New to this hobby


The Old Bandit

The Old Bandit

Newbie
Hello,
thanks for adding me as a new member. I'm fairly new to this hobby and after looking through many forums, I decided to build a very basic 4x8 H0 scale layout. Before I make a ton of mistakes (I'm well known for that), I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Please don't be too cruel to me. See you soon !
 
The Old Bandit said:
Hello,
thanks for adding me as a new member. I'm fairly new to this hobby and after looking through many forums, I decided to build a very basic 4x8 H0 scale layout. Before I make a ton of mistakes (I'm well known for that), I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Please don't be too cruel to me. See you soon !
Click to expand...
Welcome to our forum and to this great hobby! We are happy to have you!

I was a novice and still am in many ways. There are great people on our (mine, Yours, and Everybody's) forum. Rude is a seldom if ever seen behavior here. Crude, maybe, but not in a mean-spirited way.
 
Welcome! I am a fairly recent convert as well. I have found this forum to be very helpful, encouraging, and supportive. Lots of wise and experienced hands out there who have made mistakes and can now help us newbies avoid them.

I will say this, though. Before you just build the 4x8 because it seems easy, put some thought into some other options. Be sure to think about things like:

access and reach
curve radius and limitations on locomotives and rolling stock
long-term enjoyment
operations (railfanning roundy-roundy or switching yards and industries)

Collective wisdom suggests that one more foot in width to a 5x8 will provide much better operating environment. If, that is, the long sides are free standing. John Armstrong's book "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" is a great resource and read. He has a suggestion to cut a 4x8 into a shape which yields better operation.

Enjoy and do some research. Unfortunately, our hobby can be quite expensive and you want to use those dollars wisely.

Steve J
 
MilwRoader_Steve said:
Welcome! I am a fairly recent convert as well. I have found this forum to be very helpful, encouraging, and supportive. Lots of wise and experienced hands out there who have made mistakes and can now help us newbies avoid them.

I will say this, though. Before you just build the 4x8 because it seems easy, put some thought into some other options. Be sure to think about things like:

access and reach
curve radius and limitations on locomotives and rolling stock
long-term enjoyment
operations (railfanning roundy-roundy or switching yards and industries)

Collective wisdom suggests that one more foot in width to a 5x8 will provide much better operating environment. If, that is, the long sides are free standing. John Armstrong's book "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" is a great resource and read. He has a suggestion to cut a 4x8 into a shape which yields better operation.

Enjoy and do some research. Unfortunately, our hobby can be quite expensive and you want to use those dollars wisely.

Steve J
Click to expand...
This is some great advice!
 
The Old Bandit said:
Actually, you're a little late. The spousal unit already told me I was an idiot a long time ago.
😂 😂
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We all started some where....just dive in. There was no ill intent on Terry's comment as we shop dwellers tend kid around a lot on our forum here. So don't take things literally here. Have fun we have got a great gang of peeps here. I have been here since 2006....seen all walks of life come and go and stay so welcome!
 
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The Old Bandit said:
Hello,
thanks for adding me as a new member. I'm fairly new to this hobby and after looking through many forums, I decided to build a very basic 4x8 H0 scale layout. Before I make a ton of mistakes (I'm well known for that), I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Please don't be too cruel to me. See you soon !
Click to expand...
Welcome! Enjoy the forum!
Here is wishing you a great time with your HO Scale layout.

In addition to taking into consideration the suggestions by members of this forum regarding points to consider in building your HO Scale layout, "search" MRR Benchwork Builders on the internet. I did this, and I got several good ideas from photos of their work.
And of course there are a lot of great photos here on MRR forums too!
 
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The Old Bandit said:
I'm fairly new to this hobby and after looking through many forums, I decided to build a very basic 4x8 H0 scale layout. Before I make a ton of mistakes (I'm well known for that), I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Please don't be too cruel to me. See you soon !
Click to expand...
Everyone makes mistakes. Just don't try to make NO mistakes. There are many ways to do things and none of them are necessarily "right". Mistakes are part of the journey.
 
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