steinjrYou are responding to only a very few of the questions or comments you are getting, and you seem to take days to provide those partial answers or responses.
Or maybe it's the fact that your response's are the length of "War and Peace".
DrilinesteinjrYou are responding to only a very few of the questions or comments you are getting, and you seem to take days to provide those partial answers or responses. Or maybe it's the fact that your response's are the length of "War and Peace".
hi Steve,
Posting a drawing of your room would be better. Anyhow you just want a 4 x 8. The LA&SL, despite its pretty look, is not the best home-layout. At least I would add some staging. The track at the upper right could be an interchange.
An older N -scale design for a 5 x 2.7 space only, which I like even more. Made with bigger radii in a 4x8 space would be great.
Paul
Not so bad a plan, Paul.
Sometimes, we should remember, where we all came from... The pros and semi-pros among us all know, that the 4 by 8 is not the best in terms of space and that any type of oval offers only limited operation for the aficionados. But it is my feeling, that we sometimes overwhelm the newbies in this forum with all the knowledge we have in building and operating layouts and that sometimes the good advice we give is an inch too much.
After all, most of us got started into the hobby with that 4 by 8. And we had to learn, also not to try to shorten someone´s learning curve...
Paulus Jas Posting a drawing of your room would be better. Anyhow you just want a 4 x 8. The LA&SL, despite its pretty look, is not the best home-layout. At least I would add some staging. The track at the upper right could be an interchange. An older N -scale design for a 5 x 2.7 space only, which I like even more. Made with bigger radii in a 4x8 space would be great. Paul
Looks good. Now if Steve just could add longer legs to his table, so he gets it up from 3 feet (36") off the ground to 50" off the ground or so, so he is looking in on his scenes instead of down at them, he has something that might work okay for him.
Especially if he in addition follows the advice he got from Byron as early as page 3 of this thread.
cuyama If you decide to start with a layout, I think the Kalmbach how-to books are often a better choice -- although sometimes I am frustrated by the limited track plans they feature. Marty McGuirck's new book is a step-by-step guide to building, wiring, and scenicking an N scale 4X8: N Scale Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby, Second Edition I haven't picked up a copy yet,but the cover art depicts a nicely-detailed model railroad. Similar HO scale oriented titles include:Basic Model Railroading: Getting Started in the HobbyHO Railroad from Start to Finish These books, in my opinion, are probably better than trying to piece together a layout from advice gleaned from online forums. There are too many divergent opinions, only a few of which actually make sense for a beginner, so it can be difficult to winnow the wheat from the chaff.
If you decide to start with a layout, I think the Kalmbach how-to books are often a better choice -- although sometimes I am frustrated by the limited track plans they feature.
Marty McGuirck's new book is a step-by-step guide to building, wiring, and scenicking an N scale 4X8: N Scale Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby, Second Edition I haven't picked up a copy yet,but the cover art depicts a nicely-detailed model railroad.
Similar HO scale oriented titles include:Basic Model Railroading: Getting Started in the HobbyHO Railroad from Start to Finish
These books, in my opinion, are probably better than trying to piece together a layout from advice gleaned from online forums. There are too many divergent opinions, only a few of which actually make sense for a beginner, so it can be difficult to winnow the wheat from the chaff.
Getting a book like that will help him learn about how to lay track, how to wire his layout and those things - the things which seemingly has served as distractions for him, so he has not been able to focus on what he wants to model - his goal.
If nothing else, the book above has a lot more pictures than Tolstoy's "War and Peace", and a reasonably coherent theme :-)
Grin, Stein
Hi Stein,
I am glad you are back. I figured that something must have been going on with you. Yup - I totally agree, the OP should do some reading, if only to ask the right kind of questions... In any case, it´s 20 bucks well spent...
A very Happy New Year to you and your family!
Yup, I often think it's best to suggest suitable book titles, particularly for beginners. This strategy has the added advantage of answering questions I fellow wouldn't think of asking.
Mark
steve....have you reconsidered going around the walls? i realize your wife said no, and i understand that, but you might be able to mount it high enough to be out of the way. mine is 52 inches high on 18 inch shelves and that leaves lots of room in that room. also, if you mount those shelves on brackets, that also leaves room underneath for whatever and.......you can run a much longer train. make the duckunder removable if necessary. mine is 12x10x12x10 and 40 cars, n scale, is a long train. my HO trains when i was trying them, seemed like around 16 cars or so was decent....just a thought....
Hi all
first I am sorry I didn't get back to any one, but we lost Internet connection for the day yesterday (12-30-09). The track plan that Paul posted look ideal for me and I would like to do it. As for the table hight I would not be looking down on it too much because for my hight as I am only 5'3" so if I want a track view I could sit on a chair don't you think (lol) but now I have added the wheels the table hight is 3' 2" and when I add the foam which is another 2" it will be 3' 4" (I haven't got the foam yet but I am thinking about it so I can do rivers and roads running under the track etc.. if you know what I mean).
Stine I am sorry the description of the room didn't help that much but like I said I don't know how to post images on here so I can't take any pictures or do any drawing's and post them.
Anyhow I would like to do the layout on the 1930's steam era and it doesn't have to be a particular location because I think after what has been said that might be a bit to advanced for me I could do something like that in a few years when I have a better understanding of the hobby and maybe more room. I am going to order the book on N Scale Railroading Getting started in the hobby when I get payed. So Paul if you would let me do the second layout that you posted on 12-30-09 I would be grateful.
Hi Steve, First good luck and have fun. I see by the replies you have a lot of advise. Read, review, and plan first. As to N or HO, I found it interesting that some changed from N to HO because of age. I started with HO in my thirtys and changed to N in my late 50s because of space. I also found that unless you planted and can't move HO would be fine. Having moved several times, dis manteling and restarting N is better. Now at 74 I am one month into a new (very large) N scale layout. Modules 3x5 (Thank you "N-Track) Room 15x35.
All that said, it your layout do what you like. look for Clubs in you area for ideals and help. Srngeorge
Steve, I struggled over that decision too when I decided to get back into model railroading. I decided to go with N scale because I wanted a modular layout and planned on using 8' long tables, so I have an L shape with turn arounds at each end. I thought N scale would be a challenge for me even though it seemed less popular. I had no small children to concern myself with. Now that I am deep into working on my layout, sometimes I wished I had went to HO. Mostly because the selection for HO is so much larger. I go to all the local shows, some of them pretty big in Florida, and the availablity of N scale stuff is about 20% of the vendors. However, sometimes you can get some great deals since they are willing to let N scale stuff go for less. If your space is as limited as you mention, then N may be a good way to go. Have fun no matter what you do.
I would just like to wish every one a happy new year! and all the best for 2010
Steve, Do not be afraid to go with 'N' scale. I have been in 'N' scale since 1991. There has been much improvement in equipment. 'N' scale offers the opportunity to have more scenery to track ratio than 'HO'. You can take the same track plan that was submitted to you and have a more ' spacious' feeling. If this is your first layout, I suggest that you use the Kato track system. I have used this track for more than 8 years and I have been very pleased with the results. I also have used Atlas flex track with the Kato track and have been able to blend the two together very well. Check out the January 2010 issue of Model Railroader. They have a project railroad in 'N'scale that uses the Kato track system. Stick with Kato and Atlas engines. They work well right out of the box. I use the Digitrax DCC system. They seem to offer a wide range of decoders for 'N' scale. Also MRC's DCC system offers decoders with sound. You can use MRC decoders on Digitrax's system or other DCC systems .
Because of the small contact area of engines wheels to the track, if the track gets dirty, the 'N' scale engines stall easier than the larger scales engines. Just keep the track clean and you will be happy with 'N'scale. The other disadvantage to 'N'scale is if your eye sight is not good. This could be a problem when working on the engines.
But, if you think 'N'scale is not for you, then definitely go with 'HO'.
If you have any more questions about 'N' scale, please feel free to ask me. I will try to help you as much as I can
Have fun!
Randy "madmodeler"
this layout was developped for Seanthehack in another thread by Steinjr and me. I thought you wanted something like the double tracked LA & SL, built by Dick Christianson for MR-magazine.
The Madison design was imho not yet ready for the build. In N-scale your 4x8 has a lot more space then this small 5x2.7 design.
There still are a couple of issues worth a second look; the scenic deviders, the trainlength, beyond the layout operation and operation with two trains at the same time.
As you can see trainlength on the passingsidings is very limited. By use of curved switches (at point E and F) the passing sidings can probably be lenghened. The extra width needed for the curved turnout at point E is not available. Lengthening Cinder around the corner in the direction of Bottoms would also mean a even much shorter yard-lead for the Bottoms switcher. So the engineer in Bottoms and the other in Cinder will be in each others way often.
Operationally your train starts on the cassette, passes through Cinder and goes on to Bottoms. The tracks disappear under a roadbridge where our RR makes a virtual connection with a line to Albany. In reality it is the lap-connection. So our little railroad functions as a bridge route, quite different then just a bit of laprunning. Bottoms and the Cassette are supposed to be miles apart so a scenic devider (AB) was mandatory. A double sided backdrop can be done, but derailments occurs on hard to reach spots. The lapconnection was perfectly hidden; I choose for a more subtle devider: a road, lined with houses and trees; but to be effective your layout should be build shoulder and not waist-high. For the same reason I didn't block the view from Cinder to the lap-connection by a double-sided-backdrop (BC). The view is blocked by trees and by the warehouse along the track at the lower right corner. With a double sided backdrop (BC) I would have modeled this track as another interchange.
If you want to learn more about beyond-the-layout-operating on this pike you just have to ask.
In your 4x8 space a better balance can be found between trainlength, radii and the size of Bottoms Yard. Even using the space in the centre of the layout becomes possible.
BTW Steinjr has made a different design for a 5x9 layout in HO-scale recently, with much more tracks, that could adapted to a 4x8 space easily in N-scale. Are you really sure you want to go for this small short branch (single track) approach? And since you like to run steamers do you want a small engine service area with a turntable for those small steamers?
BTW you do not need to ask permission, no copy rights involved.
I see you decided on N - I think that's a great choice for your limited space and desire for a longer mainline run.
One thing I see over and over in the replies you've gotten is (paraphrasing) "Research! Read! Think long and hard about what you want! Make sure you have it all exactly right before you buy anything or lay the first piece of track! BE AFRAID OF DOING SOMETHING WRONG!"
I couldn't disagree more. Depending on personality, this is very suited to some people. But many people are much more inspired by running trains than by planning. The big railroads you see in magazines, whether club- or individual-owned, always seem to have undergone changes. Don't be afraid to just do something, you can always change it when you think of something you'd rather have. And no matter how carefully you think about and decide what you want, you will almost certainly be wrong, either from misunderstanding yourself or from your interests changing with time.
My advice is, if you're more of a hands-on person, just pick an interesting plan that suits your space/time/budget/scale, and start building. Get trains running, get to work on scenery, and have some fun. You can learn about both yourself and the hobby as you go. When you find yourself thinking, "I wish..." - don't be afraid to make the changes to make it so. When something doesn't work or you can't figure it out, ask specific questions about getting from what you have to what you want.
The only points where advance decision-making is important is where a lot of expense will be wasted if you change your mind. I don't count time as an expense for this: I enjoy the time I spend on it, so getting to spend more time on it isn't a liability.
hi all
I know that every one is saying alot about my vision and if it isnt good HO would be best so I just thought you all should know that I have 20/25 vision at my last test. Anyway I have to go for now the kids want me.
Steve
I have just had a PM from Stine about what I want in my model railroad so I will be having a long hard think about what I really want and as soon as I know I will let you all know.
Thank you for your help
Steve75hi all I know that every one is saying alot about my vision and if it isnt good HO would be best so I just thought you all should know that I have 20/25 vision at my last test. Anyway I have to go for now the kids want me. Steve
20/25 vision isn't that bad..
I have a treated glaucoma spot in my left eye and a mild cataract in my right. Sometimes I rely on that little contraption with the magnifying glass and the holding clips for the most detailed work. I still do fine in N scale.