I like HO scale just because the automobiles placed around the display as decoration are 1:87 scale which is small enough to have a lot of them but big enough to have some detail, and there's lots of them available. Wait, why do we even need the train set again? I'm too busy building a tiny 1:87 scale racetrack diorama. 
In reply to slowbird :
And with HO, you can do this...
So, thanks to you enablers, Kazoo Kid #2 is getting this for Christmas:
As if that weren't bad enough, I've spent most of the afternoon playing around with XTrackCAD learning how to design layouts. If I wasn't a GRM "Dork" before, I certainly am now. On the plus side, I'm really hoping Kazoo Kid #2 likes this as much as I think he will. Hoping this is the start of a lot of fun.
On a semi-related topic, has anyone else ever thought the GRM store should offer pocket protectors?
In reply to kazoospec :
Ha!
I have a bunch of stuff for mine also. Pictures to come. All n scale.
Have they started looking at more trains yet? One train looks lonely.
Hey, Wally, how do you like the Fast-Track? As good as traditional O?
In reply to Appleseed :
The fast track works well but it's a bit expensive and takes up more space so I'm not likely to get more of it.
So, is this an OK place for "technical assistance?" If so, curious if you all have thoughts on this layout. It would make use of a lot of the track we already have:
That's a lot of action. If you have the track, I'd say it looks great. That's the issue I'm having with my LGBs. Track. I keep wanting to buy more trains, but that gets lame when your locomotive ends up chasing the caboose in close proximity. Buy as much track as you can afford.
Trying to remember what I learned futzing a little bit when I worked at a hobby shop at the end of the '80s... I seem to recall that there were two common rail materials, and that the nickel silver was vastly superior to the brass for not running cleanly and not getting corroded. Speaking of the kind of reliability stuff that can effect fun/frustration ratios.
IIRC, Kato vs Bachmann is a pretty uneven match. As suggested earlier, Bachmann is "not crap," while Kato is nice stuff. It's amazing how much more realistically engines with big brass flywheels move as compared to those without, at least when using a basic power supply. (I'm not totally sure all the Kato stuff has flywheels)
I've no idea whether they're the best value, but Walthers was The Big Book of Everything when I was at the hobby shop (the Internet wasn't so common that folks didn't have to come to us for Walthers stuff...)
In reply to kazoospec :
I really like that layout. I'm a big fan of switches and crossovers. One of the things like about Lionel is that you can run reversing loops. That really impresses the kids when they come up.
In reply to Wally :
It looks like with the starter set that comes with my son's train and an add on track set called the V2 (apparently, Kato isn't afraid to reuse designations of dubious historical value), we would immediately be able to build this layout:
That leaves us needing the 90 degree cross overs, 2 switches, the 15 degree cross over, two additional bridges (or maybe one of their double bridges), maybe a few curve pieces and a couple of different size sections of straight track to build the layout above. It would probably take us a minute to put all that together, but I think even the Starter + V2 would be fun in the mean time, and pretty much everything in those two sets ends up getting used in the "permanent" layout.
The issues I see: 1. there isn't a convenient place for a switch yard. 2. I think it's SLIGHTLY bigger than 4 X 8, and I'd like to keep it to a single plywood sheet.
Wally: See any complicated electrical/wiring issues? That's something I have to learn. For now, it would likely be a DC only layout.
I don't think you have any reversing loops in the three layouts you posted. That's where the train can change direction, and for DC layouts requires special wiring (or DCC).
I was super into trains years ago - just got a Lionel set for under the tree - great thread!
In reply to kazoospec :
You shouldn't have any wiring issues at all. It looks like all the track is powered at once unless you wanted to stage a second train on the siding then you'd need to insulate that block but even that isn't complicated. The reverse loop is only easy on Lionels because of the third rail and AC. If it was hard I probably couldn't do it. That starter and V2 looks fun with the elevated section. You could probably work in a couple switches and a crossing depending on how they're sized and still fit on a 4x8 board.
Appleseed said:That's a lot of action. If you have the track, I'd say it looks great. That's the issue I'm having with my LGBs. Track. I keep wanting to buy more trains, but that gets lame when your locomotive ends up chasing the caboose in close proximity. Buy as much track as you can afford.
G scale track is berkeleying expensive.
You guys need to stop posting about this stuff.
You're making me want to spend money and time on things...
mtn said:Appleseed said:That's a lot of action. If you have the track, I'd say it looks great. That's the issue I'm having with my LGBs. Track. I keep wanting to buy more trains, but that gets lame when your locomotive ends up chasing the caboose in close proximity. Buy as much track as you can afford.
G scale track is berkeleying expensive.
Honestly, N scale isn't as cheap as it seems like is should be. I was home sick today and everyone else was gone, so I crunched some numbers on the cost of the track plan above. Looks like in addition to the starter set we already have, it would take the V2 set (at about $80) and about another $275.00 in miscellaneous track, bridges and switches to build the layout above. It would probably be another $50-$75 to throw on an extra siding/yard so we could have at least two trains on the layout. Trying to see if there's a way I can do a "modular" build where we would slowly add on and then build the scenery and finalize the layout once we have everything we need. I'm also keeping my eyes open for used track.
In reply to kazoospec :
The Kato track will probably be a little harder to come by but I picked up some used track bundles off eBay. Also look for toy train shows in your area. There are a few churches by me that have them and there are deals to be found there.
In reply to kazoospec :
These are photos for the great John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid HO layout. Floor to ceiling mountains, multiple mainlines, ect... This was back in the 60s with very little ready to run available.
This empire started...with a little 4x8 layout that is still in this grand spectacle.
In reply to Appleseed :
Clearly, he doesn't own a cat.
For anyone who wishes to create a reversing loop in HO track. It's not that hard. Insulating 2 sections of snap track can be as simple as using a few little squares of electrical tape.
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/reverse-loops-model-trains-2382604
Here's what we have so far:
It's basically the Kato Amtrak "starter set", plus the "sound module" (which I was able to pick up used) and an automatic signal. The "mountain" is something we have left over from when we had HO stuff years ago.
Here's a closeup of the train.
First thoughts: The Unitrack is SUPER easy to work with. The re-railer sections and the "ramp" for adding cars/engines to the track help a lot with some of the issues that used to drive us crazy with the old Bachmann stuff. The sound module is overpriced at retail, but adds a lot to playing with the layout. The signal is a pretty cool addition, although by the time you add in the power modules, it's probably overpriced. I can't believe how much better these things run that the old stuff we used to have.
I had HO stuff as a kid, got my first set around 8 or 9 years old. There's some old super 8 film of me running my Chattanooga Choo Choo around as fast as it would go. Dad put a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the basement covered in green fake carpeting, nailed down the track, and I had a layout. Best Christmas ever.
Many many years later, living by myself after college, I built a pretty nice compact layout on a 2'x4' sheet of plywood in N scale. N was fiddly, kinda expensive, didn't work as well, etc. I either sold or gave it away eventually.
Somewhere in my attic is a box full of 30+ year old HO track, cars, etc. It may be a rusty mess by now, and may not be compatible regardless if couplers and track have changed in the interim.
And so it begins:
Used some of our "Christmas money" to pick up a couple of switches and track to set up a "passing lane". The switches are "power routing", so it will allow us to have two trains on the layout at the same time, either of which can be run from the same power pack.
Kazoo Kid #2 has his eye on this as a "long term" layout plan. He took a picture of it with his tablet and IM'd it to me.
It seems sort of pedestrian to me, but it's his set. Looks like it should fit comfortably on a hollow core door base, which would make building benchwork easy.
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