay away from it… It’ll max out your credit cards and empty your pocket book faster than you can blink an eye… If it means pick a time and place, carefully choose a loco roster to fit a vision, then I’m all for the freelance. Even with choosing a time and place though it can get out of hand. One example that comes to mind, if the Chicago Dearborn Station is the center point, it almost IS anything goes. Even if you’ve chosen a specific date… Being a major passenger hub, it saw MANY roadnames that normally may not have been seen on a local road.
I would Suggest DCC… For the simple reason that if they want to run more than one train, and eventially they will, it’s much simpler to do it with DCC. I firmly believe that it’s better to choose that route from the get go… Once the intitial cost is absorbed and by the time they are simultaniously running 2 or 3 trains, it isn’t that much more expensive than a DC system and requires a LOT less work.
I would recommend that they at least have some idea of what they want to build. A lot of people are perfectly happy working on small shelf layouts. Others have to have the big empires…
The most simple way to start is --buy a train set ,then you’ll have a locomotive ,a few cars ,and track-every thing you need to get started. Some sets even come with power poles or road signs. Most importantly HAVE FUN.