Model Railroading...Anyone?

Last year at Christmas we pulled my Dad's childhood O-gauge setup down from the basement. It's 40s/50s stuff and needed work before it could run, but run it does! The old transformer is very deco-cool and the big steam locomotive is just the shiznit.

My Dad has since gotten into it a bit more, "for the grandkids". He had a nice big setup for my sister's kids, with a reversing loop, x-overs, the whole nine yards. He's hoping they'll design their own layout this year (8 and 6).

This year for Christmas I got him some cool rolling stock - a barrel car and a log car, both of which jettison cargo. I can see where this would be addictive!

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

ddavidv wrote: My N gauge club laughingly refers to HO as "Horribly Oversize".

I haven't really priced out N scale stuff, but is it much cheaper than HO? My only issue with N scale is that It's not as detailed (or at least used to be) than the larger scales and I'm a stickler for detail.

The new N-scale stuff is very, VERY detailed. I've seen some plastic locos with see-through grilles and even a handful with some details specific to a particular engine in real life, like different bell and horn locations for two locos of the same model. That's not to say you can't add some more details yourself but by then you're getting into super-anal detailing-prize territory. It's also a lot easier to find plastic models of obscure or rare locomotives. A typical N-scale diesel or small/medium-sized steamer costs about $70-120 depending on manufacturer. With DCC already installed, the price jumps about $30-40. An Atlas N-scale starter set costs around $130. Atlas makes excellent HO stuff and I think they make good N-scale stuff as well.

As stated, On30 runs on HO gauge track, but you really should buy Peco track specifically for it as the ties and rail height are visually way wrong for O scale.

N scale detail is really pretty good now. This does, of course, mean some of the bits like railings and horns are fragile, so have to be handled with care. I've custom painted and decaled a few locos and cabooses for my favorite line and you can really make a gorgeous train that way if you take the time and use a magnifier. Provided you have a loco with multiple pickups for the track power they generally run pretty trouble free. The only problems we have are the turnouts; sometimes they make a dud that needs some work. Anything made in the last 10 years should run great, including steam (which was never the case before then). I have one of these made by Bachmann that honestly runs better than some of my diesels: What turned me away from N scale to some degree was the cost (no cheaper than any other scale in spite of it's size; $10-$15 for a freight car, $100 for a loco) and that I was doing shows with my club. Love my club, but part of the joy of showing my stuff is people noticing it. With N, only the hardcore nuts will notice a custom painted unit. The general populace will glance at it, but move on. The details are simply too small to hold their interest.

When I saw my first On30 loco (Bachmann makes most of them) and the level of detail that could be bought for the same or even less than in other scales, I was hooked. I also like the funkiness that is narrow gauge; no rules. Any weird home-spun thing you can think of is probably prototypical. I like rail trucks and buses, for example. (not mine) Here's a rail speeder I built from a resin kit powered by a trolley truck (my first resin kit):

I think I need to get my 53? American Flyer off the shelf and let my boys play with it a little. But that also scares me. Last I checked the engine was worth almost $400 alone and my boys aren't gentle.

Sunday my M-I-L gave me her father's train to see if it still worked. According the the web it was built in 1946. He boughtit his first Christmas back from the war,and it hasn't been touched since he passed away about 30 years ago. After a good cleaning and some oiling and greasing of the moving bits she ran for about an hour last night trouble free.

In reply to Wally:

That's awesome. When i've pulled out my families old postwar stuff, after a "tune up" it's amazing that they run flawlessly.

I suspect my wife picked me up a Lionel O set, but I will know in 19 days.

<img src=" The Bachmann 4-6-0 large scale train engine in our clown room (and no - it's not my office) stopped during a party on Saturday night. The wheel pilot truck failed causing loss of power. Bachmann site says they are out of stock. Anyone know of another source? Thanks Scott

You can try contacting my friend John Weigel. His online storefront He buys direct from Bachmann. Though he doesn't deal in that scale specifically maybe he can twist an arm or point you in another direction. Worth a shot.

Can't you fab something up to fix that?

I have an HO set from about 1977 that my father bought for me when I was a kid. It wasn't anything fancy, just a decent set. Some of it is broken or missing, but some of the cars and the engine are in their original box and shiny as new. We take them out just for Christmas to put them around the kids' tree. My kids love it and will talk about it and watch it.

I found a deal on Amazon that seemed really good. I don't think it's a collectors type set, but something fun and basic for young kids to play with. Anyone interested in a set for their kids should take a look. It's $60 shipped to your door.

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Like-Railroad-Empire-Scale/dp/B000TATC6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323867490&sr=8-1

In reply to Klayfish:

That is a pretty good deal. Life-Like's snap track isn't the greatest. An adult should help put the track together. But including the switches, they give you a decent amount of track. At that price, you couldn't buy used on ebay.

1988RedT2 wrote: In reply to Klayfish: That is a pretty good deal. Life-Like's snap track isn't the greatest. An adult should help put the track together. But including the switches, they give you a decent amount of track. At that price, you couldn't buy used on ebay.

Exactly. I had been looking at Ebay and CL to try to find a decent set at a good price. I stumbled upon this one and couldn't pass it up. My kids are all still young so I wanted something they can play with and enjoy, and we don't care if it gets dirty or scratched or shows signs of being used.

G scale outside in the CO winter? Real railroading! Frost heave, frozen switches, plowing snow, great fun. I ran battery power with a trail car. Used UPS batteries. Could run for about 2-3 hours continuous on a single charge.

Haven't set it up yet here. I have less space in my yard in Toronto, but it would be fun and the kids love it.

Lifelike track snaps together much more easily if you spray the contact ends with silicone lubricant. Comes apart without breaking as much too.

Sorta like lubing the kiddie slide.

In reply to ddavidv: Thanks - I'll give him a call

In reply to 1988RedT2: That would usually be my first thought. But with 1 1/2 weeks to Christmas with 25 people for dinner, my wife has just couple of "projects" on my list!!!

peter wrote: Last year at Christmas we pulled my Dad's childhood O-gauge setup down from the basement. It's 40s/50s stuff and needed work before it could run, but run it does! The old transformer is very deco-cool and the big steam locomotive is just the shiznit. My Dad has since gotten into it a bit more, "for the grandkids". He had a nice big setup for my sister's kids, with a reversing loop, x-overs, the whole nine yards. He's hoping they'll design their own layout this year (8 and 6). This year for Christmas I got him some cool rolling stock - a barrel car and a log car, both of which jettison cargo. I can see where this would be addictive!

I'm going to dig my (late) Dad's 50's-era Lionel stuff out of Mom's basement and see about sticking it up on ebay. It ran when I was a little kid (30 years ago). I remember him taking the locomotive to the hobby shop to get it tuned up.

We'll see what happens...