I live in Northwest Indiana. I am just starting to get into model railroading. I dabbled in it a little when I was younger, as my father was a dedicated railroader. I recently acquired his old HO collection. I don't have room for all of it, in fact I have room for so little of it I have decided to switch to N-Scale. My youngest son (23) and I have been having great fun messing around with the HO train. But the track is in bad shape and I only have one engine. I gave the rest to my older brother who has the room for it. I also have my old American Flyer train set. Now that brings back the memories. (its a least 50 years old and still runs) I am nearing retirement age and have always thought that I would get into railroading when I retire. I have a small area that I will be able to use for a nice layout, but if I use N-Scale I will be able to add to it some. Looking forward to some great times and getting to know some of you here.
Welcome peply, Lots of great folks, great modeling and a great source of info. Anything in particular you would like to do as far as modeling goes?
I want to start with a small point to point layout, based on an HO layout I found. Namely, HO- 18, but I haven't been able to find this layout in N scale. Do you know how I could convert it?
Hi Peply, welcome to the TrainBoard. I'm not familiar with the HO-18 design, but unless it defines sectional track and switches by specific manufacturer's part number, you should be able to convert it to N-Scale. Hopefully you have a train hobby shop that is convenient, because there are good N-Scale sectional track manufacturers, for instance Kato Unitrack. I'm sure the hobby shop owner would be more than happy to help you convert the HO layout, if for no other reason than to have you become a long term customer. Good Luck.
I'm not the right guy to answer that question Try posting that question on the Layout Design Discussion forum. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/forumdisplay.php?183-Layout-Design-Discussion
Model Railroader Magazine's n scale Carolina Central is a great little railroad. It was done a while back in a how to series. The Jan or Feb issue of this year also had a bonus booklet that covered that railroad and a 4x8 Ho layout. I think the bonus covered complete construction. I should still have it if you want me to check.
I changed my mind about switching to N Scale. I decided to stay with HO. One reasons is I have a lot of HO cars and buildings. However, I discovered the cars may not do me much good as the couplers are different now. A lot of the cars I have are Tyco or Life-Like from back in the 70's. I'm not sure if I can change them, as they are attached to the wheel trucks. I have old track too, but it isn't much good. I ended up buying a train set Saturday. I did that because my son and I were just anxious to get a train on the tracks see it go around twice in a row without derailing. I bought a Bachman EZ Track DCC. It's just a small loop. It was easy and quick to setup. I'm not sure how easy it will be to expand it into something a little bigger, but we're having fun with it right now. The DCC is really cool. I can see that model railroading has come a long ways since the 1970's. I am not sure if buying the Bachman was a good decision, as it cast $249.00. I did get two engines with the set, but the silver and red Santa Fe derails when it rides across the switch. It looks as though they made the front of the body too long and that it drags on the switch in places. I keep second guessing myself thinking maybe I should take it back and purchase Atlas True Track instead or maybe I should switch to N scale after all. I'm rambling on. Sorry.
Pepley, from what I have read on this forum, Kato's Unitrack is by far the best sectional track for quality and workmanship. Also, although Bachmann produces some excellent locomotives with their Spectrum line, the Bachmann trainsets sold in big-box stores appear to be second-rate quality. If you and your son want to develop a long-term model railroad, my recommendation would be to return the trainset, if possible, and buy quality products from a local hobby shop, or online from one of the TrainBoard advertisers.
