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Here, Here... I too started model railroading for stress relief as my doctor recommended I start a hobby. So don't stress over brand. As Nigel points out you can mix'em all if you want. You first need to decide if you are starting this new "stress relief" hobby for your interest in railroad operations, i.e. picking up and dropping off passengers and/or freight and running the train on time schedules etc. or for the modeling experience that will eventually end up a railroad. I chose the latter and enjoy scratch building structures the most. If it's operations you enjoy and you plan to buy a ready-to-run out of the box set, then I agree with Andrew, you can get higher quality by buying separately. But first you must decide how much space you have available for your hobby and whether the train will be left out all the time or put away after each use. What scale to model is a matter of choice but for most, space is normally the deciding factor. With middle age eye sight (I'm 54), I opted for HO vice N or Z scale (for me Z scale standz for "get z magifying glazz out") and don't have the room for an adequate O scale layout. G scale meant outside and here in AZ stress relief, to me, is not standing in 115 degree heat baking in the hot sun. However, sitting at my workbench, modeling in an air conditioned room is fun and relaxing. Here is what I have... I started by insulating and adding A/C to the garage. Built the 5' x 12' bench work around car door opening (from overhead it looks like a capital B or lopsided 8). Added sub-roadbed made of A-C grade plywood and am now adding the cork roadbed and track. I have some of the structures and electronics built and stored in the house awaiting installation onto the layout when I get to that point. I have learned a lot about railroading and railroad history from doing research for scratch building structures and detailing locos and rolling stock. Although I haven't gotten to run any of my trains yet (guess I can't really say that, I have the return loops complete and ran a loco about 10 feet last week) it has been and will continue to be a very good stress outlet for me. What ever you decide, don't let stress overcome the true pleasures of model railroading!!
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