Hello all,
I am wanting to get into model railroading. I havent had a train set since I was a kid. I could realy use some help deciding on what to start with. I would like to go with HO scale, but I dont know where to start. I am thinking of starting with spending maybe 150.00 or so. I am a very tight budget. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Bill
Well, You're really going to need more than $150. That will probably get you one locomotive, maybe a couple of cars and a caboose. If i were you, I'd first invest in some how-to books, One on track planning, one on benchwork, one on wiring (I'd go for Digital Command Control if you are planning on running more than one train.) DCC isn't cheap either. I spent over $1700 for my DCC system. You can get a DCC system cheaper than that but it' still going to cost more than $150. Then get a book on scenery. Try to read as much as you can on the hobby from how-to books and train magazines. Talk to people that are in clubs and go visit the club layouts or an individual model railroader's layout whenever possible so you can get some good ideas before laying down your track. In the meantime save your money. It's going to cost you at least $500.00 to get started with even the basic 4 x 8 set-up. You will be better off purchasing individual HO scale components i.e...track, power supply, track turnouts, rolling stock, locomotives, and scenery items, instead of those toy train sets. The toy train sets are very poor quality and you'll get frustrated with the hobby right from the get go. If you are serious about getting into this hobby, learn as much as you can first and save your money so that when you do build your first layout, it will be worth the effort. Blindly jumping into a layout can only cause frustration if careful planning is not taken into consideration.
The hardest thing is the track plan for your layout. What you put down on paper usually won't fit the first time you design it. Spend a lot of time designing a layout (I spent about a year in the planning stage alone for my latest layout,) so that the end result will be functional and enjoyable to your liking. I'll let you in on a little secret, I probably have about $50,000 in my trains since 1977 and i haven't even scratched the surface on what it will take to continue building my model railroad that i'll be satisfied with....chuck
Welcome to the hobby...I hope. $150, as Chuck suggests, will not go very far. At one time, perhaps 18 months ago, Bachmann Industries was selling a train set that had a very basic DCC set in it, complete with track and a locomotive with a decoder for the DCC operational system (DCC stands for Digital Command & Control). I don't know if such an animal still exists, but if so, that will be your best bet, all things considered. At least it well get you in the door.
Otherwise, a good locomotive that is ready to run out of the box will be near $60 discounted or won on ebay. If you want the newer DCC operational control, then we are talking over $90 in most cases. If you get stung by the sound bug and want an engine that makes realistic noises, add another $50 at least, and that will be heavily discounted.
You also need tracks. What kind? There is snap-together track ($$, and limiting in the configurations you can make, plus those turnouts don't work all that well without lots of fiddling), or there is flexible track that comes in three-foot lengths that you must bend to conform to your plan, and then glue or nail it into position to keep it from squirming back to tangent track (straight). Much less costly, but lots more work to get it ballasted and looking good.
This hobby is about money to an extent, although you are the determinant as to how much money. Otherwise, it is about determination and time invested. If you want to be happiest about your experience, doing a lot of reading and asking questions before you pick up a tool or plunk down the plastic is definitely the way to go. Otherwise it will be very expensive and most frustrating.
If you want some scenery, such as tunnels or hills, villages, streets and sidewalks, track signals, lighting, lots of trees, period automobiles, little people, here is where the money can get serious. The scenery and details can add up very quickly.
Find a post by Space Mouse, a regular here, and below his signature, at the bottom of his post, is a link to a guide he has thoughtfully placed for your use. I would say that was mighty prescient of him, don't you think?!
Edit- here it is: http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html
Hello and welcome to the forum:
As far as train sets go, you'll get a mixed set of responses. Some will agree with you getting one, and some won't. Just remember to do what suits you and what makes you happy. Now to give you a couple of suggestions. I don't know what era you plan to model or if you prefer steam engines or diesels, but here goes.
Atlas_Trainman: They MSRP at $175, but if you look at some online dealers, you might find them at a cheaper price.
Walthers_Trainline: Although most of these sets seem to be out of stock, if you look for these online elsewhere, they can also be a good start. I just mentioned them to give you some ideas.
Athearn also has train sets available, some start at under $100. Visit their main website here to see their other available sets.
If you do have to go the train set route, be sure to avoid the chaper life like, model power, and bachmann stuff. Let me clarify though that Life Like and Bachmann have upped their quality a bit in the past years. Life Like's Proto 1000 and 2000 lines have some nice equipment in them, but the prices for some of this equipment is kind of high. The same thing with Bachmann, they have the Spectrum and Plus lines that are way better than the bachmann stuff from years ago.
The three manufacturers that I listed all have good quality products (well actually 5 if you include Life Like and Bachmann). The train sets are probably considered the basic, less detailed models, but their respective extended production lines have some very detailed and higher quality items. There are many more other manufacturers that I didn't mention but I just wanted to give you something to start with. Visit each of their websites and get a good feel of what is available out there. Good luck.
TONY
"If we never take the time, how can we ever have the time." - Merovingian (Matrix Reloaded)
Thank you for all the replies. This is my thought process. I figured on spending around 150. for a set. Set it up and see if I can really get into it. It looks great and I think I could really get into the hobby. I now know that I will have to spend some real dollars if I want better quality. At least if I set up, and dont get into it, no big deal. If I add a little scenery, play with it and screw it up, again, no big deal. Anyway, that is my thoughts.
Thanks,
Bill Lakin
That makes some sense. HOwever, (sorry, I can't stop doing that!) will you at least concede that by taking the experience with a cheap and less refined version of what "could be" as your guide you may do yourself a disservice? In other words, you may find, erroneously, that you do not find your trial to be very rewarding only because of the limitations of price and its resultant refinement in product also being limited.
I am not going to suggest to you that you spend $300, but most of us spend that much every 4-6 months on something or other, so even doubling your intitially expected investment will only meet what so many of us spend essentially casually for rolling stock replacements, new cars, or a really nice new locomotive with sound.
Another way of getting to my point is that your $150 will make an oval of track and provide you with a locomotive, probably one or two cars (although the sets often come with three or four) and a variable power supply. Your train will probably run very nicely for a good while. In circles. For that money you may even have enough left over to get some buildings in your scale to make a two structure village.
Now, for the really fine point. If you wanted to see what it was like driving a car, would you spend $500 and have a decent and methodical trial, or would you at least borrow a friend's better machine and have a good go at it? Maybe that is what you should do....visit a club or find some way to trial something that will give you a more accurate sense of what the hobby can really offer you.
Just my However it goes for you, I do wish you success and hope that your experience is a rewarding one.
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Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
blakin wrote:Thank you for all the replies. This is my thought process. I figured on spending around 150. for a set. Set it up and see if I can really get into it. It looks great and I think I could really get into the hobby. I now know that I will have to spend some real dollars if I want better quality. At least if I set up, and dont get into it, no big deal. If I add a little scenery, play with it and screw it up, again, no big deal. Anyway, that is my thoughts.Thanks,Bill Lakin
Bill,
I will have to agree with others that $150 isn't going to buy you a lot. However, if you know where to look, there are some bargains out there on very good and NEW locomotives.
Even so, David's suggestion is a good one. Although I'm not keen on sets, perhaps in your case a set that contains a decent locomotive and cars, track, and transformer would be $$$ more well spent. If, somehow, you find that MRRing is not what you thought, everything would all fit back into one box and you could resell it to recoup some of the cost
I would also agree about picking up a copy of Model Railroading mag the next chance you get. This will give you ideas about what kinds of things are possible.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Blakin, do you have a Hobby Lobby near you? If you don't, you can order online. To get you started, they have a scenery set from woodland scenic called 'Mountain valley scenery kit'. It sells for 79.95. They also have a Bachmann easy command train set for $179. The set comes with a starter dcc power, two engines, a few cars, and track to almost fill out the previously mentioned kit. You can buy extra track there as well. Hobby Lobby has a coupon on their website every other week that is good for 40% off anything in the store. You can print off as many as you want. You can only use one at time, but you can come back in a couple of hours. With the discount, you can have a starter set, and starter scenery for a little over $160. It's a decent way to get started to see if you're interested or not. Don't be scared of the prices that everyone is throwing around. You don't need to spend that kind of money to experiment. Good luck.
Edit: You can't use the coupons with their online store.
secondhandmodeler wrote:Blakin, do you have a Hobby Lobby near you? If you don't, you can order online. To get you started, they have a scenery set from woodland scenic called 'Mountain valley scenery kit'. It sells for 79.95. They also have a Bachmann easy command train set for $179. The set comes with a starter dcc power, two engines, a few cars, and track to almost fill out the previously mentioned kit. You can buy extra track there as well. Hobby Lobby has a coupon on their website every other week that is good for 40% off anything in the store. You can print off as many as you want. You can only use one at time, but you can come back in a couple of hours. With the discount, you can have a starter set, and starter scenery for a little over $160. It's a decent way to get started to see if you're interested or not. Don't be scared of the prices that everyone is throwing around. You don't need to spend that kind of money to experiment. Good luck.
This sounds pretty good.
Based on my own experiences from when I started last year this is my idea. When started I got a very basic Roco DCC set that I'm still running and is fairly happy with. I also got the classic oval and an engine. Now, the oval is in my kids room and the engine is pretty much retired. The thing was, the engine was crap. If I hadn't got my self a decent engine besides the starter set I would have given up. It was so poor. So here is the idea, get a starter set, not the terrain and then buy your self a decent loco. This is probable the easiest part to sell of as well in case you want to get rid of stuff. A decent engine doesn't have to cost a lot and will be with you for as long as you are in the hobby. A poor engine will only leave you frustrated. My kids got bored really quickly when that engine kept stalling and not starting before the good engine came along.
But as I said, I would wait with the terrain, it will come soon enough if you get hooked.
Magnus
I have to agree with David, go with the Atlas Trainman set. It comes with excellent quality stuff. The track can be incorporated into a larger layout at a latter date. It comes with a power pack that will get you going without spending a lot. Shop around for the best price and you may find it under your budget.
http://www.atlastrainman.com/HOLoco/tmhotrainset.htm
Many people get into and then out of this hobby. It's not for everyone. Why jump in and spend a lot until you know for sure that it is something you like? Later you can upgrade the control system to DCC or maybe you will want to stay in DC. Try to find a LHS nearby if possible.
There is NOTHING more discouraging than to get into this hobby with low-end junk. You're basically fighting a losing battle.
This is a great place to find out answers so ask away.
Jim
Good Morning,
Sorry I'm late, but one of the few benefits of being retired (that I enjoy) is not getting up at 4:45AM anymore - and now I get up with the sun!
There was a write-up years ago in MR (I believe) that addressed the Poster's problem. Their suggestion was to NOT get a train set per se, but to make up your own.
They suggested an Athearn loco, a few Athearn or MDC kits, some nicklesilver track, and an MRC powerpack. Atlas snaptrack turnouts and the like can be added if the dollars are there.
This will allow the "newbie" to get some inexpensive, quality equipment of his own roadnames and car types. And, getting some of the inexpensive "shake the box" kits will give him some exposure to kit building. Additional "stuff" will come along piecemeal as they can be afforded.
Yes, the $300 BLI locos and $1000 DCC systems and $50 passenger cars can be daunting to a newbie (and to some of us that have been around for years), but these things will come with time, as the hobbiest gets more and more involved.
FWIW,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
jasperofzeal wrote: Atlas_Trainman:Walthers_Trainline: Athearn Athearn_Main_Site
Atlas_Trainman:
Walthers_Trainline:
Athearn
Athearn_Main_Site
Just decided to remind the OP of some train sets that are made of good equipment.
Hi Blakin,
I am pretty new at this myself. A few people suggested reading up on model railroading and thought you should buy some books. The books are very helpful, but they are expensive. Solution: Check your local library! I got about 200$ worth of model railroading books at my local library. I checked them out for three weeks, then renewed them and I got tons of info at no cost. Much better than spenidng your $150 on books. Otherwise, everyone else seems to have good advice.
Smitty
Regarding "expensive" books, try this..........
Go to Ebay and put in Kalmbach or the specific name of a book you want. Often folks are selling groups of them for pennies on the dollar. Yes, the books are often "out of date", but the basic information is somewhat timeless.
smitty311 wrote: Hi Blakin,I am pretty new at this myself. A few people suggested reading up on model railroading and thought you should buy some books. The books are very helpful, but they are expensive. Solution: Check your local library! I got about 200$ worth of model railroading books at my local library. I checked them out for three weeks, then renewed them and I got tons of info at no cost. Much better than spenidng your $150 on books. Otherwise, everyone else seems to have good advice.Smitty
Absolutely the best way to go. Even if the book's a little dated, the basics haven't changed much over the last few years (DCC and associated bells & whistles notwithstanding). As for the matter of trainsets, I think newer sets are better for the most part. One of the unfortunate effects of the R-T-R trend is that it's made the "self-assembled" train set much less of a value in comparison to packaged sets; it's just not as simple or cost-effective to acquire blue-box Athearn kits and the like as it was a few years back.
If you look around, it's not too hard to find a decent R-T-R set for maybe a bit more than the $150 budget. Heck, you can even find N-scale Kato starter sets for $180 or so.
Juan