# help for a newbie mom



## joyah (Sep 8, 2010)

Hello all

I am a TOTAL novice to model rr's but married into a family who LOVES the railroad (we live next to the tracks) and so now that our boys are 12 and almost 10 we are considering dragging out DH's trains. I know many consider Tyco junk but hey it's what we've got. He has a huge collection and buildings up the wazoo so it's what we have to work with. 
So my questions are 1) what is the best way to clean the old stock and track
2) we are considering getting the boys each a set for christmas what is the best bet for a newbie starting out. Granted they've got dad but there are 2 of them and we'd like them to do a bit on their own.
3) since we have nothing around us for shops with supplies what are some of the best online placest (of course <$ is nice too).

Thank you for the help.
christy


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Welcome to the forum.

Clean your track with a fine abrasive like a pen eraser, do not use sandpaper. I then use a very, v-e-r-y, _very_ light coat of Wahl Hair Clipper oil (nothing else) to keep it clean.

Your TYCOs are going to disappoint, they simply do not stand up to storage and are hard to maintain and get to operate again. Set the engines aside and pick up some Blue Box Athearn 4 axle diesel models. They're inexpensive, reliable, easy to maintain and compatible with your TYCO cars. 

Do not get sucked into "rare", "uncommon" or "hard to find" in descriptions when shopping for them. Good deals can still be found in the $20 range quite easily on eBay, parts are still common and information to work on them is easily found.

Hope that helps.


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## modeltrainhead (Nov 15, 2009)

what do you know a teenager telling a mom what to do (that is a first)
scakes are important tyco is ho scale and scalewise you want your scale i myself model HO scale but you can go for any other scale
well so if you think correctly you want to start a layout first pick up an model railroader magazine then you want to start small. if your using Z scale smallest scale USE A BRIEFCASE if you go for Z scale, if your an N scale it fits on 2x4 table if your HO which is the scale for Tyco, it would be fun on an 4X8 plywood sheet, if your going o scale which is the big brands Lionel well it really expensive, if your going for S scale Ask Reckers about it if your going to G scale which stands for GARDEN SCALE which my mom wanted to do you got your really EXPENSIVE kinds of trains.
well you want to make it realistic right so make scenes or as model railroaders like to say SCENRY 

well gottra go to school so thank you for listening (i mean READING)


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Christy, welcome to the forum! Let me add two suggestions to the advice above. First, look at the transformer before you plug it in. Heavy rust or dry-rot on the power cord (broken insulation) should be cause to pause. A new transformer can be aquired cheaply on ebay or from on-line train shops.

Second...come back here, frequently. Please extend that invitation to the rest of your family, as well. We love having new people and helping them get started. Everyone on this site was a newby at some point; we repay those who helped us by passing on what we've learned.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

shaygetz said:


> Good deals can still be found in the $20 range quite easily on eBay, parts are still common and information to work on them is easily found.


i havent seen a BB in good condition for less then 30 before SnH for some time now.


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## joyah (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you all so much.
Tom ( my husband) I'm sure will know all of what I've been told. His layout was HUGE I've seen the old table which is now burried in his fathers house. So he is no newbie. 
We have engines that he's rebuilt and many pieces parts from his days of being a hobbiest, along with boxes of rolling stock (cars?) and engines. I know he has 1 model of the spirit of '76. So I'm looking for any tips or new tricks that might help get the older stuff rolling again, that are out there it's been over 20 years since he's had them out.

Since we will obviously be combinig new and old and the boys are still fairly young for this what would you all consider a good start out brand, set or pieces? I'm hoping to spend about 300 for xmas on stuff for them.

Thank you all


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Joyah,

Just a quick note echoing the Welcomes above. Look forward to seeing the "family layout" progress, and sharing a chat and laugh or two.

TJ


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

tankist said:


> i havent seen a BB in good condition for less then 30 before SnH for some time now.


You're shopping in all the wrong places...:thumbsup:

Joyah, your TYCO can easily be remotored to run quite well with the motor from the disc drive on an old CD ROM. It takes a few minutes and doesn't affect the looks of the loco one bit.


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## joyah (Sep 8, 2010)

Like a cd rom on an old computer?


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

joyah said:


> Like a cd rom on an old computer?


Exactly...


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

I will have to start saving the motors, I used to just keep the magnets


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## joyah (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you all.

So I've been looking at websites and different train sets to purchase for the boys for xmas  is all my brain thought when I closed the sites.

Life like seems to be a poplular one that is fairly inexpensive. what is the quality of their product? 

I'd like to get them each a set and some pieces to add to it. I'm thinking that it would be nice to have dad's stuff in the middle and theirs on the ends of the layout so they can expand.

So what are your favorite brand? I'm looking for durability (oxymoron?) and ease of use.

thank you all


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## jbsmith966 (Jun 19, 2010)

joyah said:


> Thank you all.
> 
> So I've been looking at websites and different train sets to purchase for the boys for xmas  is all my brain thought when I closed the sites.
> 
> ...


Lifelike is the least expensive,,BUT,,,you get what you pay for. 

If i had to choose,,i would go with one of the following;

Bachmann---Good quality for starter sets and beginner,,reasonable prices,many different sets to choose from,easy to find.
Bachmann has come a long way quality wise in the last few years.

Atlas Trainman---Also decent quality,,The sets vary in the roadnames only, Santa Fe, CSX, Norfolk Southern ect.

Athearn---Good quality for beginers too.

some good sites to shop,,i'll recomend these as I have done buiseness with all
three and i know they give great service. 
In no particular order

http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalog/index_brief.php

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/

http://www.trainsetsonly.com/


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

joyah said:


> So what are your favorite brand? I'm looking for durability (oxymoron?) and ease of use.
> 
> thank you all


Athearn, Rivarossi, AHM...don't get the last two if you're not a bit of a tinkerer.


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## Littlefoot14 (Sep 3, 2010)

I love the bachmann stuff that i have. I have one of their DCC locomotives and their DCC EZ command system. Im 15, so obviously money is pretty limited. Some of the nice parts about bachmann, most of the rolling stock comes with metal wheels and they all have knuckle couples. This is opposed to Life like which have horn hooks and plastic wheels.


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Christy,

Sounds like you got your work cut out for you:laugh:

I pick up most of my railroad stuff from eBay. The nearest hobby shop from me is 100 miles away, and I don't get there very oftenhwell:

I have a hodgepodge of locomotives, everything from Tyco/Mantua to Athearn.

If your dead set on getting your Tyco stuff up and running, there is a forum dedicated to Tyco trains.

Yes, many people consider them junk,(I don't), like shaygetz mentioned, they can be remotored and run again.

Try this: http://www.tycoforums.com/

Check it out and see what you think, and good luck getting restarted in the hobby:thumbsup:

Oh yeah, PICS!!:laugh:

Cheers, Ian


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## joyah (Sep 8, 2010)

Husband is dead set on his stuff running again. He got most of it as non running and worked on it so I definately see it up and going at some point. I'm a LONG way from this starting. I have to clean the play room out (that is 1 down on the list) then we have to get the tables built. then we need to get started. I'm hoping that by xmas we'll have something up and running.

As for what the boys get for xmas I'm still undecided. I hate to spend a ton on something and have them break it on accident. and I know that Daddy is not going to be forgiving if they hurt something of his. I know it's all what they are told but they are still young (in my mind) for this type of hobby.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

joyah said:


> I hate to spend a ton on something and have them break it on accident. and I know that Daddy is not going to be forgiving if they hurt something of his. I know it's all what they are told but they are still young (in my mind) for this type of hobby.


If you want durable, you might consider Lionel O gauge, the starter sets have very few breakable pieces, I don't know about how long they will last with modern electronics, for example, I have my grandpa's Lionel trains from the 1950's and they still run perfectly which is probably due to the fact that they are mostly mechanical, the only electronics are the wires going to the motor :laugh: If you look around, the starter sets don't really cost too much, even older unopened sets are ok.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

joyah said:


> As for what the boys get for xmas I'm still undecided. I hate to spend a ton on something and have them break it on accident. and I know that Daddy is not going to be forgiving if they hurt something of his. I know it's all what they are told but they are still young (in my mind) for this type of hobby.


I set it in my heart long ago to be careful not to have trains my kids couldn't play with. If a piece was too valuable or fragile, then it was put away. My kids have a corner of the layout to play to their heart's desire.


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## DD TRAINS (Sep 26, 2010)

At my little shop i hav plenty of polar express O gauge sets. Ready to be shipped


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*A treasure which ever way you look at it!*

Hi Joyah,
Just wanted to add that with winter approaching you could make Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon "Train Day" which would encompass "Helping Mom" clean the playroom and get the boys involved with the whole process. If your husband is like most of us....giving up old family relics comes hard! My wife finally got me to part with a great deal of Train Stuff, that the kids got from their respective Grannies, at a garage sale and WOW we made a killing. I do miss some of my relics but took the money and upgraded some rolling stock and engines:thumbsup:. But it really sounds like you have a Huge collection and, Tyco or not, you have more than some people have...which isn't a thing! Please post some pictures and hope to see a Photo of the layout. Good luck!:thumbsup:


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