Alright - I am not good at this, but I'll give it a try. Names Allen, I live near Richmond VA, and drive a retired police car. I work for the local government in IT. My true passion is computers, but I love Rollercoasters and Model Railroading, along with my Local drive in. My grandfather was the shop track foreman for the C&O, my Mother worked on the Chessie Steam Special on its trips through Virginia, and my uncle worked for CSX during the 90's. My first train set was the family Christmas set that went around the tree, a HO Bachman Santa Fe Set, it was always the first Christmas Decoration up in the house. In middle school I got into N scale railroading - I had a small table top layout with a few diesel engines and cars. Nothing major, basically a loop and a half. I lost interest in model railroading for a time as I had no job, so my expansion plans and options were pretty limited. Fast forward a few years and now I am into O gauge, because, you know bigger is better . I don't have a lot, but a lot of questions. I used to have a single O gauge box loop around my room, until my grandfather fell ill and had to take over my room, and I moved into the attic. Now I have a floor layout that goes under the bed and dressers. What I have: Lionel O gauge FastTrack Lionel MaxPower 40W transformer thats not powerful enough for my layout.... 6-31734 - Chessie Steam Special special set A few cars from the Birkshire 6-8003 CSS set. 6-18745 - Hallows Eve 6-4-0 Conventional Steam 6-35219 - Hallows Eve Express Passenger 2 Car Set 6-35256 - Hallows Eve Express Passenger 2 Car Expansion Set 4-4-2 steam locomotive, tender and, caboose from 6-30056 Halloween Train Set 0-8-0 steam locomotive and tender from 6-30087 Area 51 Alien Spaceship Recovery Set 6-19589 Blood Transfusion Bunk Car 6-29636 Vampire Transport Mint Car 6-36151 Graves Blood Bank Tank Car +/- a dozen custom halloween scene cars. ...Yeah - I'm weird. What I want: Knowledge - I know little about wiring, control, landscaping, or much in general Someone who can paint my CSS Birskshire cars the right color! A proper layout table (one day!) Why I am here: Knowledge - Friendship - Buying stuff Alright - Peace out and happy railroading!
Allen- Welcome to TrainBoard! You will find some good ideas for creating scenery, painting, etc, in both our "Inspection Pit" or "How To" forums archives. if not what you need, just ask. Wiring and controls questions, try either our "O Scale" or "DCC & Electronics forums". That little 40 watt brick is OK for a small loop. But once you start growing, or adding accessories, definitely time to invest in a larger version.
BoxCab- Yeah I picked it up at a train show about 2 years ago for .... $10-$20. So I was just excited to get a bigger power supply then the super small one I stole from an old set. I definitely need to pickup something more powerfull - got to do some research on that though - as now I cant take my Chessie with all cars around the (new) track without it blinking at me.
Be certain your track, and locomotive wheels/pickups are clean. That will help you some until you get a larger power supply.
Allen, welcome to Trainboard. You have had a lot of experience at your age, and possibly could educate some of us older folks. I like the fact that you have gone to O gauge, where I started and ended. I am now into 12 inch to the foot scale, steam.
Fitz, Thanks for the compliment but I don't know about that.... I've played with a lot of trains, yes, but my general knowledge of Model Rail Roading is very minimalistic.
Hey Allen, Welcome to the TrainBoard, glad you're on board. I think O-Scale would be great to work with, if I didn't have so many years invested in N-Scale and my body. Looking forward to seeing what you create.
Allen, don't sweat it, everyone was where you are now at some point - brand new and excited to learn! Just about any question you ask should be answered, possibly in multiple ways. Welcome and enjoy!
