Hello. Im Keith from Little Rock, Ar. Im sortta new to this. Was innvolved with in HO scale with my father when I was a kid. Now I along with my wife, want to pass it on to my 2 lil girls. I am going to build an HO scale board from scratch and have a few questions. 1. Whats the best thing to use for the baseboard? Dad used what he called hobby board but cant find it. 2. Whould like to know about this "DCC". 3. Whats the best and quickest way to get the slope for a hill right? Any and all help would be greatfull. Looking to start building the 1st of the year.
Hi Keith, Welcome to the TrainBoard, we're glad you and your family decided to come on board. I'll try to answer some of your questions....... 1 - I prefer foam board available from Home Depot or Lowe's, either blue or pink, they're both the same. I use two layers of 3/4" each, that way I can carve out rivers or ponds in the top layer while the bottom layer remains solid giving a strong base. Foam board also comes in 1/2", and 2" is available in some parts of the country, Little Rock may be one. 2 - I can't help with your DCC question, but there are many others who can. 3 - I assume by "Hill" you mean track grade or slope. The formula is Height needed for clearance above a track divided by Distance available for the grade. The average grade is 2%. So to clear a lower track by the HO minimum of 3", you would need 150" of distance for the upper track to maintain a 2% grade. Many folks use 3% which decreases the distance to 100", but that may limit how many cars your locomotive(s) can pull up the grade, even worse if the grade is on a curve. Hope this helps a little. Please post more of your plans and thoughts as you go along. Even though all "newbies" have to wait three days before posting their first photos, we'd love to see what you are doing.
Thank you for the info. I will try to put pics and updates when I start. Getting a shed to build it in so it wont get started till around the first of the year. I am also looking for a place i can get something like a working ski lift in HO scale. Anyone Know where I can find and/or get 1?
Keith- Welcome to TrainBoard! That board you mentioned, I would guess he was referencing something called homasote. It's still out there and folks do still use it. As Hank has already noted, the foamboard- It's very popular these days for light weight, ability to carve, etc. Ski lift- I believe there is or was a European manufacturer with such an item. Seems like I saw one somewhere, but it's not something which I've ever paid much attention I, too, will look forward to following what you decide, design and build.
