New to the Hobby. Looking to start collecting.

[W1MRK]

Hello all.

Long story short, I am a Railfan and have always had the urge to start collecting model railroad engines. I have many hobbies. More than I need if you ask some. I am selling off a pen collection and possibly some ham radios to start a working collection of HO Engines and some rolling stock with track and trasnformer.

I would like to know thoughts on a good brand for a AC6000, and a Dash 9 or 8. I am looking to spend about 200 -250 per engine. But as to quality, brand, and features that is all new to me. Detail is a must as it will also be a display piece. LEDs and sound is a big plus. Would like to have a working track with solid detailed equiptment for under or around $1000

Going to slowly aqquire the necessary items to setup a nice track down the road. Apartment bound at the moment but that will be changing.

Hoping to have these engines for years and years down the road.

I was wondering if anyone could offer suggestions on where to start researching.

And is HO scale universal as far as track and DC current?

Thank you very much in advance and I look forward to your suggestions.

Mike Kulis

 

[W1MRK]

Sorry forgot to mention, I have some model experience. My Dad had a 1950's post war Lionel x-mas tree train set.

 

[MudbugnTX]

Glad you decided to try the hobby. Welcome aboard. For detail you could try Bachmann Spectrum, Broadway Limited Blueline, Proto 2000, Rivarossi, MTH, KATO, and Atlas just to name a few. I have experience with Spectrum, Proto 2000 and Broadway Limited Blueline. I have an AC6000 Broadway Limited Blueline which has high detail and a sound decoder. I could not ask for a better model train. My trains are DCC not DC. DCC is Digital Command Control. It uses a square wave to send signals down the track to control the train's speed, lights, sounds etc. It can also be used to control items in and around the track like switches, lights and so forth. The train and working items around the track use special decoders to interpret the signals from The Controller or CAB. Some decoders have sound and you can control all the train sounds through the Controller. The sound decoder can be built into the motor decoder or separate. I prefer to use single decoders with sound built on. They take up less space in the loco. This also allows you to have sounds coming from the train itself rather than a DC Controller somewhere around the track. To me it adds more realism.

Read this to understand how it works:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Command_Control

You can get a DCC Beginners setup for around $250 bucks or you can opt for more bells and whistles and spend $800 bucks. Some common DCC manufacturers are Digitrax, NCE, MRC and Lenz. Bachmann and Lionel also make their own DCC setups but they are not much for expansion.

Here are the websites for the other name brands:
http://www.digitrax.com/
http://www.ncedcc.com/
http://www.modelrectifier.com/train-controls/dcc.asp
http://www.lenz.com/

I have an MRC Prodigy setup and it works well. It is simple to use and operate. My only gripe is that to integrate a computer like a pc or laptop I have to use MRC's proprietary software and cables to connect. Digitrax, NCE and Lenz are compatible with a free software called JMRI.

http://jmri.sourceforge.net/

You just purchase the cable to hookup and your up and running. This is alot of information to absorb. Before you purchase anything go to a local hobby shop and talk to them. Take time to meet up with a club if you have a chance and ask them questions. Learn all you can about the different trains and the different systems.

Finally, plan your layout! It can be as small as 4x8 which is a typical starter size for HO. Keep it simple with the ability to get larger when you are ready. Do the same with your train controls. This is why I prefer DCC over DC. Expandability and upgradability. Do not jump in and buy a bunch of trains without researching them first.

You have already started the best step. Ask Ask Ask. No question is a dumb question.

 

[W1MRK]

Thanks for the response. Great info and has helped point me in the right direction. I will be making a trip to a local train hobby shop next week.

Here is one question I forgot to ask. Is HO the real standard these days? How are the turns and space needed for turns compared to N which I understand has its benefits but I am looking for larger due to detail.

Thanks again

 

[conrailmike]

I don't believe there is a "standard" but HO seems to still be the most popular scale modeled. The smallest radius in HO track I think is still 18", although not very prototypical looking and there's quite a few pieces of rolling stock and even locos that would not make it through the turn. Certain cars like the auto racks have recommendations that 24" radius is the smallest it can handle.

I think 9" is the smallest N scale can handle if I remember correctly. N scale has it's advantages and the detail has improved quite a bit but HO is still better as far as detail goes. Keep in mind also that even though you may buy a locomotive that is pretty well detailed, you can still apply detail parts that may be bought at the local hobby shop.

 

[MudbugnTX]

Go to this link from Atlas. It will explain the radius for you.

http://www.atlasrr.com/layoutfaq.htm

18 is minimum for HO but if you want to play it safe go with 22. HO is not really the standard. It is the most popular scale today. N scale is great if you do not have the room for HO or O scale. It is also great as a compliment to HO scale to provide a far away appearance. You can run HO at the bottom of your layout and N scale at the top in the mountains and it gives the appearance of seeing the train further away. HO does have the ability for more detail due to the larger size but N scale is not far behind. A typical passer by would not notice the difference other than the size of the trains.

 

[bigB]

If your going to run any 6 axle diesels in HO (modern locos), do yourself a favor and go with minimum 22". Itll save you alot of headaches. Problem is youve now virtually guaranteed yourself to have at least a 4X8' layout but in reality thats about as small as you can go with HO. (it will take 44" diameter to complete a 22" radius built circle).

If youve really got the $ and are very serious into collecting, Brass is the way to go. Overland and Broadway are two brands that come to mind.

Barring that, if you stick mainly to the premium brand of each manufacturer (Athearn Genesis, Broadway Paragon2, Atlas Gold, Bachmann Spectrum) you will prob be able to hold onto a good deal of value over the years and really enjoy the trains you have.

There are, of course, exceptions to this. Athearn's RTR line has greatly improved over the last few years, Kato and Atlas of all lines are great running engines, and Broadway Limited is known for high quality and affordability for their Blueline brand.

Others will be able to give you even better advice, but this has been my experience so far. I hope it helps!

Good luck, and have fun.

Brad

 

[W1MRK]

Thank you everyone for your posts.

I would like to touch on brass for a second. What are the major benefits? Just weight or quality. It may not be out of the ballpark depending on cost. Does brass hold alot of detail as well?

Thanks

 

[DirtyD79]

Thank you everyone for your posts.

I would like to touch on brass for a second. What are the major benefits? Just weight or quality. It may not be out of the ballpark depending on cost. Does brass hold alot of detail as well?

Thanks

Brass also often had more details than many of the plastic locos. Especially if you're looking for something specific to an individual railroad. For a long time companies like Athearn, Atlas, Walthers, etc. weren't going to bother with roadname specific details and usually went with a more off the shelf approach as a way to keep manufacturing costs down. Since brass importers usually produce in small batches at higher prices they can get away with this.

Also in some cases it's the only way to get certain items. While the plastic companies have produced some good stuff over the years and have caught up to the brass guys in quality the advantage brass has is for some stuff it's the only way to get it. Like for example certain types of locomotives and freight cars were only run by one railroad and an obscure one at that. Or in some cases even if it was a well known line like say Union Pacific or Santa fe chances are they only made a handful of them sometimes as few as one. Obviously a company like Athearn, Walthers, or Atlas is not going to bother with such an obscure model.

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

Well if your limit is around $1,000 brass is NOT the way to go. You will spend around that amount just buying one brass locomotive... Brass is very expensive, and although you get alot more detail in them, I dont see it worth it unless you are going to be strictly a collector and not running the trains. Honestly, if I dropped that kinda money on a brass locomotive, I would be afraid to run the thing in fear of breaking something on it. It would be stuck in a display case and that would be about all the use it would get lol

Check out Overlands Models Diesel Locomotives.

http://www.overlandmodels.com/showroom.php?scale=4#Diesel

I just looked at the SD70ACe, this is the UP model, available in 4 roadnumbers for $992.00 each. Of coarse this is MSRP and they can be found for a bit cheaper, but not much.

Now look at the Athearn Genesis UP SD70ACe with DCC/SOUND. Its also available in 4 roadnumbers for $289.98 (again thats MSRP, my price on them is $217.49). For me, Athearn does very well in the detail department for being a plastic model, and well worth it in my opinion... I own several Athearn RTR and Genesis models and am happy with them all.

http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG68620

And dont forget Intermountain Railway Company and their latest diesels, the ES44AC's and ES44DC's They are also well known for detail on their plastic models

 

[W1MRK]

What are your thoughts on Lionel?

Are they still at the top of the game or no?

I do not think I can justify brass at this time in my life. But I am thinking if I spend around 200 on a engine with dcc and on board sound and LED lighting, I should have a good engine for life

Thanks again for all the responses.

Mike

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

Hi Mike,

Lionel is more popular in the larger scales, I dont see much available in HO from Linoel.

I actually started out with a 1/64 (i think it was?) train set many years ago when my grandparents brought it for me to play with. I remember we would set it up on the floor for a day or 2 and it would keep me occupied for hours We also setup a larger G scale train around the Christmas Tree at Christmas time which was pretty cool too.

There is alot available if your looking to spend around $200 per engine for DCC/SOUND equipped that are also very nicely detailed. Athearn Genesis, Atlas Gold, Intermountain (the ES44AC's and ES44DC's), and Broadway Limited Paragon II are a few of the manufactures that come to mind for top of the line models DCC/SOUND equipped

 

[W1MRK]

There is alot to take in with this hobby. I don't mind research and all but I honestly did not think there were this many choices out there.

Thanks

Mike