About to get started - lots of questions

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone! I am about to start building a model railroad for my three-year-old son and me to enjoy. I have a 3x5 space on the dining room table that has been cleared by the planning committee (aka my wife) with the stipulation that the setup must be portable so that the layout can be taken away when the table is to be used for dining. My experience has all been HO up to this point, but that is all 15 years old and as helper to my father. With this space, I have decided to go N Scale. I know that the smaller trains might be more difficult for the young hands, however, my son is enamored with the big, modern, powerful CSX locomotives he sees rumble through town (Apex, NC) every day, so getting something similar running is priority 1. I don't think such locos would be compatable on an HO in the same space.

Enough intro, onto the questions:

1) What should I use as a foundation? I have seen the foam board at the local Home Depot and Lowes and read that it is the base of choice for many. Question is, will it survive the occasion move? Any guidance on type, thickness etc. would be appreciated.

2) Track. What brands are good? Is it worth me using the type with the ballast attached? How about sectional versus flex track?

3) I understand that to no small extent my choice in engines and rolling stock will be dictated by who makes what we see around here, but a quick primer on who makes good stuff at reasonable prices would be appreciated.

4) What should I use for a power supply? I see that DCC is all the rage, but is it necessary for a smaller layout like the one I am looking at?

5) What do you think of this plan:


Thanks for all the help. It will be good to get back into the hobby. My other pastime involves high speeds and race tracks, so my son is a few years from that!

[eng22]

For portability I would say foam. For the size you are talking, it should be light and easy to move and store. I might suggest 2" foam on a sheet of masonite. That should keep it light and provide durability.

As for loco's I like Proto 2000.
For rolling stock, I like the Bachman Silver series stuff, for the money, it is awesome.
As for track, I would say Atlas flex track on a roadbed of your choice, cork, rubber, homabed. This way you can ballast it yourself and you will love the way it looks.

Just my two cents worth.

[2021]

I also think foam is fine but if you will be moving it fairly frequently, I would build a light frame around it to protect the corners and add stability. Perhaps 1x3's with either masonite or, preferably, luan. Would still be portable and protect both sides and corners. If you're going to put it on the Dining Room table, might be a good idea to put a pice of felt on the bottom to prevent scratches and end your hobby rather abruptly.
Ron K.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the previous post but have a suggestion, from personal experience. Nothing puts the dampers on MRR any scale than jerky operation and trains that jump the track. Kato Unitrack is Absolutely bullet proof. When I built my n scale layout after a 35 year absence, I was concerned about those two issues, because I always had bad experience with HO. I used Kato Unitrack in "N" It's perfect for your type of layout. No problens what so ever with de-railments or power loss. It looks expensive at first look, but it comes with the rail and the trackbed. Plus if you buy it from Toy Train Heaven the cost is similar to other Mfg's track. Check it out. Dave

[rrinker]

Somewhere among umpteen sites on building modules with foam was the perfect solution to a portable operation - you build the outer framework in the usual manner using 1x4 lumber. A big open box. For cross pieces, you use 1x3 or 1x4 laid in FLAT, so that the distance from the flat side of the cross piece to the top edge of the side is the same as the foam thickness. This gives you a framework for strength PLUS something around the edges to protect the foam.
And DEFINITELY put some sort of protective items on the corners, like those felt circles for furniture. Scratch that dining room table and your model railroading career will be over faster than you can blink.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same situation as you. Absence of 20+ years from N-scaling and just revived it with my 3 year old. I was afraid he was too young for this but surprisingly he can place the cars on the tracks with no problems and even handle the throttle like an adult. None of the either stop or either full speed syndrome that most young kids have.

I too needed a portable setup. My plan is to get 1" foam and glue it to an interior hollow door and work from there. I will also put two small wheels on one end so that I can move the whole layout like a hand truck. Our place of running will be on top of a rectangular coffee table so things are at his level.

One thing that I would HIGHLY suggest is DCC. Initially I used the buzz pack that came with my old starter set. That worked ok. Then I bought a MRC Tech IV 260 and that was an amazing upgrade. VERY smooth throttle and enough to run 5 locos on the same layout.

After about two weeks I returned it and paid another $100+ to get a Digitrax Zephyr. Why? The ability to have both my son and I run locos at the same time is priceless. We were getting into situations where I would watch him run or he would watch me run. At first he was always the enigneer and I would be the switchman (all manual turnouts and he really doesn't understand the logic). That would be fine but soon we were both fighting for the throttle. [:D} That's when I decided it had to be DCC. Yes the initial outlay is much much more with the cost of the command station and getting DCC equipped locos or converting non-DCC locos to DCC. However, let me tell you the difference between a single engineer and both of us being the engineer. It is like day and night and my 3 year loved the fact that both locos can run in opposite directions. He pretends they are going to crash even though they are on separate tracks.

Your layout looks good as I see two trains can run w/o crashing into each other. You and your son can take turns running the inside loop or outside loop or even work a yard (you'll have to add that to your layout) while one runs a loop - only possible with DCC. Well, you can do block control but your 3 year won't understand that and you'll always have to note where his loco is to flip the switches. Kind of takes the fun out of it in my opinion where you have to watch multiple locos to flip the right switches.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am heading to Lowes in the AM to check out the insulation.

If I might ask, what is the approximate cost of DCC setup that, as described, would allow running two locomotives independently?

[snowey]

get a copy of the Kalmbach book "EASY MODEL RAILROAD WIRING" by Andy Sperandeo, for answeres to all your wiring questions, not just DCC, but all
wiring. This book is exellent! It tell's you all you need to know, in clear, easy to follow text, photos, and illustrations.

While you're at it, check out the other Kalmback "how-to" books on MRR. They're avaible through www.kalmbach.com/books or through the MODEL RAILROADER link on this site.

And, a GREAT forum is at: www.atlasrr.com

[Anonymous]

My DCC costs so far:

Digitrax Zephyr - $165 (no decoder, everything else included)
Decoder - $15-$30 each for N-scale depending on how many functions. You do have to install them yourself by opening up your locos. Some are DCC-ready in which case you just replace a board and some are not in which case you need to do surgery.

Or, you can get DCC equipped locos. They run about $20 more than the non-decoder equipped. I think this is the way to go if you don't have any loco. Save the labor and you know everything is wired up correctly, including lighting control.

With the Zephyr you can get additional throttles for $65 or it has a special feature where you can plug in up to two DC power packs and use them as throttles. I use a buzz pack that came with a starter set - $0 - to be used by my 3 year old. [:)] The only limitation of these two throttles are that you can only control direction and speed with them and no other function (e.g., head light). However, my 3 year doesn't need more. When he does I can always expand with the $65 throttle.