Advice for someone new to the hobby...

[Anonymous]

I posted this on the Classic Train forum before I saw that this forum is much more appropriate. My young (2 years old) son is obsessed with trains, and I want to put an elevated train around his bedroom. My brother-in-law has donated a number of HO scale pieces, including an AHM Alco Century 424(G Burlington) and a number of cars, all which seem to be in excellent condition. Would this be appropriate for an elevated set in my son's room? These pieces are 20+ years old, and the track length is a bit daunting (nearly 60 feet). I've never done anything like this, so any advice is appreciated.

Dave

[Anonymous]

It'll work, but just not be very visible, you'd be better off going with an O-scale setup, as then the trains would be more visual.

put wire shelving around the room, with a wood fasade that is 1-2" above the deck (shelf top). the 1-2" will serve as a derailment barrier so the train doesn't go over the edge, the wire shelving reduces the amount of dusting required, but allowing dust to fall through and not build up to much on the deck and tracks. corner sections will have to have their shelves build out (usally a diaganl section will do) to accomidate the curves. as for a good hight, use the top of the door frame as a guide point to start at, there's usually a good 12" above that to play with, so you can even add a bit of scenery behind the rack to enhance the layout.

Jay

[lupo]

It would be nice for your son to look at,
but at his age he will also want to look with his hands, I should not recommend giving the rolling stock you mention to look and play with. Instead you could consider a brio trainset made to endure the way little boys play.
I am raising a little train-nut as well, he was same age as yours when he discoverd trains he now is 7,
Other things he played with at young age were cheap plastic "christmass" trainsets: they worked well for my son, he does not care if it looks prototypical, he did not use the rails, he shoved the engine and cars through the house along seems in the floor or carpet, in a kids fantasy even a row of coloured pens could be a train.
at later age I gave him his own HO trains cheap, bright colored stuff from swap meets, he could put on display next to daddies trains.

good luck, and [#welcome] to the new modelrailroader!!

LUPO

[Anonymous]

Jay and Lupo-

Thanks for the advice! The little guy has multiple 'Hands on" sets that he plays with on the floor, from Little People to My First Lionel Train Set, so I'm not too concerned that this will be a visual only set. I was concerned that he wouldn't be able to see the set from so high, and you've confirmed my fear, especially if I have to leave a gap for derailment. Of course the main appeal to going to HO scale was the fact I already had a number of cars, so price would be held down. I guess the next question is how much would it cost to put together a set at O-scale of an engine a few cars and about 60' of track. I'll wait to ask my next more complicated question after I get a few answers on this! :)

Dave

[pbjwilson]

When my son was 2-3 years old I put a Lionel trolley on a shelf about 8ft. long in his room. With bumpers on both ends the trolley went back and forth. It was fun and very simple to build.

If you want to use the H.O. maybe locating it lower on the wall would be better.

[Anonymous]

[2c]
Lionel sells a Thomas the Tank Engine in G scale. It retails for a couple hundred dollars, but I'm sure you can find it at discount retailers for less.

[Anonymous]

Could the Thomas the Tank be upgraded to something more mature as he gets older, or would I have to start from scratch?

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far...

Dave

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DaveZee

Could the Thomas the Tank be upgraded to something more mature as he gets older, or would I have to start from scratch?

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far...

Dave

Hi Dave
I don't have any G scale stuff myself , so I can't say a whole lot about the subject. You can post another question in Classic Toy Trains Forum though.
I think Thomas probably will hold his intrest until the age of 7 or 8. Depends how long he likes the TV show. I'm 49 and I still watch it if I can.
The track is G gage so you can run any other G scale equipment. There is a lot available now. Have you visited Walthers.com? Lionel hold its value very well, so you probably would want to mothball the set (including the box it came in) untill he's your age and has kids of his own. And if your grand children aren't into trains, well he could always sell it on Bay for more than you paid for it.
Another plus about G scale is it's great for small hands. Little kids have a tough time with HO scale. LGB trains are so rugged kids can ride on them. I don't know if they can do that with other brands.

I also would like to add that G scale is very popular in Garden Railroading. There is also a forum for them too. click here

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DaveZee

Could the Thomas the Tank be upgraded to something more mature as he gets older, or would I have to start from scratch?

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far...

Dave

Dave,
at age of 5 my son upgraded his THOMAS to a BIGBOY as he called it with use of a Black marker and black paint he nicked from daddy! [:D]

[Budliner]

hello I say go with HO If you have some things to start, you cand find some great deals on HO things, try useing mirrors the train at charles RO in boston has a set hanging from the celing on plexiglass he has huge 0 gauge but HO is huge when your young
hope it works out fine

B -

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm thinking I might make the shelving sturdy enough for something bigger, like O, and try the HO on it. If we can't see it, I'll pack it away for when he's older, and up the size. My nexst challenge is that the entrance to his room is offset and it makes an area that would have to be suspended for a short distance(3' or so). of course, he has vaulted ceiling, so if I suspend it from the ceiling, the supports will be 6' long.... Any suggestions?

Dave

[Anonymous]

Suggest you get a very basic, possibly 2nd hand LGB G-gauge set as a starter for your 2 yr old. Its probably a little heavy for him to carry around and that's good. It's very reliable and robust. There's nothing worse than a train that stalls, falters, breaks or is hard to operate for a beginning model railroader; it's often a quick turn off and destroys further interest. Lionel O27 or 'American Flyer S gauge are good alternatives, especially if space is at a premium. They can often be found at swapmeets or on e-bay but avoid real old stuff , unless you can check it out first and have return priveledge if needed. All three have okay resale values if you want to switch to a different scale when he's older or could be added onto if space and budget permit. All three also have decent collectibility potential long term so you could just sta***hem away for his college tuition fund! Avoid any HO or N because it is too small and too fragile unless you are prepared to put it out of his reach,and that it is you who really want it! Don't be tempted by inexpensive-cheap G, O, or any other scale stuff because it IS cheap and he'll be mad at you (for being cheap). One other item I just thought of, for I saw it at a train show this weekend for the first time, are LEGO trains. They are large scale and look like they'd be a lot of fun for a young child and since they can be incorporated into a much broader spectrum of playthings-buidings, vehicles, bridges, etc. it is akin to developing a model railroad. My experience with two grown kids was that they played with LEGOs for a far longer time than they did any other toys. There are some small parts so exercize some caution about what he puts in his mouth (or ears or nose-yes they do that, too). Again you can often find LEGOs at garage sales and swap meets. Perhaps there are some forum members with more specific info on LEGO trains. Check out "Garden Railways" forum too. AS for the AHM set donated to you, I don't want to sound like a snob but if its 20 years old it may be on its last legs-it was never considered particularly good when new. Also, if set has brass track I'd change out to nickle silver Atlas code 100 or other quality brand; brass tarnishes almost immediately after you clean it and when dirty, the trains run poorly or don't run at all. Getting on a ladder to clean it would be a royal pain. G gauge brass track poses less trouble, but it too benefits from an occasional cleaning; there are quite a few track cleaning cars that have varying degrees of success at keeping the rails clean. LGB's is laughingly expensive but works great. Other scale toy trains, besides HO, can also be run around the perimeter of the room on an elevated shelf because they operate well on tight radius curves. Look in "Garden Railways" for vendors who manufacturer the actual track support brackets or shelving, or make your own. Problem with elevated display track-how is your son going to get any hands-on experience with playing with and operating his trains-that's usually the most rewarding part of this great hobby. Hope this has been helpful.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the well thought-out response, Bill. Are you guys saying that G trains will stand up to being picked up and dropped by a little guy? I have to admit, a garden train sounds like a LOT of fun, but like you said, who am I doing it for? If Benjamin and Daddy can spend some time using a garden train, and if he picks it off the track and drops it without a catastrophe happening, that sounds like the best of all worlds. Maybe I can even get Mommy to help with the landscaping!

Thanks again. You guys have given me a bunch to think about.

Dave

[Anonymous]

This past X-mas boughty my girls 7 and 11 a Lionel Pennsy Flyer set. The train bug bit one of them and the only problem is space after confering with my 7 yr old we decided on selling it and doing a garden railroad instead, we have an acre of land so I think were covered. No basement so no room in the house.
I however am in the process of putting my S scale stuff around the room in my home office. My yard/sidings will be on top of the casbinet valance and the loops will run on a kind of plate shelf set up. Going to do a double bridge in front of the window and unfortunately a lift out at the door.

[Anonymous]

Sounds cool, Matt. I have a space issue, to be sure. No basement, and certainly no acre of land, although my back yard isn't a bad size. My concern with a garden train is that my guy will try to ride it!

Dave

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't advise "dropping" any model trains, other than wooden 'BRIO' ones. LGB is rugged but made mostly out of plastic; if dropped on a hard floor from a reasonable height it could be damaged. It does survive collisions with my cats, however. Perhaps if you located some older Lionel made out of metal-esp. older stamped metal 0-27 stuff, it would be more durable in the hands of a 2 yr old.