I'll probably get howls of protest...but check out Atlas's plan books. The layouts range from simple to horrifically complex. I started with an Atlas plan and a sheet of plywood 20 years ago, and haven't looked back.
A few of the books also go through building each layout step-by-step. Admittedly, some of the techniques are a little dated (the books were originally written in the late 50s or early 60s), they'll give you the basic idea of what to do.
You should also check out one the beginner books. I recommend Lou Sassi's A Realistic HO Layout for Beginners. Lou gives you a simple 4x8 track plan, and takes you through construction step by step - benchwork to scenery to detailing.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
Hi thomaszachery
I really cannot answer cost as I live in Australia
As far as scenery goes the best is what you like but take your time and make sure plenty of protection is out scenery can get very messy as it is done.
Your train table should be strong enough for an adult to jump up and down on this sounds like over kill but it means no problems later on, the table is your foundations and if that's not right you will have problems later
Before laying a single piece of track paint the table top a flat natural looking green nothing looks worse than trains running on a bare ply wood prairie while you make up your mind on scenery.
Run and secure your wiring under the table with multiple track feed wires for better running
AVOID the temptation to cram every single piece of track on the table you can fit in ( this is the hard one)
Building a model railway takes time you cannot do it all in a day so the patience to do things careful and right is needed.
Sounds like you are young so it is important your parents understand that on some things you will need help but that is for you and Mum to sort out
I will probably get some flack for this one but I would suggest going to a proper hobby shop and finding a good quality reputable brand train set to start off with this will give you a reliable train to start with.
My own thoughts on manufacturers track plans is stay away from them but some of them are very good as starting points and can be built in stages which is what you will have to do regardless of where your plan comes from.
I would suggest getting some of the beginners guides Published by Kalmbach also to find or borrow some model railway books from the fifty's and sixty's as I am sure you are capable of making some things your self with a little help from mum and dad using materials that tend to be forgotten today like card board houses
That should be enough to think about for now apart from have fun that's what its about and make sure you have somewhere in the track set up that later can be used to extend the railway they have the tendency to slowly grow larger over time.
regards John
While you're at the Atlasrr website, download their free RTS design software. You can use it to help design your layout. It's fairly easy to learn how to use, and you can even use it to make a "shopping list" of materials and parts/pieces needed, and to calculate the approximate cost (based on MSRP), but you can often find track discounted 5-15% at some hobby shops. Atlas also has a couple dozen or so trackplans ready made. This is the basis for my track plan:
I based this on the 1995 Atlanta Central plan from MR, our club built this for the 1995 NMRA convention and raffled it off on the last day. I did take out the turnouts and crossing on the lower right of the plan, and changed the spur on the lower left to a loop that curves into the upper right spur, the intent to serve an industry on either side of the layout as an empties in/loads out arrangement. I'll have a backdrop down the center of the layout, possibly on an angle, both to make the layout seem larger, and so I'll have room for a town on 1 side.
I'd estimate the approximate cost for building my layout (track alone) in the neighborhood of $200. The #4 (Atlas) turnouts are about $11.00 each, discounted (there are 10 on the plan, I've so far used 9). The rest can be "stick track" as I call it, otherwise known as sectional track. I used 22" radius curves, sectional track on one end, and flex track on the other (I had it all on hand). I'd estimate the rest of the track would cost about $75-100. The benchwork would run about $25-50, I used a sheet of BC 1/2" plywood ($10 at HD), I'd use 1x4's on 16" centers for support (estimated 5 pieces, about $3.00 each for good ones), 2x2's for legs, and 1x2's for leg braces. Also, I used sheetrock screws to hold it all together. As a cost saver on the track, you can just buy the turnouts you need to get the main line done, then buy the rest as money allows. You'll want a good quality power pack, if you don't already have one, I spent about $30 on one. A decent quality locomotive, an Athearn "blue box" will set you back about $30-50, unless you find one on clearance. Other decent brands include Bachmann Spectrum (their non-Spectrum items are low quality), IHC (steamers only, diesels are low quality), and Proto 1000. Most of your higher cost locos are of high quality.
To sum up, I'd estimate to build my layout from scratch (as I had most materials on hand) as follows:
Framing/benchwork: $50
Track: $200
Electrical (powerpack/wiring/electrical switches): $40 (minimum)
Loco: $40 (sale item)
Cars: $5-10 each and up.
Buildings/structures: $10 each and up (I use the DPM buildings, others may be cheaper).
Scenery can be done cheap, I start out with a bag of Woodland Scenics ground foam, then make my landforms using scrap materials, some folks use plaster or drywall "mud", then paint "dirt", and sprinkle the foam on the wet paint. Vary the coverage so you get an uneven coat, just like real grass. You can use different colors of foam to look like dry grass, lush grass, and so on.
I think someone figured a layout to cost something like $10 per square foot to build, essentially complete, but without the trains, and if you add up my costs, that comes out fairly close. The reason the cost of trains was not figured in is because some folks buy really expensive engines, and some go cheap. Some have a lot, others just a few, or maybe 1 or 2. Figuring this in would skew the numbers sometimes, so it is more fair to figure it this way.
Brad
EMD - Every Model Different
ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil
CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts
hi, and welcome to the hobby! I know that right now a million questions are running through your mind; so just ask away on here and other forums. No matter how silly you may think they are, no question is too silly. We've all been beginners, so we've all been there.
You've gotten some exellent advice so far. Let me just add, some of the other forums you might want to look at are trainboard.com, the-guage.com, railroadforum.com and atlasrr.com-that one is ecspessially good.
Also, get some books on Model Railroading-Kalmbach Publishing has some great ones. Their website is www.kalmbachbooks.com/modelrailroadbooks
Also, check out the begginers section at the N.M.R.A. website at www.nmra.org
The N.M.R.A. stands for National Model Railroad Association
Flex track is track that can be bent to any shape. It comes in 3 ft lengths. You can cut it to the length you want (and if you curve it you WILL have to cut it) with a pair of rail nippers. You can find them at most hobby shops for about $15. Or for less than $10 buy a pair of "flush cutting pliers" at Radio Shack. Then get a small file to dress the cut ends.
The scenery is up to you. The less scenery the less complicated. Some people like to use a piece of 2" thick blue or pink foam insulation to build their layout on. Some people prefer plywood. If you go with a sheet of plywood get some straight 1x4's and attach them to the edges to keep the plywood from warping. Buy at least 1/2 in BC plywood.
Personally I would start with an oval of track, with a siding on one side, that is a track with a switch on both ends. That way you can put one train in the siding and run a second around the layout.
I would later put another siding on the other side of the layout. If you planned ahead, you could insert pieces of straight or curved track that were the same size as a switch in the oval so when you wanted to add a switch, you just removed the "filler' and put in the switch. Then I would put a town around one of the sidings, adding some additional switches for industries. maybe even one track that went to the edge of the table to represent and "interchange" or a connection with the other road. With that set up you could actually have operations. Put an eastbound train in the sidng and a westbound train on the main of the siding opposite the town. Run one train around a couple times, then stop ans switch some of the industries in the town. Then park that train. Run the next train around the opposite direction a couple times and then stop and switch the rest of the industries.
What you have done is used the siding on the back as "staging" and have an operating layout on a 4x8.
I would suggest buying a couple books on model railroading or some Model Railroader magazines. Just for ideas. Kalmbach has some books on building a basic model railroad, wiring and benchwork.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
4) Every one is talking about this flex track. Is it a track you could bend to any radius?
And you guys are right. I should start small.
5) When i start small, should i have it be able to go on to more for when i get better?
Welcome to the forum and to the hobby. We were all there at one time, fo me almost 60 years ago.
You have good advice so far. I will add:
1. If you are in an area that has railroad flea markets and price is a real issue, you can sometimes get used flex track pretty cheap. It is harder to use but can save some.
2. Start simple, because if you like it, your first layout will not be your last.
3. Find a track plan that you like and use it, being creative the first time around is difficult.
Learn the skills and what you like to do.
Thomas, Space Mouse has given you some super advice.
Track can cost a huge amount of money if you use the commercial stuff with the plastic fake ballast on it. You can get straight and curved sections to make your oval, if that is as complex as your layout will get, and it will cost you about $40, give or take $10...it depends on how much you buy and from whom you buy it. If you pay full price, it will get costly for 15 feet of track. As soon as you insert even one turnout (a switch), now we're adding serious cost.
The cheapest way out of this bind is to lay what is called flex track that comes in 3' sections and is about $3/section...again, give or take. The turnouts that you could use are priced as Space Mouse suggests, so you can do your own estimate of anticipated costs based on your track plan and how many turnouts you will have. As simple as that.
Question #2- hands down, a plain flat surface of plywood is the easiest...and one of the noisiest. If you use flextrack, you are well advised to lay it on cork roadbed, also available at the hobby shop. You'll need some cheap latex caulking to glue the roadbed to the plywood, so add $2.50 for one tube...assuming you have a caulking gun.
If you want some hills, find a construction site where there may be some broken and discarded extruded foam insulation board and use carved sections of that stacked to make your hills. Use the same caulking compound as before to glue them on top of each other, and to the plywood. Don't use any glues that are not foam friendly. Use the acrylic caulking compound...cheap, and safe. Spread it thin every place you use it...it is not like mustard, so go light.
Question #3 - Mouse's Beginner's Guide is the place to go. The idea is to convince yourself that you are not ready to start cutting and screwing together a layout just yet. You really should spend some time and learn about the common mistakes that newbs make that means their layouts don't turn out so well. You don't want your parent(s) to decline to spend any more money when you experience a preventable problem...right? So, rather than waste what you know you have, take the time to be cautious and patient. You are doing the right thing by asking for help, but you must also understand your own limitations well. I think you are trying hard to do that, so congratulations for a wise approach to this wonderful, if complicated and expensive, hobby.
1) Depends--mostly on the number of turnouts you want to use. Sectional track can be pretty cheap, but the turnouts run between $7 and $20.
2) Ease is detrmined by the amount of detail you want. Pick the landscape you like. We'll help you get it done.
3) Read my beginner's guide in my signature. And keep asking questions. Go to the library and check out a bunch of books and keep looking to you figure out what you want to build.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Hi all!
I am thinking about starting a layout that would cover a 4x8 area. I have some questions my mother wanted me to ask before i start (always does that).
1) About how much would this cost for track for a HO guage layout?
2) What is the easiest setting for a begginer? (dessert, hilly, mountainy, snowy, or towny)
3) What are some tips for starting?
So, as i said before, im a noob. Please awnser some or one of the questions. And i might have more questions latter.
Thanks for Reading