[tbarber1027]

Hello,
My name is Tim. I'm a 60-year-old newbie to this forum and also new to The World's Greatest Hobby!
I like the t-shirt that says "still plays with trains" :laugh:
My background is in engineering and I live near Las Vegas, NV.
Planning my FIRST model RR setup. I live on a small budget from disability and space is tight in my apartment so I chose N-scale.
I am also shopping for beginner books.
Any suggestions for me?
Thanks,
Tim

 

[traction fan]

Welcome aboard!

Hello,
My name is Tim. I'm a 60-year-old newbie to this forum and also new to The World's Greatest Hobby!
I like the t-shirt that says "still plays with trains" :laugh:
My background is in engineering and I live near Las Vegas, NV.
Planning my FIRST model RR setup. I live on a small budget from disability and space is tight in my apartment so I chose N-scale.
I am also shopping for beginner books.
Any suggestions for me?
Thanks,
Tim

Tim;

Welcome to the forum! You have come to the right place. I'm 71 and a long-time N-scale modeler. There are a trio of good beginner's books I'd recommend. Any one of the three will do, you probably won't need more than one, as they cover a lot of the same subjects. All three are excellent "first books" to get started with. The first deals more specifically with N-scale, though most of its information could be applied to other scales. It's called "N-scale Railroading" (getting started in the hobby) by Marty McGuirk. The second book is more general and not scale specific. It's "Getting Started in Model Railroading" by Jeff Wilson. Third is "Introduction to Model Railroading" also by Jeff Wilson, it is another good choice. To save money, you could check your local public library first, and see if they have, or can request, any of these books for you free. If not, you can order your chosen book online from https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/products/books Note: The same company, Kalmbach Publishing, also has several books on model railroads for small spaces. Author Ian Rice specializes in small model railroads. "Compact Layout Design" is one of his books published by Kalmbach..

The files attached below are some that I wrote for people like you who are new modelers planning their first model railroad. They should help you to understand some of the choices to be made as you get into this hobby. It can be quite confusing at first, but my files, and any of the recommended books, should help. also check our
"N-scale", and "Beginner's Q&A" sections for information. If there is a model railroad club, a good train store, or a touring train show near your area, all three are good sources of information too.

again welcome;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:

View attachment WHERE DO I START rev 4.pdf

View attachment MODEL RAILROADING ON A BUDGET.pdf

View attachment 1 How to build a better first layout.pdf

View attachment 2 How to build a better first layout.pdf

View attachment 3 & 4 How to build a better first layout.pdf

View attachment 5 How to build a better first layout.pdf

View attachment 6 How to build a better first layout.pdf

View attachment All AboutTurnouts rev 4.pdf

View attachment Model Railroad Terminology 3.pdf

 

[Big Ed]

Welcome young man.

 

[holava]

Welcome, sir ! You see ? Disability is no obstacle to trains. I myself am a one armed man, and I don't have any disability check. But I do have my ebooks financing my huge N and HO scale layouts all the way for many years. I'm talking about tens of thousands of dollars here. You are on the right track. Ooh, and 60 is only the beginning ... the train fun has just started.

 

[tbarber1027]

Welcome, sir ! You see ? Disability is no obstacle to trains. I myself am a one armed man, and I don't have any disability check. But I do have my ebooks financing my huge N and HO scale layouts all the way for many years. I'm talking about tens of thousands of dollars here. You are on the right track. Ooh, and 60 is only the beginning ... the train fun has just started.

------------------
Can you share any pics of your N-scale layouts?

 

[Spence]

Welcome to the forum. You'll find all the answers to your questions right here.

 

[traction fan]

Photos of my N-scale layout

tbarber1027;

Hello, Traction Fan here. I saw in this thread that you asked another member, Holva, for pics of his N-scale layout. Well, of course, that's up to him, but here are some photos, and a verbal description, of my own N-scale layout.

It's a "bookshelf model railroad". The design was adapted from an old article in Model Railroader Magazine. The top shelf holds my collection of train books plus other stuff. The two middle shelves house the model railroad, and under them, are more shelves used for general storage.
My railroad is very loosely based on the Pacific Coast Railway which, at one time, operated out of Seattle, Washington. The P.C.R. Was owned by Union Pacific, and it's tracks served as the gateway into Seattle for both the Union Pacific, and the Milwaukee Road. These two big railroads ran their passenger operations out of Seattle Union Station.
Right across the street from Union Station, was KIng St. Station, which housed the passenger operations of the Northern Pacific, and the Great Northern.
The preceding description is true, but in my fantasy world, the Pacific Coast Railway also handled the Northern Pacific, and Great Northern, traffic. This is to excuse the fact that I don't have room on my layout, to include all the multiple track routes actually used by all four big railroads to get into the Seattle area.
My favorite is the Milwaukee Road, because it used electric locomotives , which I like. However I can logically run trains from all for big railroads plus the P.C.R.'s own trains.
My railroad occupies two walls of my garage. It's built in sections. The standard section is 48" long,16" high, and 16" deep.(see 4th photo down) I have deeper sections at the ends to accommodate turn around loops, yards, and other features too big to fit on a 16" deep shelf. The photos show some scenes on my layout, and my model of Seattle Union Station.

Have fun, and feel free to ask questions;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos: