# New here, have some questions.



## racerdonnie13 (Jan 29, 2013)

Hi, my name is Donnie and im interested in getting started in model railroading. A week ago i knew nothing about model railroading, so bear with me! I have been reading alot here, but i figured the best way to find an answer is to just ask the questions. So the only thing i have decided so far is that i want to do a HO scale layout. I will probably have about 4'x8' to work with and thats as far as ive got. I guess i made the newbie mistake by going out and buying stuff from craigslist before i really did much research. Maybe i can use some of the stuff, or i could keep a few things and sell the rest if they are no good. The problem is i dont know whats good and whats not. Ill post some pics in a minute. Heres where the questions come...

1. In your opinion what are the brands to look for and which ones should i stay away from? 

2. Engines... What do the numbers mean? ex. (4-4-8)
Whats the difference in steam or diesel? Are the steam ones like the old trains with the cow catchers on the front, and diesel like the newer ones?

3. What type of track should i use? Ive heard of the brass, nickel silver, easy track, flex track...

4. Transformers/controls... What do i need?

5. What are the different types of layouts? I see some where the train goes around, and some smaller ones that you couldnt run the train around...just like back and forth


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## racerdonnie13 (Jan 29, 2013)

1st lot stuff i bought.....


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## racerdonnie13 (Jan 29, 2013)

2nd lot of stuff i bought.....


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## alman (Oct 22, 2012)

racerdonnie13 said:


> 2nd lot of stuff i bought.....




Wow! I counted 11 transformers !

I do not know what you paid for it all , but you have a pretty good start !


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

racerdonnie13 said:


> 1. In your opinion what are the brands to look for and which ones should i stay away from?
> 
> Look for Athearn, BLI, Kato, Atlas (silver and gold), Rivarossi, Mantua, Proto (new lifelike), Bachmann (spectrum only).
> Stay away from Tyco, Bachmann, Lifelike, Model power.
> ...


Run whatever appeals to you!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey Donnie,

Welcome to the forum, and to the model train madness!

For someone just jumping in, you sure have a large collection there. It's mostly old-school / lower quality stuff, but certainly adequate for you to get your feet wet with some practice running / layouts.

Looks to me like much/most of your track is old brass. Functional, but it tarnishes very easily, adversely affecting running performance. It can be cleaned (ScotchBrite pads, "bright boy pads", etc.), but the cleaning part will keep you busy. I'd shy away from steel track (silver looking and magnetic) ... it will rust. The defacto-standard for track today is nickel-silver. It doesn't oxidize much. The track rails are available in different height ... Code 100 is 0.1" tall, and is comparable to your older track. Your old fleet of locos / cars will run fine on Code 100. Code 70 is 0.07" tall ... shorter, to be more representative / protypical of real-world track. Be careful with this, though, as many of your old locos / cars have wheel flanges that might be too big to run on Code 70.

Flextrack is great ... available in nickel silver Code 100, and other options, too. The benefit here is that it can be easily contoured to any curve, S shape, etc. Easy to use.

Steamers or steam locomotives are just that ... models of older trains that ran on steam powered engines.

More modern diesels are typically actually diesel-electric locos ... diesel engines that power electric motors to turn the actual drive wheels.

There a large range of controllers available. But first, another discussion: DC vs DCC ...

Traditional (older) layout ran on DC power. To run multiple trains, you needed to wire your layout in "blocks", with each block section toggled on/off via a switch and/or power from a dedicated transformer. You typically wouldn't run two trains on the same block at the same time.

Modern layouts often use DCC ... digitally controlled locomotives. The track layout all shares the same common power, and the controller system sends out encoded signals (via power pulses) to the track itself. Each loco has an electronic-chip "decoder" that looks for control signals directed specifically for that loco. With this system, you can run AND CONTROL multiple locos on the same track system at the same time.

For DC, you might bypass those Tyco controllers/transformers in a short while, and step up to a used Tech II or Tech III controller. (I'm sure other guys here will have other suggestions, too.)

I'll defer the DCC recommendations to other guys here.

Steam locos are defined (generally) by their wheel configuration ... X-Y-Z, where X is the number (total) of small non-driven wheels at the front of the loco (often mounted on a pivoting truck), Y is the number of larger "drive wheels", and Z in the number of smaller non-driven trailing wheels. You can have X-Y-Y-Z locos, too. The numbering system is called Whyte notation. Also, X or Z can be zero. See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation

Enjoy the ride!

TJ


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## timlange3 (Jan 16, 2013)

Hi Donnie and welcome!

I'm a big fan of around the room shelf type railroads. You can set the at any height, what ever is comfortable for you. You can either fasten them to the wall or setup on narrow free standing tables. Mine is 24" deep at most with most of the shelf at 12" or even less. You can go completely around the room if you want continous running, just use bridges or lift out bridges for doorways.
This will free the entire center of the room. If the railroad is high enough most furniture will fit against the wall under the railroad. My current railroad is point to point, using turntables and wyes to turn steam engines. A lot of places for industry switching too.


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## racerdonnie13 (Jan 29, 2013)

alman said:


> Wow! I counted 11 transformers !
> 
> I do not know what you paid for it all , but you have a pretty good start !
> 
> View attachment 24588


There is actually 12... There was one more in a box that i forgot to get in the picture. Ive got about $100 bucks in everything ive got. Hopefully i got an ok deal.....


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## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

Welcome aboard Donnie!!

All that you scored is a great start. Probably the best thing I can say is ask questions if you have them. And research. Lots of research! It's amazing how a layout can change over the course of a short period of time. I must come up with a new plan about every month. I just keep thinking "hey! I could do this, or I could do that". But that's all part of the great thing of this hobby. And there's a wealth of knowledge here too!!


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## BK R (Dec 8, 2012)

You certainly don't let the grass grow under your feet, great lota gear to start with, you'll soon work out what's good, what's bad and what's ugly.


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## racerdonnie13 (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks for all the input guys. it really helps me understand. i like the sound of running DCC. how much more are the trains and controllers vs. a DC system? What would be a good controller to start with? I think in going to sell off my current trains, track, and controllers and start over with maybe one decent train amd someflex track. Ill probably keep the buildings and scenery i have untill i decide what im going to use. i also want to work on picking a layout style. i like the idea of the around the room style but my wife isnt gonna have that... so im thinking about a dogbone style. are there any others that i should consider?


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