Hello

[Anonymous]

First post here. [:D] Wanted to say hello to everybody and introduce myself.

I'm in the very first planning stages of starting this great hobby. I'm sure you know the stage of millions of ideas floating around in your head and working on clearing the space in the basement. I'm not completely new to model railroading, I have built a few christmas gardens in the past using my dads extra equipment. As far as a full size layout and moving into the big time, well I'm a greenhorn.

My dad built layouts in each of the two houses where I grew up. He has since moved into an apartment and of course dropped the hobby. I plan on picking it back up and surprising him over lunch. My dad is now in his seventies and since we can't play golf together anymore(heart) I thought this would be a good way to spend time with him. My wife is doing back flips because I'm cleaning the basement. [:D]

Sorry for the long write up but being a veteran of forum posting I like to get to know everybody a bit and thought it would be nice to let you know a bit about myself. I really look forward to getting into the thick of things and laying that first rail. Any quick advice? Just maybe a one liner or two?

Jack

[selector]

And a very fine long-winded intro it is, Jack! [^] Welcome. [#welcome]

Have you just stumbled onto us, or have you been watching awhile? Either way, we are a pretty tame bunch of friends who meet here regularly. Many of us ( not me just yet) know quite a bit about the hobby, and we have some impressive gurus.

Look for the clinics on scenery, operations, and DCC run by jfugate (Joe) for a healthy start, and we will be happy to help where we can.

[Anonymous]

Welcome aboard. You're on the right track with Trains.com and we run 24/7. I'm a *** and this scale has just exploded in the last seven years and can be overwhelming.

What scale? and you should have a tentative budget. I thought I did and discovered I had my decimal in the wrong place.

[Anonymous]

Thx for the welcome! I used to read my dad's Model Railroader mags. growing up so my first website stop was here. We will be doing HO and trying to salvage anything left over from my dad's old stuff. The plan is to get the area ready, set up a nice size workbench, then sort through the boxes of old equipment that was in storage. My dad built wooden boxes to store his stuff in so it will be uncrushed ect. Had some really nice steam engine kits and lots of cars. Gotta blow off the dust and see what is what. This is going to be so much fun. [:D]

[Anonymous]

[#welcome] Jack! Crandall pretty much summed up what we're all about, so I won't repeat anything. That's a fantastic way to spend quality time with your ailing Dad, I wish you the best of luck!

[randyaj]

Welcome to the forum, and what a guy to devote time to spend with his dad! As a father of 3 (8,7,5) I hope that they will want to do the same some day.
again welcome
Randy

[Anonymous]

Welcome Jack! Nice to hear what you plan on doing for your father. You made my morning with that extra effort for your dad [tup]

[bbrant]

Jack - Welcome to the forum. Great to hear your layout will be for you and your dad. Probably the best advice I can give you is to have fun. Model railroading is a great hobby and the possibilities are endless!

Brian

[JPowell]

Jack -
[#welcome] to the forums. I'm John (aka JP) and a fellow ***.
If you ever want to just 'hang out' and chat with fellow members, feel free to stop into our virtual 'Coffeeshop' where you can find the conversation on just about anything from sports to trains to life in general. There are rules to adhere to though; No flaming (talking trash about others), and no postings on religion or politics. Otherwise Bergie (moderator) will be doing his 'Police' job in here.
As for the rules of the 'Coffeeshop' when you decide to check it out, we'll let you in on those then. No hard feelings though if you decide to not stop in, but those of us that do frequent it (it is open 24/7 as well and ran by a fine waitstaff of Zoe, Chloe, Janie and Ruthie and our cook is from our 'family' shop over on the Classic's side. His name on here is Siberianmo. And boy oh boy, can he cook up some tasty treats, especially during the holidays and 'shop' parties.
Well, enough about that.
Take care and I'm sure I'll see ya around.
JP

[SpaceMouse]

Welcome,

As you get closer to deciding what you want to accomplish come back and bounce your ideas around. Then draw up something and post it on the Layouts And Layout Building forum for so,me I think, good feedback. Take your time and learn, the time you spend planning a good layout will more than pay for itself in terms of enjoyment and $$$ savings.

[icmr]

[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome][#welcome]



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

[steveblackledge]

[#welcome] Jack, great hobby, great people, enough said

[dgwinup]

Jack, welcome.

My congratulations to you for wanting to spend time with your Dad. I only wish I could do the same. My Dad passed away 27 years ago and I still miss him.

My Dad was an old railroad man and introduced me to trains (Lionel). A few years ago, after being out of the hobby for several years, I decided to build a small N scale layout to get back into the hobby. Earlier this year, my older brother came to stay with me while he was looking for a new home. When he walked into my train room, his first comment was "Wow, Would Pop have loved this!". I was so proud to think that this would be true and so sad to realize that it can never be.

Spend the time now, as much as possible and for as long as possible. The memories will be worth everything to you.

God bless you and grant you a long time with your Dad.

Darrell, excuse me while I go cry my head off (again), but quietly...for now

[Anonymous]

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OK OK its alot but I think it speaks for itself

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[howmus]

Welcome to the forum, Jack. Only advise I have for you is: read, read, read. You will find the folks at this forum very friendly, encouraging, and knowledgable. Don't hesitate to ask any question about the hobby that you have. You may get wildly different answers as we each have ways of doing things that work for us. Think about the answers you get and decide the best path for you. Welcome again, and good luck. Hope you and your Dad have many great times together "playing trains"!

[trainboyH16-44]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BMTRAINS

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OK OK its alot but I think it speaks for itself

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Oh, not all this again. I'm not even going to try topping that.
Welcome, great to have you aboard. You sound like a pretty decent guy.
Hi, I'm Matthew Hicks, HO and N, and this forum is a great place to learn.
Trainboy

[dgwinup]

BMTRAINS,

Can you tone it down a bit? I think Jack got the idea that he is welcome here! [:D] [:D]

Darrell, grinningly quiet...for now

[grandeman]

Welcome to the forum and hobby, Jack. Enjoy the ride, it's a blast!

[robengland]

What a nice idea for your Dad.

In addition to the "read read read" advice, I'd say think twice about the basement. Get the September edition of Railroad Model Craftsman (sorry Bergie) and read Don Spiro's article. He came to the same conclusion as me: the Monster in the Basement was just too big. The basement for me was also cold and remote from the family. I've come to the conclusion I can have plenty of railorad in HO conveniently located upstairs in the study, right next to the TV room so I also get a crew lounge when and if we finally get to operate the layout.
Maybe a shelf layout in the house is a good option for you too.