First timer.. Please help..

[Anonymous]

well i decided to start a G-scale garden RR. and yes this is my first time.
what should i look for in a locomotive, transformer, and track. and would i be cheaper too start off with a starter kit with the oval type track and then buy more track?? i dont want a cheep train that is going to die in a year or two. i realize that g-scale is not cheap but bigger is better right hahaha.

im planning on putting a second train on the tracks also later with this one... is there something i should look for before i go buying like crazy????

what is a good online store to but train parts cheapest. i cant quite run too the hobby store down the road because i live on a remote island in Alaska (we do have seasons without snow...)

as you can tell im sure, i am very blind about this topic and ANY tips or information about anything would be extremely helpful....

my e-mail is [e-mail]
if you need it

thanks
SuperChicken

[piercedan]

You should first subscribe to Garden Railways magazine as there are ads from dealers on the web and many dealers hace specials or consignment items which are great buys.

Personally I prefer LGB engines followed by USA and Aristo. Hartland engines are also good runners. Bachman has very unique in-expensive engines that the others do not make, but they do not run as well, but they do cost a lot less.

Power is a matter of how you want to run the RR.

Battery, track power (cord free radio control), or electronic control via DCC or LGB's MTS system.

The Garden Railways magazine and these forums all address these issues/selections. It is your choice, read up and make your seleections.

Are you planning to be indoors outdoors or both?

[tangerine-jack]

I suggest buying a Bachmann starter set, junk the track and buy about 50ft of Aristo-craft or similar brass track. Put the track down and run your train around for a while. You will learn a lot this way about what you want and how you want to operate before you spend a lot of money. If you can find an LGB starter set for a good price, that would be a better way to go.

The Bachmann locos and rolling stock are very rugged and low cost. Of course LGB and Aristo-craft are better quality and durability, but the Bachmanns are no joke either. Piercedan mentioned Heartland, and I support that company every opportunity I get as they are made in the USA and rock solidly built, not a lot of variety, but excellent stuff.

There are so many decisions to make, what are you interested in doing? Give us a wish list and we can give you some good choices.

Welcome to REAL model railroading!

[Anonymous]

im planning on having this outdoors
im kinda shooting for a old logging town but i cant seem too make up my mind about a Diesel of a older steamer??
the more i think about it the more it wants to become a freight train. hahah
what would you pick a old steamer logging train or a freight train

when i buy a loco what should i look for... or are they relly that different. other then quality from the company.
i was looking at the Aristo-Craft Dash 9csx tonight <whats your opnionand whare can i find reviews on this stuff?

thanks a lot
SuperChicken

[whiterab]

I have to agree with John (Tangerine-Jack)

When you first start out the number of choices seems to be overwhelming. Once you play with it for awhile and find out what you like/don't like, these choices become pretty self-evident.

Throw some track down in the back yard and play with it for awile. It won't be long before you start getting an idea about what you really like about the hobby and then you are off to the races.

My first layout was only about 60' of track and only took a month. However, I learned alot about how I wanted to ballast the track, how much room it would take to build a big layout, what parts of the hobby I enjoy the most and lots of other ideas.

The current layout is an eternal work in progress and substantially larger. The nice thing is that I have yet to rework anything on the current layout because of what I learned on the first one. It also gave me a place to run trains while I designed and built the permanent layout.

[piercedan]

A great running logging train would be the LGB forney with some logging trucks behind it.

The LGB forney is a great puller of cars and will work on R1 (4 foot diameter) curves.

I added Phoenix sound to mine and I really like the setup.

[Anonymous]

how hard is it too have two trains on the same tracks but opperate sepretly??
how much $$$ also

[Anonymous]

To run more than one engine on the same track at the same time will require either:
1. The track seperated into blocks with seperate transformer/controllers for each block. With the block system, you drive the tracks, not the trains. Considered ancient tech.
2. DCC, MTS, or one of similiar systems that put full power on the track at all times and requires some type of controller/decoder in each engine. Requires clean track to operate well. Control signals come from a central controller/command station.
3. Battery/Radio control(RC). A battery and radio controller is placed in each engine. Requires batteries to be recharged, most have range limits, and is the most expensive if you have more than a couple of locos. RC does not require track to be clean.

The choice of control of course is up to you. Blocks require alot of switches and a minimum of seperation between locos. You can't control two locos in the same block seperately. The cost of blocks is dependent on the sophistication, and the number of blocks in the track.

DCC, MTS and like systems require only one controller for the whole system. Boosters to increase the current capabilities will add to system cost. These systems allow much finer control of the loco and its features, such as lights, sound, coupling/uncoupling, speed scaling, and etc. The initial cost is usually around what you would pay for another mid priced loco. Power boosters range from $100 and up. Reverse controllers range from about $25 and up, for loops, Wyes and such. The cost of sound for each loco, tends to be what I consider, extremely high, unless you adapt an Ho sound system. The quality Large Scale sound systems are usually from $250 and up. The motor controllers range from about $50 US and up. Digitrax has plug in decoders for Aristocraft locos and wire in decoders for others. I personally use the Digitrax system and decoders and am quite happy with it. I live in Florida, so I don't have the weather extremes that alot of people seem to have.

Battery/ RC eliminates having any power to the track. Loops, Wyes, and such, are no problem with RC since the tracks are not powered. The costs of the controllers/recievers for R/C can be significent. If you only run a couple of locos it's not too bad. I have about 20 locos, and if I went R/C it would have sent me to the poor house. I can't give you prices on R/C systems. Check RCS, or similiar, for prices.
If you live in an area of extreme climates, then it is about the only way to run trains with some degree of reliability.

You will have to take into consideration your local climate. The conditions where your track will be, your level of technical expertise, and how deep your pockets are, before you can make the decision which system to use. As recommended before, put down something simple in the yard and play with it for awhile. That will not only give you alot of fun, but it will start to give you some information on what "your" particular requirements will be, and what will work best for you. Each situation is different and will require a different solution.

The main thing is.......

Gitt'er done!! Have some fun!!

[Anonymous]

I'm just two years into G gauge, tho I have had about 60 years off and on experience with O, HO and N. That experience has not helped me at all as I moved into G, mostly for my grandkids. It was all brand new except for the nomenclature of the cars and locomotives. I started out buying an Aristo starter set with a radio controlled handset thrown in as a freebie (by Aristo). It comes with Aristo track and so you are already having the right kind of track....i.e. one that won't let you down later and which you can incorporate either into your outdoor RR, or, if you decide later to go Aristo stainless, into the indoor one you build around your Christmas tree seasonally! As Tangerine Jack suggests, I learned a lot just by throwing down some track out in the yard and running that starter set ($125 mas or meno). I learned that I wanted to go DCC; I wanted stainless track; I wanted better locomotives. All of which leads you into the black hole of wanting more and better. But, isn't that the greatest part of the fun???!!! Get that Garden Ry magazine now; rush out and get one at the hobby store now; look at the color ads for Aristo starter sets. Beginning to salivate? Can't wait another second? Welcome to the incredible world of model railroading! You'll love it!

[Anonymous]

well by the sounds of things i gess ill take yall's advice and buy a copy of Garden RR Magazine.. but its gonna take a while because i live in a remote island in Alaska. i get mail once a week.....that kinda sucks. but it will come i gess
thanks for all the advice

Super Chicken