Hello My name is Dean

Hello my name is Dean I am in my mid 40’s I have a grandson who is three. I live in southeast Michigan and recently my wife bought me an N-scale train set so I figured I should find a place with a good bunch of guys online and find out just what is going on in this hobby. This sure looks like that place! Please bear with me as I have almost zero experience.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement , I will proceed slowly and this will be as much for the grandson as me. I am sure my work will not be flawless but he will think its cool and we can do some together
　

 

Hi Dean, Welcome to the TrainBoard. Believe me, we all started with no experience, though some of us younger than others. You're lucky to have your grandson leading you in this effort. We wise and experienced adults tend to say "Why?", whereas our grandsons always say "Why NOT, PawPaw???" Listen to him, he's right!

 

Welcome Dean. ANd no worries about any lack of experience here. I think we all were or are there at some point. ANd depending on your choice of projects at the moment going there again. LOL
Have fun everyone here is nice and understanding.

Glen

 

Thank you for the welcome and encouragement. I do not know my way around this site very well.. Is there anyplace that has track layouts? Or how do you plan out a track layout if you don’t actually have the pieces of track yet… I want to design an N scale 2 x 4 that we can work up to slowly but I would like to have the track plan so aren’t spending to much time working backwards. Also I have the EZ track from Bachmann . Should I switch to one of the other brands to give me more options?
This site is great thanks again.

 

Dean ,
We have a group called layout .here http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/forumdisplay.php?183-Layout-Design-Discussion
They can help you sort out the plan you want. check some of the previous threads in that group and you are sure to happen on a plan you would like to tackle. As far as switching to other brands , take a look in the layout group first. Depending on how much $ you want to spend to get started , you could do a small 2 x2 to experiment and then as you gain experience and confidence go larger - more detailed . Keeping in mind most younger grand kids get a kick out of watching the train go 'round and round and not so much the " modeling " aspect you will enjoy once you get started, or I should say " hooked " !!!

 

Thanks for the tip I will definitely check it out. I guess what I am looking for is kind of a highbred layout if you will… the layout will be limited 2 x 4 and on one end in the center our small Christmas tree (17” base) will sit every year. So there will be probably some very generic/plain looking stuff at that end as the train will circle the tree… however at the other end and the middle will be wide open to do some modeling,, would like some mountain, elevation, tunnel, creek pond ect… and yes this should be a continuous running setup….
I just don’t want to discover down the road that I should have started with a different track system. I want the most options so I can make the most of the limited space.
Thank you again

 

Thanks for the tip I will definitely check it out. I guess what I am looking for is kind of a highbred layout if you will… the layout will be limited 2 x 4 and on one end in the center our small Christmas tree (17” base) will sit every year. So there will be probably some very generic/plain looking stuff at that end as the train will circle the tree… however at the other end and the middle will be wide open to do some modeling,, would like some mountain, elevation, tunnel, creek pond ect… and yes this should be a continuous running setup….
I just don’t want to discover down the road that I should have started with a different track system. I want the most options so I can make the most of the limited space.
Thank you again

 

Welcome aboard Dean.