New Adventure

Greetings everyone! I have always had a love for trains, and have had the pleasure of riding a couple neat ones when I was younger, my favorite being the Durango to Silverton narrow gauge. My brother and I had a Bachmann Powerhouse HO scale set and really enjoyed it. Recently, my 3 year old son has been building his collection of geotrax, and playing with him has reminded me how much fun this stuff is.

Due to space constraints I have decided to go with N scale, I have seen some spectacular and scenic layouts in compact spaces. I don't have much experience at modeling, and would also like to get a train rolling as possible. After doing some reading, it looks like Kato unitrack would be a good place to start. For my first effort I am thinking 2x4 or maybe 3x5. I can use a sheet of plywood, a couple layers of pink or blue foam as the base. The unitrack will allow me to quickly lay a simple oval with a single feature, maybe a spur or siding like the Kato M2 kit, get a locomotive and a couple cars and start having fun! Then I can begin to work on scene elements, learning how to paint, add foliage, ballast, learn how to build a hill or ridge, structures, add another element or two to my track. I will use this layout as a learning tool, and ultimately I would really like to build a larger 4x8 (if I can get approval for this much space) Pacific NW logging layout.

So any suggestions? Is the kato unitrack a good product for a beginner to start with? Am I better off to buy a "starter set" or separate components? I read that starter sets typically have poorer quality locomotives and rolling stock than separates, is this true? Who makes a good value locomotive (not "cheap" but good quality for the money)

I am looking forward to beginning my new hobby, my co-worker said model rail roads is a bottomless money pit (but really any hobby can be)

Thanks!

Daniel

 

Welcome to trainboard. Keep us posted on your progress

 

First off...welcome aboard !

Yes...unitrack is a great beginners track. It is also pretty darn good for the experienced modelers. I have no clue what comes in Katos beginners set as far as locos and cars...but with Kato...you almost cant go wrong.

Just remember on layout size....36 inch deep is a fairly good stretch to the back...even for an orangutang like me...LOL. If you will have easy access to all for sides....4 x 8 will have lots of room for lots of goodies

Model Railroading DOESNT have to be expensive...depends on the modelers $$$$

Biggest thing Rule #1: Its your railroad...have FUN !!:tb-wink:

 

The Kato track works great and is good at avoiding some of the frustrating pitfalls that the regular older sectional track had, which a lot of us started with. Nothing can ruin someone's start with trains more, than fussy trains which don't want to run.

I would recommend considering a hollow core door for your layout. If you meant just the sheet of plywood without a frame, you'd be better with the door. Or even better with just thick foam by itself. The single plywood will tend to sag from it's own weight without a frame. I would also tend to stick to shorter cars and engines for the space you want start with.

 

Went through the same process you are now doing about 3 years ago. Didn't find trainboard untilafter I committed to a plan and did a too large 1st project. Might have done it differently had I TB'd immediately.

But things work out because its all fun.

All I could add that so far hasn't been said is to work with a technically savvy, helpful hobby shop that will work you through a start-up. Find a club that might let you audit their activities and learn from them.

Keep the wife on your side.

Pls tell your story here at TB.

 

Welcome aboard, N-scaler! Echoing what has been said above, Unitrack is a great way to get started, and you don't have to switch later on (check out Mike Fifer's layout thread for a fine example). As for layout size, glad to see you're starting out small. You can do a whole lot in a little bit of space when you're doing N-scale. Check out the work of MC Fujiwara (Mt. Coffin & Kalama and Summer Shunting Shelf Project), and the late Carl Arendt's site for amazing examples of compact railroading. And this is what I'm doing in 2.5x4, so loads of options. I think you'll enjoy your experience here.

 

I have a 2X4 plan that's built with Atlas track. PM me with your email addy if interested.

 

Welcome to trainboard. N scale is the best choice when it comes to space. And Kato unitrack is great its bullet proof and very easy to work with. As for a good basic loco you might wanna check out ebay look for anything Atlas, Kato, Intermountain, Life Like, FVM and Bachmann mostly the newer Bachmann. As for track plans this site might help
http://www.cke1st.com/m_train2.htm

 

Welcome aboard, Daniel.

Glad to hear you chose N scale. Smart move.

Five bits of advice:

1) Get yourself a decent engine(s), AND before buying any engines, go to http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/index.html and click on "Model Railroading" and then click on "N Scale Locomotive Encyclopedia." Mark, the author, continues to do us all a great service by personally checking out and grading just about every N scale loco ever built. Few things kill interest in the hobby faster than a balky engine. This resource can help you avoid that pitfall. Plus there's a lot of other good info and fun reading on that "Model Railroading" page.

2) Consider buying used equipment to start. This will help stretch your hobby dollars. Just make sure the people you are buying from have a decent return policy (esepcially where engines are concerned). Most sellers are above board, but there's a sizeable percentage who are ignorant or dishonest or both.

3) I'll echo the plug for using a hollow-core door for your layout base. It's easy, solid, warp-resistant and highly portable. The standard HCD is 30 inches by 80 inches, and that's a lot of real estate in N scale. I'm building a larger layout, one HCD at a time. That way if I ever have to move, there's no question about being able to dismantle and take the layout.

4) One book I always recommend: "Track Planning for Realistic Operation," by John Armstrong. It does a great job explaining why railroad tracks are laid out the way they are, how real railroads go about their business,and how you can design your own dependably operating model railroad. It's out of print, but easy to find online.

5) Ask questions on this and other forums. Helping the hobby grow is an investment a lot of folks are willing to make. You'll likely get more input than you need (like my lengthy post here!).

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Jim

 

Two great 'Groups" to join here on TB:

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/group.php?groupid=33

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/group.php?groupid=50

:tb-cool::tb-cool:

 

I can not add to anything that hasn't already been said! Great advice from all for a revitalized railroader! On account of the Kato starter sets, you won't find a better starter set. The transformer is excellent, the locomotive is a regular production Kato(so no need to worry on that), the rolling stock is also regular production Kato pieces, and of course Unitrak. For the money, the Kato starter sets can't be beat.

 

I echo the advice about "Unitrack"............I have a room sized layout, and a 13 foot staging yard, all done with "Unitrack"

and I LOVE IT!! Wish I would have went that way long before I did.

Kato has some good small track plans for use with "Unitrack", and there is track planning software called "Anyrail" that has a "Unitrack" library built in, if you decide you want to expand your empire at some future date.

 

I will also toss in my vote for Unitrack. That stuff is awesome and I have my 4x8 layout done using it. I have been runnning on Unitrack for two years now without a single complaint. It is easy to clean, has awesome electrical conductivity, and laying my track was easy as pie. Can't possibly say enough good things about Kato engines either. Out of the two dozen locos I have, only 4 are non Kato. And that's because 3 of them aren't made by Kato (my Big Boy, Challenger, and my Amtrak F59PHI) and the other is my FVM ES44DC simply because the detailing is incredible and actually beats Kato.

 

Hi Daniel,
probably when you want to get a train running in a few hours (less then one actually) you should buy Kato.
I would start with a more ambitious plan however.
A 2x4 is smaller then a 4x8 in HO. A hollow Core Door, which can be made shorter if needed, of about 6x2,5 would ideal.
And added is some additional reading stuff for you: California Dreaming or the Short Line could be it.
Paul

 

Kato locos and Unitrack are hard to beat. Before you commit to a layout plan consider using T-Trak modules for your home layout. There is a considerable amount of information on Trainboard regarding T-Trak (which uses Kato Unitrack) so I won't go into it here.

Welcome to the world of N-Scale!

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Whatever I use for the base of my 1st layout, it will be supported underneath by the floor, a table, or a bench, but I need to be able to move it around. That is why I had initially thought plywood with a couple layers of foam. I like the hollow core door idea but it is is too big for what I want to do for my first project, though I could get a 30" deep and cut it down to 48" long. I still want to look at using foam because one of the things I want to practice is cutting down to create a stream bed.

I am still drooling, no purchase yet, still recovering from Christmas. However, I have my eye on a e-bay auction of a kato 106-0009 train set. It is an oval of unitrack, controller, F7 locomotive, 2 hoppers, a tanker, and caboose done up in Santa Fe colors. $150 shipped. Seller states it has never been used, and has 100% positive feedback. Does this sound like a good deal? Does anyone know about when this set was made?

The other thing I have been considering is getting the M2 track set which is an oval and siding, and can be had for about $136 shipped, and then getting a locomotive and cars.

On another note, my kids totally SCORED with geotrax this year. We had a small set they had been playing with, and my 4yr old got a great track pack, and a good size cars 2 figure 8 over under road set. Then came THE FIND. Toys R Us had a spectacular geotrax Christmas in Toy Town set. It is a 3x6 modified figure 8 over under with 5 different spots along the track the train triggers activity as it passes. A train station, 2 street lights, a skating pond, and a musical and lighted bridge. The track is all done in white snow and some brown showning under. The train itself is fully lit from a flickering firebox in the steamer, to the red lights on the back of the caboose. I have to say especially considering this is a childs play set, the detailing is very well done. Before Christmas, this set was anywhere from $130 to $150. I told my wife we should check the day after Christmas. I figured they had a lot of them, and I bet that price point would give most parents pause. I was right. They still had some, and because it was a Christmas specific item, it was now on clearance. And an additional 20% off. We got if for $72

Dad is having as much fun with this thing as the kids!! We also picked up a couple t tracks and y tracks so now we can join several areas together. Working on taking over the playroom right now (Pic is the stock Fisher-Price picture, not my kid )


Daniel