Hi All

[Warpiper]

Hi,

Newbie here from Sommerville, SC. I'm starting to get into model trains again after 20 years. Had a Lionel growing up and as a young adult my wife gave me a HO set. Didn't do much scenery or modeling back then (Military and moving all the time) but am looking forward to that part. I've been reading a lot and learning a lot and have a lot more to do. I'm starting off small (limited space for now) and am starting to collect the things I need. Hoping to start building the benchwork over the next week or so and have something up and running for when my 3 year old grandson comes to visit (he seams to like trains). Might give us something to do together. Of course as a newbie, I have a lot of questions so time for me to start posting.

Chris

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Welcome to the best forum around. Be sure and join many of us at the ANPL Coffee Shop (near the bottom of the Forum list) to "chew the fat". We have some very talented folks over there and they like to show pictures.

 

[tootnkumin]

Lots of questions? Lots of answers. You've come to the right place.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Hey Chris,
Welcome to the forum. You did mention that you had O scale as a child then HO later in life. I presume you are continuing with the HO collection. Have you considered if you are going to stick with DC or have you considered the DCC?
What is your plan for the benchwork? A lot of folks start out with a 4x8 sheet of plywood which turns into a catch all within about a year and the model railroading enthusiasm dies. You might consider breaking away from that and going with your own unique design of open frame benchwork and cookie cutter road bed. You'll find that you aren't so constrained with curve radius and flat world as you would with the sheet of plywood.
Check the link in my signature below for the history and progress of my current empire. Hope that will give you some inspiration.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning Chris. Welcome to the friendliest model RR forum on the net. As Sherrel posted, come on by the Coffee Shop and shoot the bull sometime.

Willie

 

[Warpiper]

Welcome to the best forum around. Be sure and join many of us at the ANPL Coffee Shop (near the bottom of the Forum list) to "chew the fat". We have some very talented folks over there and they like to show pictures.

Thanks. I'll check out the coffee shop.

 

[Warpiper]

Lots of questions? Lots of answers. You've come to the right place.

Thanks tootnkumin.

 

[Frank]

Hi,

Newbie here from Sommerville, SC. I'm starting to get into model trains again after 20 years. Had a Lionel growing up and as a young adult my wife gave me a HO set. Didn't do much scenery or modeling back then (Military and moving all the time) but am looking forward to that part. I've been reading a lot and learning a lot and have a lot more to do. I'm starting off small (limited space for now) and am starting to collect the things I need. Hoping to start building the benchwork over the next week or so and have something up and running for when my 3 year old grandson comes to visit (he seams to like trains). Might give us something to do together. Of course as a newbie, I have a lot of questions so time for me to start posting.

Chris

Hello,
You've definitely come to the right place. If you've got limited space, then you'll most likely want to build a modular lay out. 3'x2' modules can contain a surprising amount of action and if you build to a standard like ntrak ( http://ntrak.org/ ) or one of the other ones, then you'll be able to rearrange the modules in various ways and extend the interest. Plus, if you choose to join a club, you'll likely be able to add to the club layout without extra work.

If you think things out ahead of time, you can even use the layout as a small table when not in use and the smaller modules may only weight 30 or 40#.

That's more or less what I'll be doing. Modular, stack-able build.

Oh, and definitely ask plenty of questions. As somebody pointed out to me in my introduction thread, if nobody asks questions, then the lurkers won't have anything to read.

 

[Warpiper]

Hey Chris,
Welcome to the forum. You did mention that you had O scale as a child then HO later in life. I presume you are continuing with the HO collection. Have you considered if you are going to stick with DC or have you considered the DCC?
What is your plan for the benchwork? A lot of folks start out with a 4x8 sheet of plywood which turns into a catch all within about a year and the model railroading enthusiasm dies. You might consider breaking away from that and going with your own unique design of open frame benchwork and cookie cutter road bed. You'll find that you aren't so constrained with curve radius and flat world as you would with the sheet of plywood.
Check the link in my signature below for the history and progress of my current empire. Hope that will give you some inspiration.

Hi Ken,

Thanks. And thank you for your advice. I had an O gauge as a kid but I think my younger brother got to keep it. I'll have to ask if he still has it. I'm going to continue with HO, I think that will work the best for me.

I have given considerable thought to whether to go DC or DCC. A member at the Charleston club recommend I go with DC for now and see if I really get into it. If so, then move up to DCC.

Benchwork is going to be interesting. I posted a thread on the layout board. I'm limited to a small in my study and was thinking of making a L shape benchwork. The longest wall is 9', the wall space to the left is 6', and the wall space to the right is 4'. The width was going to be 40" until I figured out the other day that I will not be able to reach into the corners. Still trying to figure out what to do with that. Don't want it to be like a piece of exercise equipment, a catch all for laundry and that's all it gets used for! LOL! Not sure what you mean by open frame and cookie cutter road bed.

I'd like to go with the trains I knew as a kid. That would be the Boston & Maine, and the MBTA North Shore line. I just bought a GP40-2 and a couple of cars on Ebay. Need to order some track and a DC power supply. Once I have the benchwork shape figured out I'll start making it.

Chris

 

[Warpiper]

Good Morning Chris. Welcome to the friendliest model RR forum on the net. As Sherrel posted, come on by the Coffee Shop and shoot the bull sometime.

Willie

Hi Willie,

Thanks, will do.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Chris,

Open frame and Cookie cutter benchwork can be seen in post #23 in the thread in my signature below. This allows you to make your road bed independent of the flow of the scenery, plus it gives you smooth transition into and out of your grade changes, i.e. uphill and downhill.
The L shaped layout would serve nicely as a switching layout and you can keep it tight into the wall. Having the ability to run trains in a loop is always nice, but when you're constrained with space, you can only do what ya can.

 

[Warpiper]

Hello,
You've definitely come to the right place. If you've got limited space, then you'll most likely want to build a modular lay out. 3'x2' modules can contain a surprising amount of action and if you build to a standard like ntrak ( http://ntrak.org/ ) or one of the other ones, then you'll be able to rearrange the modules in various ways and extend the interest. Plus, if you choose to join a club, you'll likely be able to add to the club layout without extra work.

If you think things out ahead of time, you can even use the layout as a small table when not in use and the smaller modules may only weight 30 or 40#.

That's more or less what I'll be doing. Modular, stack-able build.

Oh, and definitely ask plenty of questions. As somebody pointed out to me in my introduction thread, if nobody asks questions, then the lurkers won't have anything to read.

Hi Frank,

Thank you for your recommendations. Hadn't thought about modular building but it makes sense. I'll have to sketch a few things out and see how it might fit my space.

Chris

 

[Warpiper]

Chris,

Open frame and Cookie cutter benchwork can be seen in post #23 in the thread in my signature below. This allows you to make your road bed independent of the flow of the scenery, plus it gives you smooth transition into and out of your grade changes, i.e. uphill and downhill.
The L shaped layout would serve nicely as a switching layout and you can keep it tight into the wall. Having the ability to run trains in a loop is always nice, but when you're constrained with space, you can only do what ya can.

All I can say is OMG! What an awesome set up! I can see I will be spending several hours reading your thread. Also watched your Christmas run. Sweet. Now I'm thinking of making the L narrower and make use an open frame to make a lopsided oval with the middle open. There was one part in your video that looked like the train was going over a long board with no supports except at either end. I'm thinking I can do that towards the front and go underneath it as needed. Thanks.

 

[Frank]

Hi Frank,

Thank you for your recommendations. Hadn't thought about modular building but it makes sense. I'll have to sketch a few things out and see how it might fit my space.

Chris

I recommend using scarm http://scarm.info/ or something similar on a computer to lay things out. It'll give you and idea about what you can get done in a small area and a parts list if you find an arrangement that works well. That's how I knew that my 3'x5' layout had gotten out of hand and probably saved much frustration and wasted money in the process.

I'd also recommend taking a look at various example layouts to see what's possible. Depending upon what scale you choose to work in, you can get rather a lot in. Even a briefcase is large enough for a small n scale switchyard layout.

 

[new guy]

Hi Ken,

Thanks. And thank you for your advice. I had an O gauge as a kid but I think my younger brother got to keep it. I'll have to ask if he still has it. I'm going to continue with HO, I think that will work the best for me.

I have given considerable thought to whether to go DC or DCC. A member at the Charleston club recommend I go with DC for now and see if I really get into it. If so, then move up to DCC.

Benchwork is going to be interesting. I posted a thread on the layout board. I'm limited to a small in my study and was thinking of making a L shape benchwork. The longest wall is 9', the wall space to the left is 6', and the wall space to the right is 4'. The width was going to be 40" until I figured out the other day that I will not be able to reach into the corners. Still trying to figure out what to do with that. Don't want it to be like a piece of exercise equipment, a catch all for laundry and that's all it gets used for! LOL! Not sure what you mean by open frame and cookie cutter road bed.

I'd like to go with the trains I knew as a kid. That would be the Boston & Maine, and the MBTA North Shore line. I just bought a GP40-2 and a couple of cars on Ebay. Need to order some track and a DC power supply. Once I have the benchwork shape figured out I'll start making it.

Chris

DON'T be intimidated by DCC! Welcome to the Asylum BTW! You will KICK yourself for wasting money on a DC power pak when you get your teeth into DCC! It is what we WANTED to do with the old sets we had as kids! More than one train on the track at the same time going different speeds and different directions! It's so easy even my old burnt out brain damaged self could do it! NCE is the one I picked after seeing the problems some were having with some of the older DCC systems that I will not name! (Digitrax)

 

[Frank]

DON'T be intimidated by DCC! Welcome to the Asylum BTW! You will KICK yourself for wasting money on a DC power pak when you get your teeth into DCC! It is what we WANTED to do with the old sets we had as kids! More than one train on the track at the same time going different speeds and different directions! It's so easy even my old burnt out brain damaged self could do it! NCE is the one I picked after seeing the problems some were having with some of the older DCC systems that I will not name! (Digitrax)

Yes, but on the other hand, there are newer standards already out that do a whole lot more and may well catch on. That being said, even though my DCC locomotive travels at a fraction of the speed of my DC locomotive, it's somehow far more satisfying to watch go around my track. No idea why, because usually more speed is more fun. Perhaps it's the more realistic start and stop and the simulated momentum.

 

[Warpiper]

I recommend using scarm http://scarm.info/ or something similar on a computer to lay things out. It'll give you and idea about what you can get done in a small area and a parts list if you find an arrangement that works well. That's how I knew that my 3'x5' layout had gotten out of hand and probably saved much frustration and wasted money in the process.

I'd also recommend taking a look at various example layouts to see what's possible. Depending upon what scale you choose to work in, you can get rather a lot in. Even a briefcase is large enough for a small n scale switchyard layout.

Thanks Frank,

I'll check it out. That should be fun to play with and look around.

 

[Warpiper]

DON'T be intimidated by DCC! Welcome to the Asylum BTW! You will KICK yourself for wasting money on a DC power pak when you get your teeth into DCC! It is what we WANTED to do with the old sets we had as kids! More than one train on the track at the same time going different speeds and different directions! It's so easy even my old burnt out brain damaged self could do it! NCE is the one I picked after seeing the problems some were having with some of the older DCC systems that I will not name! (Digitrax)

LOL!! Thanks new guy. I'm still looking onto DCC. There is a lot to lean about them.

 

[Trussrod]

Hi Chris, Welcome to the forums!
I firmly think you have the right idea with a 'L' shaped layout unless you want to do something around the wall as you said in another post. You can have a return loop at either end for continuous running when you want but also operate it as a Point-to-Point to pick-up and spot cars at various locations without having to go all the way around the entire folded dog bone.

For the most enjoyment in viewing, I'd suggest making your table work at least waist height or higher for better, more realistic viewing which is about chest height. Try keeping your your table work at 30" deep except for your end loops which will probably wind up being about 4'x4' with 45* inside corner cussets to allow easy transitions of the curves from one table to the other.

The reach over can be a bit of a problem but a sturdy step stool with a hand hold for your upper legs to lean against can be a big help. I use mine all the time.

L-Girder frame work offers a lot of flexibility if your considering different variations in height as I have. It allows you to adjust your track work height as you desire from the top of your basic table work with a fair amount of ease. I should have some shots showing how I made my table work using 'L' Girders and I think the cross stringers that form the joists for the basic table work to set on. It's light weight yet strong.

As far as deciding between DC or DCC is kind of personal preference. While sound is nice it can get tiring too. A number of us on here are still using 'DC' and happy with it. If your basically going to be the sole operator I don't see the need of DCC.

 

[Warpiper]

Hi Chris, Welcome to the forums!
I firmly think you have the right idea with a 'L' shaped layout unless you want to do something around the wall as you said in another post. You can have a return loop at either end for continuous running when you want but also operate it as a Point-to-Point to pick-up and spot cars at various locations without having to go all the way around the entire folded dog bone.

For the most enjoyment in viewing, I'd suggest making your table work at least waist height or higher for better, more realistic viewing which is about chest height. Try keeping your your table work at 30" deep except for your end loops which will probably wind up being about 4'x4' with 45* inside corner cussets to allow easy transitions of the curves from one table to the other.

The reach over can be a bit of a problem but a sturdy step stool with a hand hold for your upper legs to lean against can be a big help. I use mine all the time.

L-Girder frame work offers a lot of flexibility if your considering different variations in height as I have. It allows you to adjust your track work height as you desire from the top of your basic table work with a fair amount of ease. I should have some shots showing how I made my table work using 'L' Girders and I think the cross stringers that form the joists for the basic table work to set on. It's light weight yet strong.

As far as deciding between DC or DCC is kind of personal preference. While sound is nice it can get tiring too. A number of us on here are still using 'DC' and happy with it. If your basically going to be the sole operator I don't see the need of DCC.

Hi David,

Thank you for your suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. I was playing with the lay out when I got home tonight. I'm using some rope to trace various layouts on the carpet to see how they look and to see if they work. It appears that my imagination has more room in it to play with than the actual room!! I've narrowed the benchwork width from 40", to 36", to 24", to 18", and down to 12". The 40 and 36" take up too much room, the 12" seems a little small, but the 18-24" seem about right. I think I might go 18" along the 2 side walls and tapper to about 12" as it goes across the room connecting the top of the U to make it a lopsided oval, and probably 24" along the back wall and have some room for a small yard. I'll put a gate on that part so I can open it to get to the walls. If you find those pictures of the L-Girder, I would love to see them.

Chris