Model Railroading

[smbrewersfan15]

Hi all. I just got back into this hobby since I have a large basement now. Just curious if anyone else off the board participates in this hobby. I have the HO scale trains. I am wondering if anyone would have any tricks to scenery building that they could share or even someone that wants to trade or sell stuff. Thanks!

[Thurston Fluff]

I love trains but never did the model railroad thing. Something I'm actually quite interested in though. If you haven't been there yet check out the national railroad museum in Green Bay sometime. They have a pretty nice model railroad setup there along with the real ones.

[giffted1]

Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model trains they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains.

[JimH5]

I think I would like model trains more if there were a bigger variety of themes. I would like to see a modern, urban commuter train set in a real city, but whenever I see something on tv, or in a museum, it always seems to be a guy with an engineer's hat and his retro trains from yesteryear, with mountains and little evergreen trees, and little men holding lanterns. That's fine, but it's been done before, lots of times.

 

If you want to see an amazing train display, I would encourage a visit to Norlandz, just outside of Flemington, NJ. A mind-numbing exhibit of model railroading.

 

www.northlandz.com

[bork]

I've been in model railroading for most of my life. I've built a number of HO scale layouts. I started with a 4x8 layout and two 8x12 layouts while living at home. I learned a lot from each layout and kept improving my skills. Don't be afraid to build something. You learn so much by doing. And you can always rip it out and start over. I also learned a lot by becoming a member of a Model Railroad club.

 

My interest waned during college, but I became interested again when I got my own house. I've been working on a 12x15 layout over the past 6 years (mainly during the winters). I'm trying to recreate the Bitterroot Valley region of Montana where I grew up. I run modern diesel engines.

 

If you want to get some great ideas, talk with fellow modelers, and buy trains and supplies, you've got to check out Trainfest. It's at the convention center at State Fair Park on Nov 10-11. It's the largest model railroad show in the country. I always come away with so many ideas for winter projects.

 

Edit: The train layout at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is quite impressive. It's set in the present and follows the train route from Chicago to Seatle.

[smbrewersfan15]

Cool Bork. Yes my interest didn't start up till the wife and I moved into our house with the huge basement. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I too am starting out with the 4 x 8 setup to begin with. I've actually been to Trainfest a couple of times. Wish I still lived in Wisconsin. I will be in town the weekend before that otherwise I might have gone. What have you used to construct mountains and hills, water, etc.....I actually am going to check out an O scale layout tomorrow of a guy that's been doing model railroading for 50 years. I am going to take pictures and can share some if you want. I just want to get started besides having the board and am having trouble figuring out where to begin.

[bork]

I've used two similar methods for building mountains and hills. I use either crumpled newspapers as the base, or else cut 1" stips of cardboard glued together to make a web for the mountain base. Then I mix up a soupy mixture of plaster of paris (from Menards or Home Depot) and dip paper towels in it and lay it over the base. Let it setup overnight. Then wet it and brush more plaster over the top to smooth everything out. Then I use stains or dyes to color the plaster. If the color isn't right, keep staining to darken it. Or if it gets too dark, you can brush more plaster over the top and start over. Then I just use Woodland Scenics ground cover and trees.

[pitchleague]

I use to have an awesome display that my dad built for me when I was a kid. I still remember on Christmas morning, opening the big box with HO scale train engines and cars and stuff and wondering, "what the heck am I supposed to do with this?" Then, there was a note attached to the box from "Santa" which told me to go to the basement.

 

I was like, "wha?" but I went down there and inside my dad's workshop was this huge train table that my dad had built over the past couple of months. I remember the door being locked and the kids were not allowed inside. Now I know why. That table had to be at least 6x12 if not larger.

 

I loved that train set, even though I played "Dukes of Hazzard" with my matchbox cars on the table an awful lot. The buildings, the tracks, the mountains, everything was so cool. I kept the track maintained until I was 17 and we moved across the state. sold it all to a friend. Wish I still had it, or at least some pictures. Good times (tears in my eyes)!

[mothershipconnection]

I had a set when I was young, but it takes up a ton of space and can get a little pricey.

When I was young, John Menard was our scout leader and I hung out with his son in elementary. That dude had a really sweet model railroad in his basement. That'd be the best part of being a millionaire to me - being able to spend tons of money on all the wicked sweet stuff I longed for as a kid.

[Samurai Bucky]

My Dad and I had a rather large HO setup when I was growing up. It was probably 8x15. He has since moved up to O, but I have all of his HO stuff. I have no room in my basement now to continue.

 

You are looking for tips? one thing that I remember is how to make some cool-looking cliffs. If you can get your hands on drop-ceiling tiles, break some off and you have part of a cliff. Glue or nail them together, put on some paint and VOILA!

 

The biggest problem we had was keeping the track clean. What are some good methods for keeping track clean far short of crawling under mountains, etc.? Are there special cars, etc. that can act as track cleaners?

[smbrewersfan15]

As I've been looking around there are several different methods to cleaning both the tracks and the metal wheels on the engines. Most hobby stores can help figure out which is the best one for you to use. I personally have this thing that's about the size of an eraser and you just rub it over the track. That seems to have worked so far. I would like to expand my setup but haven't had the money to do it. Also finding exactly what you want it terms of engines and cars can sometimes be frustrating.