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I remember my first HO layout - a piece of 4 X 8 plywood, no grades, no scenery, just lots of track, much of it double-tracked. I had a transverse track that allowed me to change direction of the trains without having to touch anything. Atlas Snap-switches all remotely controlled from the "cab", which was a small piece of 1/2" plywood on a couple of pieces of 1 X 1. I had a power-pack under the cab for the switch machines, and an MRC Tech II 1500 for the cab control. Was it prototypical? Hardly. Was it expensive? Not really, I had most of the tools available. Only cost was in material and rolling stock. Was it fun? Yepper! This was in the days before DCC was prevalent, so I had to wire everything up, taking into account polarity, etc. Plywood, lumber, glue, and screws for model railroad: $100.00 Locomotives, cars, track, switches for model railroad: $250.00 Experience gained and fun realized on model railroad: Priceless. I won't say I would do another one on the cheap, but if you're just starting out, hey, the main thing is to get your trains running. What you do after that is entirely up to you, and makes for a fascinating diversity of railroads, from the simple to the utterly extravagant. Taking those first "baby steps" into the hobby I believed made it more attractive and more fun as I progressed in my experience.
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