Hello to all.
My wife and I purchased an HO train set to go under the Christmas tree this year. Much to my surprise my wife sugested we should put it around the den wall after Christmas is over. I agreed and that is now the plan.
A couple of questions do come to mind.
1. Do we need cork or styrofoam base on the shelf? If so why? I do have some 3/4 inch styrofoam insulation I can use.
2. Should I glue or nail the track down? (we do live in California)
3. Is the power supply strong enought to run a train that far? (room is 13x22 feet) Or should i get a bigger one?
4. There is a closet in theis room and we are going to run the train through the wall and across the back wall and out a different wall. We will have a night scene in there. Are there any special things I need to know there.
5. Can anyone direct me to pictures of a setup like on the internet to get some ideas.
Well that is all I can think of right now.
Thanks for any help you might offer.
73 de PoP
Welcome to the forum. Sounds like an energetic project. The answers to your questions depend on how much of a layout you are planing on. You could go all the way from a simple shelf with a circle of track to a whole sceniced layout with a bridge to access the room. You will need to refine your plans some before we can give good anwsers.
4. There will be a lot of special things you will need to know depending on the complexity of the layout. We will be glad to help, but one step at a time.
5. For pictures, check mine at the bottom of my post. Many of the guys have them. Also check the weeken photofun threads. be sure and check Bob Grech's sight.
Good luck and keep us posted.
First things first. to the forum and to model railroading.
I'll try to answer some of the questions as best I can.
1. Cork is used to keep the trains fairly quiet when running. However, if you apply ballast to the track, it is genreally glued to the roadbed with a mixture of white glue and water. When it dries, it magnifies the sound of the train and you're right back to where you started. Some say using matte medium and water is more flexible and as a consequence less nosiy. I've never tried it. Styrofoam is generally used as a foundation for scenery and the cork roadbed is installed on top of the styrofoam.
2. Either method of attaching the track is acceptable. The more popular method right now is with latex caulk.
3. Power supply will be dependent on how many trains you plan to run. Even with DC rather than DCC you may want to run some feeders to various parts of the track.
4 and 5. See Art's answer.
Be sure to post pictures as you progress. We all like to look at pictures.
Another thing, be careful! This is an addictive hobby and before you know it, you will have trains in the den, the dining room, the basement, etc. Before too long, you will be wanting to move to a newer bigger basement with a house to protect the trains!
Again, to the fourms.
Tom
PS Ask any question you like. We like to show off our knowledge.
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
Good day
#1. It depends whether or not you want stryrofoam or cork. Cork gives the advantage of laying ballast. The cork road bed elevates the track just like the real thing. this way you can add the ballast. the styrofoam would not give you that same advatage. It would need to be cut down to size and then glued down on to the wood. With Cork you can nail it or staple it in place. This also makes it easy to move it to a new position if you have to. With styrofoam you can't move it.
#2 I would nail it down. Lets say you glue your track down. And then 1 year from then you have to move. Then It's a real hassle to pull up the track. And then when you want to reapply it again you would need to take off all the excess glue from before. When you nail it, you can simply pull up the nails and take the track away. Quite simple.
#3 The power supply should be strong enough as long as you run feeder wires to the track that way the power is evenly distributed. it also depends if you want to go with a DCC system.
#4 and #5 ART has it going for you. it would also be nice to see some pics as you progress.
BTW:
Happy railroading!
James
I would offer some simple suggestions:
There are three Kalmbach Books (among others) that can provide a realistic foundation:
Model Trains - Step by Step (various article writers)... http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=BOOK&MO=2&YR=2005&output=5
Track Planning for Realistic Operation (John Armstrong) ... http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=BOOK&MO=4&YR=1979&output=5
How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork (Lynn Westcott) ... http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=BOOK&MO=3&YR=1996&output=3
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Around the walls is my favorite type of layout.
See if you can get a copy of the January 2001 issue of "Model Railroader" and take a look at the article on the "Wildcat Central" project railroad. It will give you some good tips and ideas that you can adapt to your situation.
Re: Number 4. If you're cutting holes in walls, watch out for electrical wiring, water pipes, etc in there.
to the forum.
I will give you a little different answers.
1. Protect the wife she is 1 in a million for the trainman, i know I have one.
2. Look in to DCC NOW you will be happier in the long run adn you will wind up there anyway so strat off small and grow.
Art is on the money, so what else is new! I would get a track planning program off line, the forum will help you with that. I use 3rd Planet and AutoCadd. I ran my trains in VR for almost 2 years before I found my track plan, then I built it. This will allow you to see what you will have before you pop holes and such.
The best advice is to ASK and read and get your reference books. This can be a lot of fun and with some planning you will save money and get what you want out of the Hobby. My wife likes the shows and painting backdrops and scenery.
Again
1) You don't "need" anything. Cork (or other) roadbed gives the finished track a mainline-type profile or outline, if that's the look you're after. Styrofoam is generally used for land-form contours, although some folks also use it to create the track profile that others may use cork for. But it really depends on what you want the finished product to look like.
2) Again, there are proponents of both methods. Glue (actually a very thin layer of adhesive latex caulk) has recently become rather popular.
3) There are two issues here. One is enough power to run the train(s), and the other is the length of the track. If the power supply is powerful enough to run the train now, it should (more or less) be powerful enough for the larger layout. However, most rail actually has a fair amount of resistance to current flow. For the layout size you mention, I would strongly suggest running some 12 or 14 gauge wire under the shelf, with feeders to the track every three feet or so. Without doing that, I can guarantee the train will slow considerably at the far end of the layout, even with a larger power supply.
4) Just be sure you know what's in that wall (water, electrical, etc) before you tear into it. I would also box the opening, that is, put in a top, bottom, and sides so none of your trains end up in the bottom of the wall cavity should they derail there.
5) Google is your friend. I just got 234,000 hits searching for "railroad shelf layout" (without the quotes). Lots of them have pictures.
Good luck and have fun!
Steve
Wow!!!
So many helpful ideas. We are really thankful for all the information supplied so quickly. It sounds like research first is the order of business. I was ready to go and get some wood and brackets to get started, but think we will draw out the layout first.
My wife (Linda) is all set to do the back ground scenes and any other painting that is needed. She is a peach when it come to any and all of my hobbies and hers is crafting and painting, so we fit well. She is so supportive in all aspects.
I was originally thinking of just a single track around the wall, however.... I think that a spur for a second train would be real neat. The walls it will go through is a simple closet and there in no pipes or electrical I will have to worry about. I will box it and it will have a fascia at both sides, one maybe wood front and the other stone.
We both love lighthouses and tug boats, so we will have to have both in our new little environment.
We are both very excited about this new venture and want to thank you for your welcome and all the great suggestions.
Thanks again
73 de Frank and Linda