Can anyone give me the briefest rundown of starting a train set?

dr gonzo

I literally haven't a clue whats required with starting and im interested in beginning one now that i have a bit of room. I assume a kit is the best way to go of course but do i then need to buy anything separate like the controller? Is there any vital bits and pieces that i need that may not be in a kit?

Cheers everyone.

coolwings

dr gonzo wrote: »

I literally haven't a clue whats required with starting and im interested in beginning one now that i have a bit of room. I assume a kit is the best way to go of course but do i then need to buy anything separate like the controller? Is there any vital bits and pieces that i need that may not be in a kit?

Cheers everyone.

Starter Sets are the way to go if you're getting going in model trains. The stuff is sold for a lower price when it's in a starter set, so the maker can get you up and going with the makers brand compatibility-wise.

There are a lot of handy links and answers on this page on choosing model trains make and scale and the bits that are needed.

Cookie_Monster

As said a kit is the way to go. Most come as a simple oval with a few sidings and such.

Make sure you pick a kit you want to stick with as there is no point buying a eurostar and then deciding you're going to go for steam era. that's just taste though

You'll also need a fair amount of space and a board or similar to put it on. DON'T lay it on carpet or rugs as this will feck up the running gear of the loco.

Finally make sure you check weather the kit is DCC or not, most new ones are. Essentially this allows for digital control of your locos via the controller, you select the number of the loco and speed rather than having to keep each lco isolated on seperate circuits. The downside of this is that any non DCC loco will not work and run at top speed all the time.

If you're in Dublin or Dun Laoghaire check out Mark's Models, they're quite good.
Online, my preferred sites are, massivly cheaper than Irish sites/shops
www.ehattons.com
www.railsofsheffield.com

coolwings

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

... You'll also need a fair amount of space ...

The size matters a lot. For OO scale you will take up more than half of a room, the floorspace of it that is, or even more.
If you don't have that much space available, or if it will get walked on and damaged down on the floor, take a look at the smaller scales that are designed to fit on tables like TT or N. The higher table location is usually much safer where young family members are running around having fun, but not looking out for trains!
Even for adults small scales have uses - I always preferred to be able to sit down when working on my layouts.

Cookie_onster wrote: »

... and a board or similar to put it on. DON'T lay it on carpet or rugs as this will feck up the running gear of the loco.
...

If it is a model with a diorama landscape ( for adult modellers) the board layout is the way to go. You make a permanent layout on the board of say 8' x 4' plywood.

On the other hand: If it is a Christmas Train Set to be taken up and down you will find that the newer sets which contain Roadbed or Bedding type tracks will run trains very well even over carpets or doorway saddles.

Hope this helps.

steve-hosting36

I'd recommend dcc digital control too. Much easier to get to grips with as you drive the trains not the track. You can also run older O'R non digital locos no problem on a dcc setup

Maverick88

As previous posters have said, decide on a gauge you want to go for. OO and N gauge are the most common.

If you're going for OO gauge then there's some recent Irish items released by Bachmann and Murphys models and some older Irish items from Lima, however these Lima items can end up selling for silly amounts of money.

Lima did the Class 201 engines and Mk2 and Mk3's carriages. As mentioned you may need deep pockets.

Bachmann in the past year of so brought out the Class 141/181 engines, very nice engines and highly regarded models. Murphy's models brought out the Cravens coaches and these again are very nice items.

If you're on a budget then Hornby do a Railroad range, some people get sniffy about these but not everyody has a fortune to spend. The Railroad range is less detailed and usually just old moldings being used. For an example since Hornby bought Lima they ow use the Lima tooling as standard while the old Hornby tooling (from the 70's) ha gone into the Railroad range.

Hattons and Rails of Sheffield are very good, they are box shifters as opposed to the individual servic you'll get from a local shop.

Ebay can be good, just check the sellers feedback and keep an eye on the postage costs. You've also got swap meets as a good source of stuff

Cookie_Monster

Maverick88 wrote: »

Bachmann in the past year of so brought out the Class 141/181 engines, very nice engines and highly regarded models. Murphy's models brought out the Cravens coaches and these again are very nice items.

These are stunning. I have 4 141's and 6 cravens among my collection. They are fabously detailed and I have read that they are considered amoung the best detailed models you can get, outdoing many of the UK ones.

Well done Paddy Murphy

Maverick88

Cookiemonster- You are indeed correct, the Bachmann 141/181 is hugely admired by UK collectors and many have decided to model Irish layouts due to Bachmanns and MMurphy's models efforts. There is a distinct wish that some of the recent UK releases had been as good as the 141/181.

Cookie_Monster

Maverick88 wrote: »

Cookiemonster- You are indeed correct, the Bachmann 141/181 is hugely admired by UK collectors and many have decided to model Irish layouts due to Bachmanns and MMurphy's models efforts. There is a distinct wish that some of the recent UK releases had been as good as the 141/181.

personally, I can't wait until the 121 and 071 come along. I hope Hornby will also do another run of 201 since the acquired Limas mouldings. Can't afford the crazy prices the 201's currently go for on eBay and the like

steve-hosting36

Paddy Murphy is a saint, and the 021/071's are the most hotly anticipated Irish outline items in decades!

On the original point though, a vibrant local market and scene, including the modelshops like modelshopbelfast.com, themodelshop.ie, marks models, etc, who attend events, sponsor activity, etc, are a vital component of the overall scene, a key factor in Paddy funding new rtr items, and worthy of our support

Tabnabs

coolwings wrote: »

The size matters a lot. For OO scale you will take up more than half of a room, the floorspace of it that is, or even more.

Not true!!! I am currently building a HO shelf layout that is proving far more rewarding and interesting than the bog-standard oval design. Inglenook sidings and the timesaver layout are designed to fit in a very small area. Shelf layouts range from the simple



to the scenic



to the detailed



OP, I recommend you have a look around http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/

steve-hosting36

Lovely

Also check out http://irishrailwaymodelling.yuku.com/ for an Irish modellers forum..

Cookie_Monster

Dyflin wrote: »

That's a very nice piece

Tabnabs

It's part of a much larger layout, but obviously he builds it in stages. Have a look here http://grimstadline.blogspot.com/

Interestingly, on the continent and in the States, the emphasis seems to be on the scenery and in the UK (and to a lesser extent here in Ireland) the layout revolves around the station. After visiting the recent train exhibition in Kilmacud a few weeks ago, IMHO, I prefer the scenic layouts.

Cookie_Monster

Dyflin wrote: »

Interestingly, on the continent and in the States, the emphasis seems to be on the scenery and in the UK (and to a lesser extent here in Ireland) the layout revolves around the station. After visiting the recent train exhibition in Kilmacud a few weeks ago, IMHO, I prefer the scenic layouts.

if you have the pace definitly do both, have town/station in one area and scenic countryside in annother

Witchy.ie

The difficulty I've always had is controlling my meglomania. The first one I built started off as an 8 x 4 and ended up as a 16 x 12 with my bed underneath it and the bedroom door cut in half so I could crawl into the room. Ahh the memories

Cookie_Monster

Witchy.ie wrote: »

The difficulty I've always had is controlling my meglomania. The first one I built started off as an 8 x 4 and ended up as a 16 x 12 with my bed underneath it and the bedroom door cut in half so I could crawl into the room. Ahh the memories

well, you have to make some sacrifices