Newby with some general questions..

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willisjj

New Member
Hey everyone. Will be getting started in a month or two...I need that much time to educate myself on exactly what I want and need to get started. I have been reading many posts here and realize that any question I ask has probably been covered in the past....but....I have yet to find the following questions answered:

1) In terms of quality, what order would you place the following: Atlas, Bachmann, Lionel, and Kato

2) Are the N scale just as detailed as the HO? I am leaning heavily toward the N scale, mainly because I usually get pretty crazy with my hobbies and even though I have most of one room for this, I think the possibilities are even greater with the N scale....

Anyway...there's a couple of starter questions. Love this forum, so you expect to see me on here alot. Just FYI....I am located in Pryor, Oklahoma....if any of you live close, give me a holler....thanks....Jeremy
 
Atlas Kato, Lionel, Bachmann. In my experience the HO offerings carry more detail though I prefer less detail myself. The finely detailed items come as a trade-off. Those fine tiny pieces get broken very easily. Another thing to keep in mind is that the bigger the plan you start with there's a greater chance that you won't finish it as it will get beyond you.
 
It would probably help if you decided on a scale first since quality of items varies (as does the size of the layout you would need). N is a nice way to start as is HO. Somethings to consider - will you run DCC or DC power? - need sound or no sound engines? - any special railroad you want to model, etc?

Atlas & Kato are the best quality for HO & N scale. Bachmann runs hot & cold. Athearn makes HO & N engines & cars but their quality control has been spotty lately. Lionel never did N and is out of HO - just O & O27. As for detail - that also varies. I feel HO has more detail since it is larger. There are also Broadway Limited engines - some come with sound (as do some Atlas & Bachmann in HO).

Then you may decide to model a specific time period. That will also determine what brands are available.

You will probably get many others answers with varying opinions. Yahoo groups has a "yard sale" for both N & HO items. Check them out. You can get some very good deals there.

Good luck!
Jay
 
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Great info, thanks much! I do plan on starting small, but I have to look at the future....I would hate to start with HO and have plenty of room, only to find later that in order to expand significantly, I would need to switch over to N scale. I just don't know yet, there are pros and cons to both (like with everything). Thanks especially for the brand ranking....I didn't want to waste my time looking at a specific brand if it is going to be sub-par as far as quality goes. So much to learn........thanks again!

Oh, by the way....I would like to start with DCC, and I am looking at the Digitrax stuff....just don't want to get in over my head at the beginning....
 
The Digitrax Zephyr is an excellent starter DCC system and is easily upward expandable. All Digitrax components work with all other Digitrax components. That's more than I can say for some other systems that require that you replace everything to upgrade.
 
Thanks....I had been reading a lot about that one and although pricey up front, in the long run I doubt I would save any money due to the fact that I would eventually have to upgrade anyway....wow....any tips on keeping the wife out of the loop as far as hobby costs go? LOL
 
She would be on to that one in a second LOL....I am already big into metal detecting which can get costly as well....luckily she is pretty supportive of all my hobbies!
 


I wish I could get my wife involved. I think she would enjoy working on the scenery and buildings but so far, she shows no real interest.
 
willisjj said:
Hey everyone. Will be getting started in a month or two...I need that much time to educate myself on exactly what I want and need to get started. I have been reading many posts here and realize that any question I ask has probably been covered in the past....but....I have yet to find the following questions answered:

1) In terms of quality, what order would you place the following: Atlas, Bachmann, Lionel, and Kato

2) Are the N scale just as detailed as the HO? I am leaning heavily toward the N scale, mainly because I usually get pretty crazy with my hobbies and even though I have most of one room for this, I think the possibilities are even greater with the N scale....

Anyway...there's a couple of starter questions. Love this forum, so you expect to see me on here alot. Just FYI....I am located in Pryor, Oklahoma....if any of you live close, give me a holler....thanks....Jeremy
Click to expand...

There are good answers for your questions on your post.
I would like to suggest you that you watch how an HO scale train rolls along well laid track compared to N scale. If I had the space, time, and dough, I'd go S or O scale.
Atlas and Kato are great products. If you ever want to spend a lot, you can buy brass such as Ajin or Boo Rim models, but nowadays, the plastic diesels are superb when it comes to details and can well exceed that of some brass models especially those brass models that were made in the 70's. If you are modelling US railroads, you are lucky because there is so much available. If you're modelling Canadian, you might have to kitbash or buy brass to get a specific loco, but it is getting better.
However, I still think when it comes to steam locomotives, brass is the way to go. Many would disagree with me, but I've seen the best plastic steam locos run and I'm not impressed. It'll be interesting to see how Trueline trains new steam locomotive runs.

Cheers
 
Thanks Zoegraf. I hooked up with a member of a club here in Tulsa (by phone) and will be spending some time soon with them. I think that will give me a better idea of what I want to do and what scale I will want to use. They are Green Country Model Railroad Club (or something similar....just got home after working 14 hours and I am tired lol). Anyway, they seem very active and I am already looking forward to learning from these members. I do have most of a small bedroom (now just a storage/junk room until I get it all cleaned out), so I should actually have room to run a HO....
 
willisjj said:
Thanks Zoegraf. I hooked up with a member of a club here in Tulsa (by phone) and will be spending some time soon with them. I think that will give me a better idea of what I want to do and what scale I will want to use. They are Green Country Model Railroad Club (or something similar....just got home after working 14 hours and I am tired lol). Anyway, they seem very active and I am already looking forward to learning from these members. I do have most of a small bedroom (now just a storage/junk room until I get it all cleaned out), so I should actually have room to run a HO....
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised what you can put into a bedroom in HO scale. There are a lot of track plans out there for bedrooms especially in model railway magazines.
My narrow shelf layout is in a bedroom - 9 inches to 12 inches deep because the bedroom is not solely used for model railroading. Just imagine what you can do with a bedroom solely dedicated to a model railroad. Anyhow, here are 8 pics of my layout. Hopefully they will inspire you.
 
willisjj said:
Thanks Zoegraf. I hooked up with a member of a club here in Tulsa (by phone) and will be spending some time soon with them. I think that will give me a better idea of what I want to do and what scale I will want to use. They are Green Country Model Railroad Club (or something similar....just got home after working 14 hours and I am tired lol). Anyway, they seem very active and I am already looking forward to learning from these members. I do have most of a small bedroom (now just a storage/junk room until I get it all cleaned out), so I should actually have room to run a HO....
Click to expand...

Also, let us see the room you will be using once the junk is all cleared out.
 


Newbies need Mentors

willisjj said:
Thanks Zoegraf. I hooked up with a member of a club here in Tulsa (by phone) and will be spending some time soon with them. I think that will give me a better idea of what I want to do and what scale I will want to use. They are Green Country Model Railroad Club (or something similar....just got home after working 14 hours and I am tired lol). Anyway, they seem very active and I am already looking forward to learning from these members. I do have most of a small bedroom (now just a storage/junk room until I get it all cleaned out), so I should actually have room to run a HO....
Click to expand...

Lets hope you find a new friend and mentor at the club. I'm confident there are few faster ways to get the answers and skills you seek than from someone who has a layout you can learn on. Nothing builds your skills faster than nicked fingers from a #11, glue on your T-Shirt and troubleshooting derailments. :p

Joe Daddy
 
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