Hello, I am new to the forum and new to everything about model railroading although it is something I have always been interested in. I have a room I can do a 15 long by 13 wide set up with an open end and am planning to use HO for this and have another area for a 4 x 8 setup in O scale using Thomas and his friends for when twin 3 year old Grandsons come to visit. The plan is for three levels in a u shape with a peninsula, or if it is easier, make it 4 sided with openings, but my knees make it harder to crawl under anything anymore. I am looking at 50's and 60's with Great Northern and Northern Pacific mainly. The third level is going to be a loop and run The Empire Builder and North Coast Limited and possibly a long train with coal cars. As a kid I remember going Fargo and watching those trains from the car on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's. When we got to Fargo we would walk to Broadway for shopping, or if we were lucky, to go to a movie. We had to cross the tracks on Broadway and often would need to wait for those and other long freight trains to go by. I may run the top level in N scale to give it the effect of seeing them more at a distance or just keep it all HO. I also remember as a kid, stopping at the combination hardware, appliance, and garage with gas pumps in our little town. We would get cardboard from packing and appliances and go out to the edge of town and use them for sliding down the grassy sides of the steep ditch along the railroad tracks. It was also near the train switches so we often were able to visit with the guy running the switches as they moved cars to the sidings for the elevator, lumberyard, and the stock pens. I am thinking of having a coal yard and an elevator farm supply for switching. I remember making a few bucks everyone once in a while helping a friend nail boards across the doors of the boxcars that were being loaded with grain and in college working part time and getting to unload boxcars of cabinets by hand and plywood with a forklift. I know very little about modeling so while the bug has bit me I plan to do a lot of looking and trying to understand how to plan it. We have no hobby shops close by so I'll be looking to glean as much information as I can here. If the bug is still with me after golf and hunting season I plan to start next fall. It should give me something fun to do during the long winter here and when the Grandchildren come to visit. I look forward to a lot of reading here and I hope no one gets tired of my questions because there is a lot of awfully good free advice out there if a person is willing to listen.
You're entirely correct about the advice, often people get more than they bargained for! I'd suggest experimenting on the smaller side of things first, in order to "get your feet wet" and learn some of the skills and techniques. Maybe, in keeping with your plans, do the O scale first? Would make the grandkids happy while allowing you to get some practice at construction, track laying, wiring and so forth. Best of luck, spend some time browsing for folks who have walked your path before, and fire away with any questions!
Welcome to TrainBoard! Plenty of information in the message archives. Ask those questions. Doing so will save you time, money and help avoid any possible frustrations.
