Hello,
I am new to the model railroad hobby and I am looking for some inspiration. Does anyone have suggestions for good tutorial videos or any websites with experts/insturctors?
Try the magazines, Model Railroader and Rail Model Craftsman. Pick a favorite railroad and research it. Drive along its mainline, with your camera ready.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Hi Jtrain and to the forums.
Read and study about the hobby for awhile, but not too long as it is better to get a train running to help you really get motivated.
always remember that any mistakes are just learning experiences and nothing that we do cannot be re-done or corrected.
You can either model a prrototype to various degrees or you can totally freelance and make the railroad as you concieve it to be. There is not a right way or a wrong way. It just depends on what you want it to be.
Some fellows here just like to watch their trains run, and they concentrate on scenery. Others are more into operations with massive yards and several operators, or a nice shelf layout to do lots of switching in a more confined space.
Many questions that you will have to answer for yourself before making a descion.
But, you did come to the right place as the Forum members here are a great bunch and are willing to answer your questions for you. Just be sure to give all of the relevent facts when you do. such as , size of layout, type of layout, what guage or scale are you using, what size trackage #100 code or #83 code what is your power supply, DC or DCC. all these facts might effect an answer that would be given.
When you get a few of these things sorted out, you definately will have a question or two. Then bring it back here and we will try to assist you with it.
In the meantime, happy armchairing, Kalmbach has many books and manuals on the various aspects of the hobby, just look at their Masthead on this Forum and click on magazines and books, or the shop button. They won't lead you astray. There is also all kinds of videos here and on You Tube to get you started, and fired up.
The reason we do this, is for the fun of it. Don't make it W--K. >>>
( work,) we don't use that word here
Johnboy out...........................for a bit
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Maybe inspriration is the wrong word when you ask about tutorials. This thread may give you some ideas on what era to model. You may be asking a diffferent question. Welcome to the forum.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/91906.aspx
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
.
My advice to all newcomers is the same... Just get some plywood and build something. Know that your first model railroad layout will not be your last. Try everything, make mistakes, find out what you like, find out what frustrates you, and have some fun running trains.
Then tear it all down and do it again. There is nothing more inspiring than watching your work come together, and nothing more liberating than starting over.
Just jump in, get your feet wet, and knock yourself out. You dont even know what questions to ask until you have built something. Don't worry about the questions or answers yet. Just get going.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
For a newcomer to the hobby, I recommend the NMRA Beginners page at
https://nmra.org/beginners-guide
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =
Great stuff starting in MR. Others correctly pointed out the importance of learning from mistakes. I made countless errors that I plan on avoiding with the second one. No one said anything about being committed to a specific era, geography to model, etc.
For ideas, you can check out youtube and watch for hours endlessly what people do with trains. Don't look at any pictures here b/c some peole are so adept at scenery and operations that you can't tell if you're seeing their layout or reality.
The trick is to avoid being overwhelmed and suffer from analysis paralysis. Get what you need, ask questions here, experience frustration, find satifaction and repeat.
JTrainDoes anyone have suggestions for good tutorial videos or any websites with experts/insturctors?
A word to the wise..In this hobby "experts" seem to over complicate the simple while overstating the obvious.
I will recommend starting with Kalmbach beginners books.
There is several good "how to" videos on you tube.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Youtube is a great resource, as Larry suggests. Our hosts, Kalmbach Publishing, and specifically the Model Railroader Magazine, have scads of very decent introductory and educational publications.
There are also other websites, including those with forums and photo galleries galore. You should use a search such as 'model train forums' and visit widely to get a feel for the surprisingly wide scope in the model hobby, and not just trains.
At your level, inspiration means getting started. However, that problem, getting started, besets all of us at one time or another, no matter how extensive and acclaimed our experience and skills in the hobby. It can get very costly diving in and finding that you have spent a chunk of change going up the wrong creek. A pleasant creek, and rewarding in its own right, but the wrong one after all. So my best advice, and in keeping with your position so far by asking, is to do a lot of reading and thinking. Do visit many of the photo galleries that many members use to store their competition and this-is-what-I-done images. Once you formulate an idea that has you distinctly excited, only then should you begin to search for items you'll need that you can't build yourself. Spend wisely when you must spend at all.
Thanks for the response! Do you have any YouTubers in mind that you particularly enjoy watching?
Thanks for the response, BigDaddy. I suppose inspiration isn't the right word I am looking for. I guess instruction or guidance would be a better term. I was hoping to find suggestions for modelers that provide good video content on both instructional tutorials and videos of their models. If anyone comes to mind, that would be helpful!
SeeYou190There is nothing more inspiring than watching your work come together, and nothing more liberating than starting over.
Lot's of truth right there.
JTrainThanks for the response! Do you have any YouTubers in mind that you particularly enjoy watching?
Before I forget, John Armstrong's book on Track Planning for Realistic Operation is a must have.
For Inspiration, search for Howard Zane on Youtube, not his youtube channel but videos of his MR. Not much how to, but plenty of eye candy. Howard is also a member here.
Ron's Trains and Things, he is a member here, lots of how to. Same with Ken Patterson and TSGmultimedia. Kathy Millatt does a British take on scenery.
jlwii2000 does a lot of reviews. He did some early how to videos and his DCC wiring was not up to current practice, ie he used telephone wire.
All these people produce professional quality videos, no hand held cameras jerking up down and sideways.
Walthers and Modeltrainstuff both produce short new product introduction videos.
Model Railroader Video Plus has many videos of constructing their variousl project layouts, where they go in to great how to detail: track laying, wiring, paintng, weathering, benchwork. I think it's worthwhile
Brasstrains.com start their second series next week. This is exclusively related to brass trains, which I may never own, but I find it intersting to learn about a part of the hobby I've had no exposure to. The videos (and the first series) are on their website
Thank you so much! You've been a huge help. Thanks for taking the time to share. This community is really supportive.
I'm kind of old school myself when it comes to learning, with a preference for books with nice pictures. I still open some of the books I bought in the 70s for inspiration. I think my brain is too slow for videos... But I did like the how-to videos ("fun stuff" tab) on this page:
http://www.tracksidescenery.com/
Simon
JTrainThis community is really supportive. Add Quote to your Post
In my opinion, that's what we are here for. Your posts are being monitored, so there is delay when we see them. A bit frustrating for you but spares the rest of us from your Borat offers of your sisters services.
As a kid, I had a 4x8 layout. My next layout lacked a yard. Other than that, it was pretty good with ZERO problems related to track laying technique. If you ask for advice before you build, there is no reason that you have to build something that is destined to be a tear down.
Eventually it's going to come down to a picture of your planned layout. There is a "sticky" in the General Forum on how to do that. You can't fake it or improvise, you have to follow the rules of this forum, which may be different than other forums you are used to.
If you want the best help, don't make us guess. We don't know what scale you are modeling, what space you have, where there are doorways in the way of your layout, what time frame or geographical location you are modeling. Some of us, or at least just me, are severely challenged when you post your track plan at 90 degree angles to your last track plan or upside down and backwards.
If you are planning helixes, reversing loops, crossovers, we need to know about it up front, not 2 pages from now.
Jeffrey's trackside dinner in the General Forum is a place we let our hair down and go totally off topic. Stop by and say hello.
BigDaddyYour posts are being monitored, so there is delay when we see them.
Yes, after 5-10 posts there will not be a delay any longer.
We have a new member from Sweden who has an extensive you tube channel. Actually Martin has been here more than a year, but has 3x as many videos as posts.
https://www.youtube.com/user/marklinofsweden/videos
Hello all,
Try to get a copy of Lynn Wescott's "Model Railroading with John Allen, The story of the fabulous HO scale Gorre & Daphetid Railroad"; Kalmbach Books, Third Printing 1989 (Out of print).
I picked up a "gentily used" one on Amazon for about $25.00 a few years back and it still inspires me to this day.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I like the instructional videos for scenery on youtube made by Luke Towan. They might be for intermediate or advanced modelers but they are good inspiration.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A
jjdamnitLynn Wescott's "Model Railroading with John Allen, The story of the fabulous HO scale Gorre & Daphetid Railroad"; Kalmbach Books,
Absolutely the best book on the magic of Model Railroading.
Very highly recommended. John Allen is my hero, but I am not a fan of mountain railroading and vertical scenery. I found that out the hard way.