# A 70 year old dream



## Avis (Jan 15, 2018)

Hi all,

My father is about to celebrate his 70th birthday next month, and since childhood he dreamed of buying and building a model train,
but since he grew up in a poor family (yes I know it sounds like Victor Hugo's story ...) It was only a dream
and when he grew up he was busy In the establishment of the family and the business, so the dream was abandoned…
Today when he has retired and has time and even a place in the house we want to fulfill his old dream and buy him a gift
What do you recommend as a starting point? Starter Kit? If so what? Also which scale S? HO?

Thanks 
Itay


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Avis said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My father is about to celebrate his 70th birthday next month, and since childhood he dreamed of buying and building a model train,
> but since he grew up in a poor family (yes I know it sounds like Victor Hugo's story ...) It was only a dream
> ...


Welcome!! I see from your location you're in Israel.. To start off, what's available to you in your area??. Also, what scale does your Dad have interest in? My Dad had American Flyers in S scale, and that's what I now have, along with a ton of 0 scale. I'm sorry I can't add more, but I know some of the great people here will chime in eventually.. Again, welcome.


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Great project. It can bring him hours of enjoyment.

Some questions that you might ask yourself and apply to your decision. On the subject of scale (HO, S, O), you might want to establish what's popular in your country and thus available for expansion. Also, is there a specific road name he likes or identifies with? You mention he has space available. How much space? O scale eats up a lot quickly, HO less. How about future costs. I believe, if I'm not wrong, O scale costs more, item for item, than HO. I also believe that HO has more choices of items than O scale.

How's his eye site? I see lots of comments on here as individuals grow older that they prefer the size of O for the eye site issue. BTW, I happen to be age 82 and have just started a large layout. I get along just fine with HO from a visual standpoint.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2018)

I would suggest talking to your dad about when he grew up. You can get around to asking about the trains he wanted without giving your plans away. He probably wanted Lionel O gauge as a kid. If so, that would be best. By reminiscing about the old days he will let you know what he wanted and would most likely enjoy today. If his eyesight is good and his hands steady you can go with any scale. If his eyesight isn't so good or he has physical problems like shaky hands then the bigger trains would be easier for him, but mostly go with whatever he wanted when he was young. That would probably mean the most to him.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

What country was your father raised in?

That information would go a long way in
making the determination of Scale etc.

There are serious differences in the design 
of locos, cars, couplers and other factors
between European and North American trains.

European trains used a quite different coupler and
bumpers between cars not seen in North America.

There is a difference also in the models. Over here
our HO is 2 rail DC or DCC. In other parts of the
world HO may be two or a semi 3 rail and be either
AC, DC or DCC.

If your dad is more familiar with the Euro type
trains you may want to check out what is available
in Euro online dealers.

If he is more oriented to North American type
railroads you are at the right place. Let us know
and our members will be only to glad to guide
you.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Is money an object?

Woodland Scenics makes layout kits -- the basic kit, which includes everything you need, (including scenery on some) but excluding track and structures is about $500US; they sell structure kits for those layouts (specific for the version you buy) for and Atlas sells kits of the track pieces you need to make them. Then you need some trains.

All told, you'd probably invest about $1200US in the systems and trains (but that's about what you'd pay for a 4x8 layout with full scenery anyway), but you would have everything he needs to build a complete layout. Check them out here:
https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/LAKits


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