A future Model Railroader

[pj1775]

Definately take advantage of all the experience the members of this forum has. I wi***his forum was around when I first started modeling.

[:)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SilverSpike

[#welcome] to the MR forums! Plenty to see and do in here, and always a seasoned veteran in here willing to help out!

We are living in Wake Forest, NC, and just moved here 2 months ago, so I am not sure where we are in relation to Hickory. Sounds like another road trip is in order to add to the list, that hobby shop might be worth the trip.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Ryan

I have thought about making a road trip to Wake Forest to visit a store called Train Buddy. They have an impressive website. Sound familiar?

Hickory is a couple hours west of you on I-40. I don't know if it is road trip worthy, unless you want to get a good deal on some furniture! However, I would highly recommend a road trip to Spencer, NC. The NC Transportation Museum is located on the site of the former Southern Railway Spencer Shops. There is a round house, turntable rides, a regular train ride and a several engines including a shay. Across the street from the museum is a very nice and well stocked hobby shop called the Little Choo Choo Shop. The museum has a festival called Rail Days coming up in May and it's worth checking out. Both have websites, I think they are www.nctrans.org and www.littlechoochooshop.com

Have Fun![:)]

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the Hobby.

If you think you would enjoy Scratchbuilding, Kitbashing, or Custom Painting let me know. I will be more than happy to teach you.

James

[Anonymous]

The more great stories i hear about younger kids doing well with it ( I know all kids are different) is making me feel great I'm doing this and also wanting me to hurry up and start(but i know best to go slow and learn first)

[SilverSpike]

Simon, That is great getting to spend that quality time with your boys, and making it a part of the MR hobby experience. And it sounds like you really get them involved which is great too. I can remember the days when my dad and I built our HO layout back in the 70's, and it ended up being mostly me watching him do all the work. I can remember hearing the phrase "your in my light" a lot. I admire you for giving them something to sink their teeth into. It is going to mean so much to them many years from now!

Bravo!!!

Cheers,

Ryan

[waltersrails]

very true

[simon1966]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SilverSpike

QUOTE: One thing I really enjoy doing with the boys is to get them bulidling and weathering simple Athearn kits. I've shown this one before, but here is a picture of a box car weathered by my 6 year old.

simon1966, Wow! I am impressed with the weathering job, and your 6 year old did that? Does he work for commission? You have done a great job raising them, my boys always say they want to get involved, but when the rubber hits the road their attention span is about 2 seconds.

Cheers,

Ryan

Ryan, I think what it is, is that I kind of make a big deal out of it. I travel rather a lot on business and am often away during the week. I am really lucky to have an excellent hobby shop with good prices in the next town. On a Saturday the 3 of us will go to the store and pick out a kit each. Then we will come home and put them together with the 3 of us gathered round the kitchen table. I have them weigh the models and figure out how many pennies to glue in. There are just lots of ways to get them thinking and problem solving with this hobby. Its not something we do every week, or even every month, but when we do it often turns into 2 or 3 hours of me having quality time with my guys.

[simon1966]

QUOTE: Originally posted by stripes2

Welcome nc_kerlick, I have started a layout as a way to give enjoyment and some direction to my 8 yr. old grandson. It is a pleasure to see their involvement in something beside TV and Comp. games.

simon1966, I have saved this topic and will show my grandson the picture of the box car that your son did.

This was the first time Christopher had tried to apply rust to a car. I was trying to teach him how to do a drybru***echnique to give a subtle rust effect. As you can see he was a little heavy handed, but so what, he had fun. Then it was a wash of india ink in alchohol and when this was dry, some weathering chalks and then I spray it with dull coat. What I try and get him to do is to consider gravity and therefore the direction of brush strokes. I am on hand guiding the whole process, but he actually does the application of the paints etc. I like to keep a few unbuilt blue box kits on hand so that when cousins come and visit they can sit down for an hour and "make" a car to run on the layout. I think that the painting and getting stuck into the hobby is what really gets kids interested.



Here are the first attempts by a 12 year old cousin and his sister (9). These freight cars stay on the layout so that they have "their" car to run when they visit. None of my nephews or nieces have trains at home, but they sure like to visit my house!

[SilverSpike]

QUOTE: One thing I really enjoy doing with the boys is to get them bulidling and weathering simple Athearn kits. I've shown this one before, but here is a picture of a box car weathered by my 6 year old.

simon1966, Wow! I am impressed with the weathering job, and your 6 year old did that? Does he work for commission? You have done a great job raising them, my boys always say they want to get involved, but when the rubber hits the road their attention span is about 2 seconds.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Anonymous]

Welcome nc_kerlick, I have started a layout as a way to give enjoyment and some direction to my 8 yr. old grandson. It is a pleasure to see their involvement in something beside TV and Comp. games.

simon1966, I have saved this topic and will show my grandson the picture of the box car that your son did.

[simon1966]

Weclome as well from me.

I have 2 boys, 8 and 6 and they have been playing with my HO trains for a number of years now. It is amazing to me how careful little guys can be when they are brought up to respect things and not just go crashing around. I think this hobby is great for kids to really develop fine motor skills and a love of something other than a PS-2. One thing I really enjoy doing with the boys is to get them bulidling and weathering simple Athearn kits. I've shown this one before, but here is a picture of a box car weathered by my 6 year old.

It is really a delight to see the concentration as they try to make things look good for the layout. The pride that they have when they run their own trains is very special. Anyway, you are in for a great time, enjoy it.

[SilverSpike]

[#welcome] to the MR forums! Plenty to see and do in here, and always a seasoned veteran in here willing to help out!

We are living in Wake Forest, NC, and just moved here 2 months ago, so I am not sure where we are in relation to Hickory. Sounds like another road trip is in order to add to the list, that hobby shop might be worth the trip.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Ryan

[dean_1230]

I started back into things a few years ago when my son was 4. i had HO growing up, so it was a logical starting point. what surprised me was how easily he took to it. He's very careful with the equipment and i have little concern about him breaking things. of course, accidents happen, but i find that i cause a lot more than he does.

Now my 4 year old daughter isn't quite as careful. she's not into switching at all (my son is). she's into running trains around the track. that's ok, but i've got to constantly watch to make sure she's not about to pull a "gomez addams"...

oh, currently my layout is a 4x8 pink foam masterpiece... one day soon it won't be pink anymore... but i've been saying that for a couple years now.

Dean

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by beegle55

First, you might want to start subscribing to MR for some great ideas!

Yes I did start a subscription to MR and I cannot wait till I receive that first issue in the mail.

There is one book I wish was out there and that is a Model railroading for dummies.

[beegle55]

First, you might want to start subscribing to MR for some great ideas! You have done the right thing to come on here and read the forums. Read the material alvalible on this website to help. You will probably find HO to be the best now and in the long run. Good luck. Oh yea [#welcome] to the forums!

[Anonymous]

Welcome.....

It's always good to learn about something before starting in.
There are so many facets of this hobby to learn, and the great thing about this hobby is that you don't need to have a single one of those skills when you start it. Just the desire to enjoy Trains is all you need.

I was looking over my engine roster just last night. I have 21 Engines in my Roster, only two of which are old worn out relics that have travelled with me over the last 25 years. The rest of the engines have been good to better quality Engines, and in the past year have been heavy on the Atlas side of the purchase order.

My rolling stock is mostly RTR stuff, but it's all nice and serviceable. I buy enough to make a train prototype that I like the looks of on a limited size layout (4x8) which for me is one or two engines and about 5-6 cars. I have a smattering of Kits from Athearn, Roundhouse and Proto 2K. There are times I LOVE to put a kit together. Improve on it with better trucks and wheelsets and Kadee couplers set to the right height and double checked with a MNRA Guage. Then there are times where my eyes just won't handle the tiny parts due to my failing eyesight. I need to get the vain streak out of me and get to the Eye Doc and get some specialty glasses to continue my work in this hobby! LOL!

My personal lacking skill set.......Scenery! I would love to learn more about this and would love a detailed layout like I see in the pages of MRR. But for now, I'm happy just to run trains and make them purr like a kitten while they run on the track.

I would rather add hand laid track and hand made switches to my skill set and this is one of the skills I'd like to work on this year. Been thinking of building my next layout in modules and detailing them one section at a time, a theme for each section that I make with other sections added in-between to make the distance up.

So much to learn, but so much fun to have!

Enjoy it!

Chris

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomikawaTT

check the book rack at your local hobby shop for ideas and inspiration. Don't let yourself be intimidated by the photos of expert model work. All of those experts had to start at the bottom of the learning curve, just like you and your son.

Since I've been looking I just look at those expert's work and say wow but I do realize that I won't be able to do that anytime soon. What I have me paying more attention to is their track layout, and all these railroad terms you guys have been using. For example, took me a couple days of reading posts about ballasts to finally realize what it was. Boy I feel dumb at times but then tell myself that I can and will learn.

[tomikawaTT]

Welcome aboard.

You can build a carpentry-free beginner's layout on hollow-core doors, or on those folding-leg tables from Sam's Club. Having your junior partner operate on the rug is a good way to protect 'his' rolling stock until he can handle running on a table top. (That will probably happen faster than you can believe!)

For long-term satisfaction, check the book rack at your local hobby shop for ideas and inspiration. Don't let yourself be intimidated by the photos of expert model work. All of those experts had to start at the bottom of the learning curve, just like you and your son.

My parents started me early, and I've been a model railroader and railfan since before Pearl Harbor.

Chuck

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drewsdaddy

Small world! Go see *** Monihan at the Hickory Hobby Shop and tell him Gene Annas sent you. He stocks the basics, but he can get most anything in a couple days. Check out the books and magazines- they'll give you lots of ideas.

That was the next place I was planning on visiting. I have went to carolina fishing & trains with my son and he just loved all of it and was already picking out what he wanted on "HIS" train. [:D]

[Anonymous]

Small world! Go see *** Monihan at the Hickory Hobby Shop and tell him Gene Annas sent you. He stocks the basics, but he can get most anything in a couple days. Check out the books and magazines- they'll give you lots of ideas.

[ereimer]

welcome !
dive in , buy some stuff and have fun

[fiatfan]

Hi. nc_kerlick

Sounds like you're taking a good approach to the hobby. 5 is not too young to be working with HO. My grandkids have routinely run trains (under supervision) with no problem. Once they understand that these are not as strudy as a Tonka truck, they will do quite well. It's also a great way to teach them to respect the property of others.

When you do have questions, fire away. We love to give advice! [:D] Also, when you start construction, be sure to post picture. We also like to look at pictures (just don't use too many big words!

Tom

[GAPPLEG]

[#welcome] Welcome guy, hang around take your time and learn all you can about MRing.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drewsdaddy

, I'm in Hickory, NC.

Me too, even though fairly new to the area, region, etc since i moved here from TX last summer.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum! I'm in a similar situation and I found that the Bachmann e-z track is great for small children because it can be assembled on the floor or table and is relatively simple to operate. If you put the track on a carpeted floor, you will worry less about cars and engines crashing to the floor when little hands get in the way. In addition, you can take everything up and store it in a plastic bin until you have time or room to play with it again. I recommend the Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine HO scale set. It comes with a 36" radius of track, power supply, and coaches. Then you can go to the local hobby shop and get more track and switches to expand. Just some things for you to think about. Good Luck! By the way, I'm in Hickory, NC.

[Anonymous]

Been reading posts for a couple weeks just trying to swallow as much information as possible as I wi***o try an attempt my first ever layout within the next several months. Since the most model train experience I have is with some Geotrax sets my wife and I purchased for our son a couple years ago, I was completely lost when I first started looking into this hobby. My son is now pushing 5 and I came to this hobby cause I was wanting something we could do together and we both really enjoyed his geotrax set. I really don't have a question (at least yet) but wanted to just introduce myself as someone reading and hopefully learning from all your posts. I haven't decided on a layout yet but am looking at some of the woodland scenic layout kits since I have absolutely no carpentry skills at this time but always loved putting model cars and such together. I'm leaning towards HO and I know not best for a 5 yr old but he won't always be 5 and I am thinking of buying one of the cheap train sets for him that he can decorate as daddy works on the larger layout and he will in turn have his own.

Now I am 28, married with 1 kid and live in North Carolina just so you know alittle about me.

Thank ya'll and keep those topics coming cause I have a huge learning curve still to go.