Russian
Saskatoon railfan
Hello, some of you may know me as the crazy guy posting lots of pictures from Winnipeg on RRF. Throughout my life I've always been interested in trains, whether riding them, playing with Thomas trains when I was a kid, repainting for MSTS, Lego trains or photography, which is what I've been doing for two years now.
I have recently moved to a small town, which means I won't be able to railfan nearly as much as I used to, so I would like to try my hand at modelling. I was thinking of having an urban city on a flat surface, pretty much like Winnipeg. I already have a lot of scenery and vehicles, from all the Matchbox and Hot wheels sets I've collected as a kid. I have also won a track set in a contest about 5-6 years ago from a now closed modeller club (the building was torn down). It has: (all HO)
- BN 980 C-Liner (fictional)
- CNJ gondola
- BN 60' boxcar
- BN 50's caboose
- 12 piece track circle
Not a lot, but a good start. Last time I ran it about three years ago (I then moved to a small apartment which didn't have space), but I stored it all in good shape.
I hope you can excuse my stupidness, as I'll ask some pretty basic questions. (kind of reminds me of the time when I first joined RRF and thought that every blue engine was CSX )
1.
I live in a small town (pop. 6000), thus I'll be doing most of my purchasing online. The only major store nearby is a Wal-Mart. Realistically, how much model trains stuff can you buy there, if any?
2.
In my online searching it appears that most model RR stuff in HO is made by Athern, is that just my impression or are there other major brands (for rolling stock and CN/CP/VIA locomotives)
3.
I noticed that some engines and rolling stock are sold as undecorated, i.e. no paint. If I buy them, how could I get them painted? For instance, lets say I buy a F40PH-2 undecorated and want to paint it in VIA colors. Are there decals I can buy for the job, or do I have to paint it yellow/grey/blue, then add decals? How difficult would it be to paint it then? I'm only asking because a lot of things I see online are not available in CP/CN/VIA colors, even though undecorated rolling stock is. Please don't think I'm crazy, but I was thinking of repainting my BN caboose into a CN caboose, how hard would something like that be? (I've already got a nice CP caboose coming http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item140-5373.html) Same question for containers. Is it normal for them to be undecorated or are some pre-painted? I'm only asking because I've found a lot of container decals for sale.
4.
As vague as this question is, where do you guys buy your stuff? (at a reasonable price?). One place I found is http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/
They have a lot of stuff at ok prices ($123 for an AC4400CW is not reasonable BTW, that's less then my whole budget at this point). But still they don't have some things. For insane I want to buy an Athern F7A/B set in CN zebra paint (dummy or powered) - they don't have it, while Athern says its either discontinued or temporary out of production. Thus I'm turning to the used market for help. Is there a good, safe site for that? (I'm still searching the links directory for one)
5.
Speaking of dummies, how common can they be? For instance in a 4 unit lash-up, if 3 are dummies, is that ok? Also, can dummies be leaders or will that make the train run badly? I'm asking because I'm considering buying this dummy (http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item140-3037.html) and having the C-liner BN mentioned earlier as trailing power right behind it.
6.
That CP F7A reminds me of another question. As you can see, it's not too detailed up front, do I assume that accessories such as a numberboard and a light are included, or can I buy them separately as a kit? The same goes for handrails and other small accessories on other units. I.e. in the preview they are without them. I've also found a Canadian widecab for sale. Does this mean that I can buy a GTW GP40-2, remove the cab and then put in the Canadian cab and call it a CN GP40-2L(W), or do I have to build the whole unit from scratch? (I don't think I have skills for that yet).
7.
I've heard from a friend (don't know if he hangs around here, he's at RRF a lot though) that everything is a lot smaller on the model RR. So what would a good ratio be? For instance a 100 car train would be 20, 40, 60 cars?
8.
As of right now I have one controller, which is attached to the track. Do I need two controllers to control two trains, three for three, etc., or can I use one? The one I have has 4 sockets, 2 are used for the current BN solo train.
9.
Lastly, I need some help with rails. As I already said, I have 12 curved pieces whch make a nice round and useless circle. I was thinking of buying a starter package: http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item150-0088.html
which looks pretty good. There's a lot of bulk packages with 100 rail pieces in each, but I don't know if that's too much for me right now. Is there some place online or a program where I can estimate or check what my track outline will look like?
Once again I'm sorry for asking so many questions. If there's something else I should know, please tell me. I've been looking at modelling for many years now, and without an active railway nearby, want to get right into this hobby. I know I haven't been too active on this forum, but I think with time I should get the hang of it and start posting more, including pictures of my layout, which is currently a flat dark space.
Thank you very much to whoever answers this thread, I really need help!!!
I have recently moved to a small town, which means I won't be able to railfan nearly as much as I used to, so I would like to try my hand at modelling. I was thinking of having an urban city on a flat surface, pretty much like Winnipeg. I already have a lot of scenery and vehicles, from all the Matchbox and Hot wheels sets I've collected as a kid. I have also won a track set in a contest about 5-6 years ago from a now closed modeller club (the building was torn down). It has: (all HO)
- BN 980 C-Liner (fictional)
- CNJ gondola
- BN 60' boxcar
- BN 50's caboose
- 12 piece track circle
Not a lot, but a good start. Last time I ran it about three years ago (I then moved to a small apartment which didn't have space), but I stored it all in good shape.
I hope you can excuse my stupidness, as I'll ask some pretty basic questions. (kind of reminds me of the time when I first joined RRF and thought that every blue engine was CSX )
1.
I live in a small town (pop. 6000), thus I'll be doing most of my purchasing online. The only major store nearby is a Wal-Mart. Realistically, how much model trains stuff can you buy there, if any?
2.
In my online searching it appears that most model RR stuff in HO is made by Athern, is that just my impression or are there other major brands (for rolling stock and CN/CP/VIA locomotives)
3.
I noticed that some engines and rolling stock are sold as undecorated, i.e. no paint. If I buy them, how could I get them painted? For instance, lets say I buy a F40PH-2 undecorated and want to paint it in VIA colors. Are there decals I can buy for the job, or do I have to paint it yellow/grey/blue, then add decals? How difficult would it be to paint it then? I'm only asking because a lot of things I see online are not available in CP/CN/VIA colors, even though undecorated rolling stock is. Please don't think I'm crazy, but I was thinking of repainting my BN caboose into a CN caboose, how hard would something like that be? (I've already got a nice CP caboose coming http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item140-5373.html) Same question for containers. Is it normal for them to be undecorated or are some pre-painted? I'm only asking because I've found a lot of container decals for sale.
4.
As vague as this question is, where do you guys buy your stuff? (at a reasonable price?). One place I found is http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/
They have a lot of stuff at ok prices ($123 for an AC4400CW is not reasonable BTW, that's less then my whole budget at this point). But still they don't have some things. For insane I want to buy an Athern F7A/B set in CN zebra paint (dummy or powered) - they don't have it, while Athern says its either discontinued or temporary out of production. Thus I'm turning to the used market for help. Is there a good, safe site for that? (I'm still searching the links directory for one)
5.
Speaking of dummies, how common can they be? For instance in a 4 unit lash-up, if 3 are dummies, is that ok? Also, can dummies be leaders or will that make the train run badly? I'm asking because I'm considering buying this dummy (http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item140-3037.html) and having the C-liner BN mentioned earlier as trailing power right behind it.
6.
That CP F7A reminds me of another question. As you can see, it's not too detailed up front, do I assume that accessories such as a numberboard and a light are included, or can I buy them separately as a kit? The same goes for handrails and other small accessories on other units. I.e. in the preview they are without them. I've also found a Canadian widecab for sale. Does this mean that I can buy a GTW GP40-2, remove the cab and then put in the Canadian cab and call it a CN GP40-2L(W), or do I have to build the whole unit from scratch? (I don't think I have skills for that yet).
7.
I've heard from a friend (don't know if he hangs around here, he's at RRF a lot though) that everything is a lot smaller on the model RR. So what would a good ratio be? For instance a 100 car train would be 20, 40, 60 cars?
8.
As of right now I have one controller, which is attached to the track. Do I need two controllers to control two trains, three for three, etc., or can I use one? The one I have has 4 sockets, 2 are used for the current BN solo train.
9.
Lastly, I need some help with rails. As I already said, I have 12 curved pieces whch make a nice round and useless circle. I was thinking of buying a starter package: http://www.discounttrainsonline.com/dto/item150-0088.html
which looks pretty good. There's a lot of bulk packages with 100 rail pieces in each, but I don't know if that's too much for me right now. Is there some place online or a program where I can estimate or check what my track outline will look like?
Once again I'm sorry for asking so many questions. If there's something else I should know, please tell me. I've been looking at modelling for many years now, and without an active railway nearby, want to get right into this hobby. I know I haven't been too active on this forum, but I think with time I should get the hang of it and start posting more, including pictures of my layout, which is currently a flat dark space.
Thank you very much to whoever answers this thread, I really need help!!!