I wanna play train! or Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading.

[Anonymous]

After what seems like months of waiting--in reality 2.5 weeks-- tomorrow I get to work on my train. It used to be a cooperative train (mine and our five-year-old son), but my obsession usurped his interest and now he tells me he'll be back when the wheels are rolling. Anyway my wife has been out of the hospital for over a week, our baby is doing very well, all things considered, and I have been sneaking into the garage after school and finishing up the benchwork and electrical stuff. So in my skewed perspective I believe it is now relatively safe to venture back into what my wife has curtly termed,"my little train world."
Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading, and don't know what to do with myself. While she was hospitalized I ordered a few, okay seven freight car kits. I can put these together over the weekend. But I want to see the train run. Before everything went haywire in my life I bought an Athern F7 AB set. It has never been operated. I was thinking I could go buy the Digitrax Zephyr control deal at the Hobby Town near me and just set up a loop of the true track I have to watch it run. Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading.
I think from generalized observation that the engine, while being "DCC ready" doesn't need to possess a decoder to operate, nor does the Zephyr require a single engine to have the decoder. Is this true? Can I just plug the stuff into the outlet for now to see it run?
Furthermore, I am already tired of the loop the train not traveled is running on. I want turnouts. Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading. Ideally something is available that will simply satiate my wants right now; quick and easy turnouts. However I do in the very near future, as my knowledge grows, want to have fully operational turnouts (I am not certain of the terminology, would this be a DCC turnout?) that are remote controlled. Is something like this available? A turnout that I can have fun with out of the box and later upgrade to remote control? Forgive my lexicon if it is incorrect.
So if any of you knowledgable veterans can shed some light on this I will be happily sneaking into the garage at 5:00 Saturday morning to play train before everyone wakes up.
Respectfully,
Jacob

[rtraincollector]

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33391

Goto this link its under clasic toy trains forum it has a lot of info for you

[cwclark]

i'm still a D/C guy so can't answer your question about DCC...but...I have a site you might want to check out..it's kind of a learn as you go picture album with explanations site on building a MRR.. go to TRAINS1 first ..then TRAINS2 http://community.webshots.com/user/bayouman1 chuck

[Anonymous]

DCC Ready to me means that the engine will accept a decoder card that plugs in seperately.

Digitrax is a good control system however not really suited for "Analog" or straight DC Operation.

If you have a loop, a 12 volt variable DC power pack and a pair of wires you can hook them to the track and run something. That will satisfy your need to see something run for now.

Read up on DCC and learn all you can before diving into it.

Enjoy your new venture into the hobby. And congratulations on becoming a father. I suspect your forays into the train world will be few and in between diaper changes and 2 am food calls.

Regardless, enjoy your trains.

Welcome

[tstage]

Jacob,

You've come to the right place. There will be plenty of folks chiming in to help you out with your questions.

Everytime you log into the forum, I want you to promise me to repeat the following statement when posting something new:

"NO question is TOO stupid...NO question is TOO stupid"
Okay? I guarantee you. You will ask a question that someone else wishes they had asked but didn't have the nerve to do it. We learn together around here so let the questions fly - no matter how "newbish" they may seem to you.. If you hang out around here long enough, you'll get your turn to give back what you've gleaned over time and experience.

Jacob, there's also a lot of good beginner resource material at your local hobby story (LHS), as well as on-line. Computers and the Internet are great, but sometimes it's nicer to read something that you can turn pages with. I have gone back to the ones I've collected time and time again. As I grow in this hobby, I've discovered (or rediscovered) "new" things in those books that I hadn't noticed before.

Congratulations on your newest addition to the family. "Train" him or her up right...

Tom

[MisterBeasley]

OK, I'll take a stab at this one. I had a model railroad 40 years ago as a kid, and I just pulled it all out of the attic and started again about 2 months ago. As a point of reference, after that time I still have one simple loop, with one passing siding, one dead-end siding and a couple of ramps climbing up to nowhere. A third of my layout is still bare benchwork. But, I've got a definite plan and I'm making progress. I've spent a lot of this time figuring out techniques and refurbishing old equipment. But, you're in a slightly different position.

The first thing I'd do is go to the Atlas site (www.atlasrr.com) and download their free software for layout design. It's a bit limited, but it's adequate and the price is right. Next, go out and get a 4x8 foot sheet of half-inch homosote, and some lumber to build a frame. Some people like homosote for their layouts, and some don't, but the whole idea here is to build a quick-and-dirty layout on the homosote, and then rip it up and throw it away once you've figured some things out.

Play with the software a bit, and come up with a simple layout with a few turnouts and sidings. Figure out how much more track you'll need, and go get some. I'd go with simple Atlas snap-track for now, but don't buy too much. You may decide you'd prefer one of the other brands of turnouts, but the Atlas stuff will get you up and running quickly. Get some small track nails, too. For now, since this is a throwaway, don't bother with roadbed. Buy a couple of 3-foot lengths of flex-track, too, even if your plan doesn't call for it. It's fun to to play with, and you'll quickly discover that you like it.

Next, lay out the track and fasten it down with the track nails. This is NOT a good layout-building technique, but it will work for a while, and it's very easy to poke the nails into the homosote. More important, it's also easy to remove the nails, so you can easily make changes and when you're done, you can pull it all up and save all the track.

Now for some power. You do not need DCC, and it's kind of expensive for a starter layout. You can get by with a simple DC control system for a while. On the other hand, if you're going to buy one quality item, and you're not too concerned with the cost, then the Zephyr is a good choice. "DCC Ready" means there's a plug for a decoder, but you'll have to buy that separately. You can use DCC to control switch motors, but you don't have to. Atlas snap-track turnouts are about 5 bucks more with motors, and they come with the pushbuttons and even wire to run them.

Buy a little signal tower, or a railroad station, too. It will give some perspective to the whole thing. Oh, and be sure to take your five-year-old to the train shop.

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your insight. I guess I just get to caught up in it.
In an effort to clear up any confusion this is where I stand. I just finished bulding out of 2x4 and 3/4 plywood two tables an 8 x 3 and a 7 x 3. These I have placed in the corner of our finished garage. in an "L" formation. So I have an inside edge dimension of 7' by 5'. The tables have been leveled and are heavy duty to absorb the boy climbing up and on them etc. I don't know much about the working dynamics of track and figured I could buy the snap track with road bed and mess around with it to learn what works and what doesn't. I have already bought several packs of Atlas true track and want to fool around with it on the benchwork. I don't have a power source. I do have a dcc ready engine without a decoder. Ultimately I want to go the dcc route. If I get the Zephyr, (this being the only one the store has therefore the only one I can take home this afternoon) will I be able to run my engine and upgrade the dcc stuff later? I think the answer is yes, but I an not completely certain. The Zephyr is expensive and I would hate to have to absorb the cost if it were the wrong direction to go. On the other hand if I can operate the train now it would be a great deal of fun, satisfaction, and accomplishment. In addition Miles, my boy, would again be interested in train.
Sorry, if I am being redundant.

[selector]

Jacob, go to a local hobby store that sells train stuff, or to a large magazine store that might still have the Model Railroader "Eight Easy Layouts You Can Build" special how-to edition that came out last fall (or, contact Model Railroader magazine themselves and see where you can get one). In that edition is a FREE DVD that will have you running to your local hobby shop waving sheets of planning diagrams in no time at all.

BUT.....BUTTTTT, please relax, and force yourself to slow down until you can come up with a plan that won't have you disappointed with both yourself and the resultant layout three weeks after you're running trains. Believe us, we have all gone running with THE PLAN, and we all have had to take a step back when our learning minds began to realize that we had made some mistakes...basic, quite serious and limiting errors that were going to suck the life out of our enjoyment unless they were corrected.

As others have told you, excitement is good, but temper it, harness it, and use it FIRST in the learning stage. Spend more time with us on-line than you do building anything in the first couple of weeks so you can see how the rest of us encounter and correct major problems and planning issues.

It will be time well spent.

Will you do that? C'mon, work with us!

[Anonymous]

Crandell,
Aack! That dvd with the dad from family ties is what sent me down this path[:)] I am trying to take it slow. I just want to run the engine I have and the models I built. I am not in a ru***o create a layout. I just want a taste of the fruit of my effort. Heck, I spend more time reading posts here than teaching my students lately. Admittedly I am a bit obsessive, (err highly focused).

[MisterBeasley]

So, how's your hobby shop (or LHS, for Local Hobby Shop, around here)? Is there someone there who's knowledgeable and who you trust? It's a toss-up whether you've got a good LHS nearby or not. If you do, consider yourself lucky.

I would go out and get a bottom-end power supply from a reputable manufacturer. If you go the DCC route later on, you can still use this one to power your accessory lighting, switch machines and turntable. (A lot of us have turntables. They just have an aura about them.) For now, it will run a train or two. And until you install a decoder in that engine, it's actually a better way to run the train than DCC.

One thing I see that's a potential problem with your benchwork: Reach clearance. All of your back walls are 3 feet from the front, which is a stretch even with nothing on the table. Add some delicate scenery, and you will have trouble getting to anything back there. The usual rule is to keep everything within 2 feet of someplace you can get to and stand up in. (Oh, the center reach on my layout is 2.5 feet. So much for rules.) When you think of that back corner of the L, it's 3 square root of 2, or almost 4 and a half feet from the front.

[selector]

OK, Jacob, gotcha. Well then, how are you fixed for moolah? Are you fairly flush? Then go buy $60 worth of EZ-Track or the Atlas equivalent, some turnouts(electric or manual?), and start something basic. Play with several plans. Get those trains runnin'!

After re-reading your introduction, I also believe that you may be in a somewhat (don't jump all over me, here!) emotionally distressed, confused, relieved, or torn state due to your wife's hospitalization and your urge to get on with this exciting aspect of your life. Your wife's situation has impacted on your momentum and urge to construct some 'order' in an otherwise fragmented last couple of weeks. Do you think that could be so?

If that is the case, then do as I first suggested and take a step back. By all means, set something up and enjoy the pure pleasure of watching your little gems do their thing. But maybe you need a little more temporal distance from the wife and hospital pressures. Maybe she needs your undivided attention for the time being, and will be more charitably disposed to indulging your hobby interests later on. Bank some good will now.

Just a thought from an aging dad and someone well schooled in psychology.

[Anonymous]

Mister Beasley,
There is a Hobby Town nearby. They mostly cater to RC cars and such. They have some rail stuff but knowedgable information isn't in stock. For that I rely on you folks and the growing collection of model railroader books I am ammassing. I will take your advise on the power supply.
The benchwork surface height is 40" I also added rails at 12" off the floor. As time progresses I intend to build a step/platform at this height so our boys can enjoy as well. I seem to be able to reach all areas fairly comfortably, and quite easily if standing on the step rail. I read that benchwork is commonly much higher, but the project began as an endeavor shared between myself and the boy. And any higher seemed to eliminate him unless he were atop a ladder. You are absolutely correct about the hypotenuse of the back corner. I noticed that right away. I want to ask for more space in the garage to allow for a complete walk around, but intelligence dictates that now is not the time to broach my wife with such a question. But for now getting a cheap power supply and running the train should placate me.
Thanks so much.

[Anonymous]

Crandell,
Stop making sense. Tell me, "ignore the walls closing in around you and indulge in your escapism."
Honestly things are returning to normal in some degree. My wife is home and doing well, and our new baby boy will soon be coming home and is in better than stable condition. Last month I was losing sleep agonizing over which path to take in model railroading. Needless to say the significance of that was put into perspective. Now I just want to play train.
You are absolutely right, in all areas. And I more or less knew I would be buying a bunch more track and some type of power source today to experiment with. I just needed some validation.
Umm, you're not going to send me a bill are you?[:D]
Jacob

[selector]

Since you are so receptive, and this was an initial consult, no charge. [:)]

[Anonymous]

An engine that is DCC ready, and does not have a decoder in it, is fine for DC. I have three engines that can take the chips, but I have DC. They run fine like that. I think it is a great idea to go ahead and get a good engine. I had one of those train-set cheapies (never, never), and it only lasted about two months. I've had a good one for one and a half years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Good luck![8D][tup]

[IRONROOSTER]

One good source of modeling information is to click on the Model Railroader link near the top of this page. http://www.trains.com/maghomepage/maghomepage.asp?idMagazine=3 on the left there is a section headed modeling. Each link under that leads to several topics/articles. The one labeled ABC's... has some good stuff for beginners. The NMRA has a beginner's section here http://www.nmra.org/beginner/ that should help you as well.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Jacob,

Regarding your questions,

QUOTE: Originally posted by JnM Lines

I was thinking I could go buy the Digitrax Zephyr control deal at the Hobby Town near me and just set up a loop of the true track I have to watch it run. Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading. I think from generalized observation that the engine, while being "DCC ready" doesn't need to possess a decoder to operate, nor does the Zephyr require a single engine to have the decoder. Is this true?

Correct. A DCC (Digital Command Control) "power pack" like the Zephyr will operate one train without a decoder. In DCC you need to think in terms of trains rather than locomotives as more than one locomotive can be made to act as one. If you purchase a power pack, any power pack, you are set to run trains.

QUOTE: Can I just plug the stuff into the outlet for now to see it run?

Yes. To make your DCC ready locomotives run all you need is a power pack (DC, Direct Current, or DCC).

QUOTE: Furthermore, I am already tired of the loop the train not traveled is running on. I want turnouts. Trouble is I don't know anything about model railroading. Ideally something is available that will simply satiate my wants right now; quick and easy turnouts.

I believe that Bachmann and Life-Like both have turnouts for their track with roadbed. I cannot recall who makes EZ-Track.

QUOTE: However I do in the very near future, as my knowledge grows, want to have fully operational turnouts (I am not certain of the terminology, would this be a DCC turnout?) that are remote controlled. Is something like this available?

There are stationary, does not move, DCC decoders. A DCC system "talks" to each decoder on the layout. So theoretically a decoder can be made to control just about anything. Manufacturers now make decoders that control model railroad items besides locomotives (turnouts, cranes, etc.). I believe there is even talk of having decoders control couplers.

QUOTE: Respectfully,
Jacob

Have fun Jacob.
Jaime

[jacon12]

I use one DC Kato locomotive with my Zephyr and it works fine. There is a considerable 'buzzzzz' of the motor (Digitraxx mentions this in the instruction book) but it does work.
Jarrell

[Anonymous]

First things first. Feed the baby, change it's diaper, hold it till it falls asleep. Sit with your wife. Play catch or something with the 5 year old. Like the TV commercial says, Life comes at you fast. The trains will be here tomorrow. With people you can never be sure.
Enjoy the important things while you can.

The baby will not care if you are reading about trains when holding him or her. (We really do need a gender neutral pronoun)

[SpaceMouse]

Hi,

As folks around here will tell you, I'm about as green as it comes when it comes to model trains. I started brand new to this hobby in December when my son got a Harry Potter train set for Christmas. I got excited (probably worse then you) and I started aquiring things--a lot of them the wrong things. I have an extensive "for eBay" collection.

I did three things right. I started talking with the people here, I started reading books and magazines and I joined a local train club.

I did a lot of things wrong. The first was to move too fast into a railroad design. There are simply too many facits to get it right. Then again, if I hadn't jumped into it I wouldn't have made the mistakes I have learned from. Plus it takes so long to build even a small layout--mine is 4.5 x 8 that I have had time to settle down and pick and choose the things that interes me. I now have a 5 months into a small alyout, that I know will be abandoned as soon as I get it near completion. I do very little running other than to get it working and yes circles are boring. Even a bunch of circles with switches.

But you have to do things to find out what you like. For most people, the fun of operation is make the model railroad do hat the big one's do. That is one of the things that takes time to learn.

After this layout, I'm going to build an N scale layout that a switching/opertional layout. I'm going to learn what I like about operations. Then hopefully next winter, I'll start the basement layout. That way, my mistakes are small and inexpensive instead of big and in divorce court.

[Wdlgln005]

Have fun with YOUR train. So you have some space, a loco,a few cars & some track. Don't worry about starting out with a simple loop of track! Give parts of the loop some names. Yoiu could simply use family names. Your wife gets the top, you get the bottom, the boys get the ends. When a train runs, it goes from you to her thru Boy1. THen you can start to put indistries or structures associated with that location. Put the track on a base of blue foam so you7 can cut below grade water areas. THen you need a bridge to get over them.

This may sound silly, but it changes your layout into didderent places. Using family lines may suggest a prototype with a paint scheme you all like or live near. THat will be your home road. Over 1/2 of your equipment could be lettered for your home road. With the other 1/2, mix in other roads nearby, that provides a connection to the outside world.

MRC makes great DC controllers and never go bad. I'd start with that for power. You can always switch to DCC later. You could use that to get something moving and get ready to make changes as time permits. You could get Sam Posey's book, Playing with Trains. I found it to be an excellent book.