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I am new to Model RRing, and with the exception of my GI JOE battle set and my Santa Fe engine I had when I was a kid, a COMPLETE ROOKIE. I am interested in the groups opinion on what is good for : Books, DVDs, beginner sets (HO scale) and if any online sites are recommended. I won't have a lot of money to start up but even a simple oval will make me happy to start. My major interest is in the steam engines.... Any advice is appreciated!
A couple questions:
Are you planning to have a real layout with scenery and such, or are do you just want a loop of track?
Also, will you run your set a long time or will you buy more equipment to run? Cheap sets aren't good quality, but are fast. They only run for less than 50 hours and then you have to buy new locomotives. My advice is to look around at different steam locos and find a nice model and good cars to last many years.
I noticed you referred to 'sets' in your initial post. That's what most of us remember having as kids. But 'adult' quality train items are rarely, if ever, sold in sets; people buy the individual locomotives, freight/passenger cars, track and accessories individually. As stlgevo51 mentioned, the cheap train sets are very poor quality, and sold with the assumption that the kid receiving them will lose interest a few days after Christmas.
One of our members, 'Spacemouse' (actual name Chip), has written an excellent Beginner's Guide. It's primarily about planning a layout, but since the layout is the center of the hobby for 95% of us it makes a great intro. I strongly recommend reading it.
Welcome to the hobby, Rocky. In addition to the other good information you've gotten, resist the urge to run out and buy a lot of stuff. Take time to do all the reading and research you can before deciding on scale, type of layout, and what kind equipment you wnat to get. A great place to start is National Model Railroaders Association web site at http://www.nmra.com/beginner/. All of us will be happy to answer any questions you have and give you advice, some of which will actually be good.
A couple questions:
Are you planning to have a real layout with scenery and such, or are do you just want a loop of track?
Also, will you run your set a long time or will you buy more equipment to run? Cheap sets aren't good quality, but are fast. They only run for less than 50 hours and then you have to buy new locomotives. My advice is to look around at different steam locos and find a nice model and good cars to last many years.
Thanks for all your advice so Far! I have a 4'x8' section I will be able to use. I would like to incorporate scenery in the future but I think I will only have an initial budget of around $200-250 for initial "stuff" I understand that you get what you pay for and if I cant get an engine AND the other stuff I need with that, I can wait... I would rather do it right.
I speak from experience when I say it is best to wait to get it right the first time. We ended up tearing up our first layout and rebuilding, which cost money (we could not re-use everything) and especially time.
Remember the adage: "If there is never time to do it right, how is there always time to do it twice?"
Thank Gino! I have not yet considered N scale yet... I just figured since HO was the most popular and a saw an HO "Alleghenny" that just flipped my lid! what are some advantages to N versus HO? I want high detail, but don't want something to overpower my layout.
I am currently working on a 4' x 8' with room for add on, using insulation foam sheet on a piece of plywood. I started building and cutting, without a real good plan, wanted to add mountains and valleys as I became more skilled. I have made changes about 20 times since then. I am modeling N guage and I have plenty of room due to the smaller size. I started out with plastic kits, but I have graduated to wood craftsman kits because of the look and feel of a older 50's era railroad. I started out doing a more modern era, but as I said I changed my mind a few times as I studied more. In other words plan it out before hand and buy only what you need to model a certain area at a time. Decide if you want to actually model a prototype or freelance, and make sure the engines and rolling stock you invest in meet the era you are modeling, I have a mix of steam and diesel transition era. I have spent a lot of money so far and a lot of it I could have saved if I would have slowed down and planned. Best Hobby In The World. Good luck.
Wait a minute, you can't reuse time? Don't tell me that, I refuse to accept it. I have been using time over and over again ever since I built my own model of Dr. Emmet Browns DeLorean.
I am off to the library to pick up some books and I also got a copy of "Building Your First Model Railroad" and am going to watch that. I will keep you guy updated with what I do. Is there a place to journal my work?
I am off to the library to pick up some books and I also got a copy of "Building Your First Model Railroad" and am going to watch that. I will keep you guy updated with what I do. Is there a place to journal my work?
Sure, Rocky, just start another thread with the appropriate title and add to it as you go along. It's always fun reading about new ideas and new layouts.
