Not the best time to buy a beginners set?

On 12/9/2009 8:31 PM Musicman59 spake thus:

HO. 40' boxcar ~= 5-1/2".

Musicman59 wrote in news:2843499c-4724-4160-843b- snipped-for-privacy@e4g2000prn.googlegroups.com:

I'd look for one powered by a Walthers Trainline diesel. They have good power pickups (albiet a little old fashioned) and can pull just about anything you throw at it on a small layout.

Puckdropper

Bah! Nobody plays with those large and clunky H0 trains! :-) N scale passenger cars are about 6" long and you have cute little trains to play with. You can have almost twice as much model railroading in half the space!

Here is a sample of available sets:

Peteski

HO Scale. Athearn, Atlas, and Train Line sets are all good starter sets. Chuck Kimbrough

Yes, and as an extra added benefit the N scale trains only run half as well as the HO versions; which is wonderful if you like static displays! }:-P

Double Bah!! And along with oversized railings and grabs and couplers, you get monstrously oversized rail - except for the few nearly blind devotees* who hand lay code 40 N scale track, even the best common practice (Code 55) scales out to something like 175 pound rail, even worse than Code

The only N scale layouts I've seen that didn't scream toy train had Code 55 track buried in ballast to hde as much of the rail as possible.

• "Stop that - you'll go blind!" "Can't I just do it until I need glasses?"

Yes, and all that trouble you get for the same price as HO ! Free included!

can someone please translate this side discussion on scale size to this newbie? It appears that people have certain positions on the proper scale one should own. :-) that said, for me, just hitting the half century mark, the smaller trains will most likely soon become fuzzy to see and will soon gather dust. thought if I went a larger size, say 6 inches or larger, I could have some fun with this hobby.

so, are there inherent problems with the smaller scales? what are they? dust, derailments, etc ?

thx much all - Craig

Craig, part of your choice depends on your interests. HO scale (1/8 inch to the foot approximately) is the most popular scale, and has more overall variety of items available. True, you can get more layout in a given space in N scale, but if you enjoy building kits (buildings, railroad cars, etc.) HO scale is a better choice. Operating your trains like a real railroad also is better in HO scale, simply because you can see the markings on the cars. O gauge or scale is 1/4" to the foot, takes a lot more room than HO, and given your 6" preference, is probably too big. I personally model in HO scale (am 66, have worn glasses much of my life and bifocals for the last 15+ years), and find it to be "right" for me. Yes, I sometimes have to use magnifying lenses when working on building details or assembling cars (most manufacturers these days have ready to run cars available), but the combination of size and detail allows me to have a decent sized layout and enjoy the aspects of the hobby I want to enjoy.

As mentioned in another response earlier, Athearn, Atlas, Walthers all make good starter sets - if you have a local hobby shop where you can go in and look at the various scales and ask questions, by all means do so. Too, check if there's a local club you could visit, and talk with members, check out what they're doing. Another possibility - check out the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA.org) to see if you can find local clubs, or to see if there is an NMRA meet in your area in the next few months.

If in the Phoenix AZ area, check out

Matt

thx much for the advice. Been building styrene models since 1964. Your comments about building kits makes me think I might want to go a smaller size. This would be diversion from building, not a side hobby to that. I would much rather buy off the shelf buildings, etc. than have to build them up. I'm in the hole around 200 model kits so it would be nice to have something already built and painted for a change, Then I could at least modify the kits to what I desire. I have a long family history of my family in Texas and Arizona so I am a bit partial to trains running in the southwest during the mid-late

Best - Craig

(Big snip)

HO scale probably has the most to choose from in the late 1800s era, though you'll have to look around quite a bit, and you'll probably find few already built buildings and railroad cars available. A possibility I hadn't thought of earlier would be to check out product availability online at either

HTH

Matt

Another thing is to find a good model train shop, one of those that are dedicated to rrains and have the clerk make up a set with your help. May not be quite as cheap as that TorysRUs set but you will be getting qulity and will also probably get a good lesson in modeling. One thing to note is thatt no matter what scale you get into, the trains will run better when you put them down permanently on a dedicateed platform. There are a number of bookss that will help in this regard. I'll also notee that track can be had in either sectional or long lengths for most scales and the long pieces work best on permenant layouts for obvious reasons once you see the two types in action.

-- Bob May

rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net

Yes and seeing the front end of a train rolling into a town before the back end has left the other town is really prototypical and goodoperational NOT.

I am a half century myself and although I agree with Matt that its much easier with the eyes and handwork for H0 , operations and having your trains rolling through what at least seems a vast landscape is much nicer in Normal-scale ;-)

So Craig if you want layout with long trains going through wide curves ten itsN-scale you want, if you like looking at your trains in tight curves and

Oh I saw someone here posted something about better running on H0 then N, if you stick to Kato ,Atlas and an ocasional Proto/LifeLike you'll find N-scale runs at least just as well as H0.

greetz Jan using Atlas code 55

Hint: Five to seven car wayfreights or three car passenger trains are not unprototypical.

Yes I agree, but if you like building a large mainline with for example a Super Chief or a Broadway Limited or a coal train with 30 or more cars you need a lot of room if you want to do it in H0 scale.

Greetz Jan

Well, yes, and how is this relevant to a discussion of Holiday train sets?

my original thread was not about Holiday train sets, just that cheap stuff is offered this time of year.

what I envision is an old west theme, somewhere in Arizona. the engine, coal tender and 1-2 passenger cars? (how many usually?) putzing through the desert. a small station, water tower, maybe a stagecoach waiting for the train. Indians on a bluff watching......... men digging posts for the telegraph wires, etc....... sand and cactus, that's the plan...... now to see if it can be done.

Craig

Very short trains were the rule in the Old West anyway, so long trains aren't relevant to the thread in any case.

The engine itself would have almost certainly been a small 4-4-0 "American" with a diamond stack. They were pretty much ubiquitous, although straight-stacked versions were seen in areas where there were fewer fire hazards.

In hilly country a small 4-4-0 might not have pulled more than two or three passenger cars, although they could at least double that on the flats.

All of those things are available in either ready-built or kit form, and Walther's is probably the best place to start your search.

It was my understanding that the OP was looking for a start set to eventually form a layout, and was not yet sure of what to start with, seems to me choice i scale and why would be relevant to this.

Why so hostile?

Greetz Jan