I am new to model trains. I recently became a grandfather and thought that model trains would be a good common ground for me and my grandson in the future. I am looking to make a O scale laout, (bought a couple of ionel train sets). Any pointers on how to get started?:tb-biggrin:
Welcome aboard the Trainboard; you've run up on a great place for Model Railroading no matter what scale your interest. And your right trains should be a good common ground for you and your Grandson. I'm not an O Scale type; HO and N here, but always glad to see anther new member. Another fresh look at topics never hurts. Hope you enjoy your ride
Papajoe, by now you probably have found this yourself, but you can Google or search O scale track plans or layout plans and find plenty of good ones, or buy layout planning software, or save money and have fun with a pencil with a good eraser and some graph paper. I'm also new, starting an 027 trolley layout. It's amazing what you can do with these huge trains in very small spaces. Have fun!
Ask questions. Read. Above all, don't rush. It's not hard- Once you get rolling, things start falling into place. Welcome to TrainBoard! Boxcab E50
Sure, start out small like BoxCabE50 said. First dedicate a 4 x 8 area for the trains, it must be in a place where it will be permanent. Once you do this, you can buy a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood and a few pieces of 1 x 2 for the supports and legs, then make yourself a train layout table. You then get some sheets of green grass mat and put that down. Then here is where you want to be careful. Just lay your track down and buidlings and then play around with it until you get it the way you want, don't be afraid to experiment. Once it's the way you want it then you can make your track permanent. Same with the buildings, but if you wat lit buildings make sure you draw a outline around the building, take it up and then drill a small hole for wiring, this way the wires run under the table. Well this is a start, have fun.
Papajoe Welcome to trainbord, welcome to trains and congrats on the Grandchild! I just bought my 3 year old nephew his first train for Christmas (An MTH Rudolph set). Too bad he's in Colorado and I'm in NJ. I set up O at Christmas and play with N the rest of the year. My advice - take it SLOOOOWWWWWWW. There is so much out there. Starter sets are great, but if you really get into the hobby, you may want to look at controlling your trains with a command system that allows for multiple engines on the track. Not all starter sets lend themselves to this control. If possible I'd go to some shows. Greenberg train show is a big one. It will be in Willmington MA in March (you can google greenberg train show). What are you hoping to do? A layout at home? At your Grandchilds house? In the Garage? a dedicated "play room'? How's the budget? You don't have to answer that, but it's gonna help you decide where your headed. There are a few stores with links from this site. You could spend an eternity looking at ebay... there are 10s of thousands of O gauge things on ebay, but, I'd caution you to look around before you buy on ebay. You can find great stuff, but I went nuts.... Ask any questions you have here. I do all my N questioning here (great group), but the O following seems small. If you google OGR forum, thats an awesome O forum. Most of all, have fun.
