Obligatory New to Hobby Thread

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L

lawfultoad

New Member
Hi Everyone,
I'm brand new to the hobby and was hoping to get some advice from anyone willing to give it. I've been reading on the topic off and on for a couple of years now and ready to take the leap.

Below is some info, some uninformed conclusions and some open questions. Everyone seems so nice and full of information here, so thanks in advance.

I'm 31yo, I'm married with a 7 year old and a 2 year old.
I have an unfinished basement that I can use most of.
I'm going HO.
I'm leaning towards DCC, Digitrax Zephyr.
After doing some research, I really like the look of the EMD FT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_FT) and other streamliners, but not interested in spending $300 on my first locomotive.
I was hoping to model the 40's timeframe.
I have to include mountains because my brain is 12 years old and tunnels are really cool, based on this and being an Illinois native I was thinking Milwaukee Road.

Advice and comments on the above are most welcomed.

I have two basic questions.
1) I have an old dining room table and an old ping pong table I was going to use to build out the "train table", but I've read that building the open framework to hide things underneath is the way to go. Thoughts?

2) Since this is my first time and I'm not very handy/doubt my success I was going to take the easy way out and go with eztrack or the equivalent. But the part of my brain that tends to commit me to giant projects that I will never finish is telling me to go with flex track for most of it because it will look way better. Any advice?

Thanks again.

Brett
 
Since you're starting out I see no problem using a ping pong table to try things out. Stay basic at first and get a feel for it and have some fun with the trains.
Then when you're ready, move the ping pong table to another part of the basement and use it as your temp layout while you frame and build the more permanant layout.
 
As far as a loco manufacturer that won't torch your wallet I suggest Athearn. They have many locos that fit your time frame. I like the old EMD 'covered wagons' (F series) although I have locos ranging all the way up to the 80's. If your intent is to use EZ-Track as you said be forewarned that it's not a product that you just throw together and toss on the floor. I use EZ-Track myself and I'll share some of my tricks of using it. It has to be assembled carefully with particular attention given to the track joints, especially in the curves. Two pieces of track may go together easily but sometimes the joiners can slide under the rails. Sometimes on curves the joiners will join the rails but the rails will be off to one side just a little. This is enough to cause a derailment. If you see a joint like this remove one of the sections and replace it with another. Check each of track to make sure it's not bowed up at the ends. This will cause the ends of the cars to rise and fall and come uncoupled. On Bachmann turnouts, these have have no spring action to keep them locked in one position or the other. Also the point rails will need a little work. Carefully file the end of the point rail until it lays flush against the stock rail. This will greatly minimize the maddening events that unfold after a cars wheels pick a point. It's no fun when part of a train goes one way and the other part crashes on the other line or runs into another train. Another thing about EZ-Track is the landscaping. For the main line it's not much of a problem as the track sits on a high mound of ballast. However in the yard and on spurs the track drops down. On a foam surface some of the foam can be dug out thus allowing the track level to drop. I use a 'Tromp-loy' (trick the eye) routine as I slowly raise the level of the l;and in relation to the track. The track appears to drop over a distance but actually doesn't. Instead I raise the level of the land a bit. Once a the scenery and structures are in places this is nearly undetectable. On the subject of ballasting EZ-Track simply pour the ballast (I use a fine type) in the center of the track and let it flow down either side. Use a small paint brush to smooth it out between the rails and make it level to the side of the roadbed. It will pile up at the bottom a bit then the ballast will cover the plastic roadbed all the way up to the ties. I soak the ballast with 70% alcohol dripped from a glue bottle. I follow that with 50/50 white glue and water with a couple of drops of detergent. The detergent helps break the surface tension of the water so it soaks into the ballast. The alcohol makes it work even better. This needs to dry for 12-24 hours before you touch it again. Be very careful not to get ballast or glue into the moving parts of the turnouts.
 


hamltnblue said:
Since you're starting out I see no problem using a ping pong table to try things out. Stay basic at first and get a feel for it and have some fun with the trains.
Then when you're ready, move the ping pong table to another part of the basement and use it as your temp layout while you frame and build the more permanant layout.
Click to expand...

That was actually my concern, that if I get everything built out and then realize I should have built a frame and want to undo it all.
 
jeffrey-wimberly said:
As far as a loco manufacturer that won't torch your wallet I suggest Athearn. They have many locos that fit your time frame. I like the old EMD 'covered wagons' (F series) although I have locos ranging all the way up to the 80's. If your intent is to use EZ-Track as you said be forewarned that it's not a product that you just throw together and toss on the floor. I use EZ-Track myself and I'll share some of my tricks of using it. It has to be assembled carefully with particular attention given to the track joints, especially in the curves. Two pieces of track may go together easily but sometimes the joiners can slide under the rails. Sometimes on curves the joiners will join the rails but the rails will be off to one side just a little. This is enough to cause a derailment. If you see a joint like this remove one of the sections and replace it with another. Check each of track to make sure it's not bowed up at the ends. This will cause the ends of the cars to rise and fall and come uncoupled. On Bachmann turnouts, these have have no spring action to keep them locked in one position or the other. Also the point rails will need a little work. Carefully file the end of the point rail until it lays flush against the stock rail. This will greatly minimize the maddening events that unfold after a cars wheels pick a point. It's no fun when part of a train goes one way and the other part crashes on the other line or runs into another train. Another thing about EZ-Track is the landscaping. For the main line it's not much of a problem as the track sits on a high mound of ballast. However in the yard and on spurs the track drops down. On a foam surface some of the foam can be dug out thus allowing the track level to drop. I use a 'Tromp-loy' (trick the eye) routine as I slowly raise the level of the l;and in relation to the track. The track appears to drop over a distance but actually doesn't. Instead I raise the level of the land a bit. Once a the scenery and structures are in places this is nearly undetectable. On the subject of ballasting EZ-Track simply pour the ballast (I use a fine type) in the center of the track and let it flow down either side. Use a small paint brush to smooth it out between the rails and make it level to the side of the roadbed. It will pile up at the bottom a bit then the ballast will cover the plastic roadbed all the way up to the ties. I soak the ballast with 70% alcohol dripped from a glue bottle. I follow that with 50/50 white glue and water with a couple of drops of detergent. The detergent helps break the surface tension of the water so it soaks into the ballast. The alcohol makes it work even better. This needs to dry for 12-24 hours before you touch it again. Be very careful not to get ballast or glue into the moving parts of the turnouts.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the tips. Based on this then it sounds like you recommend going with the eztrack still?

I haven't figured out the difference between code 83 and 100, is there a choice with eztrack and what is the difference?
 
Welcome!

It really is best to go light and get your hands and eyes coordinated, and find out how stuff goes together and then works together.

Nothing wrong with a ping-pong table, as long as you also are thinking beyond those confines. Also, make sure a hip doesn't send it tilting and crashing everything on the floor. It will be done easily since you can't wedge it into a corner of the basement and rely on the cement walls to hold it in place. The reason is access. No matter which configuration of layout you build, without access means instant headache. So a ping-pong table has to be away from the walls so that you can reach derailed items and turnouts.

Also, the table will be low as layouts go...not always, but generally they are at chest height both for ease of access below them (wife will like the ideas of storage there, maybe for the Christmas stuff...) and for the best viewing.

I started with EZ-Track and enjoyed it. It is expensive, so mind the costs. The turnouts I used were the approximately #5 turnouts, almost a #6, and they worked well in terms of letting longer steamers move through them. HOwever (as opposed to Never :p), the sliding points rails may take some adjusting and filing to make them lie tight and flush against their stock rails. I found the EZ-Track turnouts to be costly, too.

Play, read, ask, and if you wish, we can look critically at other plans you may want to throw up here for appraisals.

-Crandell
 
Last edited by a moderator:
E-Z track is all code 100, which means the rails size is equivalent to only the very heaviest mainline rail in use today. Code 83 is closer to the average 127 pound per yard rail that's found on most mainlines.

I have part of my layout in E-Z track because that's what came in my original set. The track itself is fine but the switches are really awful. Mine still are only about 90% reliable after a lot of work. Just because of the switches, I wouldn't use E-Z track again. I'd get Atlas True-Track if I wanted track that had a plastic ballast profile. However, you can do just as well with normal Atlas track and lay cork or foam roadbed. The only advantage of the "all-in-one" tracks is if you are just setting up a layout temporarily, since they will hold together with being nailed or glued to the surface.

I need to get to a meeting right now but there are lots of other things to condsider when your just starting out. I really recommend you read over the Beginners Guide at www.nmra.com. It will answer a lot of questions for you.
 
welcome aboard. just want to say dont make the mistake i did. I started with a 4X8 and the more i learned about the hobby, the more into it i got. my vision outgrew my 4X8 before i finished it. I have since dismantled the 4X8 and put off the construction of my layout for a few years. i am just stockpiling, buildiing up my weathering skills, and formulating a more serious layout plan. if you fall in love with the hobby (its kind of hard not to) you will outgrow the dining room and ping pong table real fast. I cannot stress enough the importance of planning. but your in the right place. there are a lot of knowledgable friendly folks here who are willing to share.

enjoy
 
Airslide said:
welcome aboard. just want to say dont make the mistake i did. I started with a 4X8 and the more i learned about the hobby, the more into it i got. my vision outgrew my 4X8 before i finished it. I have since dismantled the 4X8 and put off the construction of my layout for a few years. i am just stockpiling, buildiing up my weathering skills, and formulating a more serious layout plan. if you fall in love with the hobby (its kind of hard not to) you will outgrow the dining room and ping pong table real fast. I cannot stress enough the importance of planning. but your in the right place. there are a lot of knowledgable friendly folks here who are willing to share.

enjoy
Click to expand...

That's another of my worries. I'm famous for planning big things and then never finishing them. The larger room of my basement is probably 40'x30', I have walkaround plan in my mind that scares me to start. I was just going to start with the ping pong table and build off of it as I go.
 


well thats the great thing about modeling. there is no deadline. I too have a family, home, career, etc. but with my trains i can work at my own pace. im not afforded that luxury with family, home & career. i realized sometime in about the first year that i wanted to do this forever. so even though i want my layout to be spectacular, tomorrow, thats far from realistic. even if you were rich enough to hire people to help you build one, had all the time in the world and no real life responsibility, its just not possible. there is little or no "instant gratification" in this hobby. my current projects mainly involve weathering. i start projects (i have 3 going on right now) and just do a little at a time. sometimes going weeks or months without any progress. but when the mood hits - i can just pick up here i left off, with renewed enthusiasm. my railroad is a subsidiary of nothing and answers to no one with very little chance of going into receivership.

i urge you to put something basic together, just to get a feel for it. you already have the space at your disposal. if there is a club in your area check them out. you can learn a lot here and online in general, but there is nothing like hands on visual instruction. understand that trial and error will be your best friend and your worse enemy. also check out a hobby shop. in my experience, train store proprietors are ALWAYS willing talk about the hobby. all the while keep your dream "walk around" on your mind. you will see, just as i did, the grand layout is an attainable goal - in time. im sure many of these guys with complete layouts (if there is such a thing) will agree, the real joy in this hobby is the creative process. it is a painstaking labor of love.
 
Superb, thank you.

As far as locomotives go, the railroads I'm interested in are:
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
and
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.

I have a hard time finding engines that fit along these, especially the 40's timeframe that I'm looking for. The general impression I get though is that the locomotive is going to be expensive if the Hiawatha engines are any indication.
 
Starting with the pingpong table is a long and time honored tradition. You'll grow to hate it once you get enough experience but it will keep you occupied for a while and you can reuse almost everything for the around the wall layout when you feel ready to tackle it.

As far as railroads, you won't have any problems finding CB&Q engines from the 40's. The MILW is a little more difficult but not everythng was the Hiawatha. They used lots of the same kind of pedestrian locomotives as the Burlington. The big money for both railroads is getting the steamliners from that era. Freight engines and non-steamlined steam power is really no more expensive than most other railroads.
 
My wife demoted me to the smaller basement room. What can I do with 14x14 room? Some of my creativity as been sapped by that, I had big plans to turn the 30x20 room into a rr monstrosity. Sounds like I may be confined to a simple one table layout instead of the combo around the wall/table layout.
 
lawfultoad said:
But I'm so excited to get started on the trains! ;)
Click to expand...

I know how you feel but finish the room so it looks good, keeps down the dust, and has good lighting. A great layout in a crummy room looks awful. A good layout in a nicely finished room looks great. Also, install twice as many electrical outlets as you'll ever think you'll need - you'll end up using them all. :)
 


UP2CSX said:
I know how you feel but finish the room so it looks good, keeps down the dust, and has good lighting. A great layout in a crummy room looks awful. A good layout in a nicely finished room looks great. Also, install twice as many electrical outlets as you'll ever think you'll need - you'll end up using them all. :)
Click to expand...

Agreed, and you need the sheetrock surfaces so that you can paint your backdrop on it. Backdrop needs thinking and painting first before you place framing against the wall or even near it. Very difficult to paint a backdrop as an afterthought when the layout is in place.

-Crandell
 
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