The Fear.

[Anonymous]

no its not a new movie [|)][;)]

i am afraid. i dont want to do like i did last time, i had some HO stuff laying around and so i said one day, im gonna build a layout. turns out i had no room, but of course that was only taken into account after i went out and bot probably 300 bucks worth of supplies.

now i actually am doing a layout, i have the room (partly because i am doing it in N scale, and partly because its a shelf layout.) this is still an intimidating and expensive task, and im wary of buying all kinds of goodies, and then trailing off because i get lost in the many ways of model railroading.

i have a space, a track plan, and now i need trains, scenery and track. where do i start? i just dont want to end up with a bunch of rolling stock and buildings, and then end up stuck because of not knowing where to begin the darn thing.

[tomikawaTT]

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." FDR

Take a LONG step back, then think about what in your railroading experience makes you want to model things that roll flanged wheels on steel rails.

Is it the sight of a mile of cylindrical grain hoppers rocketing across Kansas? A beat up switcher shuffling cars around in an industrial district that hasn't gone entirely to trucks? The past glamour of some Hollywood star and entourage de-training at the LA Union Station? The memory of standing in the front of an IRT train, watching rail and signals appear out of the gloom of the tunnel ahead?

When some picture appears to become dominant, that's when (and where) to start researching. Not to reproduce that scene, down to the last loose spike and broken bottle, but to get the "flavor." After that, it becomes a matter of creative distortion, selective compression and deliberate omission - since the problem is always to stuff that half ton prototype into a five pound can. But, before you can start stuffing, you have to have a fairly clear picture of what you want the end result to look like.

It's a lot easier to aim when there's a bulls-eye on the target.

Chuck

[selector]

I agree with Chuck.

A good place to start is to look over what you have in the way of MR stuff now. With it all in plain view, ask yourself why that stuff and not something else? What is it about what you spent money on that was so appealing? Is it still so appealing? If so, begin to look for railroads that use(d) that equipment, find pictures of them in ops, and pick one or two scenes that you know you could duplicate with some work and planning.

Then, design a useful track plan that will permit you to do what you want to do in the space you have. Post it here and let us have a look at it. Once most of us say it looks good, it probably will be good!

Find someone nearby who will help you to get started on the benchwork so that you get over the jitters. Once you have momentum, you will find yourself wanting to take control.

[Anonymous]

gotta join that locat train club.

[SpaceMouse]

Just do it.

The start of every new project on my layout is a balance of overcoming fear and the mental fatigue of finishing the last project. For me this started with the plan, then the benchwork then the trackwork then the wiring... a year and a half and new endeavors have not gotten any easier. I balance the easy with the hard, the mental with the drudgery, and at the end of the week, something gets done.

[MisterBeasley]

Chuck, that was beautiful. It really evokes the feeling of starting out, and wanting to bring that image to life.

As they say in the shoe ads, "Just do it." At some point, we all have to overcome that fear and jump into the water. It's all a lot easier after that. For me, "ripcord time" was when I went to Home Depot and bought the lumber. After that, it just flowed.

[Anonymous]

Take one step at a time

Just set up ur track then just keep adding to everything!!

there is always a way to fix your mistakes so don't worry!!!!!

[cudaken]

Kombatkarl, is this your first layout? This is my first one as well, started on a lark I will added and has taken over my life, well the free time life that is.

I started out with not knowing anything and a search on E-bay for HO trees for the slot car track. Found many cool things there that was missed listed with trees being the main word. One auction I picked up 25 trees 2 Athearn Blue Boxes Engines, 10 Athearn cars for $30.00 with shipping.

E-bay is a good places to look for bargains BUT make sure you know what you are bidding on! In other words do some rearch (spell check) on what you are bidding on. I have got some great deals there but all so hardly beat MSR on a few iteams because I did not know what they should cost.

From what I have seen the best deals on new and no bidding wars is

http://www.trainworld.com/

I have yet to use them but I supect many E-bay sellers buy from them and then offer them to E-bayers. Many engines I have tracked on E-bay starting bid starts at there asking prices.

Good luck, keep it simple first and have fun.

Cuda Ken

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cudaken


I started out with not knowing anything and a search on E-bay for HO trees for the slot car track. Found many cool things there that was missed listed with trees being the main word. One auction I picked up 25 trees 2 Athearn Blue Boxes Engines, 10 Athearn cars for $30.00 with shipping.

Wow. Score.
retail and merchandise-wise, this seems kinda like a lost hobby...it took me 6 months just to find a decent hobbyshop.

ths is my first layout, and i think i hesitate bcause i am starting this in a new scale, (N), and i already have a bunch of stuff in HO...dont get me wrong, i love HO, but i just simply dont have the space, and i like the idea of starting small anyway for a first layout.

but i guess ill go out to the lhs, and start by buying track and roadbed. since i have a plan, i guess that would be the next step. ive also gotta put up the shelf. its all put together, i just gotta hang it.

Nwe Question:
now, eventually i want to start using DCC for control, but with a small point to point layout like i have, would it be worth it to go out and spend the money on a system or just use DC for now, till the time comes where i need a more exact control system. i plan to put alot of detail into scenery,since it is so small, like lights and lighted buildings and all kinds of goodies. would DCC make this any easier?

[SpaceMouse]

DCC is so far and above DC you wonder what took yu so long. IT is especailly cool on a point to point because you can move from one loco to the next without block control. Two people can work together to switch. Spend it and don't look back.

[nucat78]

Been there. If you have a track plan, it sounds like you've figured out your "givens and druthers".

If you know what style of layout you want, there are a couple things you can do to "ease into it":

1) Lay as much of your mainline as soon as possible. You'll have trains running and then you can work on one area at a time ( aka layout design element ). That will give you more time to think about other areas / LDES to come and any changes to the master plan that you might want to make.

2) Try going modular / using dominoes. As long as you have a master plan, you can work on small pieces at a time. If you don't like something, it's a lot easier to rebuild a module or domino.

The proviso is that you're planning a pretty linear layout. If you're planning on a "spaghetti bowl", dominoes / modules won't work very well.

[jxtrrx]

One other thought about The Fear: Like most hobbies, this one can get expensive. And as you've found out, we all wind up buying some things that don't ultimately fit our needs, or our needs change. The good news is that with eBay, selling off your mistakes is very possible. You probably won't get all of your money back, but you'll recover some which makes it less of a disaster. And sometimes if you're letting go of something that isn't available any more, you might even make a little more than you paid! The good thing is that model railroad equipment (priced reasonably) DOES sell on eBay. I switched from N to HO a couple of years ago, and sold all of my N gear.