# Intro & some questions



## Noodly1 (Jan 24, 2011)

Hi!
I'm a total train noob--just bought a kit yesterday (Athearn, HO, Norfolk Southern diesel with EZ track) and got it up and running today. I'm excited to get started; I love to paint, draw, and create and I think this will be a wonderful creative outlet.

The guy at the local train store told me to use sheets of styrofoam insulation as my base (for the moment I'm using our formal dining room table as benchwork, since we only use the thing for actual dining twice a year), because that would be easiest to work with when the time comes to start carving and otherwise building scenery. So that's what I did. My question now is, when you're just starting out, where exactly do you begin? I have the track--an oval--and my train, obviously, and one building (a kit) that I put together...but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the "planning" process of where to go now.

Also, is it common to switch out/completely change your scenery after awhile? I think I want to start out with an industrial setting, but then I thought it'd be cool to build a French village and countryside, and then I'd eventually like to re-create the town I grew up in. But do most enthusiasts do that sort of thing? Or do you generally build a scene and stick with it? Or do you end up with trains all over your house? 

I'm sure there are probably some FAQs here to help me out some, but since I wanted to say "hi" anyway, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask the pros their opinions.

One more thing before I sign off--I'm female. Train store guy said there's a growing contingent of female enthusiasts, but I've yet to see or meet any (all the people at the train store were men), so I'm hoping to "meet" some here.

Thanks!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hi Noodly,

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear you've gotten the train bug. Lots of questions ya' got there! All good, though. I think I'll offer two basic pieces of advice: #1 ... don't feel lilke you have to rush buidling a layout. Layouts are meant to evolve over time ... sometimes a long time. Often, the best layouts are never really done. #2 ... there's no pure right or wrong way when it comes to designing / building your layout. You're the boss, and whatever makes you happy is the right choice for you.

Now, that groundwork stated ...

Foam makes a great base for a layout. It's light, relatively cheap, can be glued up like a wedding cake into layers that you can carve. And, you can carve down into it to make little valleys, streams, etc. However (!!!) ... do NOT use styrofoam ... the white stuff made from little fused pellets. It will NOT carve easily. Instead, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy extruded styrene rigid insulation foam ... it's sold in sheets, typically 1" or 2" thick, and 24" or sometime 48" wide. You can glue it together with foam-safe caulk adhesives ... like a Liquid Nails product made especially for foam. The foam can be carved with knives, sanders, etc., and can be easily painted with any latex or acrylic paint.

Beyond that, you'll want to begin to explore scenery possibilities: grass, trees, bushes, etc. Lots of premade products to make life easier exist ... Woodland Scenics is one of the big guys on the block.

In planning a layout, you need to think about your space availability, obviously. With some overall dimensions in mind, a track plan is next. I'd suggest looking into the AnyRail track layout software. You can download a starter / demo version for free.

I'll leave it there. Enjoy the ride!

TJ


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Noodly1,
Yes the trains can be very addictive. I am probably on my 15th layout and always growing. 
I would say a good place to start is right here for one thing. Everyone here is very willing to help and everyone has some Field of expertise to help you out!
The second get some train magazines like Model Railroading, they are full of Idea's and hint to get you going. 
You can get a beginners guide for layouts. It will give you a great place to start. If you start small and work your way up you will learn allot of things. Doing is the greatest teaching tool.
Oh and as far as you being Female the only thing I can say is I don't think that will effect the way anyone will treat you! I would hope that if there are other female modelers on here that they will chime in and give you there help. Most of the older guy's have a wife helping out or at the very least supporting there train addiction. 
And never feel that any question is too stupid or simple to ask, because even the simple answers can lead to bigger things. 
Good Luck!


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Welcome to your new obsession. 

I've been building my layout on 1.5" insulation foam. It make construction very easy. You can easily punch holes through it to run your wires, and easily mold it to the shapes you need. 

Once you get the train going round and round the oval, you'll want to think about what kind of setup you want. My suggestion is to spend some time with the magazines, and on this site and others looking at what other people have done. You'll find layouts that are every size . . . from fitting in a drawer to as big as a basement and beyond. 

As you're building - post pictures! We all like to look and give suggestions. 

And, above all, have fun with it!


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