cloughie wrote:
cheers for that you two
the reason I was asking is that I have been thinking of getting the loft done up and as a kid I always wanted a train set,my family used to have a boarding house in Blackpool that backed onto Blackpool central railway station,oh the memories of the steam trains going past before Beeching screwed it up.
can you tell me if there are any books for a novice(I make two short planks look like a computer) that explain what you need, to do a layout,or if you buy one of the box sets that you see,is every thing included to get you going and for a first timer is hornby the way to go.
cheers
cloughie
Hello cloughie,
Well I'll try to offer up some help for you.Being across the big pond from you will offer up a few chalenges for me.
The two most popular scales for trains here is ( HO ) and ( N ) scale.Now guys I know there are also other scales also so don't throw rocks at me,this is just a general statement.
The biggest advantage to these scales is the "room" required for setting up a layout.How big do you want to go and to what detail you plan on putting into your train layout.
Most ready made box sets are just the basic's to get one started===example==one or two engines,a few cars,a small basic track configureation,and a power pack to run the train.These will "get you started" and the good part is you can expand from there to suit your desire.The sky is the limit and is determined by room and how much you care to invest.
You will also have to decide if you like steam engines,diesel engines,or would like to run a combination of them.
One thing to keep in mind is the smaller the scale gets, the harder it is to work on some of this stuff.When I first talked to my local hobby shop asking about scale size,best size taking into account the cost of the same engine in different scales,and all the accessories taking into account the cost for the same item in the different scales.And a big factor he asked me was " How old are you"----And the reason being he stated that for example (N) scale is much harder to work with for older guys like myself who don't have the good eyesight like in the past.(I'm glad he pointed that out for me).My chioice was to go with the (HO) scale trains.
Here are a couple of examples of engines in (HO) and (N) scale.=====
A real life size GM EMD 2000 HP GP-38-2 Length--59 feet 2 inches
This same engine in a Bachmann scale model=== HO Scale 1:87
length== 7 7/8 " (199 mm)
width=== 1 1/2 " (36 mm )
height== 2 1/8 " (55 mm )
Another simular model---Atlas scale model GP-40 N Scale 1:160
length== 4 1/4 " (10.8 cm )
width=== 3/4 " (1.9 cm )
height== 1 1/4 " (3.2 cm )
As you can see there is a big difference in the HO and the N gauge models.I think in general the HO is less costly over-all than the same stuff in the N gauge. (just my opinion).The lay-out I'm working on and posting here on the forum consists of mostly used stock I have been buying off ebay.Trains like all the other hobby's have a large variety of prices for what is on the market.What is ok for me might be junk to someone else.This is up to each individual to determine what they like and want.
Not knowing what brands are avaible and popular in your area I won't make any suggestion as to what you should buy.I use tower Hobby here in the US
as my measuring stick to compair prices from other dealers with when I buy train items.I like the Bachman engines because for being considered a bottom end engine by some they have the best warranty out there on the market.(lifetime limited warranty)They look the same to me as some of the higher end models from a distance.
I would go to tower hobby just to look at some of the models and accessories that are avaible,and they carry a lot of train items for you to see and get a good idea of sizes and what is on the market place.Then shop around for the best place in your area for what you want and the best prices.
GOOD LUCK and I hope this may have helped you out.-------BIGMIG
, I think one is this fine track you were on about, also one is on wood sleepers and the other is on concrete sleepers, I am hopping to get to a place in Liverpool called Hattons to have a good look round
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