Starting Off

[skates94]

Hello everyone,

I remember when I was about 7 my dad had an HO railroad set and I can recall how much fun my brother, sister, and I had hanging out with dad in the basement and playing with the railroad. Now I'm 26, married, and moving into a new house with a huge basement of my own and I think it's about time to build my own railroad to share with my dad, siblings, and future little ones [swg]. One weakness that I have is I only want the best (or close to it) and I'm finding that there are so many choices/manufacturers of model trains and I don't know enough about the hobby to choose a quality brand. So I would greatly appreciate any advice on what brand of trains, tracks, and all the extras you like and why. Money is not a tremendous issue. I'm considering a 4x8 HO setup with 3 trains (1 Amtrak, 1 Freight, and 1 Metra<chicago transit system>). I apologize if this is a topic that all the newbies post but I do appreciate your feedback.

[Anonymous]

There are many good manufacturers out there, but I only have a few of them. After trying to detail out and quiet down cheap locomotives, I tried some higher quality ones, and believe me, they're worth the extra money. I am most impressed with the Atlas Master series locomotives, they have fairly nice detail and run incredibly smoothe and quiet without complaining about a few track errors. The only steamer I run is a Broadway Limited 4-6-4 Hudson (4 dolly wheels in front, 6 drivers, 4 dolly wheels in back). Unless you are an excellent track layer, I would recommend running diesels, because they handle track better, especially on smaller 20 inch radius layouts. If I understand correctly Athearn's Genesis series are also a ver high quality smoothe locomotive, detailed out more than most. LifeLike's Proto 2000 series is also a very quiet locomotive. If you are running DCC (digital command control) each locomotive will need to have a decoder installed in it. Most of these manufacturers offer locos with them already installed, or with a plug for easy installation. Good luck with your layout, they are a lot of fun. You should find all the help you could ever need on this forum. Other people willl tell you about the one's they've had experience with, and they all give good information.

Greg Leck

[skates94]

Thanks Greg, after doing some additional research I think I'm going to take a closer look at the Atlas products. Thanks again.

[Jacktal]

All the above mentioned locos are great,no doubt,but the best in my book are Kato's.Bachmann's Spectrum line offer quite decent locos too but no other brand matches Kato,in my opinion,for diesel models.I can't comment their steamers though.

[PennsyHoosier]

Skates, first off [#welcome]

You are on the way to some great fun! My kids and I spend oodles of time together with "the trains" in one form or another. It has really brought us closer together--which is in my mind the greatest benefit of the hobby.

That being said...

Buy the newly published Kalmbach magazine on building your model railroad step by step. Granted the text leaves some things to be desired, but the DVD is really very good. It has a number 4X8 layouts, so you will get some ideas there.

But above all, spend a little time (a lot) reading here in the forum. You are in the right place. The shared wisdom of the participants here is AMAZING! Take advantage (in the best possible sense of that phrase) of what is available here with these expert model railroaders. Trust me, you'll have a GREAT time.

[skates94]

Thanks everyone for the direction. I'm gonna visit a small train shop near my work tommorrow and I'll be sure to pick up some reading material. Luckily I have a month until we move into our new house so I can get plenty of research done before I make any purchase. Thanks Again.

[Anonymous]

welcome skates94 to the hobby!

i'm in first year of model railroading. i think Kato (www.katousa.com) is the best. their locomotives have supurb detail (i don't have one of them, just seen lots at my LHS) and i hear run excelently. for rolling stock (non locomotives), i use/like athearn.

bnsf6733

[skates94]

Thanks BNSF6733

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by skates94
... it's about time to build my own railroad to share with my dad, siblings, and future little ones [swg]. One weakness that I have is I only want the best (or close to it) and I'm finding that there are so many choices/manufacturers of model trains and I don't know enough about the hobby to choose a quality brand. So I would greatly appreciate any advice on what brand of trains, tracks, and all the extras you like and why.

In general, all but the basic "toy" trains have improved so much in the last 20 years. The Athearn and Atlas of today are far superior to those prior to 1983. Even classic toy train makers like Lifelike and Bachmann have come out with good stuff called Proto and Spectrum respectively.



For your Amtrak passenger cars, Walthers did a really good set. I believe many are on sale at Caboose Hobbies. www.caboosehobbies.com I bought a bunch to repaint...



I believe the best running diesel locomotive is currently the Athearn Genesis line. I just compared the most recent runs of SD70's by Athearn and Kato. I choose the Athearn. The catch is that neigher of these are "sound" equipped. If you include sound as part of your "best" criteria then I have to go with the Atlas Gold w Sound. Unfortunately all they currently offer is an SD24 and a Trainmaster. Both wonderful models but sound like they might be too old for what you are looking at.



For your freight, since you're layout sounds modern and you are going with a 4x8 layout, choose one of the smaller locomotives like a GE Dash 8, or GP60. The big monster SD70s and Whales will look funny going around those tight corners.



I don't know anything about Metra so I am no help there.



In short, I have and can recommend the following HO scale equipment:
Accurail
Athearn RTR & Genesis
Atlas
Bachmann Spectrum
Branch Line Trains
Broadway Limited
Intermountain
Kato
Proto 1000, 2000, and Heritage series
Stewart Hobbies
Tichy Train
Walthers
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Off course there are always exceptions to every rule. If you come up with more specific items you're interested in don't hesitate to post, and ask other people's opinion.

[skates94]

Thanks Tex,

I'm off the next coople of days so I can do some more research.