Model Railroad Track Plans
Model Railroad Track Plans
Have you ever played that computer game Sim City or Civilization? Yeah, that’s right, they’re games where you have to plan out and run a city (or nation in terms of Civilization) so that it grows and prospers. It’s a very different kind of fun than the usual shoot-‘em-up, blow-‘em-up sort of games that you see kids playing. But there is something really entertaining about making plans and slowly growing this contained imaginary world. In Sim City you can alter the terrain of your city at the beginning so that you are dealing with different landscapes and climates. When you do, it changes the nature of the city you build.
Details Make Model Railroad Track Plans More Interesting
Well, that’s what model railroad track plans are like. You are trying to create the most interesting layout for your model train while still staying within the confines of what often is a limited space. So that’s the two things that are always in conflict: our imaginations and the actual limits of space.
Here are some ideas for getting started with your model railroad track plans.
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Start with the simple oval model railroad track plans: When you first get your kit and lay down your track it’s not a bad idea to just do an oval track at the very beginning. Keeping it simple allows you make sure that everything is operating correctly and functional before you add levels of difficulty to your planning. Of course, the oval set up gets boring even before your coffee has cooled.
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Experiment with other simple designs: Next you’ll probably want to experiment with other simple designs like the figure eight track (you’ll need an overlapping x shaped connecter in the middle) or a couple of concentric circles. Even these however will quickly get boring.
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Add scenery to simple model railroad track plans: Adding tiny people, animals, buildings and designing scenery that matches the time period of your train really adds to the interest you will draw. But what really gets people’s attention are trees, hills and especially tunnels. People love to watch trains disappear behind hills and then come back out through a tunnel on the other side. The joy of it is primal—it’s the game of peek-a-boo for people of all ages.
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Add multiple trains to your model railroad track plans: Even if the trains are both running on separate tracks right next to each other or around each other, having multiple trains running across a landscape quickly adds to the interest a track plan can draw. We love to see trains run next to each other or in opposite directions.
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Think of your model railroad track plans vertically as well as horizontally: As you become more confident in your crafting abilities, you’ll often find that a good way to solve space issues or to just add interest in a track is by having trains rise onto or come down from different levels. You’ll want to plan easy grades as your trains rise, but you’ll find the problems with grading are mostly minor compared to curves. A great trick is to have a train rise up behind or within a large hill or mountain in a landscape and then come out at a different level than it went in at. The surprise often creates great joy in viewers.
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Consider placing your train in an unexpected room or area as part of the room’s decoration: Finding a model train in a room where it isn’t expected can be a great joy as well. Consider for example winding your model train around the edges of your children’s playroom or around the edges of your home office. You can sometimes make a model train part of the decoration of public rooms. A local hardware store where I live has a large model train setup just as you come into the store. Parents love it because they can park their kids there while they quickly find what they need.
Hidden View of Model Train Layout
The best model railway track plans though can’t be summarized effectively. What they do is what a good architectural plan or interior design plan does: they take into account the specifics of the space they inhabit and create a plan that uses that space’s limitations as part of the plan, turning a drawback into an asset. I once, for example, went into a friend’s attic where he had created bridges over the top of the staircase to connect two separate train areas on opposite sides of the stairs. It produced a wonderful effect as you rose up into the area. That’s the sort of creative thinking we need for really great model railroad track plans.
Bachmann Model Trains
Bachmann Model Trains
How could you not have heard of Bachmann model trains! You’ve heard of Lionel trains right? Well what Lionel trains are to O scale model trains (trains that are 1/48 the size of real world locomotives) Bachmann is to HO scale and N scale (1/87th and 1/160th respectively). And since these days HO and N are so much more popular than O, there’s no excuse for not knowing their most famous manufacturer, Bachmann Model Trains. Not only that, but Bachmann has its origins right here in the good old US of A. In fact, they started right in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—born right there in the cradle of democracy. This was way back in the 19th century, at about the time that real railroads were just getting started.
They didn’t get around to making Bachmann model trains until a little less than a century ago, but after WWII when HO really started to take off so did they. Like most toy makers they’re based in China now (moved there officially in 1999) but the company is still run by descendents of the original Bachmann’s and Carlisle’s who started the company all those years ago.
But that’s all a bunch of historical bunk. You don’t have to know any of that to appreciate them.
Here’s what’s to love about Bachmann Model Trains:
- Bachmann Model Trains practically invented the starter kit: If you’re just getting going with model training or getting into it as an adult after having left it behind as a child, getting a Bachmann starter kit is practically a must. These kits are so well designed and so easy to get into that you would be hard pressed to find a better reason why model training has had such a renaissance of popularity in recent years. The Bachmann model trains kits provide you with everything that you need to get going and all at reasonable prices.
- Bachmann model trains fit practically any budget and any space requirement: Bachmann has built a great reputation by offering high quality model trains at inexpensive prices. Because HO scale trains have become so popular since the 1950’s, Bachmann has managed to create mass produced model trains at lower cost than their competitors. They maximized their profits by offering start-up kits at reasonable prices as well. This business model combined with the very flexible space requirements of HO scale and N scale Bachmann model trains has really expanded the custumer base for Bachmann.
- Bachmann Model Trains is always at the cutting edge of customer preferences: No company is more in tune with their custumers than Bachmann. You can always count on Bachmann model trains to be there in response to new model train enthusiasms. For example, a few years ago when the whole Thomas the Tank Engine wave began to break, Bachmann was one of the first companies to offer a Thomas Train starter kit. I know because this is the kit that I bought for my little Thomas Train loving toddler.
- Older Bachmann model trains are antiques: Because Bachmann model trains have been around for so long, many collectors seek out older discontinued models from the 1950’s and 60’s. Some of the company’s other products are also popular finds. (Bachmann produced a short-lived remote controlled motorcycle for instance.)
What’s there to criticize about Bachmann model trains?
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Bachmann model trains lack the idiosyncrasy that many hobbyists crave: If you’re the “I don’t like crowds” sort of a hobbyist, then Bachmann model trains might not be for you. Bachmann is so popular that you might prefer to avoid them and go it alone.
Regardless of whether we love Bachmann model trains, they are likely to be one of the stalwarts of the model train industry for some time to come. So, if you’re really into model training, you’re likely to find that Bachmann model trains will have a lot to do with the sorts of trains we see coming out in the future.
Model Train Track
Model Train Track
So let’s talk model train track. Where you going? You don’t need any coffee, I’m not going to go all model train geek on you and start talking standard gauges and variations in track and all that. You know I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to. But we’d better get clear enough so that we can do more than just have the little oval set-up with our starter set. This is fairly obvious but the key to getting the right kind of track is to stay consistent and not get two different kinds of track that may not match.
Model Train Track
Here’s some tips about model train track:
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Choose a model train track manufacturer and stick to it: The easiest way to avoid problems is to stick to one type of model train track manufacturer and stick to that type of track. This will get you out of most problems with size and attachments.
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Look to get “flexible track”: You’ll make your life a lot easier if you get “flexible track” rather than its rigid counterparts. Flexible track allows the trains to ease in and out of turns more easily and decreases the likelihood of derailment. Flexible track is not magic however. If you try to do too much in too small a space trains will derail just as much on flexible track as they do on rigid track. The key to all turns is to give them the space they need.
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Look for nickel silver track: If you have a choice, choose nickel silver track. It is the most durable for the long haul. Although copper and iron zinc coated tracks are better conductors they require more maintenance and wear out more quickly than nickel silver.
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Match your model train track to the scale of your train: Put simply, if you have HO scale locomotives you need HO scale tracks. This seems pretty obvious but it can get complicated. For example, some model train hobbyists run their trains on different size tracks (don’t ask me why or how, I couldn’t tell you). Also, sometimes what is designated as O scale track by one manufacturer is not exactly the same as O scale for other manufacturers and this can cause some problems. The simplest solution is simply to find the manufacturer that builds the track for your train and just stick to that manufacturer. It takes the risk out of track work.
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Be sure to assemble your track work kit: Don’t forget, track work is not just about the track but about the tools that you will need to assemble and maintain your track. A good tool kit will include needle nose pliers, a razor saw/hobby knife and wire cutters. These are a must for cutting track lengths. If you really get into model railroading you will also want a vice, a soldering iron and a glue gun. You can buy other tools as needed.
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Building Model Train Track from scratch: This is the best way to get your tracks. Just kidding, it really isn’t. Leave this to the hardcore model trainers. Unless you have hours and hours of time, love to work with your hands and have had experience building mechanical things, don’t touch this.
Flatcars With Containers on Model Train Track
I know all this track stuff is just as dull as nails but good track work is, well, the foundation of good model railroading. If you don’t get that right your trains will derail and you’ll have difficulty maintaining them.
Model Steam Trains
Model Steam Trains
Alright, forget about those little tiny model trains with their little pieces and tiny brushes you use to detail them. Forget about the little figure 8 set-up and puttering around in your attic or basement. Let’s think big. Really BIG! What am I babbling about? I’m talking “live steam.” Yeah, LIVE STEAM! What is it? You haven’t heard about it? Okay, I’m talking about the BIGGEST, the BADDEST, the most KICKIN’ model trains around: model steam trains. These big guys run from models that are 1/24th the size of actual trains to models that are just 1/8th as large as real trains and there is nothing else like them. When you enter the world of model steam trains you’ve left the average world of model training in the dust. I’m not kidding, there really is nothing like them! Why? What’s the BIG DEAL?
Lionel Steam Locomotive with Tender
Let me lay it out for you – the big deal about Model Steam Trains:
- Model Steam Trains are the BIGGEST model trains: I’ll say it again. These guys are big. I mean you thought that it was cool when your G scale train brought you your keys or a drink. A model steam train can carry a lot more than that and it makes your G scale seem positively puny. Remember G scale is just 1/20th the size of actual trains—the smallest steam train is just as big but most are larger. They are bigger than your lawn mower. They are bigger than the Smart Car, that’s for sure. But wait there’s more.
- Model Steam Trains are rideable: That’s right. This train is so big that it can actually perform the function of real trains. Some of them are so big that you can get inside and be taken around. If you’ve been to a steam train park you’ve probably been in one of these. Even those that aren’t that big are big enough for you or your kids to get on top of and ride. Try doing that with your Thomas the Tank Engine HO scale train.
- You can sell tickets for Model Steam Train rides: Model steam trains are so cool that people will literally line up and pay to ride them. You know that acre field behind your house that you’ve been wondering what to do with? You can lay down some track there, install your rideable steam trains, put up a sign near the interstate to draw in passing motorists and their kids, and just like that you’ve added an extra little bit of revenue to your monthly income. Think, if you opened up that bed and breakfast you’ve always dreamed of this could be the thing that makes your establish unique. Come spend the night, ride the trains! Too cool, huh?
There are of course some really big draw backs to model steam trains though:
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Model Steam Trains take up a lot of room: You thought G scale was space consuming. To really do a backyard model steam train you’re going to need a really big yard. You’re not going to fit it into a puny little apartment yard. Ideally you take an acre of your land and really outfit it to maximize the impact of your trains.
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Model Steam Trains are really expensive: These trains cost far more than your usual model trains. With all that goes into getting these trains going and maintaining them you are talking a really big price tag—far more than your average person is willing to pay for a hobby.
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Model Steam Trains are really work intensive: Steam train parks are often run by a team of volunteers who help to maintain them. If you are planning to do your own maintenance, you will want to consider the costs in terms of the time and education that it will take to keep your steam trains up and running.
So if you want to play in the big leagues of the model training world, you’ve found your ticket in!
Model Train Scale
Model Train Scale
I know, it’s confusing isn’t it: G scale, HO, N scale, O scale. All this talk about model train scale almost makes you want to quit even before you begin. Figuring it all out just seems like such a chore. But don’t worry, I spent a little time working my way through model train scale and I think I figured it out. Here, see if this makes sense:
The main divisions are based on “scale”—the size of the model train and its world relative to the actual size of real trains in the actual world. So when you see the model train scale ratio manufacturers sometimes put next to a named scale, you get the size of the model train (always “1”) relative to the size of the actual train (e.g., “48”); so, in the model train scale 1/48, the model train is 48 times smaller than the same train in the actual world. Still following me?
Okay, so here are the five main model train scales and the sorts of model trains that go with them, from largest to smallest:
Steam Model Trains
- Steam Trains: Steam trains are the largest types of model trains. Some are large enough where you can ride inside of them like you would an actual train. Even in the somewhat smaller variety, usually a small child can ride on top of one like he or she would a small bicycle. For this reason, these trains take up a lot of space and are often operated by model train clubs rather than private individuals. You might find some parks that run such trains as well. Tilden Park in Berkeley California has an area of steam trains, for example, that is well known throughout the San Francisco Bay area.
- G Scale (Model Train Scale: 1/20): These trains can be used either indoors or outdoors. G scale trains are sometimes called “Garden Trains” because a lot of people set up their tracks in their backyards. The trains are larger than a shoe box but not big enough to be ridden even by small children.
- O Scale (Model Train Scale: 1/48): This used to be the most popular scale back in the day and is the scale that most Lionel trains are still in. Lionel trains? Oh, they’re one of the most well known types of model trains. O is not the only scale that Lionel makes (they will often bring out special addition scales at Christmas and on other special occasions) but it’s the main one. O scale, like G, is really good because the trains are large enough for you to detail and are easy to handle. The drawback, like with G, is that you generally need more space (usually 8’ by 16’ as a minimum, although there are some ways around these hard and fast requirements).
- HO Scale (Model Train Scale: 1/87): Most people these days use HO because it requires less space than O but still gives you trains and accessories that are large enough so that you can detail them as you would like. HO requires a 4’ by 8’ space as a minimum. What’s great about HO is that since it’s so popular you can get almost anything that you want for HO tracks. If you want to build things from scratch you can find craftsmen’s kits. If you want things ready to go right out of the box, you can find those too.
- N Scale (Model Train Scale: 1/160): This is the tiniest of the major model train scales. Because it is so small it is the hardest to work with in terms of detailing and crafting so most N scalers usually buy their trains ready made. N scale makes up for these drawbacks by only requiring 2’ by 4’ as minimum space and by allowing far more complicated tracks in far smaller spaces than the other types.
- Z Scale (Model Train Scale: 1/220): This is the smallest commercially available scale.
Whatever scale we choose, we’ll have a world of fun creating it. So let’s get started, huh.
Model Train Information
Model Train Information
So you’ve recently rediscovered your childhood love of model trains. It would be great, wouldn’t it, to introduce your son or daughter to that magic feeling you got when you first saw a full-fledged store display and heard your first model locomotive come blowing out of its dark tunnel into a miniature world of tiny workmen and rolling green hills. I know it’s one of my most cherished memories.
Diesel locomotive and Mail Car
So you want help setting up a model train set in your rec room or basement as both a hobby for yourself and a wholesome entertainment for the younger members of the family?
Here’s some model train information and a few helpful tips:
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Start with the internet: The internet is a quick easy way to get going, but you need to be careful which search you do because the wrong website can leave you with more questions than when you started: What is N scale? Or HO? Should you buy Lionel, or Atlas or KATO? What size tracks would best suite your space? What tools will you need? What kind of electrical requirements? There are literally thousands of choices in the catagory of model train information.
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Type “model train information” into your search engine: Within seconds you’ll have scooped up a bucket load of websites that are designed to help you get started. For the beginner, these websites give you a great overview of not only the actual trains, but also helpful advice on nitty-gritty details like which glues and paints are best for sprucing up old trains and which size tracks might work in your display space. But these sites aren’t just for beginners. As you grow in your model training expertise you’ll keep coming back to them to help you keep up with new products and news about the model train community.
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Check out your local hobby store: Once you’ve boned up a bit on model training you might want to pay a visit to your local hobby store. If you’re lucky you’ll find an attendant who’s a model train enthusiast. They might get you started and maybe even set you straight on some of the basics—like the difference between HO and N scale. A lot of times, though, the attendant escorts you to the model train section and just leaves you there to ponder the possibilities on your own. That’s why it’s important to do your homework beforehand; it will save you lots of time and money since you’ll have a clearer picture of what you want and can avoid buying something that just won’t fit your track space.
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Don’t forget your public library: You can usually find a good though sometimes slightly outdated model training book at your library. It’s a free resource and you can take it wherever you like without running up your electrical bill or straining your eyes on a computer screen.
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Also use the internet to connect with other model train enthusiasts: You can also use the internet to connect with other model train lovers. A lot of times clubs will have online bulletin boards where they post meeting times and activities along with both creative and practical advice and tips. You know, some clubs are even exclusively run on the web so that even if your nearest neighbor is miles away you can still feel connected to all those other model train lovers out there and their model train information.
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Subscribe to my newsletter: What the heck, it’s free and it’ll come right to your inbox. It’s an 11 day course to get you going. More information than on this website. The sign up box is just to the right.
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Buy my ebook: It has detailed information all in one place. What else could you ask for? In addition to what you’ve seen here, it goes into what I call ‘benchwork’. The getting your hands dirty part of model training. I’ll talk about making tracks and creating the ‘background’ (things like scenery and structures). There is a glossary (you’ll find lots of words you’ve never heard of in model training) and resources including magazines and other websites. It even includes a money back guarantee. What could you lose? The Download link to the right will take you to more detailed model train information about this book to help you choose to buy it.
Southern Pacific Box Car
Whatever way you choose to connect with it, you’ll find that the model training world is varied and vibrant. There are lots of down to earth people out there that love the connection model training helps them to have with their kids. But it doesn’t have to be about those little whipper snappers; model training is a great stress reliever in and of itself—I know a lot of folks that find it just the right tonic after a long hectic day at the office. Model training can really help you to develop your imagination too. So why not climb aboard the model train express right now!
HO Scale Model Trains
HO Scale Model Trains
Pop quiz: what’s the most popular scale of train these days? Yeah, okay, this would have been a lot more challenging if I hadn’t introduced it with the title “HO Scale Model Trains”, huh? Yeah, but that’s right. HO scale model trains are the biggest sellers these days. It wasn’t always this way. I checked out this 1950s model railroading handbook from the library the other day and it identified the slightly larger Lionel O-scale trains (1/48 the size of actual trains) as the most popular. But in the past 60 years HO scale has completely overtaken the O scale as the most bought form of model train. So O-scale might be called your grand daddies model train, while HO is yours. What’s so great about HO scale model trains?
Four HO Scale Boxcars
If you’re just getting started HO Scale Model Trains are moderately sized and moderately priced model trains are probably your best bet. Here’s why:
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HO Scale Model Trains are the most popular: Because HO scale trains are the most popular, they have a lot of advantages over other larger and smaller scales. HO scale model trains are ubiquitous because of their popularity. So there are lots of choices for starter kits, scenery, tool kits and instructional manuals. In fact, if we start with HO scale model trains our problem is going to be sorting through the plethora of model train choices rather than chasing down a particular rare model. Just about every model train maker has ventured into HO model trains. Even model train houses like Lionel (who specializes in O-scale trains) will offer an HO train every so often. So if you’re looking for, say, a Thomas the Tank Engine style train for your little Sodor obsessed toddler, you’ll find various kits by various makers and your problem will be finding the best one at the best price. The very fact that there is so much competition at this scale means that train kits must be reasonably priced or model trainers will just buy from someone else.
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HO Scale Model Trains give you the most flexibility in terms of space and variety: Another advantage of HO scale model trains is that its size (1/87 the size of actual trains) makes it much more flexible in terms of space requirements. Whereas large model train types like the O-scale by Lionel require a minimum 8’ by 16’ space to set up a basic track, HO scale model trains require only a 4’ x 8’ space (there are also some tricks with track types that make it possible to even get around even these space requirements). That means that HO takes up roughly ½ to 1/3 of the space required for a Lionel track setup. This has opened up model training to far greater number of enthusiasts and has also made it so that the average person can have far more complicated tracks.
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HO Scale Model Trains are the standard: Because they have become so popular, they are the standard that instructional books and websites use to help beginners. This means that if you’re just getting started, like we are, it’s a lot easier for us to do it with HO scale model trains. Lot’s of websites will walk us right through setting up a basic figure 8 style track plan in a 4’ x 8’ space. So we can’t really go wrong with HO scale.
HO Scale Tank Car and Boxcar
What’s the draw back of HO Scale Model Trains?:
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HO Scale Model Trains are the most common: Like Microsoft and Google, when you become the industry standard you become a victim of your own success. Yeah, that’s right, getting an HO set is like buying vanilla ice cream—it’s yummy but you’re not going to impress your friends with it. Since everybody pretty much gets started with HO scale these days, if you really want to stand out you have something different. You might, for example, opt to go with one of the other size scales, like the tiny N scale or relatively humungous O or G scales. Or you have to do something unusual with your HO scale like set up an elaborate track or populate it with vintage antique model trains from the 1950’s.
But there is a reason why HO scale is so popular. This might just be the ideal train scale to get us going!
G Scale Model Trains
G Scale Model Trains
So, imagine this: You’re laying back sunbathing in your back yard on your average summer day. You yell back to your house that you could use a lemonade and shortly you hear a train whistle and the clickety clack of one of your G scale model trains as it comes around the bend, through the tunnel you’ve cut out of the bushes, and right up to its stop by your lawn chair. There, on top of one of the authentic looking early twentieth century freight trains, is your lemonade. Ahhhh! Refreshing isn’t it?
Yeah, that would be cool! That’s just one of the things that are so cool about G scale model trains.
Here’s the low down on what makes G Scale Model Trains great:
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Indoor/Outdoor: Of the main kinds of trains (HO scale, N scale and G scale) G scale (probably better referred to as G gauge) is the only one that is really suitable for both indoors and outdoors. In fact, G scale trains are used outside so often that some people have come to call them Garden trains (the “G” in G scale actually comes from the German word “gross” which means “big”). So if you have a really big basement area, you can set up one of these G scale model trains there in the winter when the weather is too cold and wet for outdoor fun. Then, in the spring and summer when things have dried up and it’s too hot for the indoors you and the kids can enjoy watching the G scale model trains race about the back yard while you sunbath or mow the lawn. Changing the train’s location takes a little bit of labor but if you’re only doing it twice a year it’s no big deal.
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Big G Scale Model Trains: This is a little obvious, but another thing folks really like about G scale model trains is how big they are. These trains are, or are meant to be, 1/20 the size of their real world counterparts. That means they are a little bigger than a large shoebox. That’s not big enough for you or the kids to jump on top of for a ride like some of the steam train models, but G scale model trains are the largest of the common model train variety.
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G scale is great for kids: Because G scale model trains are so big, they are really popular with the Dora the Explorer set. Little kids, who haven’t yet mastered the fine motor skills to detail N scale trains, find working with G scale model trains a dream. They can easily pick up and manipulate these model trains and so they can be a real help with painting, weathering, decaling and even designing the exteriors of these wonderful trains. Also, there is a lot less worry about choking hazards with these big trains (the same cannot be said for the comparatively tiny N scale trains). (Here’s a gift tip: If you’re kid’s a Thomas the Tank Engine fanatic like mine is, try finding one of the G scale model sets put out by Bachman. These big Thomas and Claribel trains will make your kids go bonkers with their big moving eyes. But I should warn you, you should start looking for these Thomas sets early since they go like hot cakes and frequently are out of stock.)
Here’s a couple draw backs about G scale Model Trains:
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G Scale Model Trains take up a lot of room: I don’t mean to be a master of the obvious again but G scale trains are big so it takes a lot of room to set up even the simplest of tracks. If you live in a studio apartment and aren’t planning to move out so that your G scale model trains can have the apartment to themselves, this is probably not the train set for you.
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G Scale Model Trains are a little less common than other train scales: There is an avid subset of model trainers that really love these kinds of trains. But the space requirements for G scale model trains make this type of train prohibitive for a lot of model trainers. LBG (Lehmann Gross Bahn), one of the main providers of G scale model trains, have experienced financial troubles in recent years. Even without LBG however, those model trainers that really love the size and versatility of these kinds of trains are likely to ensure that G scale model trains will always find a place in the model training world.
So this is exactly what we’ve been looking for: a model train experience that includes fun in the sun!
N Scale Model Trains
N Scale Model Trains
I know, you’re not a big fan of the whole “bigger is better” thing. You like your cars compact, your apartments in the one bedroom variety, and you buy your clothes in the kids section. Well maybe not the part about your clothes—you weren’t one of the extras for The Wizard of Oz or Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory after all. But I know you and I know you really dig those little tiny eye straining miniatures. Well, you can thank me now because I’ve found you your dream model train scale. N scale model trains are so small that you can probably fit everything you need in your Smart car and take it all home in one trip. (Just imagine, that’s three less trips than it takes you to do your grocery shopping every week in that sorry excuse you call a car.) ;>)
Here’s a few short points about N-scale model trains:
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N Scale Model Trains can fit virtually anywhere: Because N-scale model trains are so small—just 1/160 the size of a real train—they can be set up virtually any where. (In comparison, HO trains are 1/87 the size of real trains.) All you really need is a 2’ x 4’ minimum space. That means that you could set one up on your kitchen table. In fact, some people call N scale model trains “Table Top Trains” for this reason. So that means that while your Uncle Joe who loves those Lionel trains is forced to live like a Morlock in the dark underworld of his basement, we can spend our time up in the sunny confines of our living room with all the comforts and entertainments of the modern world. I know, Uncle Joe claims that that’s how he gets away from it all but we have the Sports Illustrated in the bathroom for that.
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N Scale Model Trains give you the most flexibility in terms of complexity and variety: Because N scale model trains are so small and take up so little space, you can create a really complicated, interesting track in a much smaller space than other train scales. While many HO model trainers might be limited to making little more than a figure 8 in a 4’ x 8’ space, you would be surprised at the variety of track plans you could fit into a that limited space. For this reason, folks with limited space who are really into model training love N scale model trains. N scale lets them really create a full, complicated world.
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N Scale Model Trains are fascinating because they are so small: One of the things that really draws people to N-scale model trains is the very fact that they are so small. It’s almost like the fascination that you get looking through a microscope. It’s hard to believe that such a tiny world really exists and can be so beautiful.
There are some real drawbacks to N Scale Model Trains though:
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N-scale trains are just too small for a lot of people: Because they are so small they are a little like flea circuses; you can walk right by one without even noticing it. Often what makes model trains so interesting is seeing the amount of work that goes into creating such an elaborate world. When your train is just set up on a table top a lot of people will just not appreciate the level of craftsmanship that goes into creating a model train setup. Also, because they are so small many people just buy most of these trains pre-fabricated and this can take an important aspect of model trains out of it for us. I really like the artistic aspects of detailing that go into model training but N-scale model trains are often too small for this.
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N Scale Model Trains may not be the best choice for small children: Because N scale model trains are so small young children and a lot of us grown ups just don’t have the fine motor skills to work with these little trains. It is just too difficult to create the sorts of weathering and decaling that can really individualize model trains. Not only that, but the tiny pieces of the N scale trains can be a choking hazard for our little Tom and Jerry loving friends.
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N Scale Model Trains are not as common as HO: Because N scale model trains are less popular than HO trains the selection is smaller and there are fewer resources directed specifically to N scale trains. Sometimes beginners like us will have a harder time getting going with N scale model trains. That said, there is still a great deal you can do with these tiny beauties and we should not overstate the difficulties.
You know, this might be just the sort of thing to put in that space in the entry way that you’ve been wondering what to do with. These guys are just small enough to fit there.
Model Railway Trains
Model Railway Trains
So what we really need now is a game plan. I mean, we have some idea as to where to get information on model railway trains and on why model railway trains are a good hobby to have. What we don’t have though is a road map to get us from here to having our model railway trains set up and ready to go. We don’t want to turn our wheels going here and there buying model railway trains and accessories only to find out that they aren’t compatible with each other and that they won’t fit in the space that we had in mind.
Diesel Locomotives and Pipes on Flat Cars
Here is what we need to do is lay down the tracks to begin our model railway trains adventure:
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Choose the space where you’re going to have the model railway trains layout: Only a few spots in your house will work for a model train setup. You know your house. Where would be a good space to put your model railway trains set? Does that attic get enough light? Is the basement dry enough? What about your back yard? Would you like to build a model train to go about your yard? My advice is to find a spot that is at least 4’x 8’ and that is close to your work space.
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Figure out which scale of model railway trains will work best with this space: Now that we’ve decided where you want your train to go we can measure the space and that will tell us what kind of model railway trains we’ll get. If you want it outside, we should get one of those Garden trains (“G scale”). If all we got is a 4’ x 8’ space than we’ll probably want HO or maybe N scale if you like those little ones. For a beginner I personally think HO gives us the most and best options since it’s the most common and most popular.
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Decide how much we want to spend to get started and what we want to spend our time doing: Once we know where we’re going to put it, we want to think about what we want to do with it. Do we want to do practically everything ourselves, starting from scratch? Or do you want to get a set ready made from the box that you just pull out, set up and off we go? Do you want an antique model like those cool American Flyer models they don’t make anymore? Or, maybe, just for starters, we might want one of the many cheaper model railway trains? You know what’s probably best? Getting a basic pre-fab beginners kit just to get things going. That way we can limit the level of hassles at the beginning so we don’t get stuck just as we’re starting things up.
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Buy the starter kit: Now that you’ve decided on your display space for your model railway trains and the kind of scale you’re going to buy, you can now shop around for the best, most reasonably priced starter kit. If you search for it on the internet you can probably find one that meets your financial requirements.
Napa Train Roundhouse With 17 Trains in View
Once you get your model railway train starter kit you’re all set to begin your model train adventure.
