where do we start

[Anonymous]

my son (shayne) 10yrs old, recently accuired some train sets.(my best friend passed away). neither one of us does not have a clue about this hobby, ie: scale,how you refer to a certain car, get it BRANDNEWBIES.can any one lead us to a direction that we can start. my friend was a pretty good collector, and we have so many we dont know what goes with what. thanks stuandshayne

[Anonymous]

my son (shayne) 10yrs old, recently accuired some train sets.(my best friend passed away). neither one of us does not have a clue about this hobby, ie: scale,how you refer to a certain car, get it BRANDNEWBIES.can any one lead us to a direction that we can start. my friend was a pretty good collector, and we have so many we dont know what goes with what. thanks stuandshayne

[Trainnut484]

A good idea would be to go visit a model railroad hobby store. If you don't know of one in your area, you can purchase the newest copy of MODEL RAILROADER magazine, and turn to the back where hobby stores are listed by state. The hobby store owner/manager would give you some advice as well as point to other model railroaders that shop at the store. Good luck and WELCOME TO THE HOBBY![:)][:)][:)][8D][:D]

[Trainnut484]

A good idea would be to go visit a model railroad hobby store. If you don't know of one in your area, you can purchase the newest copy of MODEL RAILROADER magazine, and turn to the back where hobby stores are listed by state. The hobby store owner/manager would give you some advice as well as point to other model railroaders that shop at the store. Good luck and WELCOME TO THE HOBBY![:)][:)][:)][8D][:D]

[ironhorseman]

hmmm. big questions. i could spend hours and pages talking about this but i'm going to suggest you visit a hobby store that specializes in model railroads or at least model crafts like airplanes, cars, R/C cars, etc if you want to get serious about the hobby. they have many magazines for beginner model railroaders of all scales. then you can ask specific questions to the store clerk. now, you didn't say where you are from and maybe you live in a small town that doesn't have a hobby store. it might be worth it the next time you go to a big city to find a hobby store. usually a town with a population of about 25,000-35,000 and up has a good chance of at least 1 small store.

one way other than using a phone book to find a hobby store is to go to http://www.hobbyretailer.com/ accessible from the trains.com home page. type in a city or state that you want to search for hobby stores in. try searching by state first then choose your nearest city. however, typing in "new york" will get you more results than might care for, for example.

also, a regular issue of model railroader usually has a list of stores per state. you can the magazine through this website or a number of bookstores.

also, this website is a good source for model railroading. if you don't find what you're looking for you might try asking specific questions over at the model railroader forum. you said you don't know how to refer to the scale of the trains. try and figure this out and then people who are experts in that particular scale will try to help you. the basic scales are (from small to large) N, HO, O, G. (there are other scales that go above, below, and between, but these are the basics, the most common)

my trains are HO scale, the ratio being 1:87 or 1 inch of real space is equal to 87 scale inches or 1ft = 87ft or 1m = 87m or 1furlong = 87 furlongs, etc. measure the distance between the rails and compare it to the scale and guages chart found at http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/000/709htshz.asp

utilize the search engines here, they are pretty good.

i hope this helps a little.

[ironhorseman]

hmmm. big questions. i could spend hours and pages talking about this but i'm going to suggest you visit a hobby store that specializes in model railroads or at least model crafts like airplanes, cars, R/C cars, etc if you want to get serious about the hobby. they have many magazines for beginner model railroaders of all scales. then you can ask specific questions to the store clerk. now, you didn't say where you are from and maybe you live in a small town that doesn't have a hobby store. it might be worth it the next time you go to a big city to find a hobby store. usually a town with a population of about 25,000-35,000 and up has a good chance of at least 1 small store.

one way other than using a phone book to find a hobby store is to go to http://www.hobbyretailer.com/ accessible from the trains.com home page. type in a city or state that you want to search for hobby stores in. try searching by state first then choose your nearest city. however, typing in "new york" will get you more results than might care for, for example.

also, a regular issue of model railroader usually has a list of stores per state. you can the magazine through this website or a number of bookstores.

also, this website is a good source for model railroading. if you don't find what you're looking for you might try asking specific questions over at the model railroader forum. you said you don't know how to refer to the scale of the trains. try and figure this out and then people who are experts in that particular scale will try to help you. the basic scales are (from small to large) N, HO, O, G. (there are other scales that go above, below, and between, but these are the basics, the most common)

my trains are HO scale, the ratio being 1:87 or 1 inch of real space is equal to 87 scale inches or 1ft = 87ft or 1m = 87m or 1furlong = 87 furlongs, etc. measure the distance between the rails and compare it to the scale and guages chart found at http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/000/709htshz.asp

utilize the search engines here, they are pretty good.

i hope this helps a little.

[Anonymous]

See www.nmra.org for excellent pages for beginners. Some of the regions have show and meet events listed. This is a huge site and you will find it helpful. Of course, Model Railroader keeps sending new ideas. LOL
Lindsay

[Anonymous]

See www.nmra.org for excellent pages for beginners. Some of the regions have show and meet events listed. This is a huge site and you will find it helpful. Of course, Model Railroader keeps sending new ideas. LOL
Lindsay

[Anonymous]

[}:)]plonk them on a track and put the two of them face to face and power them up


yeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa[xx(][}:)]

[Anonymous]

[}:)]plonk them on a track and put the two of them face to face and power them up


yeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa[xx(][}:)]

[Anonymous]

Are the trains old? If you can measure the distance between the rails on track? That will determine to gauge. (Also, does the track have two or three rails?) Try looking on the bottoms of the trains. There should be the names of manufacturers on some of them. Good luck in joining this hobby and remember, have fun, that's what it's all about!

[Anonymous]

Are the trains old? If you can measure the distance between the rails on track? That will determine to gauge. (Also, does the track have two or three rails?) Try looking on the bottoms of the trains. There should be the names of manufacturers on some of them. Good luck in joining this hobby and remember, have fun, that's what it's all about!