new to toy trains

[dougdagrump]

Since it will be on the walls close to the ceiling I would suggest going with O scale. I have both the scale and non-scale on mine and it doesn't seem like much of a difference on paper but when you are looking up at the locos and rolling stock it seems to make a big visual difference. [:-^]

[Dave Farquhar]

Before spending too much money on books, I suggest checking to see what your library has. There's enough interest in Lionel trains that larger libraries often have some titles.

Check out any book by Peter H. Riddle you can find. You'll probably end up buying several of them, but they're worth reading first. His wiring books and his tips and tricks book will give you tons of insight. I dare say after reading them, you may not need any help from the people at the hobby shop.

As far as service at hobby shops, sometimes the people aren't helpful just because they don't know. I've got three good hobby shops close to me. One is trains only, and the service there is exceptional. The other two are general shops that sell everything. Both of them have one person on staff who really, really know trains. Next time you visit either of your local shops, if the person doesn't seem to know much, ask if there's anyone who works there who has a Lionel layout at home. If there is, they'll probably tell you the person's name and the hours he or she works, especially if you say you're looking to buy quite a bit of stuff.

[tschmidt]

We were putting in a family room (18x18) and wanted to incorporate the trains (O gauge) is some way. I was able to build a 6" shelf around 3 of the walls and a 20" deep bookcase on the 4th wall. This allows for 3 or 4 tracks across the top of the bookshelf. There were 2 tricky parts. The first was a staircase coming into the room. We cut a hole through the side of a riser along the wall and it made a great tunnel entrance. Where we crossed a doorway a fold down shelf/bridge was built that alligns the track perfectly every time. All my wiring and power was able to be hidden from sight inside the bookshelf.

I used Gargraves track and Ross switches. By using TMCC I have no power packs or controllers out in the open. I used a 6" triangle shaped piece of wood at every stud to support the shelf. I found these pre-cut at Home Depot.

On the walls I used shelving from Glenn Snyder display systems out of Buffalo. It's aluminum and strong. I put 12' of trains on each shelf and it holds them easily. It is not very expensive either.

By doing it this way we were able to have our family room and trains all in the same place. It turned out great and looks pretty good too. If anyone is interested in a pictures I'd be happy to temail them to you.

[Anonymous]

tschmidt-- please e-mail pics. the lie-outs are very close to each others. thanks for info and in advance for the pics. [e-mail]--- thats my son's (he gets e-mail pics. that i don't get.) [e-mail]--- is my e-mail.

[Anonymous]

i didn't get any pics. something said no pics.

[Anonymous]

need info on bridges-- back ground 's---