Greetings, I am looking to do a small Thomas the Train layout for my son. The layout will most likely be in HO scale since it appears that Thomas engines and cars are no longer readily available in N scale. This will be the first layout I have done since I was a teen. Anyone have any photos of thier own Thomas layout to share for some motivation and Ideas? Thanks
I've got N-Scale Thomas + Annie + Clarabel; and you're right; they're hard to come by! No layout to go with it though; if I ever build a layout I'm going ATSF all the way - I've just got the eye-candy to use to terrorize youngsters. (although they should like Santa Fe too. It's pretty pretty.) (I got mine from a guy in Australia who orders them from Japan - probably not much use to you over there in America though )
Engines and cars are available in N. Use one of the Japanese suppliers that send overseas - there's a thread in the N Scale forum regarding favourite Japanese stores. For instance, Rainbow Ten has the Thomas and Henry sets in stock, plus most of the add-on car sets. All ours (Thomas, Henry, James and additional cars) are from this supplier. I have put together a loop with passing siding and a couple of spurs out of recycled Peco track on a board that sits upon my son's wooden Thomas table. I am less than impressed with the running so I may rebuild with Kato UniTrack or Tomix FineTrack. No scenery as yet so no photos taken.
N Training, Welcome to trainboard. One question I have is how old is your son? Why I ask this is my nephew used to really love trains and when he was young I would buy him the Brio & Thomas wooden trains and he played with them for hours, designing his own layouts and then taking them apart and re-designing a new one. At the time he was just a little too young (and rough) to handle an HO or N scale set. As far an getting an Thomas N scale set, you can get them from Japanese online sellers like "Hobby Search" or "Japanplaza". Best of luck and Happy Holidays.
Welcome to TrainBoard! This sounds like a great father/son project. I know I have seen a member post pictures of his Sodor Island layout, but unfortunately I can not recall his name. Regardless of that I would agree that HO is probably your best bet. I feel little hands can handle larger equipment more easily than the more delicate smaller N scale (although my daughter has done fine with plenty of parental supervision). As a way for you to both share the hobby the basic 4'x8' oval with a siding or two and a couple of industries would be a great place to start. By keeping the track plan simple will make construction and wiring easier and give you plenty of room to learn about scenery, as well as areas he can "play" with cars and people. I would think if you include some of the key features from the show (train shed, station, etc) you can capture the "feel" of Thomas' world. There are several track plan books that offer many 4x8 layouts which you can can personalize to fit your need and skill level. I think you have chosen a fabulous way to get back into the hobby as well as a perfect opportunity for father and son bonding! Here is a link to a related thread: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=91421&highlight=Thomas+tank+engine
I did find some You Tube videos of a N scale Thomas layout.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrHgZnLbZyE"]YouTube - N Scale James[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81vuKkng-RQ"]YouTube - N scale Henry[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kOjlJgxTM"]YouTube - N scale Henry helps James[/ame]
Here is a link to a thread from a few years ago. I have a Thomas in N scale and a few cars. My grandchild has outgrown it, but I haven't. What Pulls Better Up a Grade than MP Pacific? - TrainBoard.com
Thanks for the info and the links. My son is only 2 1/2, so he won't actually be helping. He just enjoys looking at the trains and watching them run. He does have a lot of the Thomas stuff for little kids. I was just looking to do another layout and wanted something that was more for him as he gets older, but would still give me that fun of building another model railroad (this way the wife will buy off on it as well.) I have a lot of N scale stuff from my old layouts, so I will probably hold out and hunt for the N scale Tomix sets rather than use the Bachman HO sets that are more available... we did buy an HO scale Percy with a few cars for under the Christmas tree though. Now that I remember my login and password, Ill probably be posting more than once every 6 years as well rather than just lurking around every now and then. Thanks again.
I was able to find Thomas and two passenger cars after two months of searching on the Internet. My three youngest grandkids enjoy watching this train; one, at 6 years old, can even run it properly. It is often said that little hands should avoid N scale, but my N layout is enjoyed by the lone grandson/operator. HO might be better for little hands, but I'm staying with N and showing the kids how to handle the locos and rolling stock. I recommend an N scale Thomas.
Plaza Japan and Newhall Station are two ebay sellers that usually have quite a bit of Thomas stuff. I've ordered a couple of things from Plaza Japan and have always been happy with the service and his prices are better than Newhall Station; however Plaza Japan is closed through the Jan. 13th. I have Thomas, James, Henry, and Percy, and Tomix also makes a station, a windmill, and a watermill that go with them, but I don't have those. I don't have a layout for them, but I do have the Thomas starter set that came with a loop of track and a plastic playmate to set it up on.
I thought that way at first, but by the time my daughter was 4 she was helping build scenery and painting. It's just a matter of finding little things they can do, even if it's just "hold this" or "hand me that". By involving a child in our own interest we form a bond that will last the rest of their lives. I have found there are aspects of model railroading that have nothing to do with trains. When we go to train shows exhibitors are always impressed with the little girl who doesn't try to touch the trains but can still point out details. On an unrelated note I recommend back pack carriers for kids at train shows. They don't block the walkways and it puts the kids up where they can see, but can't touch the merchandise. Vendors really appreciate that too.:cool6xb:
I have two boys 3 and 6 who love trains. They had a ton of the motorized Thomas engines with track that was just laying around and when they saw me starting to work out my layout plans for my n scale layout they wanted a train layout too. We are building a Thomas layout and I have an active thread in The Layout Discussion that is showing our progress. Whats great is they can and are helping build their layout because the trains and track are meant for kids. It would be the perfect project to do for you and the lil one to work on together if you were to use this type of layout.
It does appear there is some n scale Thomas available on ebay, but for a little kid HO would be the way to go. It seems that there is alot more available in HO too.
I have the tomix n scale thomas/annie/clarabel as well as the addon kit with 3 'troubling trucks' and a yellow tank car. My son (3) loves them
