my first layout

[Anonymous]

This will be my first model railroad besides the oval we used to put around the christmas tree when i was a kid. i am planning on going ho scale. i could use any suggestions as to what size or what products will make my first layout an enjoyable one. also the only space i have to use is in my garage which is rather large however i live in florida and i was wondering if the heat and humidity will hurt my layout or if there is anything i can do to help it. this is my first post and hopefully a fun journey into model railroading so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated [:)] thank you all

[pcarrell]

Don,

The first thing, and probably the most important thing I can tell you, is READ. Read everything you can get your hands onto realated to the subjects you're intrested in. This website is a great place to start. Look back in the pages of this forum and you will learn an immence amount of information.

I know thats probably what you don't want to hear, you want to run trains, but it will avoid many costly mistakes in the future (and it will cut down on your frustration level).

If you still have questions, bring them here and these folks will answer just about anything you can come up with!

[ukguy]

[#welcome]welcom to the forum Don[#welcome]

I second pcarrols advice totally as will every body else, you can never read too much info about this hobby. This forum is a great place to start and will guide you in many right directions. Also on the main page are sections for beginners, go to the LHS(local hobby store) and pick up a few introductory books, you will no doubt receive many suggestions for these here and in previous threads.

Use the advanced search button at the top of the screen and search on "beginner" change the date perameters to search over the past year.

Check out the three threads that titles start "FORUM CLINIC" , use the search function to find them, there will be more than enough info in those 3 threads alone to get you started. One is for scenery, one for DCC and one for realistic operation.

Also check out these two threads:
useful links
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36405
Beginner advice
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32832

Most of all have fun!! and dont be afraid to ask, we will all help you out if we can, I've never seen an unanswered question here yet.

Have fun & be safe,
Karl.

[Anonymous]

The first thing is to decide what railroad, location and era you would like to model. This decision will influence your track plan, equipment and even the scale you will purchase. Would you rather model freight, passenger or both? Is equipment available for the railroad you wi***o model? If the railroad that draws you in does not have a whole lot of equipment available you will probably need to learn how to paint and decal. Either that, or pay the cost of modelers who customize.

[Anonymous]

Don,
Let me also welcome you to this forum. There is a vast wealth of knowledge to be tapped into here. As for the garage layout, it is something that is done frequently, just as basement layouts are. I am in California and have seen quite a few garage layouts here, but we don't have the humidity you folks do back there, so I'll leave that subject to those more knowledgable than I. You can get a lot of layout into even a small garage, so I'd suggest that you start by deciding what kind of trains you intend to model {passenger, local freight, unit train (a long train with a lot of the same type of car, e.g. a coal train), trolley, etc.}, and then decide on the details like roadname, era, geographic region, etc. Knowing what kind of trains you want to model will help you to determine what kind of track plan you will want, then you can start looking at track plan books for the basis of your plan (of course you can create your own plan, too, but these books are helpful in deciding what kind of plan works well for what you intend to model and making it fit the amount of space you have.

Once you know the type of trains you intend to model and have a basic track plan, then you need to decide what kind of benchwork you'll need to build it on. There are quite a few good books on this subject, too. After that, there's scenery, with lots of different ways to go, too. Again, more books available. Then it comes to laying track. Lots of options, more books. Then there are the details, with, you guessed it, more books.

So, as the others have said, read up! This is a fun hobby with infinite possibilities when it comes to layout building. There are probably dozens of different ways to do every step of layout building, none of which are wrong, but most of which are not right for you. You will find that you will end up liking a few different techniques for the various steps of layout building. The main thing is to enjoy what you are doing, and to get enough information before you embark on a new mission so that you don't become discouraged. In time you will find that you have learned a lot from this forum and from reading books that you will one day be offering advice to other newcomers.

Enjoy your new hobby (it's the World's Greatest)!

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much for the input so far, i've been on the computer researching all day

[Anonymous]

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I think that speaks for itself
Good luck

[railroadyoshi]

Alex, you never fail to amuse me
Don, welcome!
from your ID, I take it that you are named don and specialize in HVAC
You could definitley show the guy who did our house a few pointers!
or i may be wrong about the id
just a bit of humor
what Im going to tell you is that try to keep things simple.
I recommend you start with a 4x8 ft layout so that you can learn basic techniques
keep reading, maybe purchase some how to books and try out some of the methods they show
above all enjoy the hobby.
Ive found that a enjoyable hobby can become a tedious annoying task when things become hard. Kepp chuggin, remember that this is about fun.
be aware of your capabilities, and dont start right away with something very ambitious
Good luck and happy to see you around

[Anonymous]

donhvac, A few weeks ago I asked about building in an unattached garage in the midwest, where winters are zero degrees and summers 90. I got all kinds of great suggestions, and all of them involved comfort and spending many hundreds of dollars to make the space enjoyable. You will need insulation and air conditioning. Otherwise, you will not play trains when it's too hot, which will be often. I know that because I used to live in Orlando. So first you will need to remake the garage into a train room. That will mean a comfortable temperature. You won't play long if you keep having to wipe sweat from your eyes. Otherwise, if you use the right materials, like styrofoam, the humidity and heat will have little effect on the layout itself. Good luck with whatever you do with trains.

[selector]

Great answer, geoeisele!!