Newbie Forum - HO amateur hour :}


Hello D940CW. I am a newbie model railroader, too. Fortunately, I fell into a local club that is just forming, and I have a lot of very helpful advisors.

The club is building a modular layout, with tables built by individual members. They have some very good plans for making the tables, so I suggest them to you. They are at the clubs website, which is http://emmrrc.wix.com/trains. Look under "diagrams". You don't need the first two, which are specific for connecting each of our modules together. But the third one shows how to build the table, which would work great for you. Good luck!
 
To glue your foamboard insulation to the plywood you will need an adhesive that is compatible with the foam. Liquid Nails is one brand of many that you can use, however, you need to be aware that there are different types and the wrong type could melt your foamboard instead of gluing it.

Read the label, it will tell you what materials it can be used on. Check to see if there is a thin layer of plastic on the foamboard. If so, peal it off. Make sure the plywood is clean and free of dust. Follow the instructions for the adhesive and place the side you removed the plastic from down on the plywood. Press it into position and place something on it to weight it down and keep it in place.

Wait the recommended period of time and you will be ready to go at it. Good luck.
 
tables are up..... now what???

Hello fellow railroaders!
So I glued the foam to the tables and they are all set. My imagination has been running wild with ideas to model, but I am now somewhat puzzled. Since I am in a small apartment space is limited. I wanted the track to be able to loop around but that's fairly difficult with the lay of my configuration. I have three tables that are 2.5' x 8'. They form a "L" shape along my living room walls.

One question is about wiring. Does the track have to be connected or can it be open ended? And I have only DC locos for now, but when my budget allows I will expand to DCC.

Also, do I nail or fix the track to the foam? Or am I going to want to fix it to the wood under the foam? The same question arises for other fixtures and things such as buildings etc etc.....?


Basically I don't want to start modeling and then have to start over so I want to get a game plan I am comfortable with first.

And I know I should read up on things and what not but I have enjoyed this forum and so far everybody has steered me down a good strong track :)
 
Your track can certainly be open ended, doesn't need to form a complete loop. The train being on the rails forms the electrical circuit.

You want to fix your track to the benchwork but there's no need to go all the way down to the wood. Most people use glue with foam as nails can still work their way out of the stuff too easily.
 
A floor plan of what space you have available is a good start to tell you what you can fit into it.

Design a railroad and then start building.

I would suggest building modules, say 12" x 48", some size that makes sense for the space you have. And then building a bunch of them at once to save construction time.

As soon as you have a couple or more modules done, you can start putting down track to test your ideas. This is when to adjust leg height to meet your desires.

Do your curves fit the modules? It would be nice to put two modules at right angles and have enough space for the curve radius you want. But if the modules are too wide you made need to make corner units to meet your radius needs.

Get to your local hobby shop, preferably railroad only, and get to know the staff so they will introduce you to others in the area so you can see what they did and get their advice in person.
 
I'd love to know how this turned out. I wonder if the girlfriend saw the 2x8s and became sub orbital? Or, maybe something else happened to D490CW.
 
DO NOT fix the track to the foam, doing that has caused me more crap than it is worth, lay cork down, if you can't do that just lay it to the wood, but don't lay it on the foam. Also get a steam locomotive, they are good to have around!
 
The nmra (national model railroad association) website has great beginners section, it'll help with all your questions!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top