What would YOU recommend to a newbie?

Canadian National diesels blaze through Waukesha. This is the sort of drama everyone imagines on their layout

What would YOU recommend to a newbie?

Probably every giant layout started on a simple table with family fun in mind.

 This year Classic Toy Trains has had more calls and e-mails from people trying to get started in O and S gauge trains. While this isn’t unusual for a November or December, it has been several years since we’ve had a spike like this.

 So this time of year when there are many new people discovering the hobby, or folks with previous train time under their belt re-entering the hobby. Many of them call for advice, and I generally tell them to go slow.

 Many of them have already visited a hobby shop and remark about the high cost of this hobby. This is probably true of any modern hobby, but you don't need to take out a loan just to get in the game.

They generally mean the cost of locomotives and rolling stock. But depending on the layout you want to build, the cost of creating even a modest railroad instill fear. A number of years ago one of our project layouts, a small 4x8, ended up costing about $3,000 not counting the trains. There are a lot of hidden costs newcomers don’t know about.

You know, begin with a starter set under the tree or maybe a simple 4x8 on saw horses. A lot of them have done research and want to jump right in with assorted command systems and track brands – but I still urge caution.

 Sometimes you learn from what you eventually determine to be a mistake – for example the guy who starts out with O-27 but falls in love with Ross or GarGraves; or the family that jumps into a high-end command system, but discovers conventional operation is good enough for them.

 So my tips for returning newcomers are:

 1. Go slow.

 2. Don’t try to buy everything at once.

 3. Try and think ahead – if you don’t have room for a layout with O-72 curves, be smart and maximize the available space you have.

 4. Feel free to experiment with track systems, but be modest until you are sold on one or another style.

 5. Before you dive into remote control systems, use every resource available, books, magazines, and the web, to become educated before you buy.

 6. Develop a concept of where you want to be in a year. If your theme is 19th century railroading, don't get that DD40 diesel. If you want a traditionally sized layout, scale-size auto carriers probably shouldn't be on your shopping list. Off-the-shelf assembled structures are fine, but don't be afraid to buy a building kit to craft it yourself.

 7. Have fun.

 I’m sure most of our readers have been asked by a neighbor or co-worker about getting into the hobby – even if only for holiday running. So let me ask you, gentle readers, what are the two or three most important pieces of advice that YOU have given your friends? Did the suggestions work out? What tips might you offer today? Feel free to post your advice below!