new in the hobby

[Anonymous]

hi everyone I am new to the train collecting hobby. I was wondering if there is a good book to get to start out? My wife bought me my first train set and I have a bazillion questions.

[FEClionel]

Welcome to the hobby! This is a hobby that is definately a lifetime experience. There are several resources out there that can help you learn more about Toy Trains in general. However, once you find the area or company you like it will make things easier. If your a Lionel guy i recommend all the Greenbergs's books to grasp the history and style of all of the many Lionel eras, however you don't have to purchase all the books at the same time. I started off with the post-war 1945-1969 book because I think it best defines what Lionel is today and besides the modern stuff post 1969 - its the influential period of Lionel. Also the Lionel Train book published by Lionel is helpful in attaining the fundimentals of the hobby. If your not into Lionel, Greenberg also makes a MTH book. All of the book/guides besides the Lionel Train Book are made by Kalmbach Books and I believe they are availible on this website. They really are great books and are considered the standard price guides and infomation source of the hobby. Goodluck and tell us what type of set you got!

[Anonymous]

I have a Lionel O guage Pa. Flyer

[brianel027]

Welcome to trainworld cooker! The Lionel PA Flyer is a decent set... that 4-4-2 steam engine on your set has been standard stater set fare for the past 10+ years. I've got 2 of those steamers with no problems, other than an occasional lubrication and replacement of a traction tire.
In addition to what FEC said, check your local library. With any luck, they might have some books on Lionel trains. Alan Miller also wrote a good book on starting your first Lionel layout and I've seen it at Border's... check Amazon.com too.
Also a web site I mention a lot is: www.thortrains.net
Here you will find all kinds of information and layout ideas. This is possibly the very best site for beginners like yourself.
Be sure to scroll through the past pages here. There have been topics with pointers and advice for beginners.
You probably got the Lionel FasTrack with your set? This is new track from Lionel and swithces (turnouts) have just become available. The FasTrack is only compatible with FasTrack. But there are other train cars that will work with your trains when you get to that point. The K-Line Train-19 cars are decent and bargain priced, as are the now discontinued Industrial Rail cars (which many dealer still have in stock). There are also the MTH Rugged Rails cars, as well as Lionel's line of "Traditional" beginner rolling stock. All the above are under $25 and usually much less at either shops or mailorder.
But one step at a time. This is a fun hobby. Take your time, ask question and don't worry about "will this become collectible?" I think this whole collector-money frenzy has hurt the hobby more than it has helped it. Once in a while you get lucky... with one of my sets I got a factory error caboose: a brown Chessie caboose instead of the normal yellow. I sold the caboose for much more than I paid for the whole set. But this kind of thing is an exception rather than the rule. But like I said, when you do get lucky like that, it is fun.
The reason the old trains are worth so much now is because they were played with by kids at one time. Now those former kids are trying to buy back childhood memories, because they remember how much fun the trains were. BUT they would never know that if the trains just sat in boxes on a shelf. Just take care of your trains... regular maintenance... keep 'em clean (a very soft paint brush works well for dusting trains). Most of all have fun and enjoy.
brianel, Agent 027

[southshoreline]

Trains are a blast!

To me, the best place to start is with a subscription to Classic Toy Trains. It's the leading mag and has the broadest coverage of the hobby. After a few issues you should find what interests you the most. I went early post war and my buddy went high tech scale.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the responses I had received..I will look into all of your suggestions

[Anonymous]

Dear cooker,
Welcome to the hobby! It's really a great pasttime: we spend large sums of money on equipment, spend large amounts of time just cleaning off track, and spend large percentages of our lives in the local train store, but for some reason we all love it[:)][:D]! Seriously though, it is a great hobby, and if you have any specific questions or comments just bring them here: we all ask questions and give answers, and everybody benefits. One thing I would suggest you do is find the nearest hobby store to you (one specifically devoted to model railroads and railfanning is best), as they can often give you help, and suggest things to do since they themselves are often model railroaders.

One thing though: if nothing catches your fancy as far as railroads to model and such, don't worry. Just do a "freelanced" model railroad, run equipment that you like, and put scenery wherever it looks best. Most of all, remember that the hobby is supposed to be fun. Other than that, welcome to the hobby[:D]!

Welcome to model railroading,
Daniel

[guilfordrr]

Welcome, cooker, to the great, big, wonderful hobby of toy trains!!!!!!!

I highly suggest that you switch to the traditional "tubular" track. It's cheaper than FasTrack and is more compatible with accessories, which are a lot of fun and add intrest to a layout. In addition to southshoreline's suggestion,
O-Guage Railroading in another good magazine, especially for operators. Although very informative, interesting, and helpful, these mags are absolutly stuffed with ads- to a newbee, that could be a good thing, though. Me, I find the ads distracting..........Kalmbach publishes several books on toy trains. A Greenberg price guide is a must if you're into collecting. If you have any questions, feel free to post them! Anyway, don the engineer cap, blow the whistle, and have fun!

[Anonymous]

I am interested in this hobby and I am thinking of setting up a train around my house. If at all possible, I would like some pointers on how to accompli***his.

[guilfordrr]

insanetrain:

If you're talking about a layout, which I think you are, then " Building your First Lionel Layout" by Stanley Trzoniec is a great place to start. Starting in December Classic Toy Trains has been giving step-by-step instructions on building a layout, as well. Back issues are avalible through mail order or here at trains.com. If not, consider monting track on the wall: some good systems for this are availible from Freedom Train Shelving and Jules Toy Trains.

[Anonymous]

Guilfordrr

Thank you for the advice, I will look into that.