Newbe need advice about cheap ho railroading.

[Anonymous]

I have track and train now I want to do a 4x8 layout. I don't have a lot of money to put into it so I need all of your cheap tricks.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Welcome Hobo Tim to the forum!!!!
Cheap ideas, well watch for sales, swap meets, garage sales and anything else that might work on your layout. I model in HO but a coworker had some old O gauge American Flyer he didn't want and thought that I might give them a home, cost O. Just keep your eyes open.
Again WELCOME,

[dragonriversteel]

Hello Tim,

I've been a model railroader since I could reach the throttle...about 25 years. The one thing about this hobby is ,you can make it as expensive as you would like or as cheap as you would like. With cheap train set locomotives and cars,they don't last long.

There's many companys that make great kits at a fairly cheap price. Tim , try E-bay...this is were I myself and most other railroaders find great bargains. Look for {lots} saleing many freight cars, locomotives ECT. Beware of "fly by night salers" and do you're research before hand,figure out what types of model railroad equipment you want and what are the best brands.

Also ,there're many great folks on this forum to ask questions,regarding what brands are the best. What scale are you starting with ?

Kit freight cars are cheaper then the {ready to run} type ,so start with those.You will save money in the long run,by buying kits,instead of cheap train set stuff.

Patrick
Beaufort,SC
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
Making HO scale steel by the ton!!!!

[challenger3802]

Hi Tim [#welcome] to the forum.

Read as many of these posts as possible, and post as many questions as you like, we'll all help no matter how obscure you think the question!

One piece of cheap railroading advise I'd give you is: Start small and build up later. (It's very easy to walk into an LHS and walk out an hour later having spent a small fortune!)

Ian

[KenMattern]

Hi Tim,

Welcome. Beware of "cheap" equipment as opposed to inexpensive. Kits are a great way to go because they are inexpensive and help you learn valuable skills. Check out retailers like Hobby Lobby and others this time of year. Many have 1/2 off sales to reduce model railroad stock. The yearlong demand isn't that high and you can get some tremendous bargains. Last year we purchased an $89.00 Bachmann N scale set for $9.99 simply because it was after Christmas and discontinued. Keep you eyes open and you'll do just fine.

Scenery doesn’t have to be expensive either. Get some insulation foam board and use it to build hills and mountains. I use a hot gun and glue sticks but you can use a calking gun and liquid nails to fasten foam to your platform. Plaster and paper towels can be your friends. And neither is very expensive.

A great way to create ground cover is to use what used to be called zip texturing. Mix dry plaster of paris and dry tempera paint powder to get close to the color you want. Keep it dry. Get a little kitchen sifter/wire strainer. Get a spray bottle and fill it with water and a couple of drops of dish soap. Wet down the area you want work with. Put a tablespoon of the plaster/tempera powder into the sifter and gently tap as you slowly move over the wet area. It will rain grass, or earth or whatever color you want. Looks great and is inexpensive. Check out http://esspc-llc.com/maitlandvira/maitlandphotos.htm At the bottom of the page are a number of photos which show my zip texturing.

I’ve said enough. Time to play.

KJ

[waltersrails]

welcome hobo http://ztrainman.tripod.com/

[Anonymous]

Buy used Athearn "blue-box" engines they can be had for about $20 and they last a long time.

[selector]

Best advice is to find how to get the most out of your dollar. I suggest that the first is to do exactly as you are doing; submitting your ideas to those of us who have learned a thing or two. Good for you, HT.

A few of us feel that a 4X8 is too limiting unless you can reconfigure the footprint. For one thing, the curves you'll want will leave a lot of dead space outside of them in the corners, and tend to rob you of mainline track distance.

If you can stand the delay, perhaps you would consider acquiring the late John Armstrong's "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" available at Kalmbach, our hosts. If you do nothing else before you drive your first screw, please do yourself a big favour and read that wonderful opus. From that, you will generate many of the responses that you need in order to satisfy your criterion.

I concur that paying more for good running stock is a wise investment. A single sheet of 5/8" ply is cheap, and so is the track and controller, all things considered. But all the finest controls and scenery will pale when you get a stuttering, truculent, and silly-looking locomotive that leaves you frustrated, or worse, out of the hobby altogether.

Go buy that breathtaking loco, and then build what seems appropriate for such a fine beast.

[Anonymous]

Hello Hobo Tim,

Another way to cut costs to the bone is to make your own stuff from scratch. While making your own train cars is definatly possible and quite fun to do. I find however that making your own freight cars is actually more expensive than purchasing an entry level kit. (Which cost in the $7-$12 range) But for $10-15 you can have your self built a nice looking building that a kit of a similar structure Costs twice as much. And for that $10-$15 your building has an interior and is lighted.

It is my advice, that while you can cut costs on what goes on top of the layout. Pony up and pay for nice true knot free lumber and good plywood to build your layout benchwork. I did that and built a layout out of a lot of salvaged lumber (From left overs from a house being built.) And the layout didn't even last two years before it disintigrated. So my "Free" construction material cost me alot in wasted time. I wasn't really happy with how the layout was going so the fact it had to come down didn't break me up to much.

And as has been mentioned. Bargain hunt with a vengance. Thats what I do. And I get some really nice things that costs pennies on the dollar compared to list price.

Just some of my rambling thoughts about saving money.

James

[cwclark]

a lot of the benchwork can be found in a junk yard or garbage dumb...you'll be suprised at all the good lumber you can find in such places...i found a place that specialized in house and apartment demolition in which the lumber i used went into the benchwork of a layout i did in the 80's.....there were piles and piles of good used lumber..just be careful if you find such a place..it doesn't take much to step on and drive an old rusty nail into your foot....be sure to take some tools with you like a hammer, a crow bar, and a saw so you can get out the good pieces....chuck

[ndbprr]

Keep the rolling stock on the short side 40' cars and four wheel trucks on engines. I highly reccomend Athearn as a starter engine. Most of us have had them for many years. I have some that go back forty years and still run. I'd get a switch engine or two. you can never have enough of them as you expand. Avoid Lifelike, AHM, and Bachman cars for the most part. I'd stay with Atheran or MDC for now. I would get all that on E Bay. Most people are reputable and if you get stuck E Bay will intervene if it is misrepresented and the seller won't make good. If you want to go more upscale you can't go wromg wit Stewart, Kato, Proto 200 engines or Atlas but don't get masive road power. stay with the shorther stuff for now. This all assumes HO. If you are considering a different scale you will have to let us know.

[emdgp92]

I'd start with some nickel-silver track, an Athearn GP7, and a handful of Athearn blue-box freight cars. Throw in an MRC power pack, and you're all set :)

[Anonymous]

[#welcome] hey great to have you.Wal mart has had Athearn train sets in the toy dept .since before christmas .If they dont sell, like the ones in my store here in lake city they will start marking them down.Wal mart also has 1 87 scale automobiles for like a buck 79. And when your in another town or city find the local hobbie shops.I have found lots of stuff this way.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the info. I have 3 life like kits i bought on clearance. Should I not use those and buy better equipment? Should I use track and cork or the new snap together stuff?

[selector]

Life Like kits? Do you mean their engines? If it is just plain old Life Like, I'm afraid you won't be happy for very long. They are notorious for poor quality. Much better are the Proto 1000 and 2000 series, for which you will pay nearly double. Atlas has a very strong diesel following here. Kato are excellent. Don't miss a look at Broadway Limited Imports, especially if you think you might want digital command and control (DCC) with sound capablities.

[Darth Santa Fe]

If you're asking about cheap scenery and that kind of stuff, I believe there are some manufacturers that make paper building kits. For trees, you can take small twigs and spread some thin green foam over them. For grass, you can buy grass mats or foam grass, which should be available at most hobby shops.

For track, the snap together stuff on plastic roadbed is conveniant, but expensive. It's also very noisy compared to cork. Cork is cheaper and takes more work, but like I said before, it's quiet.[:D]

[Anonymous]

I buy alot of used cars at swap meets."Heck some of the wheathering is done for you hahaha, but I'll change the trucks or couplers some times. One time I picked up ten fairly decent cars for $10.00. Four box cars,two tankers,and four 3 bay hoppers. I wheathered them up abit they looked good. I have had some bad luck before,at swap meets too. There was this elderly guy who had a booth of used steamers. They all looked great, it was a Bachmann, baldwin 2-8-0 consolidation , but the one I bought was junk. I payed $20 got it home and it ran maybe 10 min. and died . Its now a display model. but thats the price you pay some times. This might be off the topic but ,The hobby shop I buy from is a great place. I think a good hobby shop should be a place, where you feel like family. A place where you can sit and talk about all the great memories, fun ,and ideas. A place where you dont feel rushed and the owner is always a best friend. [:)][tup][yeah]

[Anonymous]

Ebay eBay ebay. I just started this hobby ( with my son) and I'd be broke if I had to purchase all this stuff at my local hobby shop.

Good luck.

... and you picked the right forum. These guys are awesome and helped me considerably.