Hobby Talk

2010-03-21T04:34:00.002-04:00

2010-03-21T04:26:00.002-04:00

COSTLY MISTAKES BEGINNERS MAKE WHEN STARTING IN MODEL RAILROADING

2010-03-16T18:18:00.000-04:00

          In my last post I jumped right in and went wild getting lumber to build my layout. Not thinking about what layout I wanted to build or the railroad I wanted to run. After getting the lumber I had a conversation with a good friend who is the hobby for years. He began to tell me about the mistakes beginners make and the price they pay. As a result of jumping right in. I was told to visit a special report put out by a guy named Dan Morgan, My eyes got opened really fast as a result. The very first step is in figuring out what type of layout and track plans. So the search was on I bought 101 track plans, what a great read. The plans are clearly explained and the materials listed. The price is right also!!
   In the report I read from Dan Morgan, the difference in track turning radius. The difference in just buying a train set and adding one by one. What a mistake to make buying the train set and finding out it just has hardly enough power to run!! Plus most sets come with tight turning curves. This is no good for the modeler running steam, some of the bigger diesels, passenger and some of the larger freight cars. They derail in the turns!! Imagine getting your layout built only to find out the train derails in the turns. Back to the drawing board right? That's where Building a Model Railroad step by step comes in, its a great how to guide and full of important information.
   Another interesting read is Basic Model Railroading: Getting started in the hobby. Packed with information and what not to do. This saves a-lot of money and head-aches. So right now I've decided on the scale I want to run, the layout, I already have more lumber then I need to start building. I hope this has helped some beginners like myself from making some very huge mistakes and costly one's too. Until next week LETS GO RAILROADING!!

There's been some big changes!!

2010-02-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

I remember only to well that big Christmas when I got up in the morning and there it was!! sitting on a 4'x8' plywood board A LIONEL TRAIN SET!! I think I played with those trains all day and then all Christmas vacation, it was all I had on my mind. It was just your basic lay-out nothing fancy just a plain Santa Fe engine and a few cars. But at the age of 7 I was in heaven, it took up most of a spare bedroom. The room looked big when it was empty but with the train lay-out in it, the room filled up fast. I added to the layout over the years, and was later told that I would have to store the trains because we were moving to a smaller apartment. So the trains were put in boxes and stored away. I had forgotten all about the trains over the years, until I was asked if it was alright to give the trains to a much younger cousin. I was in the Marine Corp. at the time and it was 1968, there went the trains, never to be seen again.
This Christmas brought back those memories when I went to a Christmas train show. I had heard of all the different changes in railroading over the years, but had no idea just how big it had gotten. Ho,n,o gauge. Computer controlled!! I stood there in for at least 2 hours looking and asking questions. Here it is Feb. and I'm still in some what of a shock!!
When I retired I looked for things to fill the empty hours so I started collecting Die Cast Cars drove my wife crazy!! But you can only collect so many cars before you run out of wall space and the boxes start piling up in the garage. That's when I got into R/C flying; now this was something!! building your own plane and taking and watching it fly ( With A-lot of practice and model rebuilding due to crashes). Expensive yes!! but well worth the time, besides the fun.
My wife knew something was on my mind since Christmas , car collecting drew to a close and I wasn't spending the time on the planes in the garage. It was when the train catalogs began to come in the mail that she knew what was coming ( Her favorite saying "BIG BOYS AND THERE TOYS") Also an invite to a local model railroading club in the area.
I started making more room in the garage for my lay-out this morning and I'm heading over to Lowes to get the lumber to build my bench lay-out for the Model railroad. Fill you in on the progress later. Need-less to say the wife rolled her eyes and said OH NO NOT AGAIN!!