ATLANTIC CENTRAL Dare I replay to this thread? OK here goes. First - pick a theme, era, scale, local - and stick to it - don't buy stuff that does not fit the theme. March to your own drum - do you really like onboard sound? If not, them don't buy it - is it really worth $50 or $100 per loco to you? Do your operational goals really require DCC - learn what you like/need/want/enjoy before you spend a ton of money. Shop smart - I am building a big layout, to run lots of trains. My "theme" requires about 120 locos to put it into operation. (It invloves lots of pre-staged trains ready to apear/disapear to/from hidden staging) I have most of the locos I need for my plan - at a dollar cost average fiqure of about $100 each - sound and DCC would have doubled that cost - no thank you. How much detail do you really need? I have a fleet of 1000 freight cars - not every one needs to be a $50 RTR marvel - many are just lightly weathered Athearn Blue Box kits with a few up grades. All the money I saved on DCC and sound went into my fully intergrated advanced cab control system with sginaling and interlocking - those features were more important to me than sound or individual control of each loco. BUT, advanced cab control has a similar operator experiance to DCC - I have wireless throttles and with a dispatcher on duty engineers simply run their train and obey the signals - no evil DC "toggle flipping", dispite whatever lies you may have been told about DC. Don't collect model trains - that is a different and much more expensive hobby than building a model railroad. I have 120 locos, but not one UP Big Boy, PRR GG1, NYC Hudson, NKP Berkshire, or SP GS4, etc, etc - remember item one - if it does not fit the theme, don't buy it. Atlas turnouts for $12.00 work just as well as PECO turnouts for $20. But here is the one thing I don't skimp on - Nearly my intire fleet of freight cars is equiped with genuine Kadee couplers, Kadee or similar sprung metal trucks, and those Kadee sprung trucks have been re-fitted with Intermountain metal wheel sets. Why you ask? because it provides superior tracking and greatly reduced rolling resistance, allowing a given loco to pull longer trains - the layout is designed for an average train length of 40 cars, and longer trains are easily possible. But what do I know, I'm just a hick with a bunch of little trains with no brains. Sheldon
Dare I replay to this thread? OK here goes.
First - pick a theme, era, scale, local - and stick to it - don't buy stuff that does not fit the theme.
March to your own drum - do you really like onboard sound? If not, them don't buy it - is it really worth $50 or $100 per loco to you?
Do your operational goals really require DCC - learn what you like/need/want/enjoy before you spend a ton of money.
Shop smart - I am building a big layout, to run lots of trains. My "theme" requires about 120 locos to put it into operation. (It invloves lots of pre-staged trains ready to apear/disapear to/from hidden staging)
I have most of the locos I need for my plan - at a dollar cost average fiqure of about $100 each - sound and DCC would have doubled that cost - no thank you.
How much detail do you really need? I have a fleet of 1000 freight cars - not every one needs to be a $50 RTR marvel - many are just lightly weathered Athearn Blue Box kits with a few up grades.
All the money I saved on DCC and sound went into my fully intergrated advanced cab control system with sginaling and interlocking - those features were more important to me than sound or individual control of each loco. BUT, advanced cab control has a similar operator experiance to DCC - I have wireless throttles and with a dispatcher on duty engineers simply run their train and obey the signals - no evil DC "toggle flipping", dispite whatever lies you may have been told about DC.
Don't collect model trains - that is a different and much more expensive hobby than building a model railroad. I have 120 locos, but not one UP Big Boy, PRR GG1, NYC Hudson, NKP Berkshire, or SP GS4, etc, etc - remember item one - if it does not fit the theme, don't buy it.
Atlas turnouts for $12.00 work just as well as PECO turnouts for $20.
But here is the one thing I don't skimp on - Nearly my intire fleet of freight cars is equiped with genuine Kadee couplers, Kadee or similar sprung metal trucks, and those Kadee sprung trucks have been re-fitted with Intermountain metal wheel sets.
Why you ask? because it provides superior tracking and greatly reduced rolling resistance, allowing a given loco to pull longer trains - the layout is designed for an average train length of 40 cars, and longer trains are easily possible.
But what do I know, I'm just a hick with a bunch of little trains with no brains.
Sheldon
Not to be critical, Sheldon; but, your building a layout that is far beyond a person just getting started in the hobby should contemplate. Thinking $10,000.00 worth of locomotives is what it's going to take to be a in this hobby scares the heck out of me and I've been at this hobby a good long while, let alone someone who is just getting started!
I have no problem with your not wanting DCC, with 100 locomotives that is understandable; however, for the rest of us who maybe only need a few DCC equiped locos, $170.00 for a starter DCC system and less that $25.00 for a decoder, is not that scary of an investment. Yes, if sound is important to you, the decoders will be more expensive.
Your layout also requires a fairly large crew to operate. Planing for operations at your level, would also scare many people off! It's great, if you live in a place where there are many like minded people interested in helping you run your layout.
I will agree with you that replacing plastic wheels with metal ones is a good choice. However, I don't agree that cars must have sprung trucks!
Some of what you have to say is helpful to people wanting to get started. However, your layout ambitions are on far to grand a scale for beginners!
However, this comment really puts me off: "But what do I know, I'm just a hick with a bunch of little trains with no brains". This is an agressive put down to everyone else who may not agree with your point of view, serving absolutly no one and is very unwelcoming to anyone reading what you have to say!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
richhotrainBear, that is exactly what I had hoped to do, compress it to about 52" x 4" to fit the planned layout.
As depicted in the photo or when it was in use? Also how close to the edge of the layout?
Cheer, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
richhotrain How would you go about scratch building this structure? With both buildings having a combined footprint of 105.20 inches x 8.30 inches, how much room do you have Rich? You could of course cut the depth by about half, just past the roof ridge to give that impression of greater depth, to 4.30 inches. Cheers, the Bear.
richhotrain How would you go about scratch building this structure?
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainHow would you go about scratch building this structure?
hon30critter Do you have a structure which you would like to have on your railroad that is not available as either a kit or RTR? If so, perhaps your could provide us with a detailed description and photographs if you have them (photographs would be ideal). Those of us who are experienced at scratch building would likely be able to provide you with a wealth of ideas on how to go about constructing your project. Of course it would be advisable to start with something fairly simple, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. This could turn into a very interesting and educational thread for those who would like to scratch build but haven't yet taken the plunge.
Do you have a structure which you would like to have on your railroad that is not available as either a kit or RTR? If so, perhaps your could provide us with a detailed description and photographs if you have them (photographs would be ideal). Those of us who are experienced at scratch building would likely be able to provide you with a wealth of ideas on how to go about constructing your project. Of course it would be advisable to start with something fairly simple, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.
This could turn into a very interesting and educational thread for those who would like to scratch build but haven't yet taken the plunge.
I would love to build an HO scale freight house found at Dearborn Station in Chicago.
The 1-story section measured 474' long x 60' deep.
The 2-story section measured 288' long x 60' deep.
How would you go about scratch building this structure?
hon30critter Dusty: I understand your position re scratch building. It is not a skill that comes easily to everyone. However, I might challenge you to an experiment to see if you are really as bad at it as you imply. Do you have a structure which you would like to have on your railroad that is not available as either a kit or RTR? If so, perhaps your could provide us with a detailed description and photographs if you have them (photographs would be ideal). Those of us who are experienced at scratch building would likely be able to provide you with a wealth of ideas on how to go about constructing your project. Of course it would be advisable to start with something fairly simple, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. This could turn into a very interesting and educational thread for those who would like to scratch build but haven't yet taken the plunge. Dave
Dusty:
I understand your position re scratch building. It is not a skill that comes easily to everyone. However, I might challenge you to an experiment to see if you are really as bad at it as you imply.
Dave
Thank you Dave, you are a good man & your offer is a fine one.
I've built some wood structure kits from, Campell, Bar Mills, Foscale as well as plastic & resin kits & plaster kits from, Down Town Deco & Tom Yorke.
However there is one model of a building with a Spanish influence that is not available in kit form & the chances are of a kit of this or a similar structure being made available are probably remote.
I think I'm fine scratch building small simple structures &
I can & have built off plans from the wood craftmans kits, but this one building I would like to include in my model railway eludes me. I've attempted to overcome this problem by adapting proprietary plastic parts.My current plan is to make just a flat & the inches back rather than construct the whole building - that would be too nominant on a 16' x 3'.3" layout/diorama.
Dusty
The high price of model vehicles is a problem when you need quite a few. One way to acquire some cheaper is to consider the toy aisle. Yes, there are vehicles that are HO scale from time to time. More often, you find something suitable that's close. The Ertl Toyota Hybrid-powered Forklift is actually S scale (for those who can actually use it in scale) but it's nicely sized as a somewhat larger HO scale all terrain forklift. The HO operator even looks about right in the seat, which helps the effect.
And this is another Ertl find [Ertl #35249]. It's actually pretty darn close to HO scale, it articulates, has a bed that dumps, and is in the $5 range.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
galaxyCan MR hire a guy just to do design/drawings of ficticious or submitted buildings on a part time freelanced level? Surely 12 structures a year, laid out in HO and/or N scale can't be that hard to produce for a "Computer aided draftsman"?
G,
If you're not an NMRA member, you might be interested to know there's a series of just such drawings that's been underway in NMRA Magazine for a couple of years now. There's a new structure drawing most months that is an isometric view (IIRC correctly from high school drafting) or two that has various callouts of sizes and details. You'd have to do some figuring to actual build from these drawings, but that's actually a good learning experience. I really don't use drawings myself, except to setup and check specific features scaled from life, but I've had lots of practice. If you do want detailed drawings to make it really easy, the book with complete drawings is available. "Early Wood Frame and Masonry Structures" by Pat Harriman.
I never figured I would ever be Scratch building buildings when I first got back into the Hobby in 1978.
Back then the MRR magazines had lots of scale plans and I, at the time, thought that Scratch Building was a Black Art!
As I gained experience this Black Art was not so intimidating and learning to understand a Scale Rule was easy as I was a machinist and used to working with fine dimensions.
The biggest problem is that I decided to build a prototypical Layout for my current layout and most every building needs to be Scratch Built.
So knowing this – it was time to get used to building things that way.
While others will just go another way rather than sit down and learn to do a certain aspect of this Hobby – I have been doing this all my life and when someone walks in the door and wants something out of the ordinary you don’t turn a customer away.
So doing Prototypical Modeling isn’t much different – just have to learn a new method.
The main problem is that one has to be able to visualize what they are trying to build and be familiar with buildings and how they are built – I was lucky and my dad was a professional carpenter and I learned a few things along the way – I also work in a Module Home Manufacturer as a QC and had to know the product inside out and be able to inspect every step of the product production.
This helped me be able to know how to scale things down and how it might have been built as I have to work off of PICTURES of the buildings I need for my layout as everything is now gone (as I am doing Coal country in Western PA) as everything has been reclaimed and most people would never realize that a coal tipple and railroad tracks once stood there.
So working off a scale plan is a piece of cake compared to scaling things off a Picture that usually isn’t that clear or sharp.
Practice on small things and then figure out why they don’t look like the plans and do them again correcting your mistakes – eventually you will join the ranks of the Scratch Builder!
BOB H – Clarion, PA
~I see lots of mention of scratch building.
~Some of us {me included} are NOT so good at scratch building...unless given some plans to help follow. I have HO and N scale now,with NO ROOM for O in any way shape or form, and My HO "scratch attemps" are more like humongus buildings built in Roman/Greek time and scale. O scale sized disproportionate buildings next to an HO train or car doesn't cut it.
~Some will say "its easy to scratch build to scale"..tell that to my scale ruler....
~Steven, Can MR hire a guy just to do design/drawings of ficticious or submitted buildings on a part time freelanced level? Surely 12 structures a year, laid out in HO and/or N scale can't be that hard to produce for a "Computer aided draftsman"? Just a thought.I might re-open my subscription then, if such was included monthly. I might actually learn to cut the structure pieces in a proper order and assemble them too!
~I DO carefully buy my KIT structures, but that doesn't mean what I am looking for will be found "ready to put together". Many of us know that routine already. ANd I hate the "precolored plastic" so I have to paint/weather the structures. That I don't mind, but to plan out a building, I just can't plan enough ahead to make something that is proportionately right, or that isn't 16 scale feet tall on one side, and 13 scale feet tall on the other side...with a "bow" sagging in the middle. May be good for a dilapidated old Victorian building, but not for proper MRRing. I am not much of a 1:1 builder in life, so in modeling life it would stand I wouldn't be either!
-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.
cmrproducts Larry Effectively I did begin by building a small Layout! ;-) While Operations (no matter how small it was) - was the important thing to me and I achieved that in minimial time! I was up and running in less that 3 months and was adding scenery and buildings right along. It was just that - I had the room and said to myself - if I JUST added a little more - I would be happy! ;-) And then OH! - Just another town - and REALLY - I will be Happy this time - I promise! Really ! ;-) And then another - and then another and until I ran out of space! Then I added a second level - then a third - And then I built a room on the back of the house! Then I cut a hole through the cement block wall and went into my Basement Office! But - as you stated the current population is - I want it NOW ! So they can just NOT have their own layout and come every 2 weeks and run on mine! And they DO! ;-) BOB H - Clarion, PA
Larry
Effectively I did begin by building a small Layout! ;-)
While Operations (no matter how small it was) -
was the important thing to me and I achieved that in minimial time!
I was up and running in less that 3 months and was adding scenery and buildings right along.
It was just that - I had the room and said to myself - if I JUST added a little more - I would be happy! ;-)
And then OH! - Just another town - and REALLY - I will be Happy this time - I promise! Really ! ;-)
And then another - and then another and until I ran out of space!
Then I added a second level - then a third -
And then I built a room on the back of the house!
Then I cut a hole through the cement block wall and went into my Basement Office!
But - as you stated the current population is - I want it NOW !
So they can just NOT have their own layout and come every 2 weeks and run on mine!
And they DO! ;-)
BOB H - Clarion, PA
So close and yet so far, Bob. You're on to something but haven't quite reached that flash of insight. The ultimate in cheap model railroading, a little something I call the OP's method. It's not about operations, really, although that's not ruled out.
OP = other people.
You run Other People's trains on Other People's layouts paid for with Other People's funds. It's a concept so simple that I'm surprised no one has thought of it before. It's a bold concept, an out of the box concept and a concept whose time is long since overdue in model railroading's advancement.
I've been part of an operating crew for the last 5 years. I have no layout of my own, although I've been planning one. Now I don't have to. Better yet, I can sell off all my stuff and still participate (including helping the layout owner build his new and improved layout).
I'm a freaking genius even if it has taken me 5 years to come up with the greatest concept since 2 rail DC. Years from now, cash strapped model railroaders will be singing my praises! My name will be right up there with hobby greats from the past whose tireless efforts did so much to advance the hobby.
OP's. Its time has come. Let's go boldly into the future secure in the knowledge that when it comes to the hobby, someone else will be footing the bill. Remember, folks, you heard it here first.
Andre
cmrproductsIt wasn't that expensive to build all this - doing it over time is the key and what EVERYONE that stated they can't afford it - should be doing things as one CAN afford it.
Bob,Here's two rubs to your thought even though its a excellent solution for building said Godzilla size basement empire.
How many will have the will power for such construction in today's I what it yesterday mentality? Not to many would be my guess.
Since that could take years to build one's enthusiasm may wane and interest may change and end the long term project.
In today's world what would be a cost efficient layout project that could be up and running in two -three months?
Speaking from my own experience collecting for that some day layout can lead to that age old question: Why buy any more models since I'm not using the $7500 worth of stuff I already have?
So,IMHO it would be best to build a small layout or at least join a good club that has regular operations.
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE mobilman44 By the way, I have found the best way to build a layout is to plan, plan, plan, Another thing to remember while in the planing stage is less can be best in many ways from construction costs (includes track, buildings,scenery etc) to maintenance. The cold hard fact is many of us plan full speed ahead never thinking of the cost of building that Godzilla size layout that fills the basement until our dream layout is crushed by the costs and little time to build that layout and thus many lose interest and rip out the skeleton of the layout..That equals lost time and money that could have went toward a attainable smaller layout.
mobilman44 By the way, I have found the best way to build a layout is to plan, plan, plan,
Another thing to remember while in the planing stage is less can be best in many ways from construction costs (includes track, buildings,scenery etc) to maintenance.
The cold hard fact is many of us plan full speed ahead never thinking of the cost of building that Godzilla size layout that fills the basement until our dream layout is crushed by the costs and little time to build that layout and thus many lose interest and rip out the skeleton of the layout..That equals lost time and money that could have went toward a attainable smaller layout.
Larry & Others
While some consider my layout large - I have had the chance to run on larger ones.
When I started planning my current LARGE Layout - I did so with the idea of only building a small part of the layout as I finished the basement.
We had just moved into this new house and I had to build the Shop and finish the Garage and I was finally able to start on the Layout in 2001 ( we moved in 1999)
But I only built down one wall and two short peninsulas.
I got the track laid and was able to begin Operations soon after - only had two towns but the Operations got us going and we had 4 regulars every 2 weeks.
As I kept drywalling the basement - I could add a little more benchwork!
It wasn't that expensive to build all this - doing it over time is the key and what EVERYONE that stated they can't afford it - should be doing things as one CAN afford it.
I was working then - Glad I started 10 years before I retired - as I wouldn't want to begin again.
It isn't that I am not able physically to do it - it is just that I would have to budget things out so much further that the time frame would really slow down any progress and enthusiasm!
Don't wait until you retire - most time you just won't be able to budget for the high initial cost of all of the track and turnouts.
Begin stockpiling NOW!
Steven Otte NP2626 Steven, can you suggest to your editor that the magazine run a series of articles on just this topic and also that they bring back drawings and information articles such as they did on the Erie milk and express car in this last months (November 2014) Model Railroader. Although I have no interest in building this particular car, I do find these articles interesting and in fact, this was the first article I read in this issue. Our ability to run articles like that depend on the availability of talented draftsmen who have the interest in researching and making such drawings and submitting them to us. It's a dying talent and a rare interest. We'd love to run more prototype drawings, but in this era of ready-to-run everything, those submissions are few and far between.
NP2626 Steven, can you suggest to your editor that the magazine run a series of articles on just this topic and also that they bring back drawings and information articles such as they did on the Erie milk and express car in this last months (November 2014) Model Railroader. Although I have no interest in building this particular car, I do find these articles interesting and in fact, this was the first article I read in this issue.
Our ability to run articles like that depend on the availability of talented draftsmen who have the interest in researching and making such drawings and submitting them to us. It's a dying talent and a rare interest. We'd love to run more prototype drawings, but in this era of ready-to-run everything, those submissions are few and far between.
With CAD being the method used for drafting today, why would there be less people interested in doing this type of work. The process of coming up with drawings must be far less time consuming than it was in the past. However, I have no doubt you are correct, Steven. Many of the Historical Associations have data sheets on the equipment used on their chosen line, so information is available. I can tell you, Steven, that if I had CAD abilities, this would be something I would be doing, it would be a hobby within a hobby and something as a retiree I could make a little money doing! Maybe the next generation, who grew up with CAD, will step up to the “Plate”?
Today’s modelers universally seem to think that to be in this hobby a person needs an air brush and its’ related supports equipment. I have been involved with Model railroading, off and on for 50 plus years, plastic models for 55 plus years and flying model airplanes for 50 years and have never felt the need for an airbrush. Don’t get me wrong, I consider an air brush as a nice accessory to have, but no more necessary to this hobby than a band saw, drill press; or, other types of power tools. As a former Tool & Die maker, I am a tool guy; so, I know tools and their value! When I felt It absolutely necessary to spray paint (few and far between) I have found paint cans to suffice. I never felt the expense of a compressor, airbrush, spray booth and ventilation system to be worth the cost. I brush paint almost all of my model railroad projects with great results. So, in my opinion spray equipment has been unnecessary and I have done without all those years!
About 11 years ago now, I entered the HO scale side of the hobby on a whim.
I had been trying to get my old American Flyer train up and running after some 45 years in storage, but I was frustrated in my attempts to restore it to good running order.
So, I visited my local hobby shop, purchased a Bachmann HO scale steam engine and a Life Like HO scale diesel switcher to emulate the two locos that I owned in S scale. I bought a DC power pack and some sectional track, went home and set it all up on a 4 x 8 plywood sheet on my basement floor. That was my start. The total cost was around $300. Of course, over the ensuing years, I went nuts and overbuilt, overbought, and overeverything. But, my start up cost was nominal.
Today, you can buy a 4 x 8 plywood sheet at Lowes for around $18. Add a Bachmann train set from MB Klein, loco, rolling stock, track, and power pack for $70. Add a Bachmann set of additional track to fill a 4 x 8 sheet for $140. Total cost is under $250.
You can also buy all of this stuff used, and so your start up costs may even be under $100.
So, you really can enter the hobby on the cheap.
mobilman44By the way, I have found the best way to build a layout is to plan, plan, plan,
Hi once again! May I add two more points.............
- "Everyone" wants the biggest layout possible - at first anyhow. The thing is, a bigger layout costs more in money, time, and frustration. As previously mentioned, there is this thing called "maintenance", and it is directly proportional to the size of the layout.........
- "Everyone" seems to want all the locos and rolling stock they can get. During the early 2000s, I was Ebay's best customer, and built up a 700 car and 75 powered unit inventory. It finally hit me....... most would never be used! So 5 years ago I began selling off (again Ebay), and am down to an almost manageable 250 car and 30 power unit inventory. That's still way too much for an 11x15 two level layout, and at some point more will be sold off.
By the way, I have found the best way to build a layout is to plan, plan, plan, and build the best you can possibly do (i.e. carpentry, tracklaying, wiring), and all the while, test, test, test.................
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
My comments echo much of what has been written.
a. Scratchbuilding, esp structures. I have an E L Moore lumber yard on my workbench right now using balsa, scribed wood and paper. Will probably be somewhere around $5 when finished.
b. Don't get sucked into the bigger is better, more locomotives, more trains, more switches is better philosophy. Besides the first cost, all those items require maintenance. Instead, if you have space, spread out a bit.
c. Enjoy the journey rather than the destination. Scratchbuilding and kit building can make even a small layout take years. But so what? Have fun with the building. If you need to get something running, even a short switching area or the much maligned loop will have something going on while the building progresses.
I believe with judicious purchases and scratch/kit building, you can build a complete railroad and not spend more than $1000 over a several year period, with the pace driven only by how fast you want to finish.
Ok, this can be a cheap hobby. Start with the benchwork, it can be scrap wood but 1x4's are cheap in the first place. Top it with foam, the beaded type is fine and can be had for free alot of the time. If you do dead rail you can use the track nobody else wants, in fact many times they will give it to you including switches. Great engines can be had on e-bay for under $50 anytime ussualy. The stuff need to convert it is cheap but it dose require soldering skills. Scrath building rolling stock can be done but Tichy kits are always available on e-bay for arround $10 in kit form (in fact just bought 7 cement hoppers for $36 and free shipping coming out to just a little over $5 a car). You can do scenery for cheap too.
The inherent pleasure which comes from fixing what is broken or inoperable is one of the prime motivators behind my own kitbashing ans scratchbuilding efforts.
I print my own decals; I stalk the vendor tables at the local quarterly train shows; I look at things from other sources- Michael's Crafts, Dollar Stores, junked electronics, etc- to find potential model railroading application.
When finished, having saved money as well, the result is an impetus to continue on to other projects.
The process of saving money is almost co-equal to the DIY process!
Cedarwoodron
Hi!
Having played with trains since the mid '50s - and having been strapped for "MR money" during much of that time, I've had to do a lot of improvising and "creativity" to get the various layouts in place. In example:
- Benchwork, especially plywood, was retrieved from construction sites.
- For HO work (started in 1960), Athearn kits and locos (also Rivorossi) were the best deals in town. Relatively expensive RTR cars were out of the question.
- Trackage was and is still Atlas. I realize new is hard to get these days, but used is available on Ebay (as are Athearn cars, etc., etc).
- MRC made the best powerpacks then (and now) and of course DC was the way to go. I currently run DCC, having well over $2k invested in it, and its great. BUT, DC is a heck of a lot cheaper and will teach the basics of wiring much easier than jumping into the DCC pool.
- Scenery was died sawdust, dried coffee grounds (still use them), and I bought plaster of paris from the local hardware store for 5 cents a pound. I mixed paint with the plaster, and built all the scenery I needed.
- I confess I was a pretty good scavenger, and was always on the lookout for scrap paint, wood, wire, etc., etc.
- Structures were basically Revell and AHM, and we have all seen them. But with paint and some creativity, one can come up with some pretty nice pieces.
My point is, you don't need to jump into the hobby and have everything new, the best, and right now. A really good layout can be built "on the cheap" if one takes their time and does it in stages.
Of course that rubs a lot of newbies the wrong way. Instant gratification is the order of the day, and while that sounds nice, in my opinion it takes a lot away from a lifetime of model train enjoyment.
I think following Allen McClelland's "good enough" philosophy can save you a bit of money too. McClelland himself even said if a structure is only visible from the front, "then why do you want to finish the back of it?" No point in wasting money on details nobody is going to see.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
(9) I don’t swap out plastic wheels for metal ones, unless they are out of round or completely unserviceable. (Three crook wheels out of about 200 freight cars isn't too bad). (10) I only change to Kadee couplers when the others fail.
Me too. The plastic wheels will look better after you brush paint the wheel faces oily black or grimey black for friction bearing trucks, and a mud color for roller bearing trucks. My track stays clean, I don't bother with track cleaning cars at all. All I need is a wipedown with Googone on a rag once or twice a year.
I also run clone couplers until they break. I don't swap them out for Kadee's until they fail in service. The clones with metal coil springs on the knuckles are pretty good.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I said in a few different posts that scratch building can save a lot of money and it can. I mean I even use cardboard from the back of my writing pads for some walls. And those structures have been around for decades.
I have also said that Model Railroader Magazine doesn't do nearly as good a job as it used to in the how to articles. They're not nearly as complete as they were many years ago. The quick read step by step is not really useful unless you've already got skills. And they do their best to use commercial products, it's kind of like product placement in the movies. And I get that it might be a money winner for the mag, but I'm not sure. The build list at the end is helpful for the vendors, etc. But, as a modeler I feel that it doesn't serve me well when I spend good money on the mag. So, as an idea might I suggest the magazine go back to how it used to do articles with much greater detail--you have seen here how many don't know how to scratch build. I didn't, but those articles form the 70s and 80s helped me develop those skills. And please use inexpensive materials or at least maybe give us substitution possibilities. Thanks.
Richard
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Want to start scratchbuilding but aren't sure you cna do it? The latest episode (I think) of Cody's Workshop has exactly the ticket to get started. It's the one on building a modern crossbuck. He uses a commercial crossbuck, and commercial stop sign, but they have horrible looking plastic posts, so he makes his own. And the one before that, with the guardrails - again, the guardrail part is a commercial piece, but he makes his own wooden posts. If you can at least cut a small piece of wood to a fairly consistent length, you can EASILY do either of these projects. Once you are comfortable cutting and fitting little pieces of wood together, you can advance tot he next step and make something completely from scratch instead of mixing in the commercial parts. And there's nothing wrong with mixing in commercial parts - big deal, so it isn't 100% scratchbuilt because you used some plastic and door casting. The only person you need to please is yourself.
Those projects of Cody's are super simple and are a good intro to scratchbuilding. And no, you do NOT need a specialty tool like the Chopper to do it. It just takes a little longer to measure each one instead of having the tool set up to automatically do it. And this is where the patience comes in again. So what if it takes you 3 evenings to do what the experts claim is a one evening project? Relax and have fun. If it gets frustrating, put it aside and work on something else. Much like the first time I attemped one of the P2K tank car kits (yes, they once made kits too! And this wasn't one of the simplified Timesaver versions) - I was getting extremely frustrated over the tiny and very fragile grab irons and stirrups. So I just put it all back in the box and back on the shelf and went off and worked on other things. A month or so later I went back to the tank car and figured it out. By the second one I had figured out some tricks to make it even easier. Now, they are no big deal. Patience.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
My secret ingredient is coffee stirrers. I've never bought one. I just pocket a few when I find them. Some make pipe loads. Some get put through 2 inches of pink foam after I've cleared the way with an awl to allow me to easily push wires through. The wooden ones become plank fences, or get used to stir Envirotex.
I make my own decals on my computer printer. I print a row of them, and then use my wife's flatbed paper cutter to trim off that row and leave a nice, clean, square edge on the paper so I can re-use it later. You don't have to use a full 8 1/2 x 11 sheet in a printer, just enough so the printer can pull it in. You can even tape that last couple of inches of decal paper to a sheet of regular paper to let your printer get some traction.
If you're going to a craft store, go online first and print a coupon for A.C. Moore or Michaels. They usually have one for 40%, sometimes 50%, off of any one item. That's a lot of savings when you buy a package of Envirotex. Those two stores will take each other's coupons, too.
I can't find anything wrong with most of the dental picks I've got. But, my dentist decided they weren't good enough to be used anymore, so she gave me a bunch just for the asking. In return, I populate her magazine rack in the waiting room with Walthers flyers.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.