# Very Very New!



## david1989 (Aug 19, 2011)

Hi everyone, 
My name is David and I'm interested in starting up with model trains. Just the last week or two I've been looking into it and already I'm lost (but intrigued) 

If someone would be kind enough to offer advise/support, I'd greatly appreciate it. 
My questions for today are;

Where and with what should I start? Should I get a table first or a track? Which are the best trains/landscape to go with?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Hi David, welcome to the hobby.

There are many things to consider when starting out such as space, money available, details wanted, whether you want a permanent layout, etc...

Each scale has it's advantages and disadvantages. The information you may get here will probably be biased based on the scales people run. I run 3-Rail O scale and like it a lot, but it may not be right for you.

Here is a photo showing the scales in relation to each other.









G (garden) is the largest and probably the most expensive but it can be run outdoors, O is the next largest and is fairly popular, it comes in two rail (DC power and more to scale) and 3 rail (AC power and more toylike in size) (the most famous 3 rail brand is Lionel but there are many others), S is in between O and HO, HO is supposedly the most popular and is about half the size of O, then there is N which is smaller yet and Z. They get smaller too, but those are the main ones.

Prices vary among the scales and also vary depending on what features you want. For example, you can get a fairly cheap O scale locomotive, but it won't have sound or command control (remote control ability). Sound and command control add to the price in all the scales.

So, once you decide on the space you have and the money you want to spend we can give ideas about what to get.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

David,

Welcome to the hobby and to our forum. I'll pass on a couple of recommendations (in addition to great info from SantaFe, above!)...

Take a look at the National Model RR Assocatoin website ... NMRA. They have a nice "beginners" section with several subtopics ...

http://www.nmra.org/beginner/

This next site also has some fun layout ideas (of all different sizes / gauges), along with some beginner info ...

http://www.thortrains.net/

And lastly, stick around our forum, ask questions, share some laughs, and learn ... you'll be amazed at what you can pick up from our crew!

TJ


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Without knowing your space limitations or your budget I am going to recomend HO because it is easy on the wallet for a beginner and also not the most space hogging out of them all. As for the table/track most people start out with a simple 4x8 table and then expand with a new layout later on down the road. a simple sheet of wood with legs will serve this purpose well. Now for the locomotives or the expensive part. Their are starter train sets out their for around 200-300 but it is ussually better to start piece by piece. There are three classifications of HO locomotives. The first is a standard DC engine which runs on DC power and are ussually pretty cheap on ebay and run from 50-100 dollars for a good runner. The second is a DCC equiped engine which runs on AC current so it requires a special controller then a standard DC controller and ussually runs around 100-200 dollars for a brand new one. The last type of locomotive is a DCC and Sound locomotive that also runs on AC current like the DDC engine but also has the addition of sound and runs from 150-350-500 dollars depending on the engine you get. DCC or DCC and sound allows you to run more then one train at once without a bunch of extra switches and also allows you to control things like lighting on the engine as well as sounds of the engine running. Their are thre type of locomotives and these include Steam, Diesel, and Electrics. Steam is the favorite of all, Diesel is the modern day power houses, and Electrics are the silent work horses of some railroads. Now with the engine type and class figured out you need to decide on the manufacturer. Their are several to be avoided and also several to try to get. Life-Like is considered the lowest of the low and is ussually for kids and don't run very well as well as don't have a lot of features but are very cheap and affordable. Next up is the no longer in buisness companys like IHC or AHM most of their engine run well and have fairly good detailing but they are not the most quite of runners in most cases and none are DCC or sound equipped so you must add that in. Next is Bachmann as a starter to mid range company as some of their engines are starter engines but almost all of them are good runners and have nice detailling, they now include DCC, and DCCsound engines. Then their are Atlas and Athearn which make mid to high end locomotives. These are considered some of the best locomotive to buy and all come DCC ready or have the DCC or DCC sound installed and are excellent runners. Then you are getting into the high end with Walthers and MTH being the top tier but also being the most expensive topping out at 500 dollars an engine. Walthers is an all around solid company and now what they are doing when it comes to DCC and DCCsound engines. MTH offers the best or jsut about the best detailing on any currently available engines besides brass but their DCC/sound functionality and running is still being perfected and right now I would advise to be very cautious buying engines from them.

Now you engines are done which leaves track and cars to haul. Bachmann Ez track is the way to go if you are doing a non permenant setup and Atlas flex track is the best way to go if you are doing a permanent one and using shinora switches are the best way to go for permanent as well. As for the cars your train hauls that is mearly an opinion thing so you buy the cars that you like the most but you should make sure to switch them out with metal wheels if they are plastic and upgrade the couplers to knuckle couplers if they are horn hook.

The next thing is your controller. If you are going the DC route then any DC controller will do with some of the NCE DC controlers being better then others. If you are going DCC then their si a lot to consider. The best systems available are the NCE, Digitrax, and the ESU systems. The most important part to consider about your system besides the comfort and ease of use of it is the amount of amps it offers 1 amp will generally run 2 DCC only trains or just 1 DCC/Sound engine. You also need to consider things like automatic signals and if you want to set that up with your system, that determines what system to get as well.

The last thing is your scenery and just about all of the scenery products are good and easy to build and use so everything is good in that respect. Woodland Scenics makes the best and most realistic trees for HO scale out there.

Now the pricing on locomotives and cars has took and interesting turn of events as now G scale DCC/Sound engines from Aristocraft or Bachmann cost as much as the top line DCC sound HO scale engines and if you look on ebay you can get a complete G scale train for less then the price of one brand new DCC engine. O is also aobut the smae nowadays as well and N scale is also the same with some being a little higher.

G- offers emense size and pulling power as well as detail and can be run outside in the rain if you wish.

O- is a toy/childhood type but also has some nicely detailed engines and cars for the serious modeller.

S- Smaller then O and more prototypical with two rails instead of three but also harder to find new age engines and quality in the detail department.

HO- most widely available and the cheapest out of them all and also seems to be just the right size for so many.

N- for those with space limitations and very good eyes. Nice to fascinate at the detail they put on them these days.

I am pretty sure that covers everything and i could now right a small sized book about it and should give you everything you need to make the right choice for you.


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