Hi everyone, new guy here. My sons are 10 and 8, and I finally decided to start unpacking my train stuff from when I was a kid. Have a decent mix of HO and N scale. I remember very well when my own dad took me to the toy stores to buy these trains....doesn't seem as long ago as it has been. The newspapers that items were wrapped in were from 1983, so they've been boxed up for 26 years. Amazingly, all 4 of my ho locomotives eventually ran after cleaning the tracks really well. Only have 2 N locos, and only one of them is running well so for. The other one has a set of rear axles that don't want to rotate freely. My sons took a great interest in them, so hopefully the trains will replace some of the time they like to spend on video games. I look forward to buying some sheets of plywood and start getting some scenes going. Any advice for a guy that's been out of it for a while, lol? My dad passed away a few years ago, and it's like a right of passage for me to play the role to my kids that he did for me. Wish he was still around to see us exploring this hobby.
Just getting back into it
- Thread starter TallCool1
- Start date
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Have Fun
My older son got the bug and dragged me into it, but we are having a blast. Mine are a little younger but the enthusiasm is probably the same.
My advice, don't take shortcuts to get it done quick (or they will be frustrated in poor running), get one line running as fast as you can (to keep them interested), and let them do as much as they are capable of.
They have been making movies about it too (I edit it for them).
Episode I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbDJDfI7wVE
Episode II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEssEmMIuwo
My older son got the bug and dragged me into it, but we are having a blast. Mine are a little younger but the enthusiasm is probably the same.
My advice, don't take shortcuts to get it done quick (or they will be frustrated in poor running), get one line running as fast as you can (to keep them interested), and let them do as much as they are capable of.
They have been making movies about it too (I edit it for them).
Episode I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbDJDfI7wVE
Episode II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEssEmMIuwo
Gino's kid's are great spokemen for the hobby. 
First, read this piece written by one of memebers, Chip (spacemouse) at http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html. It will only take about five minutes but will give you basic ideas and questions to ponder before you whip out that piece of plywood. The NMRA has a great begineer's guide at http://www.nmra.com/beginner/. Read those over and then decide how much room you have, since that may greatly influence your choice of scale. Lots of thins have changed since the last time you ran a train, including electronics and layout building techniques. Take all the time you can to learn the basics and ask questions before you start to build and you'll save yourself a lot of money and frustration.
First, read this piece written by one of memebers, Chip (spacemouse) at http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html. It will only take about five minutes but will give you basic ideas and questions to ponder before you whip out that piece of plywood. The NMRA has a great begineer's guide at http://www.nmra.com/beginner/. Read those over and then decide how much room you have, since that may greatly influence your choice of scale. Lots of thins have changed since the last time you ran a train, including electronics and layout building techniques. Take all the time you can to learn the basics and ask questions before you start to build and you'll save yourself a lot of money and frustration.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)