Being new can be VERY overwhelming!

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T

toe knee

New Member
If I were to take a piece a paper and make a list of things I know about this hobby on one side and a list of things I don't know on the other side this is how it would read:

Things I know:
1) I really get a kick out of model railroading and I would like to build a layout.

Things I don't know:
Too many to list.
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With that in mind, I guess my first question is what track system. I read that the bachmann easy track is ok but their switches leave a lot to be desired. I'm up in the air on still going with bachmann track but i'm also thinking about atlas. What say you?

2nd. can you gents suggest a good book or a good web site on track layouts? I don't think I'm up for designing my own for now and I just need a starting point. I want no tunnels or bridges at this time and hopeing for an hourglass type track plan with some switching for a train yard in the center.
 
Howdy, and welcome! If you go to the "home" section of this forum you will find a section on layout design. Also, there are a number of books on track planning that can be found at your local model railroad hobby shop, or can be ordered from Model Railroader magazine or from Wm. Walthers. One question that becomes important, is how much room do you have for a layout? Obviously, if you have a whole basement to work in, your layout can be quite different from a 4 ft x 8 ft. or even smaller layout.

I personally have always preferred a combination of Atlas sectional track and turnouts, with cork roadbed under the track, and flex-track for larger, longer runs. But there can be good arguements for the other types which combine the roadbed and the track.

Again, check with the general "home" section of this forum, and with Model Railroader magazine, etc.

"Highball on track #1!"
 
You should get the book by John Armstong "Track Planning for Realistic Operation". That is considered the model railroaders bible.

First you need to figure out what you like. Modern, Steam, early diesel. Favorite railroad, etc.

Then you have to figure out how much space you have available.

Visit your local hobby shop, see what they have that interests you. Ask questions. Usually they are very helpful to beginners.

Look online for layouts, google is your friend.

Then pick a layout you like, and fit it to the space you have available.

Download some free track planning software. Atlas RTS is good for beginners.

Come up with your wants and needs. (Givins and Druthers).

Then come up with a plan, and post it up here, and we can help you with it. There are lots of track planning experts here, that are more than willing to help you out.

It's not overwhelming, just do some research, take it slow, read, read, and read some more.

Good luck. We were all newbie once!
 


The flex track and cork roadbed is relatively easy to work with after you've even for a first timer. Once you put down several pieces and work out the kinks and other little problems you'll have no problem laying it. Turnouts of any brand can be cantankerous beasts if installed improperly and that's easy to do. I suggest taking it slow and easy on the first few. If you decide to try tackling the Bachmann EZ-Track I suggest you substitute Atlas turnouts for the Bachmann turnouts, unless you're mechanically inclined and like a challenge. Minimizing the faults of the Bachmann turnouts isn't hard but each one is different.
 
Welcome!

I have really enjoyed the book HO Railroad from start to finish by Jim Kelly. The book covers all the bases of model railroading and has a lot of good information that will really help with building your layout. I have spent lots of hours reading the book and is the one I look at the most.

If you decide on sectional track, then I recommend looking into KATO HO UNITRACK which is a high quality and trouble free track system.

We have some 4' x 8' layouts at this link (near the bottom of the page) that can be easily expanded to fit a larger table length - KATO HO UNITRACK Layouts

Best regards,
Brian
 
Don't be disheartened.
Even those of us who have been around for awhile don't know everything either.

For instance: those who are Diehard DC operators may have little clue about anything DCC related.

READ READ READ READ before you jump in and READ AGAIN. THat is the best advice anyone can give you. Above are mentioned some places to get books, heck even Amazon.com carries MRRing {Model RailRoading} books!

Many will also suggest, that except for purchasing books, that you hold fast to your wallet until you have READ thoroughly and know what you wnat before you spend a dime on a product.{I had O/O27 as a kid and N scale as a Teen but got back into the hobby 6 1/2 years ago and started buying all kinds of HO scale stuff including DC locos before I realized I really wanted DCC. Now I have a bunch of stuff I will someday list on here for sale}

With online e-tailers abounding you can look there too, if you don't have a LHS {Local Hobby SHop} near you where you can buy books.
There are some good e-tailers to shop from:

http://www.wholesaletrains.com/HOProducts2.asp?Scale=HO&SPECIAL=0

http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips.htm is a good Q&A about DCC

http://www.walthers.com/

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com

are a few of my favorites.
welcome to the hobby!
;)
 
As Galaxy says, get yourself a few books, the Model Railroader series of books are quite self explanatory for beginners..

I would recommend that you start out with something small like a shelf layout with a couple of switches to get in to it to start with.. The thing is with this hobby (& I hope this doesn't put you off lol) you need to be a bit of a carpenter, electrician & model maker to succeed in this hobby, but the best bit of advice I can give you as an 'old hand' is never be afraid to have a go! Have a go at everything even if you make a hash of it, you'll soon learn by your mistakes as well asking lots of questions on here - we don't mind, it's what makes this community great. And remember.. There's never any dumb questions - only sometimes dumb answers lol...
 
The hobby can be very costly, and not just in bucks...as if that wouldn't be bad enough for those with limited means. It can be costly in lost time, frustration, disillusionment, loss of fun and satisfaction, self-recrimination....and all this because we let ourselves go to emotion and desire.....and haste. Time spent here, reading, thinking, making notes, planning, and then planning some more will save you time, tons of misspent money, and a lot of dismay.

I started with EZ Track. It is a good product. Not so much the turnouts, but with some care and adjustment, I had a good time with my first layout. It is very expensive. For me, the radii available were too constraining, and they don't permit proper and natural easements as you see on real railroads. That can only be achieved with flex track...or hand laid track. The best turnouts are Peco Streamline or Micro Engineering, or Proto 87 if you want really highaccuracy commercial ones. Otherwise, you should learn to make your own turnouts. It isn't as difficult as one would think. Even I learned, and I intend to make most of mine in the future. They just work better across a wider range of manufacturer/importer rolling stock.

I don't have two of any kind of locomotive except for two SD75M's made by Athearn in their Genesis brand. And I have locomotives across at least six different railroads. So, I have a hodge podge of most of what had gotten under my skin for some reason. It's a scattering, and the old timers warns us of taking that approach...it gets costly. They'll tell you it is best to concentrate on one company, one railroad, and then to learn as much as you can about its operations in the time frame that interests you. From that learning comes your overall theme and plans. From such a cohesive plan comes the layout construction and trackage arrangements, including how many of which type of turnout, how much linear feet of flex track, and so on. This methodical approach will yield the best results and bring immense satisfaction.

Or, so I now believe. But, we all have to learn our lessons one way or another. So, try to have fun, but try also to be rational and sensible.
 
Thank you for the replies.
After spending the day tinkering with the atlas software suggested above and figuring out the area I have to work with, I think I came up with a simple layout that should keep me interested for awhile. There is a lot of 18" radius track and some switches. I know it's too early to tell which locomotive interest me the most so I'm thinking of setting this some time in the 40's or 50's. Am I correct in thinking BOTH types of engines were used at that time?

The layout I came up with is a simple hourglass shape with some switching. One side of the layout will be a large manufacturer (most likely motorcycle related) and the other side will include a small city block. No train stations because I do not think this layout is large enough to accommodate for the larger passenger cars.

I will be sure to look into the books that were listed. Especially the Walther's catalog. I remember have one as a kid and thumbing through it for MONTHS. I sure hope one of the books listed includes easy to follow directions on constructing a table. I'm mechanically inclined and think that I'll be fine as long as I can come across easy to follow instructions.

anyway, thank you guys. I'll be back to post the layout I came up with after I've slept on it and decide if that's the way i'm going to go.

-Tony
 
For track planning. Most model railroads have a purpose. So each track should have a purpose. You have the mainline, industries to serve, and usually a rail yard.

You want to make sure it's something to keep you interested. Not get bored with after a year or so.

Operations is a big part of this hobby. So having a place to transport the goods on railcars is important.

What is interesting?

Building the layout, Scenery, Mainline running, switching the rail yard. Switching cars in industries.
 


ahh u want to model the famous "transition era" so you can run steam & diesel , the most popular option which alot of us model,but remember start out small & learn on the way .
you will learn wireing , & senery along the way , as you feel comfortable ,which will = enjoyment then from there you will understand an operating layout,there are so many areas in this hobby ,but i cant stess enough ,start simple simple simple , so many people dive into this with visions of a 4 track main line with roundhouses & passanger station ,& then they become overwhelmed & give up ... welcome :D
 
blackz28 said:
ahh u want to model the famous "transition era" so you can run steam & diesel , the most popular option which alot of us model,but remember start out small & learn on the way .
you will learn wireing , & senery along the way , as you feel comfortable ,which will = enjoyment then from there you will understand an operating layout,there are so many areas in this hobby ,but i cant stess enough ,start simple simple simple , so many people dive into this with visions of a 4 track main line with roundhouses & passanger station ,& then they become overwhelmed & give up ... welcome :D
Click to expand...

So true. My first layout I built as an adult had just too much compressed into it - A nice roundhouse with turntable and service area plus a yard and a mainline with many sidings.

My second layout was a much simpler branch line layout with less structures and with more space between the scenes to create the illusion of distance.
 
Research, research, research is always a good idea.

I started out by wanting to recreate the place where I grew up. However, I fell in love with the visible intricate moving parts of the steam loco.

I suggest you look at photos and go the hobby shop to see what you really like the look or feel of.

I ended up modelling the transition era, which is before my time, but fortunately for me a place that didn't look much different than my time.

Eventually over the years I focused on a year to create a more believable prototypical look and also to start collecting the diesels and steam that was operating in the area and place I wanted to model. I had to draw the line somewhere so I wouldn't end up with so many locos and go broke; needed to save money for those brass steamers.

Research can be really fun, rewarding, and a great learning process, which will enhance your skills and look and operation of your layout.

Now I'm interested in a different era for different reasons - I remember the summer of 74 fondly and want to recreate the scenes and trains that I remember, but I still love steam hence I will be designing a branch line layout that can depict the transition period and the early 70's. This will be a fun challenge for me in regards to structures, roads, etc. Lucky for me, the place where I grew up didn't look much different in the 50's and 70's due to it being an economically depressed region.

Whatever track you lay, take your time, lay it well, and wire it properly. It is so nice to see a train run on a layout smoothly.

There is so much choice out there today and options. Take your time and enjoy.
 
zoegraf said:
So true. My first layout I built as an adult had just too much compressed into it - A nice roundhouse with turntable and service area plus a yard and a mainline with many sidings.

My second layout was a much simpler branch line layout with less structures and with more space between the scenes to create the illusion of distance.
Click to expand...


Great points...thank you!
 
blackz28 said:
ahh u want to model the famous "transition era" so you can run steam & diesel , the most popular option which alot of us model,but remember start out small & learn on the way .
you will learn wireing , & senery along the way , as you feel comfortable ,which will = enjoyment then from there you will understand an operating layout,there are so many areas in this hobby ,but i cant stess enough ,start simple simple simple , so many people dive into this with visions of a 4 track main line with roundhouses & passanger station ,& then they become overwhelmed & give up ... welcome :D
Click to expand...


Got it. KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid! :) I 100% agree. I'm just trying to make my first layout something that will keep my interest yet not TOO complicated. I can see how it's easy to get over your head. I just keep telling myself that the first time out doesn't have to be too over the top. If I get caught up in "keeping up with the jones'" then it takes the fun out of it. I made that mistake in my other hobby (Motorcycles).:rolleyes:
 
toe knee said:
Great points...thank you!
Click to expand...

Something to consider is a hidden staging area. I had one in a closet where I would send a train to an imaginary destination through a hole in the wall hidden by a hill in quarry (see photo). It is a good place to store cars so not to clutter up your layout with too many cars.

Also a very slight grade along a siding or storage track can be interesting visually.

The shot with the caboose is from my last layout and the scene is only about 140 scale feet long, but has a feel of distance in it especially when no train is there or when the train moves by.

The last shot is of my first layout that I built as an adult. Note how too compressed and busy looking the service area is. All in an area of about 12 square feet - a roundhouse, turntable, coaling tower, sanding facility, etc.
 
toe knee said:
Got it. KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid! :) I 100% agree. I'm just trying to make my first layout something that will keep my interest yet not TOO complicated. I can see how it's easy to get over your head. I just keep telling myself that the first time out doesn't have to be too over the top. If I get caught up in "keeping up with the jones'" then it takes the fun out of it. I made that mistake in my other hobby (Motorcycles).:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
i know about" other "hobbies" lol i have a z-28 money sucker also :p
 
It's only as expensive as you make it.

No space is too small.

It's always more expensive than you intend.

You'll always think you need more space.
 


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