Another Newbie signing in

[Anonymous]

I have been looking for a hobbie for the past few years, and I have always had a hankerin' for a railroad hobbie. Love those locomotives ever since I was a young fellow and I got to go up into the cab of a large steam engine and watch the fireman stoke the firebox.

I am a retired Chief Petty Officer, and am just now researching and reading everything I can get my hands on about model railroading.

Got some room in my basement here in N. Va but no building yet, need to research some more.

Thanks for you time.[:)]

Elliott Shovar
[e-mail]

[Buckeye Riveter]

From all of us, [#welcome] Aboard the CTT Forum, Chief

Always feel free to post your questions.

(And now we have two Chiefs both from the south.)

[ChiefEagles]

[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome]

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum, Elliott!

Glad to have you

[jonadel]

Elliot,

Welcome to a very friendly forum where there's no such thing as a dumb question, maybe a few smart aleck answers but that's part of the fun. All of the ego's are checked at the door and that's what keeps me coming back.

Jon[#welcome]

[brianel027]

EH - Welcome!

(Gotta come up with another nickname for you, since we have one Elliot here: Big Boy, who is as much a part of this forum [^] as roadbed is to train track!!)

If you had gotten into the hobby years ago, your choices would have been pretty simple. Things are a little more complicated now, but selection and over quality is better than ever.... and this is just with the 3-rail trains!

The selection and detailing on the other smaller scales is pretty amazing too. If you decide to go with the "Lionel" way, don't be afraid to ask questions. It can be a little confusing at first for a beginner with all the different terms (0, 027, TMCC, DCS, Scale, Semi-Scale, Traditonal, Tinplate, HiRail, Postwar, MPC, LTI ... just to name a few) and the different importers of trains. For example, there are many other companies other than Lionel: Williams, MTH, K-Line, Weaver, Atlas, RMT, and more. But for whatever reason, Lionel is the one name truly associated and connected with the 3-rail hobby.

All of us guys here are different, run trains differently and have unique layouts even if we have some of the same identical products. It's a pretty cool hobby for a kid or even an adult who still has a little boy inside him (and I think most of us do!). [:D]

[Anonymous]

[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome][#welcome] Elliott.

As brianel027 said there is a lot to choose from and there are no stupid questions here. Someone will always come up with the answer, and do their best to steer you in the right direction with information you can use...Tim

[railfanespee4449]

Welcome to the forum. What scale are you getting? I reccomend 0 gauge, and have good experiences with lionel. Browse their online catalog and pick somthing out! 3-rail O gauge is a great place where almost no-one complains about how many rivets are on the tendre shell. Also try E-bay for stuff. Keep us informed!

[Roger Bielen]

Welcome to the forum Elliot. Since your retired I'd guess the eyes may start to weaken in a few years and all that small HO and N gauge stuff'll be hard to work with, thus "O" is the logical choice for us older folks. [:D]