I am a 50 year old been into trains for awhile (ho scale) have helped my oldest step son build a N scale layout also. I am a tried and true plastic car modeler tho. I have close to 1500 kits unbuilt also about 2000 packaged hotwheels. I have always had a flame burning for HO scale model railroading tho. Recently I purchased over $600 in train accessories and freight cars for less than $170 I have 3 train sets (lifelike and tyco) and a good deal of Athearn blue box kits which i love!! not much in buildings or scenery and no layout build nor planned currently. The SCOPE senior citizen center close by has a huge outdoor garden railway set up and are currently seeking members @ $24 a year for membership. Should I join? I figure I could learn layout design and train running maybe? Id love to have my own layout I have the dedicated space also The space is a basement room 10 feet X 14 feet I have absolutely no idea where to start what I need or nothing tho. I have alot of atlas nickel silver/black track tho. Could I gain some advice and ideas from the membership here? I pick up MRR magazine when I see it at the newsstand. Id love to have a 1970s era western pennsylvania / eastern ohio layout. Some of my current freight cars are Burlngton, Union Pacific, TTx double stack container car set 89 enclosed auto carriers and some other cars I feel would be out of place for a 1970`s layout. I have searched the web over and over looking for era correct cars and locos to use on the layout to no avail. Any help, links or otherwise would be of great assistance to me in my model railroading adventure.
Thank you for your time and I apologize for rambling
Unless you have bunches of money to spend or you have decided to go with garden scale I don’t think joining a G scale club will help you much. Try to find a HO club close by and visit it. Find some books about the railroad you are most interested in and study the pictures which reflect the time frame you want to model. Try to limit future purchases to equipment that fits your time period and localle. Don’t start a layout without a plan and most importantly have fun.
You have already started. You have some “druthers” stated as well as a “given” of space. Sounds like you could furnish a 100’X140’ layout with rolling stock, but what doesn’t fit your final plan can be sold/traded for things that will. You have a location and era, but do you want continuous running or switching as your primary function of the layout? Would you like to have city scenes with switching and industries? Countryside with a few spurs and an occasional large industry (mine, etc) for your trains to switch as they pass through? Do you have specific scenes or industries you want to model? You might concider subscribing to a/some model rr magazines, it is cheaper than buying them off the shelf. Since some articles are spread over several months, it would be frustrating to get part of some article of interest only to have the next issue sold out before you get to the store.
Someone more experienced in rr history can tell you the best way to find what cars and locomotives were in use on your favored lines during a given time period. As for home lines, though it is a little unusual to see Southern Pacific cars rolling down the rails behind a B&M loco in New England, it is very possible.
As for buildings, old ones are still standing. You can add newer types of buildings if you want to show a more recent era, though lack of them doesn’t mean you have to have older rolling stock.
You are the boss of the rr, if you like the looks of modern stack trains and steam locos, no one can say you can’t do it or you can pull wooden cars with a modern 6 axle diesel.
Get a few more givens and druthers lined up, define your space (doors and other obsticles in the room) and there are plenty of folks here that can give you advice, which you will have to si
Model railroad clubs can be fun, you get to meet other railroaders and talk shop. As far as the membership fee, attend a few meetings and your course of action will become clear to you. Most model railroading lore is gauge independent.
“Track Planning for Realistic Operation” by John Armstrong is the layout builder’s bible. It is the definitive work on track planning, layout issues, and construction. Worth every penny. Good read too. Then get some squared paper and pencil and draw some track plans. Draw a lot of them, the last one you draw will be better than the first one.
Old John Allen, one of the best modelers ever, started out with a smallish layout. By the time of his death, he had a magnificent basement filling, floor to ceiling masterpiece, but his old starter layout was embedded in the middle of it. Think in terms of starting something small and easy, and getting it to run as soon as possible. Then you can expand to fill the whole room.
I have been looking at the links and some of my books on model railroading. Was wondering if green or pink foam would be a good idea for basic terrain forming then covered in plaster like what is offered by Woodland Scenics? My era I think will be 1965/1975 that should give me a few options on freight and locomotives anyway. Would like to have a passenger constant I can hide in staging and possibly a coal train? Then I could have mixed freight and switching going on as well? I dont know what companies or businesses I want yet but I~ll work on that. A question I do have tho is how do I tell the A end from the B end of a freight, locomotive, or caboose? Do all the cars and such go all A end to the front or is it mixed A and B or? I cannot find that information. I did get the July issue of Model Railroader today tho and did the math so I believe I will be subscribing That will save me money,time, and gas. I frequent Western Pennsylvania and go to a train shop in Jeannette called Needz a small but friendly shop and if they dont have it they can order it for me. They are a nice small family run business and always welcome you. Also, should I convert all my couplers to kadees? I have some estate auction Athearn freights I bought that have Kadee couplers and like the look and they seem more soild than the horn hook couplers.
The “B” end of a freight cars is the one where the brakewheel is located. Freight cars can be connected to each other either way, except for hopper cars with rotating couplers at one end.
Locomotives are trickier. The prototype makes it easy by painting a small “F” on the end of the frame at the front. For newer diesels, the front end is almost invariably the end with the cab or closest to the cab. You may need to know something about the particular locomotives’ manufacture and the purchasing railroads’ philosophy for deciding on the front. There is more of an issue with early diesels and cabless diesels. For diesels, an “A” unit is one with a cab, a “B” unit without a cab. It is normal practice with multi-unit lashups of diesels for the front diesel to be pointing forward and the last unit pointing backward (if it has a cab).
So, freight cars can be coupled A to B or A to A ends except hopper cars with rotating couplers? I don`t mean to be thick in the head just want to be correct
As to using foam board, make sure you get extruded foam insullation board. Pink and Blue are the most common (Owens-Corning or Dow). I have heard there may be others, but certainly as common. One of them produces a gray, but it is not quite as rugged. 2" (there are thinner) can be used for your base, with a simple grid underneath for support. You can carve it for below grade scenery. Would suggest putting a facia on it so it doesn’t get damaged. It can also be stacked for hills and mountains. I like it because it is very easy to plant trees, poke a hole, dob of glue in the hole if you want before putting the tree in. Nothing says you have to haave all one type of scenery, your background hills that will not have individual trees with trunks can be made using cardboard strips and plaster cloth or glueshell.
Kaydee couplers are the most recommended, however, some have left the hook horns on and don’t see a need to change. Kaydees certainly look more realistic and if you are going to do much with operation I think they are easier to uncouple manually or with magnets than hook horns.
Have fun,
It is nice that you have a friendly LHS. Use them when you can, they will be a valuable resource. My closest LHS has some selection, will order things when they send in an order, but is not heavily into model rr. The one that used to be about half an hour away was into it, with a nice window layout started, closed due to a domestic dispute, nothing to do with the shop.
For the foam, the pink or blue stuff is the way to go. 2 inches will allow you to carve streams and also give you the option of small bridges without an incline. I recommend a plaster cloth layer as shown by woodland scenics. It allows you to make changes and to color the terrain easily. Also with foam you will find that planting trees and other accessories is much easier.
As far as couplers, kadee’s are the most recommended here. They are reliable, rugged and proven. If you have horn type couplers you can start by making a transition car with a horn on one end and kadee on the other. That way you can run both during the transition period. As far as rolling stock, if you have the choice, stay away from the old tyco’s in the future. They were good train set equipment during their day but are low detail and quality compared to today’s offerings. Oh and welcome to the forums.