When I was young I always love receiving model train at Christmas. Now at 48, I will really like starting building my first railroad modling.
To be honest, I could use some help where to start.
Is there a good guide or good video to help me start my project?
Is there any good software for designing a railroad?
What scale is the most flexible and offert the most possibilities.
As you can see I have a lot of question, and I have more question coming up. Sorry if my English isnt good, i speak only french.
Welcome PatKen !
What do you like to model, European or US trains?
There are many great people on here, from all over the world.
There will be lots of ideas coming at you for track planning, getting started, different scales, etc.
Mike.
My You Tube
Yes, well why dont you start simple with a 4x8' plywood table and lay some tracks on it. Play with the thing and discover what you like. Move tracks around and discover what operations seem right to you.
No pint in laying 14 miles of track on your first (or third) layout.
Experiment with scenery, and building structures.
French? Well, you must be in either Canada or France. Canada is US railroading. France, well, that is European railroading.
Europe bespeaks sof passenger trains. Maybe you can build a terminal connected to a loop of some sort.
Of course if you have the space and want to build 14 miles of subway tracks on three levels in an old classroom, then go ahead and clisk on my lynx.
(BTW: I am a LION)
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
There are many guides or layout planning books available, as well as a library of layout plans on the Model Railroader website.
The most common scale is HO, followed by N scale.
To help us help you, could you give us some further information
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Welcome to the Forum Board!!!
What are your favorite roads and time periods to model?
Do you have a certain type of caboose you like to run on the end of your freight train?
Don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have about the hobby, we're here to help!
Welcome aboard. Your best written guide to the hobby is the magazines, Model Railroader and Rail Model Craftsman. They are in English, but the illustrations, in color, speak for them selves. In getting started, you want to get to actually running trains, as soon as possible. Put up something small and simple, get it to run. Then as time permits, make it bigger and better.
HO 1:87) is the most popular scale, it's big enough to scratch build and kit bash in. It's small enough that a good layout can be built in a 4 foot by 8 foot table. The prices are good and everything is widely available. I am in HO and I can firmly recommend it to others.
N scale is a lot smaller, (1:160) and you can get a lot more railroad into your space than you can with HO. You have to have pretty good eyesight to build N scale models. People do it, but it's easier to do in HO. Plenty of stuff is available although not quite as available as HO.
O gauge, S gauge, and Z gauge are not all that popular, you have to do a lot of scratch building, and I cannot recommend them if you are just starting out.
Although my day job was programming computers, I designed my layout with just squared paper, a compass, and an architect's scale. And an eraser.
Good luck. Post some pictures.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Welcome to the forum. Telling you what to model is like telling you who to marry.
In the US, many of us are blessed with more space than the average EU citizen. The smaller scales, especially if you like long trains, have an advantage there.
The best detail is in HO scale, but that is not important to everyone. We call them rivet counters and now they all hate me.
We have European members who model American railroads. I go to train shows and there is always a big modular layout of a European railroad. I can't wrap my head about how someone, who maybe never actually lived in the country, can model the trains.
Best of luck
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hi Patken,
Check your private messages... should be of interest and help,
Regards
Trevor
Welcome, PatKen,
Yes, please give us more info. People enjoy the conversation.
How much layout space do you have as a limit? Do you want a moveable layout or a skinny one along 1 or more walls, etc.? You can get lots done in HO with a 4'x6' space.
Take a look at the layout section on this website. Lean towards a simpler one, or simplify one, no matter the size. Many squeeze a lot of track in a given space, leaving little room for scenery, buildings, etc. I'm guilty.
I started with HO when young and repeated that with the 2nd and 3rd layouts when I re-entered. Now older, I would not do well with N scale, for instance in getting into locos for DCC decoder installation. But you get lots more RR in a space with N.
I like books as part of my info intake but you can get by without them today with all the online resources. Books on the MR / Kalmbach sites are pretty good. Learn how to do effective searches for subjects in this forum. The search the community thing on the right is not so hot, so use Google starting with "site cs.trains.com (your subject)" and you will get good results.
For HO and N you will need to decide on track type; i.e., rigid sectional track vs. flextrack. The flex is do-able first time if you research how to install it carefully to avoid kinks at joints, etc. that leads to problems.
There are multiple threads on the Forum about track planning software, including free versions. Suggest start with some graph paper, a compass and pencil is fine to try out rough ideas.
There are very good magazine articles on specific layout projects if you can access the old magazines, and often accompanying videos on this site. Very informative. Some of the videos here are accessible for free, where others I believe require the Video Plus extra monthly subscription fee. You can add that and then turn off when not using much.
You do not need to decide on DCC and sound right away. You can start with DC and convert to DCC, unless you know you will do DCC from the outset. In any event, your first loco can be a new DC loco that is "DCC ready", having a plug inside to add a DCC decoder if desired later. (Adding the speaker can be easy or more difficult depending on the space inside).
Suggest the first loco not be a big, many wheeled steam engine. Those can be more fussy about track perfection, with derailments more often, so could get frustrating. I started with a 4-axle GP-9 to get going, then bought a 4-8-2 Mountain that better identified track imperfections, thought those also highighted the imperfections of that more complex loco.
It's fun. Lots of interesting angles, such as building structures, scenery, whatever you enjoy.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
The NMRA Website is a great source of info. If you like paper, the Kalmbach 'how to' books are great (this is not a paid message...). HO scale has the widest offering of Canadian rolling stock and structures, if that is your area of interest. And to my knowledge, Canada is not the US .
Simon
I think Canadian or US trains is more appealing to me.
BroadwayLionYes, well why dont you start simple with a 4x8' plywood table and lay some tracks on it.
i was looking for a L form plywood, roughly the same size 4x8
G PaineTo help us help you, could you give us some further information Do you have a preference of a prototype railroad or area you would like to model? What about the timeframe? Do you like stream only, transition from steam to diesel, early diesel (1940s to early 60s), modern? how much space do you have availble? You do not have to fill it for the first layout. It is often better to start small, like a 4'x8', to learn and practice. Then try a larger layout.
What does prototype means?
Timeframe, around the 80's maybe, i like merchndise trains ans post industrial time. i love forest and wood working compagny.
4x8 could be nice. I could go with a L form also
ATSFGuy Welcome to the Forum Board!!! What are your favorite roads and time periods to model? Do you have a certain type of caboose you like to run on the end of your freight train? Don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have about the hobby, we're here to help!
post industrial until today
define the world caboose from me please
peahrensHow much layout space do you have as a limit? Do you want a moveable layout or a skinny one along 1 or more walls, etc.? You can get lots done in HO with a 4'x6' space.
moveable layout? i was going maybe for a 4x8 table or maybe a L shape table.
peahrensYou do not need to decide on DCC and sound right away. You can start with DC and convert to DCC, unless you know you will do DCC from the outset. In any event, your first loco can be a new DC loco that is "DCC ready", having a plug inside to add a DCC decoder if desired later. (Adding the speaker can be easy or more difficult depending on the space inside).
Whats a DCC?
i really want to had a bridge and a tunel, with alot of landscape and a few building an industry.
Thank you for your advice
First i really want to thank you all for you comment, it will give me alot to think about.
i will start making a grocery list for my project. Below i will insert a couple of links of some layout and project i have seen, that interest me alot, for my project.
I know that i want a bridge a tunel a rive and a road with a few industries. I am not a big fan a cities. i prefer landscape and a few building.
i have many more question, but for now i will wait until i have a more detail information about what am looking for.
One question i have is: i dont have any trains store close to where i live, what online store do you recommend for, if i want to buy what i need for my project?
https://pin.it/wudozc4wwbpaix
https://pin.it/m62q6uqzriqjeg
https://pin.it/7y3yhiuyt5jwfb