So I've finally decided on a trackplan and I went to a few websites to start buying track and turnouts. Holy cow! The cheapest I saw Peco turnouts were about $25 each and even on my small 4x8 I need 13 of them. I'm looking at over $300 in turnouts alone. Is there a place to get them cheaper that I'm missing or do I just need to go broke buying track? How do people who have basement-sized layouts afford this hobby?
Peco turnouts and track is much cheaper here:
http://www.cchobbies.com
From the tone of your message, it seems like you're just starting out and don't yet know how to shop around for the best prices.
to the any hobby...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Track is as important to a layout as the locos that run on it, so it is a NEED.
the problem is, we all want it ALL, NOW.
Right now, at any given time, there is a SHORTAGE of track. When a container arrives from China, it is GONE before anyone can shake a stick! SHORTAGES can lead to higher prices, but the prices really haven't risen much YET for track. Track availabilty varies from time to time now, so SHOP well.
Yes, the track adds up. Hence the reason the prices for a "complete set prepackaged Atlas track layouts" {as seen below} SEEM so high in cost. Add it up and you may come out higher than the prepackaged deal.:
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?Scale=HO&Item=150LYT83&ID=200434348
The cost of a sheet of plywood, some 3bys for bracing, some 2x4s for leggings,some hardware and some 1" foam to go over it ALSO adds up. Track is no different.
What you CAN do , is buy piecemeal to fit your budget. First start with the basic oval, {and don't glue anything down yet} then add turnouts {switches} as you are able to. Do what fits YOUR budget.
People who have basement sized layouts either A: have good paying jobs, B: have budgeted well, C: have spent YEARS accumulating what they now have, D: have very understanding wives.
BUT they are none of your concern. Just work at the hobby as you are able to fund it. Remember track work that is done well when final will be your BEST ASSET, so don't scrimp on it. Bulletproof track work is your friend to having a successful layout to have lots of enjoyment from!
GOOD luck!
Take it slow...
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I've noticed Atlas Custom Line turnouts are significantly cheaper than Peco. Anyone have any opinions on those?
LION has 14 (scale) miles of track, and over 50 turnouts. Some of my turnouts were purchased over 40 years ago and are on their 4th or 5th reincarnation.Each turnout has a Tortoise switch machine, admittedly purchased when they were only $12.00 each. But it all adds up. My present layout is on its third iteration, that is to say that yards and terminals have been pulled out and the mane lion has been extended. And it is a four track maine line! Last track I bought was a bundle of 100 pcs of flex track from Trainworld. Model Power track, the cheapest that they have was already over $200. I had to go to the Abbot to ask for money to make that purchase. (BTW... Did anybody tell you that I am a monk and live in a monastery?--so money for hobbies is a very rare event.--This summer I will have to ask for $130 just to buy relays!--most of what I do is made from scratch!)
OK, What can YOU make from scratch. I do not suppose you have an old barn filled with lumber, but with prices of extruded plastics you probably do not even need wood anymore. I keep on the lookout for materials that I can work into the layout. Some structures are made of cardboard--corrugated cardboard!
Just take your time, build what you can, protect your track! You can reuse it if you do not glue it down or glue your ballast to it. LION uses sifted cat litter for ballast and does not glue it down. Him has forgone the cork roadbed under the tracks (him thinks that that stuff is too tall anyway) and this (tha absence of cork) allows the ballast to rest in place without glue.
Make friends with some guys who install business telephone systems, you can get lengths of 25 pair cat-3 cable that are too short for them to use, but will be perfect on your railroad for many things. If you have some old printer cables, do not toss them, but cut them open and salvage the wires. Put an ad in your church bulletin asking for them, you will get more than you can use, and you can send the rest of them to me!
LION used fiberglass roofing sheets for many things, you can get this stuff for free. Just find your nearest roofing contractor, follow his truck to a job site, and then come back in the afternoon and dive through his dumpster, you will find plenty of good material there.
When you must pay for something, then you must pay for something, but you surely do not have to pay for EVERYTHING!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
88gta350 I've noticed Atlas Custom Line turnouts are significantly cheaper than Peco. Anyone have any opinions on those?
Yes, LION only uses Atlas turnouts. They work fine. And my railroad runs over 800 trains a day.
My layout is full of Atlas Custom Line turnouts. They work just fine. Half the price of Peco.
Rich
Alton Junction
88gta350So I've finally decided on a trackplan and I went to a few websites to start buying track and turnouts. Holy cow! The cheapest I saw Peco turnouts were about $25 each and even on my small 4x8 I need 13 of them. I'm looking at over $300 in turnouts alone. Is there a place to get them cheaper that I'm missing or do I just need to go broke buying track? How do people who have basement-sized layouts afford this hobby?
"Track The Hobby is expensive!"
As others have noted, Model Railroading is not a cheap hobby. And in the past 5 years prices have shot up at a much faster rate. You ask how people afford basement sized layouts? They don't buy all the stuff at once. I had nearly completed a 14x25 foot basment layout with a hidden 10 track staging yard of 18-24 foot length, a main classification yard and a single track mainline with a long passing siding, all with a (ex) wife who strangled my hobby budget with a torniquet. If you used lower cost track like Atlas and do it over a couple years you can build a very decent layout. Of course Peco is one of your more expensive turnouts so those will cost a good deal more.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Remember, once you have spent the $300 for turnouts, the cost is done. You can hand throw the turnouts for no additional cost, and if you are careful laying the track, you can use it over and over in future layouts.
That being said, I have often wondered if the hobby would be better off if track was cheap; a kind of "loss leader." If track was perhaps a "break even" commodity, people would be able to spend more on everything else where the manufacturer's profit could be made. In my case, the cost of track has led me to buy used (sometimes previously owned unused) track, which has its dangers, but which, unfortunately, does the manufacturers of track absolutely no financial good. Some way would have to be found to subsidize those businesses who only manufacture track, of course, and that makes this idea impractical, but I think about it once in a while, especially when shopping for (used) track.
I will take a look at the store that sells Peco turnouts at a reduced price. Thanks for the tip! That may be the compromise in price that makes the above possible.
Peco's are the best manufactured turnouts, Atlas turnouts are fine, and work in most cases. When I do it again, I will use Peco's only. This is my personal preference now and based on my past experiences (code 83 in all instances)
As others have mentioned, this is not a cheap hobby, and never has been. But what hobbies are?
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I doubt any company will sell track as a loss leader - its hard to make money selling MR hobby products.
As for track, like anything you pay for quality and Peco are widely recognized among the best. When I built my layout mentioned above, I simply couldn't afford the expensive stuff so I used mostly Atlas flex track and #6 turnouts. To maximize the staging yard tracks, I did use a number of Shinohara # curved turnouts, which at the time were $29 each, but now sell for around $45 each.
As others have mentioned, if you spend it all at once, the cost will seem mega expensive, but what you need to do is space it out over time and it will help make it more managable.
Your railroad runs over 800 trains a day?
Him not LION.
Or is he?
I use Code 100 Mains and Code 75 sidings....which are less expensive. modeletrainstuff.com
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I've heard lots of recommendations to use caulk to attach cork and track to the layout. Does caulk allow track and turnouts to be reused? I am planning on this to be a practice layout and to do something bigger and better in a few years so I'd like to be able to reuse as much of the material as possible in the future. I had been planning to caulk everything down but may have to rethink that if it won't allow me to reuse the track.
88gta350 How do people who have basement-sized layouts afford this hobby?
sollerYour railroad runs over 800 trains a day?
When i first started my 'dream layout' about 6-7 years ago I bought Model Power Code 100 track in 100pc bundles for about $100, that's $1.00 per 3 foot section! Now I have replace all of that with Atlas Code 83 and in the process replaced all the code 100 turnouts with Atlas, Peco and Walthers code 83 turnouts. Most all of this was purchased online or through Ebay. I found used or 'left over' track and turnouts at some really great prices this way. Even the Tortoise machines were bought in groups, ususally 6 packs, but sometimes used ones at $6-10 each. I am retired now (since 2008) and I fund my hobby with money made selling on Ebay. Tis has taken years to get to where I am, but you have to start slowly and grow into your layout. Don't get too discouraged with the prices of track (or any hobby related items); shop around and keep watching Ebay, there are still bargains to be had.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Texas Zepher 88gta350 How do people who have basement-sized layouts afford this hobby?While it is true that I used to think this was a nice cheap hobby that has certainly change in the last 30 years, I mean a "good" loco has gone from $40 to $150, but I now have enough stuff for a super large basement size layout, it just took me 30 years to accumulate it.
Thirty years ago most people worked as hard for $40 as they do today for $150 - the loco is the same price.
As others have said - not a cheap hobby - never has been.
I too use Atlas track and turnouts - they work just fine.
Personally you could not give me a PECO turnout - WHY - I don't like the built in throw bar spring, and I like the isolated metal frog design used by Atlas and others now days.
How do people afford basement sized layouts? - well here were I live eveyone has a basement and many model railroaders have those basement sized layouts, so it must not be too hard.
For one thing they are not built over night, so expenses are spread out. Second, we all make choices in life regarding making money and spending money. That guy with the basement sized layout may well do without all sorts of things you consider important or necessary so he can afford to build his layout - or he might just be well off.
Sheldon
i have been in shock since i saw a $40.00 flat car. i was lucky enough to stock up on most everything years ago and now i joke about how all i buy is paint and glue.
another model railroader friend of mine was doing the same thing and i am afraid someday a social worker and a psychiatrist will come to our homes and try to help us clean out our basements. at least we will get to be on TV. (you can throw out the tyco stuff but i want to keep the brass)
Charlie
You can build turnouts yourself from rail stock and PCB ties or wooden ties. They'll end up costing you about an hour each and something upwards of about $5-$6 or so. Once you have made the third or fourth, you'll be making turnouts much better than those you can buy commercially, at least in terms of tolerances and conformity to NMRA standards. They'll be very smooth and durable, provided your rolling stock has wheelsets in gauge.
Crandell
Texas Zepher sollerYour railroad runs over 800 trains a day?Depends on how one counts a run of a train. Subways by definition have more trains per unit than other railroads. Conceivably if one has a 4x6 layout with a loop of track on it and one station. If one counts a 'run' as the train passing the station, I can easily see 800-1000-2000 trains a day.
Is track really that expensive, shoot $6-7 for a pack of 6, 5 in. code 80 atlas track at the LHS. nah, it's ok besides I've found some N scale heavens that have loco's, track, and rolling stock I'm looking for. If you want the prices you feel are fair, you must do some digging. that's why I keep buying some of the most obscure things many haven't seen since the release of that item, like those Kato BN E's or the 6 and 4 car passenger sets. then again sometimes I stumble upon these things, out of pure luck.
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
13 turnouts for a starter 4x8 layout seems a bit "excessive." Are you sure you're not trying to shove too many tracks into one 4x8?
You can go with any design you want. But I must admit my first layout was 9 turnouts, including a switchback yard. It is harder then you think lining up track and turnouts.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
soller Your railroad runs over 800 trains a day?
LION models New York City Subway.
LION runs Broadway Local from 242nd Street to South Ferry and back. Trains depart every 5 minutes and take 20 minutes to complete the run.
In ADDITION the LION represents the 7th Avenue Express as it runs between Lenox tower and Nevins tower, again on a five minute headway, but these trains (only one train per loop) just run continuously with no switching of tracks required.
Here is Train Register (timetable?) of LION showing the Local Trains as managed by the 242nd Street tower. There are six train sets making the 20 minute loop. Operations of trains on the railroad are fully automatic, and require no 1:1 oaf with a knob.
Here is 242nd Street Interlocking Tower of LION. It is a representation of GRS Model-5 Interlocking Tower.. It takes a LION to align tracks in and out of the 242nd Street Station, him can also use the other levers to lay up trains when not in use, or to allow work trains out onto the railroad.
LION'S next project is to instal a good signal system. At the moment there is none, and only the fife minute headway keeps trains from running into each other. This system is not fool proof, needs better, but that entails setting up 30 control blocks. LION will run about 5 signals as if they were just one signal, but the bottom line is a train will not leave station A if station B is occupied. Him will need 30 relays, the rest, including track detection circuits, him will have to build by himself since him cannot afford to buy stuff.
Here is service map of Broadway LION: (Each station shown is modeled and served by local train.)
charlie9i have been in shock since i saw a $40.00 flat car.
True that but, cars like that should be in a museum and not on a layout..
Seriously I can't get over the detail on today's cars..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Real railroads find that turnouts are expensive too! They try to get the job done with as few as possible.
Fewer turnouts on a model railroad can be more realistic, but maybe less fun.
However, many turnouts may be unrealistic and cause unnecessary stopping and backing, which can be no fun at all.
See if you really need 13 on your 4x8.
- Douglas
DigitalGriffin 13 turnouts for a starter 4x8 layout seems a bit "excessive." Are you sure you're not trying to shove too many tracks into one 4x8?
Doughless Real railroads find that turnouts are expensive too! They try to get the job done with as few as possible. See if you really need 13 on your 4x8.
This is my track plan: