Well, I guess it's time to "get my feet wet," so to speak Although my first choice of hobbies is model railroading, I haven't done it yet. Hope I'm not being an "N-gauge traitor," but my first real choice would be HO. Problem is, I will not have the space, so I guess N gauge will be what I go in. Anyway, I'm not ready to start building, and am still trying to figure out where I can do this. Still, I'm enjoying reading your messages....not only entertaining, but enlightening (I haven't even started designing a layout yet, and already I'm learning ). Just wanted, mostly, to say hi, and let you know when I do start designing, I will surely be asking for some help. Hope you're still around. Best to all...Larry
Hello larry, welcome to the trainboard family you;re bound to get lots of good information and help here.
Welcome Mystified, One thing to consider if you have little space is to build a sectional or modular layout. My layout is small, and I started building while living in an apartment. I made modules that can be rearrainged to suit the available space, and have rearranged it 3 times for 3 different moves.
Hi Larry. I share your same feeling. It is sad, but HO does seem to offer more in the equipment line. I chose N because of space requirements. I must admit, I am having fun with N scale because I can model more real estate in less space.
Hi Larry. Welcome aboard It is a good idea to do a lot of research, reading and pondering before actually starting a layout, and you can do no better than perusing this site If (when) you do have any queries, ask away - we have probably all had the same queries ourselves in the early days (though my early days are a long way in the past!)
Hi Larry and welcome to trainboard, as a fellow N scaler I'm sure you will enjoy the challenge of designing a layout then building and operating. Of course there will be a lot of challenges along the way but worthwhile. I'm sure there will be lots of members here willing to give advice. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Hi Larry and welcome on (Train)Board. Dont think too much about plans and 'how-will-it-be' and so far. Just do it ! I started from zero in June 2002. I had no track plan and no idea how to lay the track. When the first 20 m of track was layed I made a test with a GP-7 and everything was fine. Some weeks later I bougth a SD90 and - surprise,surprise - most of the radius was too narrow and the loco fall off the track. It was not funny to see but it was a good experience. So I demolished the hole construction and started again. Now the trains runs great. The layout is not finished and I have always not an actual track plan. You find the progress in Album The best thing you can do is learning and looking. Looking how other people made her layout. When you find a good friend who tells you the important tricks you will have a lot of fun and may save a lot of money. I know what I'm talking about !!! Happy building Daniel
Larry- Welcome! If you have a hobby shop near by, there is a recent magazine issue that could be very interesting for you. "Model Railroad Planning, 2003." (Kalmbach Publishing.) This edition is full of ideas for those with space limitations. For which, N scale is quite the perfect suggestion. Boxcab E50
I want to thank all for the nice welcomes!! Also, I really appreciate those who tell me some of the mistakes they made...it gives me a chance to learn even before I start designing. Anyway, I'm kind of tied up in some work right now, and have to rebuild a garage (believe it or not, in central California foothills, a tornado blew the garage apart this last winter...thankfully, it missed the house In any case, I was going to make the new one the workshop, but I just may use half of it for a layout. I'm just waiting for weather to break. That will give me about 4 ft by 10 ft...hopefully enough for a respectable layout. Also, I'm spending time going through posts on this forum, including other gauges. I like looking at "in progress" layouts. It gives me some ideas as to what I can expect. Again, thanks for the welcomes. Best to all....Larry
Larry: A great place to start would be with a club. A decent hobby store nearby should be able to point you toward one. N Trak clubs are an example. The one I belong to has a storage space where the modules are kept (usually assembled) but they're also taken on the road. As for work, I feel your pain. Mine is about to take me to SoutWest Asia for an unknown length of time, Anyway, let me just add my humble welcome.
Daniel, If you are new to N scale, what you have done is excellent - 10 years from now you will be awesome. I too preferred HO scale, but not any more and for those that are new check out Daniel's album. I like big contemporary stuff, SD90's, center beam cars, bring it on. The contemporary stuff looks good in N, in HO the big contemporary stuff looks like O scale. String two HO SD90's together with some AutoMax cars and you shrink an HO layout. Whereas in N, the size is approaching HO in length but not in height. If you want an N layout, but have it look more like a TT layout, buy the contemporary equipment - SD90's and 60's, AutoMax cars, articulated cars etc. Remember an 85 foot passenger car in N is the same length as an HO 40 foot box car. An SD90 in N is the same length as an HO F unit. Most of what I buy now is the longer equipment, and I find my quibble with N has disappeared. Check out the SD90's in Daniel's Album.
welcome aboard larry. spending to much time thinking of all the things that could be done is often a reason for never get started. but I know several people who just like designing layouts. they actually never built one. there was never an exact plan, not even a simple drawing, for my layout. I just started to build it. Now some years later I know what I'll do different the next time. As experience grows you find more and more errors on the current layout. still, I'm happy with what I've done so far. check out my homepage to see some images of my work
