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ghost02

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Hello everyone, I need some help!
Just started looking at getting into this hobby in HO scale, but that is all I know!

I do not want a RTR kit, as I want a good diesel loco and track, not some cheap thing that is gonna break withing the first week!

That said, I have no idea were to turn or were to start! I just know I have limited space so HO would be good. If anyone can help me get started it would be greatly appreciated.

-Ghost

Note: I am willing to pay for good quality trains, but I am not going to pay $180+ for my first loco.
 
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Id be glad to help, but..

Whats your price range?
What era do you plan to model?
What railroad do you like?
Whats the radius of your turns?
 
Price Range? - $250 and under for a start.
Era - Modern? I like Diesels if that helps.
What railroad? - Union Pacific, love those forests!
Radius? - I do not know! No idea what my 'layout' is going to be. I do know that it is not going to be anything large.
 
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First of all welcome to the forums and to model railroading. I can give you limited advice on my own short comings. I got into the hobby about six years ago and have limited my self on being an arm chair modeler where in I do not have a layout built. I had grand ideas and took on way more than my skills allowed for! The biggest advice I would give anyone getting into the hobby is to start out small like a 4x8 layout. I had a big learning curve to overcome due to the complex nature of what I was trying to achieve. There is a weath of information from fellow modelers on this site. If you haven't checked NMRA site --- You should!!! Maybe you could visit a local Model Railroading Club also. Best of luck to you!
 
Ill second what funtime said, start small and dont get overly ambishish.

Theyre are tons and tons of locomotives that are DCC equipped, and for $250 you could even get sound. Im not sure if you mean $250 for all your locomotives, or each loco under $250. Bachmann makes some pretty good basic DCC equipped locomotives. Union Pacific is one of if not the railroad with the most readily available models for it. It really depends what type of area youll be modeling, ES44AC, Dash 9's, AC4400, SD70MAC, and a few others are great examples of Union Pacific mainline power. For locals and branches, GP38/GP38-2, SD40-2, and anything from about the 70's and earlier are very popular models used on branchlines and yard duty. Swithcers can be pretty much anything, really depends on whats available. SW models and RS alcos used to be very popular models for yardwork, no GP units and even some SD units are used for switching, like i said, it really just depends on whats available. If you really like modern, (2006-present) you could even bring a "Green Goat" or Genset in for yard duty.

Anything else im on a roll here :D
 
$250 for everything, even a but of track if possible.
Sounds like UP was a good choice!
I was thinking the San Fransisco - LA line.

Thanks for the help so far guys, taking my jumbled thoughts and putting some order to them!

Also, I just measured the space I have, 3x5, not much but that is all I can do.
 
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$250 for everything, even a but of track if possible.
Sounds like UP was a good choice!
I was thinking the San Fransisco - LA line.

Thanks for the help so far guys, taking my jumbled thoughts and putting some order to them!

Then lets stick with dash 9's, GPs and SD's. Im in Upstate NY so im not familiar with the San Fransisco to LA line, i would imagine there is alot of Intermodal along the line, (containers in well cars). Im assuming youve chosen to model a Main Line then?

Dont throw out the idea of a fictional line either, those can be alot of fun, and its your show, whatever equipment you like, in whatever scenery, and companies the railroad serves :D, like i said, you run the show when you build a model RR, so dont let it get to rigid.
 
So how exactly do I start? What brand is good? Where should I buy? [I know ebay is good.] What track do I use? How do I make the train even go?
 
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Bachmann, Athearn, Atlas, Proto 1000/2000.

Buy a power pack, and soder some wires to the correct rails, thatll get you moving :)

Track is up to you, Im going to suggest Atlas Code 83 or 100, semi cheap and simple to build. Code 83 is more prototypical though. If your really in a hurry, buy a trainset, itll come with everything to get you started, and itll be braindead simple to get started.
 
I am not in a rush, so no need to get a train set that I will eventually replace. How is Kato?

With the power pack, how do I know it is enough to get the train moving?
 
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Kato is fantastic, you certainly dont NEED a trainset to get started, but its an easy way to get started. And if you get a trainset, the powerpack included with it will be ample ability to move the train.
 
In such a limited space, I'd build a switching layout.
There are many plans that would fit and that's where the fun is IMHO.
Shop carefully and you might bring it in for $250, a small power pack, I like MRC, a diesel switcher, half a dozen cars and some turnouts, make them manual. buildings can be added as you go..A fun project and you could add to it later.

Dick
 
Welcome to the Forums, Ghost. You'll find this is a freindly place for advice and sharing.
My advise would be to consider N scale for your limirted space. I'm an HO scle modeler and prefer it, but 3X5 might be better for N. My son built a neat little layout in a 2X4 space so you could do a bit more. We did a 4X4 HO layout early on and it really very tight.
 
The one point or decision I haven't seen mentioned is how do you want to control your train? Do you want to use DC or DCC? DC is cheaper but has limitations and can be a bear to wire depending on the size and complexity of your layout. With DC you can only control one train at a time unless you isolate sections of the track electrically. Then you have to have additional power supplies for each engine or "cab" that you want to run at the same time. You also need manual switches to control which power supply is going to which section of track. DCC is simpler to wire (2 wires to a layout your size) and you can control several trains at a time. DC works with dc voltage on the track and you increase the voltage to make the train go faster. DCC works with digital commands sent over the track to each DCC equiped train and you control that train individually. So on a Bachmann entry level DCC system you have 10 buttons to control 10 trains at a time. You program an engine to button #1, another engine to button #2 and so on. You push #1, select the direction and turn the knob for the speed. Now you can push #3, select the direction, speed and it is off, and so on. You can also buy DCC controlled turnouts so you can control them from certain DCC controllers as well. Systems like Digitrax lets you start off with a basic unit and move up to wireless units that control everything. I would suggest you sitting back and doing a lot of reading here on this forum and on the Internet for DC vs DCC.
 
DCC by far, from the description you gave.

But, looking at the prices of all this, I should just go with the starter kit! The Atlas Union Pacific Trainman set good?
 
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Good choice on DCC. Another thing to watch out for when going DCC is how the engine is equipped. The train loco will either be DC, which means it is not DCC ready. You will have to open the engine up, cut wires, isolate the motor(s) and solder in a DCC circuit board to make it DCC. Then there are loco's that are DCC ready. Meaning they have the wires installed, and the motor(s) is isolated. But you will have to buy a seperate DCC circuit boad, open the engine up, and install the circuit board. Or the best way to go is to buy an engine that is already DCC equipped. Meaning the loco only has to be programmed to the controller as loco #1 and then you are ready to go. I did a quick Internet search for your Atlas Union Pacific Trainman set and all of the ones I saw are DC sets, not DCC. Bachmann has a set that has two engines and the controller (Bachmann Digital Commander Sante Fe) that comes with two engines.

E-Bay link

The Favorite Shop lists them from time to time for $125ish. Others have them going for $250 each so the old saying of "shop around" applies here.

The other thing to consider is if you want sound or not. This is a feature of the higher priced DCC units but it adds a touch of realism to the engine. And of course there are varying levels of sound as well and the price goes up and up and up.......
 
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Get some track laying software. AnyRail, WinRail and RTS are track laying programs as opposed to drawing programs. RTS(free) is limited to Atlas track. AnyRail has a free version, limited to 50 track pieces. I like WinRail. It is not free, but is the easiest to learn (to me). XtrakCad (free) and CadRail are both CAD programs with the steepest learning curves but are the most powerful.
 
DCC is only absolutely needed for running multiple trains at once. on your small layout you probably not going to. i'd keep it as future update. get simple MRC powerpack - 20$ and make sure the locos you buy are DCC ready. when time comes you just get a system and plugin decoder into your loco.

with that, 3x5 is really tiny for HO i'm afraid. doable but i personally would either look to increase the size or consider the smaller N scale. Switching layout is not something i'd want from the get go.
 



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