Please help me help my son

[Anonymous]

Elonna,
you might also want to try http://greatesthobby.com/ they have a ton of helpful tips on getting started in this wonderful hobby. Good luck, and be sure to have fun!

[Anonymous]

Elonna,
you might also want to try http://greatesthobby.com/ they have a ton of helpful tips on getting started in this wonderful hobby. Good luck, and be sure to have fun!

[Anonymous]

It's good to see another woman in the hobby. Rick is right in that you need to determine how much room you realistically have to devote to a layout. You mentioned that the wooden set you have is too big to lay out in it's entirety now. My 11 year old son is crazy about trains and when he was 5 or 6 I bought him a train set from the toy store. I lived in a small apartment at the time and when I started to assemble it, my whole living room was taken up. It never occured to me to read the dimensions (stupid on my part).

Since I'm partial to N scale, you might want to consider this option. Even at his age, he'll be able to work on this scale. However, in the end, it's what works best for your son. Your idea of visiting a local train show is great and might give you some more ideas.

But whatever you do, read at much as you can. When you visit different train clubs or shows, ask as many questions as you can. I'm reading into your posting that perhaps you are perhaps a single mom. Certainly this experience will bond the both of you together. I think this is a great hobby for kids and even Mom's. Much better than playing video games(for the kids, not for you)

Keep me posted on what you decide. I wish you the best.

Judy
Dallas, TX

[Anonymous]

It's good to see another woman in the hobby. Rick is right in that you need to determine how much room you realistically have to devote to a layout. You mentioned that the wooden set you have is too big to lay out in it's entirety now. My 11 year old son is crazy about trains and when he was 5 or 6 I bought him a train set from the toy store. I lived in a small apartment at the time and when I started to assemble it, my whole living room was taken up. It never occured to me to read the dimensions (stupid on my part).

Since I'm partial to N scale, you might want to consider this option. Even at his age, he'll be able to work on this scale. However, in the end, it's what works best for your son. Your idea of visiting a local train show is great and might give you some more ideas.

But whatever you do, read at much as you can. When you visit different train clubs or shows, ask as many questions as you can. I'm reading into your posting that perhaps you are perhaps a single mom. Certainly this experience will bond the both of you together. I think this is a great hobby for kids and even Mom's. Much better than playing video games(for the kids, not for you)

Keep me posted on what you decide. I wish you the best.

Judy
Dallas, TX

[Anonymous]

Elonna,
I forgot I formatted my hard drive (virus) and lost my bookmarks. In the Yahoo! Groups there is one group dedicated to small layouts. My favourite is a layout on a toilet seat. I am hoping some one else here has that site bookmarked and can forward it on to you.

Found it:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/small-layout-design/

You will have to join if you are interested (free) and what ever you do, in the options, elect to receive no emails or you'll go crazy.

[Anonymous]

Elonna,
I forgot I formatted my hard drive (virus) and lost my bookmarks. In the Yahoo! Groups there is one group dedicated to small layouts. My favourite is a layout on a toilet seat. I am hoping some one else here has that site bookmarked and can forward it on to you.

Found it:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/small-layout-design/

You will have to join if you are interested (free) and what ever you do, in the options, elect to receive no emails or you'll go crazy.

[Anonymous]

I have looked at others replys to your question and they are all very good information. But don't forget to have fun with the hobby. It can give your whole family a great hobby to enjoy for years to come. But the best thing is spending time with your family and just having fun with it. I hope that you and your son enjoy your new railroad, what-ever you deside to build.

[Anonymous]

I have looked at others replys to your question and they are all very good information. But don't forget to have fun with the hobby. It can give your whole family a great hobby to enjoy for years to come. But the best thing is spending time with your family and just having fun with it. I hope that you and your son enjoy your new railroad, what-ever you deside to build.

[Anonymous]

I would like to say thank you to everyone again for the additional information. I just got back from a week in Cancun so it will take me a few days to look at all of the suggestions. The book I purchased came while I was gone. From the first couple of pages, it looks like it is the first book in a series of books published by Kalmbach for beginners. Is anyone familiar with this series? I will look to see if I can find any of the other books in the series. They seem to be pretty straight forward and start from the basics forward.

Judy, it is nice to see other women involved in MRR. I do know the local group here has one female member. And you are correct, I am a single mom and also think this will be a good bonding activity for my son and I (as well as a lot of fun for us both). I have a lot ot learn though before we really get started. This forum is a wealth of information in itself though much of it I do not understand yet, I have already learned quite a bit lurking here.

Thank you all again for taking time to post and point me toward some good resources.

[Anonymous]

I would like to say thank you to everyone again for the additional information. I just got back from a week in Cancun so it will take me a few days to look at all of the suggestions. The book I purchased came while I was gone. From the first couple of pages, it looks like it is the first book in a series of books published by Kalmbach for beginners. Is anyone familiar with this series? I will look to see if I can find any of the other books in the series. They seem to be pretty straight forward and start from the basics forward.

Judy, it is nice to see other women involved in MRR. I do know the local group here has one female member. And you are correct, I am a single mom and also think this will be a good bonding activity for my son and I (as well as a lot of fun for us both). I have a lot ot learn though before we really get started. This forum is a wealth of information in itself though much of it I do not understand yet, I have already learned quite a bit lurking here.

Thank you all again for taking time to post and point me toward some good resources.

[Anonymous]

Elonna

I'm glad that you were able to find some informatin and help here. Just keep reading as much as you can on MRR and don't get overwhelmed by everything.

Here's hoping you and your son find what's right for both of you.

Wish you the best[:)]

[Anonymous]

Elonna

I'm glad that you were able to find some informatin and help here. Just keep reading as much as you can on MRR and don't get overwhelmed by everything.

Here's hoping you and your son find what's right for both of you.

Wish you the best[:)]

[vsmith]

Hello, I would check out LGBs TOYTRAIN line also, its thier lower cost line aimed specifically at young kids who are too big for Brio and too young for the more popular scales they can be set up anywhere even outdoors, are big, easy to handle and hard, real hard, to break. Downside, they are more expensive than HOI or N and they take up more room since they are G guage but they really get kids attention, and will last a lot longer than HO or N in the hands of a kid. Did I mention that these thing are really hard to break? just a suggestion, but it pays to check out all the options.

In the end though it should be your son who chooses what scale trains he wants, ask him and let him choose, after all, it should be his choice. Good Luck

[vsmith]

Hello, I would check out LGBs TOYTRAIN line also, its thier lower cost line aimed specifically at young kids who are too big for Brio and too young for the more popular scales they can be set up anywhere even outdoors, are big, easy to handle and hard, real hard, to break. Downside, they are more expensive than HOI or N and they take up more room since they are G guage but they really get kids attention, and will last a lot longer than HO or N in the hands of a kid. Did I mention that these thing are really hard to break? just a suggestion, but it pays to check out all the options.

In the end though it should be your son who chooses what scale trains he wants, ask him and let him choose, after all, it should be his choice. Good Luck

[Anonymous]

thank you for your suggestion vsmith, but I do not have room for the larger scales in my house, HO will be about as large as he can go and even that right now would be pushing it for a nice layout of anykind. And he handles trains very well. I am not necessarily worried about the trains being damaged...Myself being a klutz would probably drop one and break it before he would mishandle one. I do appreciate your suggestions though.

[Anonymous]

thank you for your suggestion vsmith, but I do not have room for the larger scales in my house, HO will be about as large as he can go and even that right now would be pushing it for a nice layout of anykind. And he handles trains very well. I am not necessarily worried about the trains being damaged...Myself being a klutz would probably drop one and break it before he would mishandle one. I do appreciate your suggestions though.

[vsmith]

In that case, If its a smaller home type layout in HO,I would suggest looking at some of the published plans (Atlas, Kalmbach, NMRA, etc) for 4x6 or 4x8 layouts and use Bachmanns EZtrack which is track and roadbed that snaps together. Its much, much easier than putting down cork roadbed, Atlas snaptrack and glueing down ballast rock like us oldtimers did, and looks pretty good on a starter layout. Bachmann might be publishing layout plans for their track but I am not sure. Laying down track can be hard for a first timer, this takes a lot of the guesswork out and you can concentrate on just having fun.

[vsmith]

In that case, If its a smaller home type layout in HO,I would suggest looking at some of the published plans (Atlas, Kalmbach, NMRA, etc) for 4x6 or 4x8 layouts and use Bachmanns EZtrack which is track and roadbed that snaps together. Its much, much easier than putting down cork roadbed, Atlas snaptrack and glueing down ballast rock like us oldtimers did, and looks pretty good on a starter layout. Bachmann might be publishing layout plans for their track but I am not sure. Laying down track can be hard for a first timer, this takes a lot of the guesswork out and you can concentrate on just having fun.

[vsmith]

P.S. everything I said above also applies to N guage, either through Bachmann o Kato. Only the layout gets a little smaller, maybe down to 2x4 which would be easier to store. Have you considered exactly where you want to place this layout? You really dont have the storage option with a 4x8 layout , its like a big piece of furniture, unless you know someone whos good at cabinetry or have room to fold the layout up against a wall. Do you have the room for what your planning. I say this becuase its one thing to see aplan on paper, another to see a 4x8 sheet of plywood stuffed into a 10x10 room. Alot of people dont take into account the space requirements before they start. Once you decide how big and where it pays to layout some cardboard cut the same size, lay it on the floor and see how well it works in the space provided. A 2x4 N layout can be stored in a closet but a HO layout can be a focal point.

[vsmith]

P.S. everything I said above also applies to N guage, either through Bachmann o Kato. Only the layout gets a little smaller, maybe down to 2x4 which would be easier to store. Have you considered exactly where you want to place this layout? You really dont have the storage option with a 4x8 layout , its like a big piece of furniture, unless you know someone whos good at cabinetry or have room to fold the layout up against a wall. Do you have the room for what your planning. I say this becuase its one thing to see aplan on paper, another to see a 4x8 sheet of plywood stuffed into a 10x10 room. Alot of people dont take into account the space requirements before they start. Once you decide how big and where it pays to layout some cardboard cut the same size, lay it on the floor and see how well it works in the space provided. A 2x4 N layout can be stored in a closet but a HO layout can be a focal point.

[Anonymous]

Elonna

I saw your other post for L&N N scale, so I see you might be leaning that way.

Last Saturday, Glen and I took our 2 portable 2' x 4' N scale railroads to my restaurant. One of the layouts had controls that the kids could actually operate.
We also took 2 z scale modules that they could operate also. Back to my point, there were kids there who were about the same age as your son and these kids could easily handle railing the cars on the n scale. As you pointed out in one of your posts, your son is probably handier at handling smaller objects than you would be. I feel your pain. I have dropped more n scale cars that I would like to admit to.

The kids had a blast and it proved a point that kids can handle the smaller scales from a dexterity standpoint. Of course we all know, it depend on the child and his maturity level. You know your son best. Anyway, thought I would share this.

[Anonymous]

Elonna

I saw your other post for L&N N scale, so I see you might be leaning that way.

Last Saturday, Glen and I took our 2 portable 2' x 4' N scale railroads to my restaurant. One of the layouts had controls that the kids could actually operate.
We also took 2 z scale modules that they could operate also. Back to my point, there were kids there who were about the same age as your son and these kids could easily handle railing the cars on the n scale. As you pointed out in one of your posts, your son is probably handier at handling smaller objects than you would be. I feel your pain. I have dropped more n scale cars that I would like to admit to.

The kids had a blast and it proved a point that kids can handle the smaller scales from a dexterity standpoint. Of course we all know, it depend on the child and his maturity level. You know your son best. Anyway, thought I would share this.

[snowey]

Atlas Model Railroad co. has a GREAT forum at WWW.ATLASRR.COM that can give you a LOT of great advice. You're already off to a good start by buying one of the Kalmbach how-to books on Model Railroading, as they're all great. Kalmbach is also the company that runs this web site.
Some of the other sites are WWW.RAILROADFORUM.COM, WWW.THEGUAGE.COM, WWW.RAILROADS.NET and WWW.THORTRAINS.NET

[snowey]

Atlas Model Railroad co. has a GREAT forum at WWW.ATLASRR.COM that can give you a LOT of great advice. You're already off to a good start by buying one of the Kalmbach how-to books on Model Railroading, as they're all great. Kalmbach is also the company that runs this web site.
Some of the other sites are WWW.RAILROADFORUM.COM, WWW.THEGUAGE.COM, WWW.RAILROADS.NET and WWW.THORTRAINS.NET

[snowey]

forgot to say, the N.M.R.A. (National Model Railroad Association) also mantains a great website at www.nmra.org that has a special section for begginers.
And the Kalmbach books that I mentioned are available online through a number of dealers, at your L.H.S. (Local Hobby Shop-if ther's one near you), through this sitejust click on MODEL RAILROADER at the top, under where it says MAGAZINES, or from WWW.KALMBACH.COM/BOOKS

[snowey]

forgot to say, the N.M.R.A. (National Model Railroad Association) also mantains a great website at www.nmra.org that has a special section for begginers.
And the Kalmbach books that I mentioned are available online through a number of dealers, at your L.H.S. (Local Hobby Shop-if ther's one near you), through this sitejust click on MODEL RAILROADER at the top, under where it says MAGAZINES, or from WWW.KALMBACH.COM/BOOKS

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Elonna

And he handles trains very well. I am not necessarily worried about the trains being damaged...Myself being a klutz would probably drop one and break it before he would mishandle one.

We all drop them once in a while. Generally cars bounce, the worst that usually happens is the wheels pop out and can be slipped back in. Sometimes couplers get broken but they can be replaced (a small jeweller's screwdriver set and small tweezers and needle nose pliers is a good investement). A big difference between kid's toys and adult hobby equipment is that replacement parts are available for the adult stuff. When a kid's toy breaks the manufacturer wants you to throw it out and buy a new one.

When kids drop something the damage is usually less because there is less distance to the floor. A carpeted area under the layout is a big help. Locomotives being heavier suffer more damage when dropped, but there is less to destroy on a diesel than a steam locomotive.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Elonna

And he handles trains very well. I am not necessarily worried about the trains being damaged...Myself being a klutz would probably drop one and break it before he would mishandle one.

We all drop them once in a while. Generally cars bounce, the worst that usually happens is the wheels pop out and can be slipped back in. Sometimes couplers get broken but they can be replaced (a small jeweller's screwdriver set and small tweezers and needle nose pliers is a good investement). A big difference between kid's toys and adult hobby equipment is that replacement parts are available for the adult stuff. When a kid's toy breaks the manufacturer wants you to throw it out and buy a new one.

When kids drop something the damage is usually less because there is less distance to the floor. A carpeted area under the layout is a big help. Locomotives being heavier suffer more damage when dropped, but there is less to destroy on a diesel than a steam locomotive.

[Anonymous]

Trying to find book on Bachmann EZ Track System, think it is Model Roading made Ez with Bachmanns EZ Track System Book ll.

Thanks Norm [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Trying to find book on Bachmann EZ Track System, think it is Model Roading made Ez with Bachmanns EZ Track System Book ll.

Thanks Norm [e-mail]