Like to jump in and say hi! I just recently got into this hobby ( a month or so ) I kinda wish I first did some looking and did some reading before I bought some of the stuff. I did a silly and went and got one of those bachmann easy track sets. I was really excited and got home...put out the track ( even got 2 turnouts too because I figured I would go and expand the track ! ) and was really upset when the silly thing ran not as expected ( jerky, seemed to lose power all over the track, derailed many times ... ) this almost did me in the first day. So went to ebay and decided to give some normal code 80 track a try. Ended up getting a nice bunch ( about 3 lots of track...total of over 300+ assorted track with switches and all the other fun stuff ) . All this track for what I paid for this starter set I got. I went again without really looking and bought a "lifelike" engine. Lets just say that the engine runs better than the other one that came with the set...still not what I expected. Well after a few weeks ( just recently ) Ive been talking to a few people. One guy that I chat with more or less told me to stay away from the "cheap" stuff like bachmann and lifelike if I want a really nice smooth running setup. He pointed me to getting some "non DCC" altas or kato engines. Not as expensive, yet the quality is there. Is this true? What kind of brands would you guys go for? I am also questioning the power packs that I have. One of course came with the set...and the other one came with one of the lots of track and its a kayto...i think. The problem with that one is that it has the switch on the side of the pack, and it seems to make the engine go fast or faster or really super dupper fast.... which I kind of wanted to have a little more "speed control"....so what do you guys look for as a entry lvl good quality power source? I have so many questions, but those are the 2 big ones right now and the rest can wait for if I cant get the first 2 issues delt with...the rest means nothing! BTW, I have not givin up on this at all. In fact with my first weekend off in a long while, I built a nice 4x8 table for this. In fact started to lay some track down too. The kids are loving that ( hard to explain to the 6 YO that him running the circular saw is out of the question!! ) so this is something that I feel I must do, not only for myself as a hobby that I can enjoy , but for the kids ( I have 2 boys both are autistic, so stuff like this gets em really engaged and such )
Welcome Aboard. It's just a hobby...it will take time to get what ya want. Layouts are "never done". Locomotives? Atlas is good...so is Kato. I have many Lfelike and they run fine. You have to 'break in' a locomotive...no matter who makes it. Power pack? I like the MRC. If you run a dual mainline...get a dual controler. Dont be afraid to ask questions...especially here on TB. Bunch of nice people here...and a treasure trove of experience. Most of all...HAVE FUN ! .
Welcome aboard first and foremost. You'll find lots of info here from some well informed folks in the hobby. As earlier stated any of the MRC power packs will more than fulfill your needs now and into the future. Atlas, Kato are about the best locos out there along with Intermountain & Walthers Proto1000,2000 lines.
Welcome to Trainboard and to the hobby. What a terrific idea to introduce your kids to model railroading. I can't think of many hobbies that are better suited to autistic kids, both in the many different aspects of the hobby and in the opportunity for teaching and interaction. Come back often and ask just as many questions as you want. There are a lot of experts here, you'll find.
Welcome aboard watertown1978! You came to the right place for beginners and veterans alike. I just started getting into the hobby in December, and I know more now thanks to the good folks here at Trainboard than the decade of MR magazines that I have ever could teach me. From what I'm told you really can't go wrong with Atlas, Kato, Walthers Proto, or Athearn. I really like my Atlas GPs so far. Are you interested in steam, diesel, or whatever looks good? There are some things that apply to both or only one type. Such as diesels will run better out of the box than steam, but of course, steamers look a heckuva lot cooler with all their moving parts exposed. You'll find alot of this out just by perusing the forum for a while. I don't know much about DC power beyond my Lionel train, so I won't comment on it. Good luck in your adventure!
Welcome. Go slowly. Read and digest. Please remember that, as a neophyte, you will have many roadblocks. We are here to eliminate them with as little pain as possible. What era, if any, are you doing? There are some fine LifeLike diesels out there are a relatively cheap price. Kato is an excellent choice. One hint- Be careful with your trackwork- never try to make something fit. The more you try to squeeze something in, the more problems you will have later on. Make sure your grades are not too steep and there are no vertical dips in your track. I just spent the better part of a week ripping up a turnout that I broke, the adjacent trackage, scenery, etc., to eliminate a vertical dip that was created when I laid the turnout and caused some steam engines to lose contact when the front wheels hit the end of the turnout.
1st: Welcome to the hobby, and the forum. 2nd: Glad ya didn't give up. Don't give up. .Just learn, read allot here, and do your reserch. 3rd: Your friend is correct. Don't go "cheap", but that doesn't mean "inexpensive". Some of my sweetest running diesels I paid less than $50 for. 4th: Don't completely rule out Life Life, OR Bachmann for that matter. There are allot of Bachmann haters, and to be honest, it is understandable for the most part. But they DO have a 2nd to none customer service, altho the others are quickly catching up. AND they also put out some good stuff. However, their good stuff is the minority. You just have to know what to get of theirs. Life-Like also puts out some junk, but they also put out some of the most reliable, sweet running diesels for the money. Rule # 1 in all that, is stay away from the "train set" stuff. You will learn the difference on this site quickly if you ask the questions. 5th: start off with DC, you can get pretty decent power supplies fairly cheaply. BUT, keep an eye on, and read on DCC. Build and invest with future in mind, and that you will probably want to make the leap to DCC soon. Train set ones, are good for their train sets. I still use some of those tho for various accessories, and I even use them for LED lighting for my home entertainment center and bar, as well as cooling fans for my home theater system. So, they do serve a purpose, lol. Best advice I can give is this. Camp here, and read, read, read.. ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. We already know you are a rookie, you admitted it, so, ask anything.. . We can, and will be glad to help you.. Welcome aboard..
A great resource for N scale information is this link Model Railroading Before I buy any locomotive, other than Kato or Atlas, I will go to that website and look it up. He has great reviews on nearly every N scale locomotive available in the last 25-30 years.
Welcome to TrainBoard! Hang in there! just pause and gather your thoughts. Read, ask questions, take your time. There are very few of us who have not made mistakes along the way in this hobby. So don't feel bad. You'll do just fine. Boxcab E50
Which LifeLike engine did you buy? Was it new when you got it? I have an autistic grandson and he loves the trains. Probably the low end for LifeLike is the old run GP38. The make a proto version that is really sweet. Then they has an old F7 that was real heavy but had a few issues. I could go on but....Welcome aboard!!
Welcome to the hobby. I had a layout with my dad when i was ten and am building a small one now at 25. i learned a lot of things the hard way. cheap stuff can be ok, but i am learning atlas is the way to go with most. Kato is good too, but atlas (being a company based in NJ) seemed like a good company to support. as far as tips... check out the buildthreads on this website. http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/layouts.html you could spend hours reading on this site and it got me back into the hobby after 10 or so years. google "woodland scenics" for your layout stuff, and be prepared to invest a bit of money into the hobby. but the best thing about this hobby is being able to walk away and come back with fresh ideas. good luck!
Welcome, The hobby is a blast!. Take your time. I can guarantee every new everything is gonna look cool enough to have. I run from old (circa 1967 bought one today) to stuff that was made last year, can't get enough of it (don't follow me, I'm lost). I'm 2 years into N and a few more in O, before you go much further I'd suggest considering one thing. Unitrak. I bought and tried tons of other track but from the sheer, put it down and play (um model) perspective you can't go wrong. I too like some bachmann locos, but bachmann track, ummmm.... not so much. I like the atlas track, but couldn't get a permanent space in the house with 3 kids and the Unitrack allows me to set up and break down my area. If you have a spot and want to start with laying your own track, go for it! But, if you want to get into making trains move with the kids on a rock solid base, give Unitrak a look. Like others said, keep askin questions here. These folks are as friendly and helpful as old fashioned neighbors.
Welcome aboard! One of the first things you'll have to decide is what era you're going to model, and where the layout is to be set. Are you doing mainly steam locos with a few early diesels creeping in? Are you doing mainly diesel with a few steamers, or is it all diesel? What rail company? You might get away with a model of the California Zephyr "visiting" somewhere in Florida, so long as it didn't appear too often - so why bother with it? if you see what I mean. Is it to be a model of a real place, or are you going to invent WATERTOWN? Whatever you do, enjoy it! Regards, Pete
Marty is right, for versatility, Kato's unitrack can't be beat. Rivet counters (modelers who insist on exact perfection in their models) will tell you that the tie spacing is wrong and the code 80 track is too tall, but the stuff is near bullet proof and easy and fast to set up a layout and get trains running in a few minutes.
Well Okay first off to answer some questions. Steam is out for right now, I think that will come with time as i get more "into" the hobby. I will take back the thing I said about the lifelike engine. After I got the first "line" nailed down, I just tester her ( is it alright if I call a engine "her"? ) and she ran pretty good...without..."gasp" de-railing! No loss of power either and she went a nice pace without the typical "stuttering" that I have experienced. I even hooked up a box car to it and walla! it ran without de-railing! I am having one problem with a switch though... wondering if that is due to it not being powered yet ( I need to drill the holes and start running some wire for the AC to the control switch I have.....baby steps only so much time in the day...gotta sleep some time! ) As for engine types we will be going with diesels for now. Honesty , I love the older type engines because they are beautiful in my eyes, its just that other per packaged engine left a sour taste in my mouth for them right now ( sadly, it still does not run worth a ....... even as the other one runs flawless now ) I do have another 4x8 plywood waiting to be set up to match this 4x8 i have set up right now, so the imagination is not limit ( I have the WHOLE BASEMENT TO MYSELF!! ) so room is not an issue. One quick question.... cleaning of said tracks. Now most are second hand tracks....some used and some not, how to clean them? My "helper" told me to use rubbing alcohol on them, this was before I bought an eraser from the hobby shop. I honeslty didnt think this was so in depth. Im happy now that this engine works for now and Im gonna run a train of some box cars and watch her go for a bit, go to bed ( I work 3rd shift ) and get up and show the kids after the therapy is done here at home tonight... this will be a blast for them.
Just use alcohol on an old rag to clean track. Erasers and other such cleaners scratch the top of the rails ! Use a coffee filter laid over the rail with a little alcohol on it to clean wheels on locos.Diesels are the way to go. Although I am looking into a steamer for T.H.E Wife. She has an excursion line she runs now and then...and she aint to happy with the old Arnold S2 pulling it. .
Yeah, just consider this the tech support site that speaks english. There's also a TON of information on this forum, expiriment with using the search functions and see how you do. If you have a digital camera, or something that will pass for one, it will help a lot. Sooner or later you're going to want to ask a question about how to do something and if you can post a picture of it, its a lot easier to help. There's also a whole lot of Ford vs. Chevy on any given topic, don't let it get to you! We mean well! I think the biggest surprise I realized early-on in N scale back in the dark ages was that so much of the product was such marginal quality. There was really good stuff out there, and tricks to make it run really well, but it wasn't obvious, and I was from HO where stuff...just....worked, for the most part. It's a whole lot better now, but yeah, sounds like you've already had your first introduction. The other 'tough thing' to get used to is the tremendous variance in performance and quality with 'brand names'. It varies by era. It varies by product. It can even vary by 'run', i.e. the 2006 one is OK, but the 2000 one is bad.... That happens because 'most' (not all) of the 'brand names' are not really manufacturers; some are (Kato) and some were, but the typical model today is that the 'brand name' contracts with a factory (usually China) to produce something and the 'brand name' imports it. A lot can get lost in translation. That also means that a particularly good factory can end up with products in SEVERAL brand names! Some times the exact same product has appeared MULTIPLE TIMES from multiple brands! Some times brand names (Bachmann, Atlas) have different grades of product! Some brand names (Atlas) actually buy product from other manufacturers that don't usually market in the US (Micro-Ace)...and on and on and on. So don't trust the brand names to be the key indicator of what to buy. You have Spookshow's list, use that like a good Consumer Reports resource. He calls it right. If there's an N scale hall of fame, he and Doug Gosha (for the all-time lists of First Generation N scale) should be on it. The other thing that's tough about N scale is finding stuff that you've seen or heard and just can't find. Online stores will have current production, but if you're looking for something made years ago you may have to rely on used sales on forums and auction sites. A lot of deals and trades and tips are done here. N scale has evolved into a limited-run, sometimes pre-reserved market which can drive you nuts (order before you ever see it, or loose the opportunity entirely....maybe....or maybe not if you wait it out). The other thing is that there's literally HUNDREDS of guys that do cottage manufacturing/importing of specific oddball product...including me. Use the search engines, you might be stunned at what you find that isn't in hobby shops, catalogs, or whatever.
For cleaning track I sometimes use a bright boy or sometimes 70% isopropol alcohol on a rag. I have made some masonite slider cars to run in each train that helps cut down on track cleaning. When I installed Peco switches with machines I use a circular hole saw to drill through the cork and plywood for the machine to fit. I found that these round plywood pieces with the cork glued on are very good for cleaning rail tops instead of the bright boy. Ebay is a good place to look for items that may be out of production (notice I didn't say exellent). I have bought many things there at very low prices and won many bids with no problems with sellers, their merchandise or shipping, Yet. I recently bought my first steam loco, a Bachmann 2-8-0 consolidation. It runs beautifully.
